BluRay/4K-Question(s)

[Xiauj]

Hi,

Kinda thinking about upgrading My setup for watching films/series but am undecided between BluRay and 4K-UHD because of multiple things. Some are saying and showing that there's not much difference and that BluRay is better or somewhat equal to 4K-UHD which to Me sounds somewhat correct when you compare things like objects/skin+skin-tones/indoor+outdoor/etc... but is that info still mostly accurate? Just been watching a video that Linus did back in December of 2016 (..which is linked below in the spoiler) and I can't tell and have a couple of questions which hopefully someone can help explain a bit more clearly:

 

• Would I still be getting all of the much more in-depth details, 3x(?) resolution-increase and colour details and sharpness and other effects etc... as far as detail goes for objects/people/etc even if I don't have a 4K-TV/Smart-TV? > Because I might be using My 4K-PC-Monitor (Listed in My Profile-Specs) to watch the films/series on My PC. I assume/hope that's a good/smart way to get the true details in 3840x2160(?) resolution..? Yes? No?

 

• If BluRay really is better or somewhat equal to 4K-UHD for in-depth-quality-things like objects/skin/people/indoor+outdoor-scenes, colour quality and sharpness etc.. and that BluRay would be the better/cheaper(?) option, what are some very good quality USB-BluRay-Players?

 

Spoiler

 

Thanks

-Xiauj

 

 

 

Also, Note to the Mods: Sorry if this is in the wrong sub-forum!! Please move if it is, would appreciate it!

Edited January 15, 2019 by Xiauj
Added a note for the mods at the bottom

[JammyCreedog]

I may be wrong, but I think that blu-ray and subsequent 4k blu-ray have a much higher install base and therefor safer to invest in technology.  Remember what happened to hd-dvd?

 

4k blu-ray drive for pc is kind of expensive but the real biiitch is the software required to play it. Honestly, i'd go to your local electronics retailer and get a standalone player. You will likely have a much better overall experience.

[APasz]

UHD-BluRay is gen2 of BluRay.

The sharpness or 'quality' of the image will depend on how it was mastered. Some are good, some not so.

If the screen is only 1080 then the benefits will be minimal but if the screen used is 2160 then you'll see the difference.

HDR isn't really a factor if your screen doesn't support it but if it does then you'll see the difference.

Whether you go all out and invest in UHD-BR and deal with the problems that go along with newish formats, will depend on just how much you want those extra little details.

[Brooksie359]

24 minutes ago, JammyCreedog said:

I may be wrong, but I think that blu-ray and subsequent 4k blu-ray have a much higher install base and therefor safer to invest in technology.  Remember what happened to hd-dvd?

 

4k blu-ray drive for pc is kind of expensive but the real biiitch is the software required to play it. Honestly, i'd go to your local electronics retailer and get a standalone player. You will likely have a much better overall experience.

The funny part is that the only reason the original DVD won was because they had more movies. Sony had better tech then but ended up losing because they didn't have the movies while with blue ray they made sure that didn't happen. Blueray is just better and is likely to be the standard for 4k for physical copies of movies. 

[tikker]

16 hours ago, Xiauj said:

between BluRay and 4K-UHD

This doesn't make sense. You have 4k UHD movies on BluRay, you just need a device that can play them back.

I can't speak for HDR content, but in my experience 4k is definitely worth it. Though, high quality 1080p upscaled well to 4k looks great as well, and from time to time at a distance you can hardly tell the difference.

[Tristerin]

20 hours ago, JammyCreedog said:

I may be wrong, but I think that blu-ray and subsequent 4k blu-ray have a much higher install base and therefor safer to invest in technology.  Remember what happened to hd-dvd?

 

4k blu-ray drive for pc is kind of expensive but the real biiitch is the software required to play it. Honestly, i'd go to your local electronics retailer and get a standalone player. You will likely have a much better overall experience.

This..my HTPC lacks this one thing, software.  Im using VLC and Leawo in the interim but they suck tbh.  The software you buy has to be hooked to the internet at least every 30 days and while my use case would allow that, Im not interested in buying software to watch videos when the internet is ever required.  Havent checked to see if I can find it "free" yet though.  

 

Kind of wish I would not have thrown out my standalone when the internet goes out.

[TheFlyingTraut]

I own approx 160 (ish) 4K Blu-Ray movies, and over 200 regular Blu-Ray movies. As mentioned above, some "remasters" are not as good as others. So where some, like Interstellar, look freaking amazingly beautiful in 4K and can notice a huge difference, some titles don't look THAT much better. But they are still better. The details are more pronounced, color accuracy is better, it looks cleaner. When I did a quick benchmark side by side, same player, same movie, one in 4k, one in bluray, one in digital streaming (vudu/itunes), the bluray/streaming had a yellow/green color to it, where the 4k was extremely detailed and colors were spot on. The movie was John Wick, in the scene where he was laying in the hospital bed.

 

All that being said. What kind of tv are you even going to play this content on? I do not watch any 4k content on my pc or monitor for my pc. It's not worth it. I bought the physical copies for 4k because I have an LG C7 OLED. Now days, with blu rays being $12 ish a pop on sale, you can get 4k copies for around $15 on sale. I typically only buy titles when they are under $15, even new releases, just catch them on sale. You get the 4k, blu ray, and a digital. Don't buy a POS player if you are going to watch it on tv either. That being said, it depends on what tv you are watching it on to determine what player to go with.

 

PM me if you have any specific questions or want more in depth or more specific details.

[Xiauj]

31 minutes ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

I own approx 160 (ish) 4K Blu-Ray movies, and over 200 regular Blu-Ray movies.

Wow!  I misread that at first lol but damn that is a lot of good sounding movies 

 

33 minutes ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

What kind of tv are you even going to play this content on?

Spoiler

On 1/15/2019 at 3:40 AM, Xiauj said:

> Because I might be using My 4K-PC-Monitor (Listed in My Profile-Specs) to watch the films/series on My PC. I assume/hope that's a good/smart way to get the true details in 3840x2160(?) resolution..? Yes? No?

 

That's one concern which I mentioned about in the original post and currently, I don't own a 4K-TV/Smart-TV/HDR-TV/etc... and am a bit concerned that I wouldn't get the 100% full immersive experience for things like the objects/skin/people/indoor+outdoor-scenes, colour quality and sharpness etc... in most films which is of course what I'm looking for, to get the best experience/clear-picture.

 

Is it a bad idea to play BluRay-Films and 4K-UHD-Films on a Desktop-PC on a 4K-Monitor instead of an actual 4K-TV/Smart-TV/HDR-TV would you say personally?

Would you also say that, the 4K-UHD film-versions aren't worth it as much unless of course I really want the extra detail and colours?

[JammyCreedog]

Most pc monitors with a 4k panel are between 27 and 32 inches diagonally. IMO that is too small of a screen to enjoy a proper cinematic experience. Also with a 4k panel condensed to that size, the pixels are so close together, it appears a little too sharp if that is a thing. Scenes look a little off being that sharp.  With 46"+ 4k tv's going for under $400, I don't see a reason not to watch movies in that form. 

 

Gaming on a 4k monitor is incredibly hard on your gpu as it tries to output 30-60 fps. I find i'm most immersed in games between 100 and 144 fps and I can get that with a 1440p display with some fiddling with the quality settings. 4k on a pc doesn't make much sense to me right now.

[TheFlyingTraut]

You need 55” for the “perfect 4k experience. I wouldn’t do it on a monitor as mentioned above. You don’t get the full experience. I’d still say just get the 4k copies, because they come with blu ray copies and digital. They are only a few more bucks and you have them when you upgrade. Now don’t get me wrong. I still purchase blu rays. But usually on older movies or movies only released on blu Ray. And I mostly only buy a blu ray if it includes a digital copy. Very rarely do I buy a blu ray without digital. If you don’t intend on getting a 4k tv, a decent 4k tv, not a sharp or Vizio pos, then maybe don’t get blu ray. If you want to make the jump, just get the 4k. 1080p is all you need for a monitor though. You won’t get the experience. 

[Xiauj]

On 1/16/2019 at 4:26 PM, TheFlyingTraut said:

-snip-

Ah Ok, that makes a bit more sense compared to other forum-posts I've been reading lol  I think I might try and go for a 4K-TV then; to try and get the best possible experience from start to finish of course. Now I gotta try and find one for a good price.

 

Whilst looking at some currently, what would you say is better: A QLED screen or an OLED screen? And what other features (e.g.. Resolution/HDR/Refresh-Rate/etc...) should I double check to make sure it's accurate? 

At first I thought QLED was the absolute king of panel-types but some are saying it apparently has slow(er) refresh-rates and 'not as good colours' and other things but as for OLED, people are saying it's better for true-in-depth-colour-quality/sharpness/audio/shadows/a-clear-picture/etc....... but I'm not so sure if the reviews from Google are that accurate, lol. What do you think?

 

I'm trying to find one around/between £400-£550 (£ -- GBP), do You know perhaps know of any really good ones? I'm seeing some nice looking Sony ones, Samsung ones and LG ones but yeah I dunno, need a second opinion  Just want to try and get the best quality.

[TheFlyingTraut]

TCL is probably best for your price range. You aren't getting into OLED/QLED technology anywhere near that price, even at 55". TCL 6 series would be a very good start but might be a little north of the price point you were looking at.

 

OLED and QLED do things differently, to put it very simply, QLED focuses on brighter whites, OLED focuses on perfect blacks. OLED technically doesn't have a refresh rate. QLED panels are all 120hz native panels, and all have some sort of upscaling depending on the series, 6/7/8/9 as they use different processors.

[Xiauj]

4 minutes ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

TCL is probably best for your price range.

TCL..? What's that?

 

6 minutes ago, TheFlyingTraut said:

You aren't getting into OLED/QLED technology anywhere near that price, even at 55". TCL 6 series would be a very good start but might be a little north of the price point you were looking at.

 

OLED and QLED do things differently, to put it very simply, QLED focuses on brighter whites, OLED focuses on perfect blacks. OLED technically doesn't have a refresh rate. QLED panels are all 120hz native panels, and all have some sort of upscaling depending on the series, 6/7/8/9 as they use different processors.

Ah I see, a bit higher in price than I had expected at first. Lol

[Xiauj]

56 minutes ago, Xiauj said:

Whilst looking at some currently, what would you say is better: A QLED screen or an OLED screen? And what other features (e.g.. Resolution/HDR/Refresh-Rate/etc...) should I double check to make sure it's accurate? 

At first I thought QLED was the absolute king of panel-types but some are saying it apparently has slow(er) refresh-rates and 'not as good colours' and other things but as for OLED, people are saying it's better for true-in-depth-colour-quality/sharpness/audio/shadows/a-clear-picture/etc....... but I'm not so sure if the reviews from Google are that accurate, lol. What do you think?

And also @TheFlyingTraut, My bad entirely lol  ..but I forgot to add in the above comment(s) about HDR10 I've been seeing/reading a tiny bit about. Does that really help benefit towards greater colour/sharpness/audio/shadows/clear-picture/etc..? Is it worth it?

 

Because if so, maybe a 4K-UHD TV with HDR10 and 3840x2160-Resolution and 60Hz etc... would be a good pick-up for My kind of budget, perhaps?

[TheFlyingTraut]

TCL is a brand. Yes those panels with HDR10 do help enhance, but they are still sub par panels. Hdr content played on a $600 tv and a $1500 tv are very noticeable. So the lower price point TVs it’s just a checkmark on the box mostly. It does help but wouldn’t overpay too much for it. You’ll be looking at 60hz panels in that range not 120. Some will say “motion rate 120” but when you read deeper it’s a 60hz “native” panel. 

[Xiauj]

@TheFlyingTraut,

Just been looking at some TVs online and would You recommend any of these?:

Spoiler

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE49NU7100-49-Inch-Ultra-Certified/dp/B07D791MQX?tag=georiot-trd-21&ascsubtag=trd-1440132585768508973-21&th=1

 

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/lg-43uk6950plb-43-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-led-tv-10178160-pdt.html?awc=1599_1547769247_d17865e08b7168868ad486665f636586&srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~TechRadar~Editorial Content~103504&awid=103504

 

 

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/televisions/televisions/sony-bravia-kd43xf7596bu-43-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-led-tv-10178142-pdt.html#srcid=11026

So from what I've read about, I've been trying to look for an IPS panel, 4K (3840x2160), HDR10, 60Hz, Dolby-Vision/Audio and those 3 linked above look pretty good specs-wise and are somewhat in budget. Have you heard of them + recommend them? Hoping of course that I get the insanely good quality etc..?

 

I think I might pass on OLED/QLED for now  They are a bit expensive from what I'm seeing price-wise.

 

 

Also, good to know about the TCL Brand, lol. Have never heard of them before until now!

[TheFlyingTraut]

The LG or Samsung will be your better option. I do love Sony products, but don't buy their low end, it's junk.

[Xiauj]

Just now, TheFlyingTraut said:

The LG or Samsung will be your better option. I do love Sony products, but don't buy their low end, it's junk.

I'm kinda thinking maybe the Sony one too but one downside I noticed is that it's VA and not IPS  The LG one is IPS I think.

And yeah I agree about the Low End ones

[TheFlyingTraut]

You don't want IPS panels. Why do you want IPS vs VA?