RazerMouse

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Hi All,

My long standing PJ packed in some months back and I've recently taken delivery of a 4k OLED. Streaming 4k is nice, but always thought 1080p disc was better. Is this still the case for 4k?

In any event, I'm late to the 4k party, but very impressed with what I've seen so far via Netflix.
 
Yes, nothing beats 4k disc, just only buy your favourite films though, gone are the days of owning 100's of discs. I had about 400 Blu-ray discs. I now only own 15 or so 4k discs. But the classics.
 
Yes I agree...I'm old enough to have had a VHS collection....so Star Wars on that format, then DVD, the BR, then special box set on BR....and not they want £200 for the 4k Saga......staggering how much money the original 3 films must have made...so I agree...I'll also be selectively purchasing!
 
Yes, nothing beats 4k disc, just only buy your favourite films though, gone are the days of owning 100's of discs. I had about 400 Blu-ray discs. I now only own 15 or so 4k discs. But the classics.
Gone are the days of owning hundreds of discs?!

Hardly! I am being a bit more picky with 4K discs...or trying anyway.
 
Although the law of diminishing returns as you go up the ladder is a factor, 4K discs are worth it, however I would be selective. Your 1080p discs upscaled will never have looked better but a good 4K discs will give you the wow factor. You’ve treated yourself to a new TV, and the fact that you’ve chosen OLED says to me that you like that extra bit of quality. For me, watching a good 4k disc carries the wow factor. The best source material is discs.....streaming or Sky etc can’t get anywhere near the bitrate of disc. Have a look at something like Planet Earth II, Blue Planet II or Dynasties and it will all be worth it. Also often plenty of deals on offer, so you should never need to pay full price.

By the way, if Netflix impresses you now, wait until you see it at full bitrate. Because of demand due to lockdown, their streaming rate has been halved.
 
Gone are the days of owning hundreds of discs?!

Hardly! I am being a bit more picky with 4K discs...or trying anyway.
Exactly! I'm also trying... but failing. I'm up to 224 4K discs now!

Almost all of them look and sound incredible, obviously some are better than others and it depends on how capable your setup is.

Reading reviews before buying is a good way to ensure its a worthwhile improvement over the regular Blu-ray so you're not disappointed for the exta cost.
 
Gone are the days of owning hundreds of discs?!

Hardly! I am being a bit more picky with 4K discs...or trying anyway.

I think so yes, for the majority anyway, i definitely prefer physical disc to any streaming content.

I've had absolutely hundreds and DVD's, then Blu-ray, most ended up in a black bag in the loft.

Eventually its inevitable you'll sell/get rid of most of the 4k discs, the money I've spent on physical discs is well into the thousands.

Now, i definitely think before buying, that money saved is better spent on my system and enjoy the 4k discs i prefer the most.
 
Good point here actually.........the 4k buy/sell activity on here is thriving. If you do buy new releases, you’ll likely be able to sell on here and get a good price. Equally, a lot on offer to buy from a very helpful and reliable bunch of people here.
 
Oh yes. 100% worth it.
I had hundreds of DVDs then hundreds of Blurays, so this time I’m being selective. I have about 30-40 4K discs which are back catalogue etc I wanted. Going forward it’ll be very selective but boy is it worth it
 
I was in the same boat as you: couldn’t really see much of an improvement in streaming so didn’t know if it was worth upgrading. However I got a 4K player about a year ago and I’m so glad that I did so. I’m currently in the process of purchasing a shed load of 4K discs.
 
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Well, I have ordered 7 movies on 4k BR, and I'll be getting a Panasonic (UB-9000) in June, so want a selection of movies at the ready :) Thanks for the comments so far...decision made.
 
I purchase 4k discs rarely as most times I just rent them, if I purchase it has to be a movie I really like the look of and get great scores in the PQ and Audio department.
 
Well, I have ordered 7 movies on 4k BR, and I'll be getting a Panasonic (UB-9000) in June, so want a selection of movies at the ready :) Thanks for the comments so far...decision made.
Good choice! I'm thinking of upgrading my UB450 to the UB9000 at some point. I had to go for the 450 due to space limitations but I've just got a new media cabinet so I'll have space :). A decent poweramp and processor are first on my list though.
 
Good choice! I'm thinking of upgrading my UB450 to the UB9000 at some point. I had to go for the 450 due to space limitations but I've just got a new media cabinet so I'll have space :). A decent poweramp and processor are first on my list though.
I’m thinking of upgrading to the 820 from the 320 but can’t decide it it’s worth it. I’ve asked in a few places what the actual differences are, apart from Dolby Vision, and nobody has replied.
 
There is a clear jump in quality from BR to 4K BR for sure, but I struggle with 4K discs on two counts. Firstly, there are very few titles that I want, compared to BR. Secondly, the price increase is not justifiable, IMO. I wouldn’t mind paying a few pounds extra, but most 4K discs that I’m interested in are double the price of BRs. Upscaling of BRs is good, but not as good as a proper 4K disc. I’m busy working through my existing library of DVDs and BRs, replacing DVDs with BR versions for those titles that I want to keep. In the past, I had a library of over a thousand DVDs. It’s surprising just how many discs I’ve bought for ‘watch just once’ titles. My aim is to reduce my library to a couple of hundred titles, and only buy films on media that I know that I’ll want to watch more than once. For others, streaming services will hopefully be my friend, even if I have to rent them, which I certainly won’t be doing at present whilst Netflix et al continue to cripple their bitrate levels to UK subscribers.
 
I’m thinking of upgrading to the 820 from the 320 but can’t decide it it’s worth it. I’ve asked in a few places what the actual differences are, apart from Dolby Vision, and nobody has replied.
Between the 320 and 820 the difference seems to be:
  • DV
  • Second HDMI out (needed if your AVR/soundbar doesn't pass HDR10, HDR10+ or DV and you don't have eARC)
  • Analogue 7.1 out
  • Optical out
  • USB at the back instead of the front
  • No flap covering disk tray
  • Physical size (wider and deeper)
  • HDR optimiser? (Although depending on your display this may not be that useful)
In terms of PQ, I don't know, probably not much, but may depend on your display. I wouldn't say I saw much, if any, difference between my 420 and 450, although I still haven't gotten around to doing an A-B test with2 copies of the same disc yet (I've got a few duplicates). Perhaps I will this weekend.
 
There is a clear jump in quality from BR to 4K BR for sure, but I struggle with 4K discs on two counts. Firstly, there are very few titles that I want, compared to BR. Secondly, the price increase is not justifiable, IMO. I wouldn’t mind paying a few pounds extra, but most 4K discs that I’m interested in are double the price of BRs. Upscaling of BRs is good, but not as good as a proper 4K disc. I’m busy working through my existing library of DVDs and BRs, replacing DVDs with BR versions for those titles that I want to keep. In the past, I had a library of over a thousand DVDs. It’s surprising just how many discs I’ve bought for ‘watch just once’ titles. My aim is to reduce my library to a couple of hundred titles, and only buy films on media that I know that I’ll want to watch more than once. For others, streaming services will hopefully be my friend, even if I have to rent them, which I certainly won’t be doing at present whilst Netflix et al continue to cripple their bitrate levels to UK subscribers.

Ah this old chestnut. If you are prepared to wait on 4K discs you can get bargains easily - and that's brand new never mind buying from classified etc. Zoom have regular £10 offers on and a lot of places have 2 for £20 or 2 for £30 on too. Some discs don't get reduced much true but if you wait you can get them under £20 no problem.

Some examples? I got Bridge on the River Kwai for £9 from Zoom. American Gangster for £10. Darkest Hour for £8. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for £13. I could go on. These are all brand new - I don't buy used 4K discs.
 
Between the 320 and 820 the difference seems to be:
  • DV
  • Second HDMI out (needed if your AVR/soundbar doesn't pass HDR10, HDR10+ or DV and you don't have eARC)
  • Analogue 7.1 out
  • Optical out
  • USB at the back instead of the front
  • No flap covering disk tray
  • Physical size (wider and deeper)
  • HDR optimiser? (Although depending on your display this may not be that useful)
In terms of PQ, I don't know, probably not much, but may depend on your display. I wouldn't say I saw much, if any, difference between my 420 and 450, although I still haven't gotten around to doing an A-B test with2 copies of the same disc yet (I've got a few duplicates). Perhaps I will this weekend.
Cheers for that. I appreciate the comprehensive answer on that. I still need to do some thinking really.
 
You mentioned having a projector. I assume you have a surround set-up too? If not, you will soon and if so, you will be upgrading to Atmos soon!

I had no interest in another physical media format until I bought my first 4K TV in 2017 that come bundled with a UHD player. I had no interest in Atmos either and well, I ended up all-in with it...

Gone are the days of owning hundreds of discs?!

Hardly! I am being a bit more picky with 4K discs...or trying anyway.

I'm trying and failing too. More so this year with lockdown combined with deals that are hard to talk myself out of. There's also a crazy amount of new releases this month and next that I want to own.

I said when I first got into them in 2017 that I would only buy the discs I know I will watch multiple times, I will not double dip anything I have on Blu-ray, I will not buy 4K Steelbooks. Who was I kidding? I don't know how many titles I've double dipped now. I will probably have a greater number of 4K Steelbooks than Blu-ray Steelbooks by the end of the year, though I had a very modest collection and not talking hundreds.
 
You mentioned having a projector. I assume you have a surround set-up too? If not, you will soon and if so, you will be upgrading to Atmos soon!

I had no interest in another physical media format until I bought my first 4K TV in 2017 that come bundled with a UHD player. I had no interest in Atmos either and well, I ended up all-in with it...



I'm trying and failing too. More so this year with lockdown combined with deals that are hard to talk myself out of. There's also a crazy amount of new releases this month and next that I want to own.

I said when I first got into them in 2017 that I would only buy the discs I know I will watch multiple times, I will not double dip anything I have on Blu-ray, I will not buy 4K Steelbooks. Who was I kidding? I don't know how many titles I've double dipped now. I will probably have a greater number of 4K Steelbooks than Blu-ray Steelbooks by the end of the year, though I had a very modest collection and not talking hundreds.
Yep! On going 4K in 2017 I said to myself, "just the ones I really want this time". Hasn't worked out that way - mainly because of offers I couldn't resist! :D
 
Yep! On going 4K in 2017 I said to myself, "just the ones I really want this time". Hasn't worked out that way - mainly because of offers I couldn't resist! :D

I said that as well in Feb 19 when I started. :D I only buy US discs and random Steelbooks so the higher prices means it's mainly bulk buys from Amazon stateside come Black Friday. Certainly helps me keep a check on my purchases.

43 discs and half a dozen or so more on order so a very modest collection.

Probably 10 in there that were impulse purchases too.

Given the drip drip release of classic films on the format, it's likely gonna be a couple more years before I reach even 100:blush:

As for the OP. 4K OLED. Nice. Size?

I only have a tiny 55" (always funny when you get a new bigger TV and think wow - only now the size is very ordinary :rotfl:Panny OLED but a good 4K Disc is still a decent upgrade on a good BR.

I sit a fair distance away from the screen and, on numerous occasions, when watching a so so 4K (more often an upscale), I could have mistaken it for a great 1080p BR.

Even at a distance though, a great 4K disc bests a BR by a fair bit. Not just in the amount of detail (close ups and distant stuff too) but the colours are a riot:clap:.
 
I only buy the 4K disc of movies I absolutely love, if they're available on 4K disc that is, many aren't atm. For the majority I'm happy with my standard Blu Ray copies, most look great upscaled.
 
At full price, nah.

I'm a sucker for a bargain though and there's lots to be had on ebay ect.

I've got a very small collection and prior to pre ordering top gun at £20 the most I've paid for a 4k disc was a new copy of the shining at around £14.

Most I've bought have been 2nd hand and under a tenner.
 

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