Picked Up My First 4K UHD Blu Rays

[Ziggy]

The Universal Monsters 4K box sets are a good price on Amazon right now.

There's two box sets (at least for this region). The first contains Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Wolf Man. The second includes The Mummy, The Bride of Frankenstein, Phantom of the Opera and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

I forget exactly how much they were when I first added them to my wish list. The movies individually are priced at $15, and I kinda remember them being a little cheaper per movie in the box set. So something like $40-60? Right now the box sets are priced at $35 each, which makes it $8.75 per movie. Definitely a good price, $8.75 is always a good price for a 4K/BD combo movie.

I haven't watched any of them yet, but I have skimmed some reviews on a couple of the movies. They seem to be solid transfers. Apparently HDR10 makes a huge difference for black and white movies. I can't wait to watch them!

I guess they only released these 8 films in 4K. It's pretty much all of the main movies, with the only sequel being The Bride of Frankenstein. But Bride is the only sequel that's not only mandatory, but the first two films should really just be thought of as one. I have the Universal Monsters DVD box set, which includes all of the sequels. They have the same box set on Blu Ray. But to be honest, most of the sequels I do not care so much for. It would be nice to have them on Blu Ray, but for the money I think I'd rather have the "main" movies in 4K and have to rely on DVD for the sequels. The only sequel (besides Bride) that I really cared for, more than meh, was Dracula's Daughter.

[Ziggy]

I just noticed that the pre-orders are up on Amazon for The Abyss and True Lies. The reason these are both big deals is because neither movie has ever been released on Blu Ray before, just DVD. So not only are we finally getting them on BD, but also on 4K UHD.

BUT, they're each priced at $40. That's way too steep. I like both of these movies a lot, but that's too much. Especially since Cameron's previous 4K releases have been very controversial (although T2 is more universally agreed that it sucks).

[Jagosaurus]

How did the black and white look in 4K?

Just watched original Ghostbusters in 4K with family. Man, the practical effects looked great. Can't wait to watch the sequel.

I really like the Abyss. Didn't realize it wasn't on BD at all! I was actually just thinking of this movie while watching a YT video on ocean phenomenon & the vast unknown there

I think I forgot to answer an audio question... in short, most of my movie watching and gaming occurs when the family is sleeping, so usually rocking headphones

No Tink 4K for me right now, but have my eyes on some more obscure 1080p projects ...

[prfsnl_gmr]

Interestingly, I discovered that some 4K UHD movies look significantly WORSE than their 1080P (and, sometimes, 480P) counterparts. I think it varies significantly based on the source material, 4K transfer, etc., but you should not assume that 4K UHD movies always look better. (Some of the transfer technology can make actors look “waxy” and special effects look cheap. The coloration can also be way off.) Here’s a site I’ve found to be a helpful resource when deciding whether to upgrade:

https://www.criterionforum.org/forum/vi ... hp?t=17181

[Ziggy]

How did the black and white look in 4K?

I didn't watch any of them yet. But I'll report back once I finally have.

I really like the Abyss. Didn't realize it wasn't on BD at all! I was actually just thinking of this movie while watching a YT video on ocean phenomenon & the vast unknown there

Yeah, I love The Abyss. Both True Lies and The Abyss pre-orders are now sub $30 on Amazon. Still, I think I'm going to wait for the reviews first.

I think I forgot to answer an audio question... in short, most of my movie watching and gaming occurs when the family is sleeping, so usually rocking headphones

Most of the time I'm watching TV late at night, and for that reason I usually keep my sub woofer off. But every once in a while it's nice to crank the sound system!

Some of the transfer technology can make actors look “waxy”

Yeah, T2 definitely looked awful. I mean, I knew about the problems already so it wasn't a surprise. I was just curious to see for myself, to see if the problems were being blown out of proportion or not. And I don't think they are. I would have been pretty upset if I paid $20-30 for it.

Thanks for that link! Definitely a good resource to have.

[opa]

(On mobile so quoting is a pain)

Ziggy, do you still like the Sony player you linked on the first page? Does it accept playing files via USB? If so, what's the performance/quality like?

I've been looking at a new blu ray player solution that's not a game console and I am kinda curious to see some 4k content.

I just want to use a regular remote for movies honestly and being able to play video files off of a USB drive would be a requirement.

[Ziggy]

It has a front USB port that you can use a thumb drive or external HDD with. I have yet to try it, so I cannot comment on how well it works. But I'd assume it works well enough.

From the description...

USB Port: The front-panel USB (type-A) port allows you to play photo, videos, and music files on a connected USB device. The player can recognize Mass Storage Class (MSC) Devices that are FAT-compatible and Still Image Capture Devices (SICD) class devices. The player can recognize up to 500 folders/files. The USB port also allows you to enjoy additional content (such as BonusView) on certain Blu-ray Disc titles. Some BD-ROMs have bonus content and other data which can be downloaded to an inserted USB Flash Drive (minimum 1 GB recommended, sold separately).

Compatible Audio/Video/Photo Formats: The Sony UHD Blu-ray disc player supports playback of the following audio/video/photo files recorded on BD-R/RE, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, and CD-R/RW discs; plus compatible USB memory devices.
Media Format File Type
Audio AIFF /ALAC /FLAC / WAV (up to 24-bit/192kHz), DSD (2.8/5.8/11.2MHz), MP3 / WMA / AAC (up to 48kHz/320kbps)
Video AVCHD, AVI, FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Motion JPEG, MKV, WMV9, XVID
Photo JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MPO, WEBP

To answer your question, I do still like it. It really feels like a quality piece of equipment. Compared to other BD players I've had that felt like a budget off brand item from Wal Mart. This player definitely feels more high end. It's heavy and very solid feeling. And the drive is whisper quiet when in operation, which is mainly why I got it over cheaper options.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I've been looking at a new blu ray player solution that's not a game console and I am kinda curious to see some 4k content.

I have a Panasonic DP-UB420-K, and I LOVE it. The picture quality is amazing, and it looks unbelievable on my very large 4K TV. Blows streaming content out of the water. It also supports USB input, but I haven’t used it yet.

It is also whisper quiet, and the only difference between it and the $500 model is the lack of Solby-Vision support (which I kind of like because I think Dolby Vision introduces some processing that makes movies look weird…and DEFINITELY isn’t worth $250).

[Ziggy]

Isn't Dolby Vision just an alternative to HDR10+?

I have some movies that support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. To be honest, I can't tell a difference between them. But it's the thing you'd really have to A/B to see any difference (if any is even noticeable). My TV doesn't support HDR10+, so I cannot comment there one way or the other. But as far as how good (or bad) Dolby Vision looks, I think it's more of the way the movie was mastered that will make it look good or bad. For example, I watched the Back to the Future trilogy with Dolby Vision turned on and they looked fantastic. But Terminator 2 really does look awful, which was HDR10.

[prfsnl_gmr]

But Terminator 2 really does look awful, which was HDR10.

T2 is a notoriously bad 4K according to the Criterion forums. They recommend sticking with the Blu-Ray.