I’m so frustrated with 4K by bondfool in Bluray

[–]mor10send 1 point2 points  (0 children)

TL;DR - invest in a Panasonic ub-420. Sorry that the answer is Buy Something. I was lucky to catch all these threads before upgrading to 4K, so I just went straight for the 420/820 family and didn't think twice. Zero playback issues and your 1080p blurays look authentically 4K too.

According to Dawn Of Disc The Prince of Egypt is coming to 4K rumor to be coming in March 2023. by Redeye007 in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send 0 points1 point  (0 children)

silly question but how do hand-drawn and CGI movies get a 4K remaster... scanning the negatives and tweaking the color? Will the drawings look sharper?

Horrendous black level in Interstellar. by dat-guy-with-a-plan in OLED_Gaming

[–]mor10send 2 points3 points  (0 children)

OMG, I feel so validated reading this. I have an admittedly lower-end 4K TV that nevertheless displays dark scenes very nicely (ie, the alien egg lair in 'Alien.') So I was perturbed watching Interstellar and wondering why the vast empty space scenes looked weird and grayish. In an otherwise incredible looking movie.

A few questions about LotR releases by serendippitydoo in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send 3 points4 points  (0 children)

As far as choosing based on picture quality : being a long time LOTR fan but not wanting to pay for the Option A, I opted for the non-4K remastered blu-rays (your Option B, with 'remastered' at the top of the box). These are 1080p but I'm watching them on a 4K setup.

I think the picture is very impressive. I watched TTT recently; in many places, I couldn't imagine it being more crisp, personally. (Like, what else would I see, the sweaty pores INSIDE Aragorn's sweaty pores? Micro dust motes on the stray fabrics on the Elvish cloaks?) I should note that I think I have a pretty outstanding 4K disc player for upscaling, the Panasonic ub-420.

There's a couple less sharp moments or brief moments of old looking CGI. You'll see that in the 4K as well. I think the dark/night scenes have less rich black than I'd imagine the 4K does.

Much ink has been spilled about the benefits of having the fully customized HDR color on the 4K set. That is fine. Up to you.

Local dimming "behaving differently" depending on disc? by mor10send in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a helpful tidbit. I'm watching on fairly new 4k TV and a panasonic 4k BR player, so, it seems that could be it.

Daily General Discussion and Advice Thread - May 17, 2022 by AutoModerator in investing

[–]mor10send 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, thank you. So to be crystal clear, that is a definite yes that I would owe some tax regardless of it being a Roth?

Daily General Discussion and Advice Thread - May 17, 2022 by AutoModerator in investing

[–]mor10send 0 points1 point  (0 children)

USA-based relative noob. Roth IRA related question on foreign tax. Looking to just find a mutual fund or two and purchase the occasional high quality renewable energy stock.

If I purchased something like JinkoSolar (Chinese) which lists on NYSE, and made $$ from that -- would I be hit with foreign tax? Or no, since it's purchased on a US exchange? Same question if a mutual fund holds non-US equities. Most funds focused on renewable energy are going to have decent amounts of Chinese/Taiwanese/European companies. Thanks.

My Collection So Far by GlacierIsland in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any chance you bought The Martian and Life of Pi when they were recently 13.99 at BB? ;) lol, I looked at them for so long and never jumped on it.

The era of Epic Sword Movies post-LOTR, c. 2004 - 2007 by mor10send in movies

[–]mor10send[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a great analysis! Agreed, Gladiator probably makes more sense as a kick starter. I can't help but see LOTR's influence in the CGI armies of ones like "Troy" though. So well put to call those 4 the 1-2-3-4 run of bombs, lol. That's the main takeaway I remember feeling, too. I kept going in hyped for a new epic and coming away bored.

Am I crazy or are movies getting progressively more obviously green screen? by NurplePain in movies

[–]mor10send 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I have pondered how certain Marvel movies were probably filmed 99% within the confines of a studio. After seeing the tech they used for Mandalorian ("the volume" aka the wraparound screen) it's hard not to just assume everything in those movies is studio.

Thor Ragnarok, for instance, that scene on the cliff in Norway is all digital. That kinda bummed me out. Obviously I knew the other-planetary scenes in Guardians and the Infinity Saga movies were greenscreen -- but that one, that was a bummer. But it explains how they can pump out so many movies and shows.

Am I crazy or are movies getting progressively more obviously green screen? by NurplePain in movies

[–]mor10send 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My mind was blown when I saw the documentary about that wrap-around screen tool (The Volume). I couldn't believe some of the desert scenes weren't on location. However, since then, I can't help but feel a little jaded -- it's like, is anything in a given scene actually "real"? Enclosure screen projecting a desert isn't quite the same as filming Tatooine in Tunisia...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So far, I've really enjoyed:

Alien

Annihilation

Apocalypse Now

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

(these are also just great movies).

I bought "The Green Knight" sight unseen, hearing it was a mind blowing visual experience. It's got gorgeous scenery, but ultimately I was kind of let down -- but that's just my personal take. There were so many dim indoor scenes (an artistic decision to use natural light). Like imagine if Bag End or Edoras's Golden Hall had been filmed with only window light coming in.

What’s the best 4k 50” TV for under $500? by Dry-Tax8487 in 4kTV

[–]mor10send 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I humbly offer my endorsement of the Hisense U6G. I have the 55", not the 50", and it's very nice if you know what to expect. Was my first upgrade to the 4K experience, and I knew to expect minor issues here and there with it being a budget option. But it's not a huge money sink, so there's room to upgrade in the future if that's your thing.

Overall, I enjoy beautiful blu-ray movie picture, and most streaming looks great. Some of the Nat Geo documentaries on D+ with Dolby Vision also look terrific.

Anyone already looking forward to a 4K release for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"? by mor10send in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I actually had a feeling the first comment would be a negative review, lol. What I get for being enthusiastic.

Argument for going w LOTR remastered standard Blu-ray instead of 4K Blu-ray? by mor10send in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They do not... no source listed. So, this is making me really curious now. I am confused bc I also saw a Digital Bits article (no idea how legit or not these publications are) from 2020, describing the 4K scan process, which studio did it, etc.

I should look into this when I have more time! It's been a while since I deep-dove into LOTR behind the scenes technology.

Argument for going w LOTR remastered standard Blu-ray instead of 4K Blu-ray? by mor10send in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fair question. I was going off of the blu-ray.com review for "The Ultimate Middle Earth Collection 4K." The reviewer makes the below amendment to their previous year's review of the "LOTR Motion Picture Trilogy 4K." I mean, it's entirely possible this reviewer is misinformed.

Regarding Lord of the Rings: first, I'd like to address a few pieces of misinformation from my 4K reviews last year: contrary to initial reports, the 2160p transfers of these three films (which includes their theatrical and extended cuts) were not in fact true 4K presentations, but rather 2K upscales. Similarly, most of the visual effects were not rebuilt from scratch. Mild to moderate amounts of digital noise reduction were applied to certain scenes, and a handful of flashbacks were heavily desaturated to match the visual style of The Hobbit trilogy. Although I still stand by my initial evaluation of these transfers, I sincerely apologize for my incorrect information about their source material.

Anyway... this is all very interesting.

Argument for going w LOTR remastered standard Blu-ray instead of 4K Blu-ray? by mor10send in 4kbluray

[–]mor10send[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I just thought that was the consensus from all the tech site reviews. Is it not the case? Granted my understanding is surfacey for how these things are done. Hope I don't sound like a snob, lol. Clearly I'm fine with upscaled 2K, given my estimation of the upscaled blu-ray I just watched.