The Batman Begins, Jurassic Park and 3-10 To Yuma transfers were actually really good compared to a lot of awful 4K transfers I've seen. I'd definitely take those over the awful Pirates 1 and Terminator 2 transfers
Can’t talk for the others as I haven’t rewatched their 4Ks, but I will say for Batman Begins, it was substandard but not among the worst transfers I’ve seen. It still had a lot of the issues ‘classic’ WB remasters tend to have anymore, but not nearly as bad, and not nearly as often IIRC. It and many of the 4Ks I’ve seen just could’ve and should’ve been done better.
I used to work as a dvd / early blue ray encoder for a media company in London. And some of the naughty short cuts I saw the BBC doing for their older Standard Def period drama movies, they would send a digibeta standard Def 720x576 resolution Master tape and ask us to upscale to HD as they wanted to make a quick buck instead of re scanning from the original rolls of film. The upscale would be done via rack mounted hardware so all processing would be done in real time, but the give away would be the Loss of detail in the distance, and on trees, and fences and hair. I couldn't believe it, as I'm a true believer of moves as a hard copy. So some of your examples of 4k discs being softer than the 1080pHD disc makes me think that the softer 4k discs are probably an upscale from a 1080p crispy film scan, the detail in the HD file is already there so an upscale to 4k would not be too difficult, they've probably added a shit load of sharpening then slapped a broadcast quality denoiser and adjusted that from scene to scene...i too personally hate noise reduction, I wood prefure to see the original film grain on a transfer (if it was originally shot on film). I also refused to buy 28 days later on Bluray as the movie was shot digital in standard definition 720x576 so the blueray again is either an upscale or a re film scan, you should be able to tell from the end scene in the movie, the 'SOS' jet scene was shot on film... So if you can see lots of detail in the distant mountains it's a re scan, if it's just mushy or soft then it's an upscale 🙄😳😇
Standard definition material on blu-ray tends to look better than it does on DVD. The BD format allows for significantly larger file sizes, which in turn allows for superior compression and overall transparency to the source master.
I remember when I didn't even know what DNR was and I got the Terminator 2 and Platoon 4k, I didn't know what was happening, people's faces were melting and no one looked quite right in most scenes. Then of course I learned what DNR was and can now detect (and despise) it in less obvious uses. But really, it says a lot about DNR that I had no clue what it was or had any reason to suspect the movies would look off, yet I could easily detect something was wrong. Thanks uncanny valley!
This was me when I saw the 4K version of Lord of the Rings in theaters. I noticed the issues that DNR would create (waxy faces, things more out of focus looking more blurry, digital film grain over the CG being erased making the effects more noticeable) and I also noticed the use of color being less effective, but I didn't know at the time that it was the result of a bad transfer and I had previously only watched them via the DVD's years prior, so I thought it was an issue with the way the movie was made from the get-go. It made them much less engaging to the point that I rated Two Towers a 5/10 and Fellowship a 6/10. It was only until months later when I learned about the DNR and what previous verisons looked like where I made the effort to find the original theatrical and extended blu-rays from 2010/2011.
Disney’s recent 4K UHD Cinderella (1950) is simply an amazing transfer that fixes all the issues that even the Blu Ray had. Hopefully it is a new step forward in all future classic animated titles.
Recent titles from Paramount that I own and have heard people complain about the transfers on are Friday the 13th and Saturday Night Fever. I think Disney intentionally puts out bad discs because they want to steer you to their streaming service.
Other than the IMAX Enhanced movies, I am yet to see anything that looks better on Disney+ versus the 4K disc. Their Atmouse mixes are notoriously lacklustre too. Little more than static 7.1 mixes in an Atmos container that lack bass and volume.
The very nature of streaming not providing the highest quality makes every disney 4k disc better than disney plus. Unless you like buffering, pixelation, and dips in quality at random moments.
Idk about the discs being intentionally bad, but last I recall the versions on Disney+ are identical to the 4K discs (with the exception on MCU movies with IMAX Enhanced). Last I recall, the Star Wars 4K releases had more changes under the request of George Lucas (Mahclunkey), so I'm pretty sure all the changes are because of him rather than Disney, and all the 4K's for Disney/Pixar films look fine. Now if we were talking about Disney making the prices high so people would rather watch it on streaming, yes that feels like something they would do.
I think it depends on how you define worse. A lot of blurays have the wrong color timings, but people got used to seeing the movies in that way. They get corrected on a 4k and the bluray people riot. That said, in cases like heavy dnr on a 4k, the bluray can actually be objectively better.
People lose their minds over DNR and colouring because they're used to an older version...even where a Director/DP have been involved in the Remastering process and have legitimate reasons for the new version more accurately reflecting their Original Vision. You can't please everyone! 🤷🏻♂️
I really want them to do a 4k transfer of Dances with wolves but I am afraid it will be done on the cheap and they do a bad job. Its one of my favorite films of all time.
I could see Arrow taking that on. Seeing as they have recently released Robin Hood, a new 4K of Waterworks so maybe they will do the same with Dances With Wolves. I'd expect them to do a good job on it too.
I believe that Dances is due next year I think. I just hope that they give it the respect it deserves and use a 100GB disc or maybe 2 100GB discs esp if it's the D.C, to keep the suppression rates down. Unlike Para's release of once upon a time in the west which deserved so much more..
R.H.P.Of T opening sequence was bad but after that scene the quality was amazing. Has to be one of my fav transfers to date. Plus the work that went into the release was outstanding. Esp the Steelbook set. Worth a lot of money I believe nowadays, just like second sights top version of dawn of the dead
Disney is the worst. To have full right to Star Wars and to not release the original trilogy with a new 4K scan with the original artwork slipcovers is a sin.
Ever heard of 4k77, 4k80, and 4k83? Fan scans of the original 3 films that were shown in theatres at the time (from collector stashes I think.) You won't get a slipcover and the file sizes are obviously going to be huge but there you go, 4k Star Wars, unfucked by unnecessary editing.
Disney recently penned a deal with Sony to handle the their physical distribution, (and Sony has a pretty good 4K track record), so I'm optimistic things will improve. Hopefully the original SW trilogy will have a proper re-release on 4K
Of note, pointing out the poor or worst transfers is important as listing the top/best 4K transfers. So kudos. Keep up the great work. Of note, Planes, Trains.... & 3:10 To Yuma WERE on my list to upgrade to. Thanks. PS Definitely like your qualifications I've seen in several of your videos where you share your criteria on a particular list.
WB removing special features from discs is a big disappointment (Vacation, Enter the Dragon, Exorcist, etc). T2 is probably the worst transfer I’ve seen with the weird teal hue that permeates the whole film. Packaging can also be a significant issue (Indy Jones box set).
That’s wild that you guys review all of these titles without both of you or at least one of you watching all of them. Weird format, but I guess if it works for you guys.
Did any of your least favorites make the list? Are We Wrong? Let Us Know Below! 00:00 Intro/What Makes a Release Bad? 02:20 Top 5 Transfers that are not bad, but should have been better 06:19 Top 5 Transfers that are unanimously bad 11:07 Worst Physical Media Studios 13:11 PSA: Get Your Eyes Checked Once A Year
Thank you, I get all my life advice from RUclips comments... There is a reason I wear them, but until I'm insulted properly I won't explain. I'm also wearing a hat indoors if you want to report that to your higher-ups at the fashion police department. I will say, in your quest for superiority, you watched our video and engaged with our channel, so I humbly thank you for being a customer in my sunglass-covered eyes.
Nicely put together video guys. I've seen some of the 4K's on the "bad" list. For the most part, Pirates Of The Caribbean was fine. I think it's the most natural colour pallette over the DVD and BD which were both created from the same master. But they seriously messed up the compression on the 4K causing details to dissappear. I don't think it's anything to do with DNR. I've done a video on my channel called "Is Blu-ray Lying To Us?" talking about how the Blu-ray image has lied to us for 15 years. Showing how colours were boosted to help exaggerate fine detail and now the colours have been corrected again the detail levels are back to normal. I think this is also why people claim excessive DNR or scrubbing. I did 3 image poles on my community page for Curse Of The Black Pearl, asking "which image was most Filmic? The 4K image won. For Heat I asked "Which do you prefer?" They chose the DVD Image. And for Saving Private Ryan I asked "Which image looked worse?" They voted the DVD with the 4K being best. 4K images will always look darker with there being billions more colours available for the image compared to how many are available for BD I've also got a video called Don't Compere Blu-ray and 4K Unless... This is also where so many people mess up. Also TV/Projector picture settings will massively affect any image if not set correctly. Take it easy Trevor
I picked up the pirates of the caribbean in 4k cause I LOVE the franchise to death and it makes me sad. I hope there’s eventually a good 4k transfer for the films cause they deserve it
Dude on left sounds too malleable and chill to form an opinion or offer an objective review. I’m guessing those shades are hiding some glassy eyeballs?
Paramount blurays and 4Ks don't pick up where they left off. If you pause the movie and go into the kitchen, you had better get back fast or you'll have to start the movie over again from the beginning, FBI warnings and all.
This is why I don't first-day buy unless it's a reputable company with a good track record (i.e. LionsGate). I always wait for the reviews of the transfers.
Yeah I agree. Criterion, Kino Lorber, and Arrow have a consistent track record for me at this point, and I trust Warner Brothers more than other big studios because from what i've read they always do 4K scans from the original negative if they have it (sometimes 8K for some movies) unless the director says otherwise (in which case the fault can be blamed on the director).
Thanks for the info. I was considering upgrading to 4K for some of the movies you reviewed (STAR WARS, TERMINATOR, PIRATES...) but now you saved me from a lot of disappointment & I'll stick to what I have (DVD & BLU-RAY Versions). I'm looking to get the up-coming: TO LIVE & DIE IN L.A. & I would like to see your review before I commit to the Blu-Ray or 4k version.
The 2015 T2 Blu-ray is the only decent release! I would add star wars OG trilogy 4k releases too because they are just DNR crazy and Frankensteined. 4k77 is the best way to watch the film! Disney & Paramount just don't care about releases! 💀
One movie that sticks out to me as a bad transfer is the Blu-ray edition of, Scarface. The original sound effects of the fire arms was changed to sound less like an actual deafening, fire arm, and more like a video game one. Remember the bank robbery shoot out scene from, Heat? Imagine that, without the loud intensity and echoing of the guns.
Technology is objective, it's not matter of opinion. The stories, aesthetics or artistry in these movies is not what we are judging here, we are judging their transfers and they are either good or bad, better or worse, period. A good transfer will be as close to the original source as possible with all its grain, virtues, or flaws presented in it, because their presence means that everything was correctly transferred. A bad one is one that messes with it, usually downgrades it by losing detail or changes the original colors and contrast. The other big thing that is messing with 4k media even if the transfer was done correctly is that many movies are being scanned from a deteriorated source or from a source that has a lower resolution and it's just digitally upscaled. Remasterization is extremely important to preserve them and it's the best way to ensure quality to the consumer, buts thats the last thing these greedy studios are willing to do. I would work for free for 3 years or more to remaster Jurassic Park to ensure it looks as good as when it first came out in glorious 35mm brand new film, but they don't think like that, they don't see legacy, they only see money, the one they will expend on that remasterization ignoring the bigger amount they will gain after is done.
@@hiair I don't think Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park will ever look great in 4K, simply because their CGI was rendered in resolutions much lower than 4K. If they scan it super crispy sharp, it will make the movie look *worse* compared to how it was seen in cinemas when they were released, because the CGI parts will look fake and won't blend with the practical effects, they will pop out with their blurriness. There's no point releasing these movies in higher than 1080p resolution. But I agree with you on the color balance and source material issues.
I’m confused what the host on left is contributing to this video, dude on the right is on point with technical commenting which is what we’re watching this video for. More that please
What's the guy on the left's gimmick? Does he just pretend he doesn't watch or care about film to appear cool? Maybe he was just having a bad day. 🤷🏽♂️
I think the Goodfellas 4K scan is actually great and looks a lot more like the 35mm prints (which I’ve seen multiple times over the past 10 years) but everyone got used to the shitty previous transfers.
Good on you for judging for yourself. It's a solid upgrade. Got off to a bad start when released because a youtuber with a lot of subs trashed it without really knowing better
Its not so much of it being a bad transfer, but more the case of not much of an upgrade from the blu ray to justify a double dip or a trilple dip in my case lol
I thought there were moments on the dark knight 4k that characters also look a bit to orange during some indoor scenes. However i think everything else with the disc is great (especially the imax sequences)
I agree with the titles mentioned in this list. Watching Batman Begins and 3:10 to Yuma felt like I watched bad compressed torrent download. 3:10 to Yuma does look great on the shelf thanks to Lionsgate. The same can be said for the Harry Potter set. Bad but not terrible. I find it odd that studios are lazy with artwork- why can’t they just do the original poster. Yet, independent botique studios show more love to packaging than the major studios. It’s sad. I’m surprised The Matrix Trilogy isn’t on this list- huge disappointment with recoloring and DNR. The blurays are the definitive release for that trilogy. With studios cutting corners with DNR and AI- it’s Russian Roulette nowadays purchasing a 4K title.
Well, I was writing a comment yesterday about my doubts of 4K Ultra HD's. I was thinking to step over to 4K Ultra HD beginning next year. But when I saw what the local store was selling in 4K, I immediately felt like coming down from the cloud I was on. All the 4K's at the store were old movies from the past. What can you expect from a movie that was made in the good old days with old technology, transferred to 4K? My idea was not to buy old movies in 4K, but new movie titles that are made with the latest technology, that makes 4K really possible. So I was thinking about "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice". That would be a treat, right? Well, as I was falling off my cloud, I begun to ask myself which titles will be coming out in 4K in the near future that would be worth buying it, knowing for the moment that all what we get to see at the theatre are reboots and sequels. Which brings me up to the crucial question : how long will 4K be available? Who wants to see an old movie in 4K and pay up to $40 for a copy? Not me. And thanks to you my fears are confirmed. 4K's suck at least when it comes to releases of old movies in that new format.
its a shame that disney 4k sucks really bad. ive been recently buying 4k films, and i really hate disney right now for other reasons. but to add the cherry on top, and let them have some of my cash for 4k movies, they do not offer a single movie i would like to own that the 4k release looks better. im sitting here blu rays in my cart debating even buying them. i wish disney would stop wasting there time on crap and focus on something positive and dump money into making proper 4k releases of their animated films. in fact i saw a goofy movie 4k remaster mini doc on youtube where it looks amazing and im wondering why disney is that bad. i want that 4k goofy movie, but disney is so far up its own ass with whatever they cant smell the roses anyways
I own both on 4K, but I had never owned them previously so I wasn't sure what I was getting. I think they both look great, but haven't seen the other releases to compare.
I’ll give pushback on Disney; they seem more like a mixed bag than anything. Star Wars for example: 1-3 is just…a mess, especially TPM. 4-6: 4 is decent but 5,6 are really disappointing. 7-9: literally all reference quality discs, film grain, and incredible hdr coloring.
4K scans of some movies that were early adopters of advanced CGI can be a hard task, because the CGI was rendered at much lower than 4K resolution. I think that might be one of the reasons why T2 and Jurassic Park doesn't meet expectations. They can't scan it super sharp because than the CGI scenes would look bad, so they rather scan it a bit soft to mask out the limitations of the CGI. But if that's the case, why bother releasing those in 4K? For the money, of course. They should never release such movies in higher than 1080p resolution.
First time watching your channel. Guy on left: "I've never watched it. I don't seem to care. What am I doing here?" Great job guys! Maybe get the 4K discs, and capture clips and do some in-depth visual analysis.
Paramount got me with both 48 Hrs. And Flashdance… hella irritating. I have Frankenstein copies now - paramount presents box with the 4K inside, maybe including the BD if there’s no features on the 4K disc. Irritating… Disney’s soundtracks continue to disappoint but frustratingly enough, I keep buying them because I like the movies. Here’s hoping they don’t ruin Avatar or the eventual release of The Abyss.
That was the first time they put out a Paramount Presents 4K disc. As soon as I saw that I knew it was only going to be downhill from here on the double dips
I saw this too. Looks like an excuse to sell discs and throw some memorabilia and a hard box at us, but I doubt they're doing anything different for the transfer.
The UK blu ray of Killing Zoe is the worst blu ray transfer, one were I said "the worst". It's essentially a poor quality 90's DVD transfer slapped onto blu ray. Actually the quality is so bad, it looks like a VHS on a HD TV.
Batman begins had a bad intro that pixelation I haven't seen , right after, " finders keepers" Bruce runs with Arrowhead was bad in 4k. Also need specifics to Bourne comparison of 4k vs blu.
Definitely ‘Giant’, I reckon is the worst 4K I’ve ever seen. The studio mustn’t have had a good enough print to scan in the first place. It’s pretty much as bad as the Blu-ray.
I actually liked the Jurassic Park release in 4K. The DVD didn't have the resolution and the bluray had distracting amounts of noise in the dark scenes. The 4K disc fixed both, so I'm happy.
There's a movie called "Kin." I watched on digital 1080p and it was fine. Unfortunately, I bought it on 4K and it's worse than "Forrest Gump." It is the worst 4K I've seen.
I would think 4k Blu Ray cost a lot of money 🤑 and it's supposed to be such great quality that even if you zoom up to the picture it should still look very clear and good not blurry that makes it sound like a laser disc 📀
Most release says 4k but they don’t have HDR so it’s a cheap transfer or they don’t have Dolby atmos or Dolby vision I bought SALT and it was the worst a lot of snow
What is the worst is more challenging to assess than it appears. The caveat is the equipment end of the equation. The 4K experience depends on what kind of flat screen is being used, how good the HDMI cable is or not and, of course, the quality and performance of the 4K player and whether the settings on the player have been optimized or not. Better [more expensive] components will invariably yield different and better results when it comes down to it.
Star Wars TPM, Wizard Of Oz and Batmsn: Mask Of The Phantasm are probably the worst I’ve seen on 4K, which is a shame as they’re all great movies. They all had pretty much the same issues, too-a botched audio mixing, random shots/scenes that looked like they put an Insta blur filter on it, and then TPM had the unfortunate bonus of a chase scene in the jungle where it looked like I was watching on GBA Video-for whatever reason, that one action was compressed to Helen Bach. :/ Alternatively, as far as studios go, I actually think Paramount and Universal are the best for 4Ks. And to stick up for Disney a mo, cos they *really* need all the help they can get rn, OG Beauty And The Beast 4K was flawless AFAICT, and I’d say the same about Aladdin if it wasn’t for that censored opening song standing out more than ever. The only animated 4K I’ve seen done better than either was Prince Of Egypt, which was just, peak. 👌
@@4K_Kings The early Universal Studios releases that included King Kong and Robin Hood were disappointing. That was when they made the HDR too excessive, made the blacks too dark, the whites too white, and the oranges too hot.
I think the worst for me is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Looks like a bad DVD. Also disappointed with the lost potential of Casino (Reservoir Dogs looks 100x better!) and The Deer Hunter.
I thought Jurassic Park looked amazing myself. I get that it has heavy DNR, but I thought it looked phenomenal on my system. Batman Begins was super disappointing. LOTR also looks phenomenal to me, but I'm a casual fan of the franchise at best
I have the 2017 4K release of T2 fortunately. Looks great. I heard people talk about an AI enhanced version and was like WTF are they on about then saw that there was a release in 2021 of it.
The Bourne Indentity (first film only) 4k is one of the worst transfers ever. I had to shut it off and put on the bluray. The other films 4k transfer in the set are ok at best. But the first film being so bad is unforgivable.. Now Terminator 2 transfer.. Cameron's excuses are full of you know what. He could fix it very easy. He is just lazy about it.. I wanted to buy Pirates set but I the reviews are so bad and Disney does not support physical media..
Color Of Money blu ray is definitely a terrible transfer. It’s blurry . The person who did the transfer messed it up hugely. The dvd actually looks better.
Pan's Labyrinth on 4K Blu-ray is really bad. The original US Blu-ray VC-1 is bad, the European VC-1 29 Mbps with 7.1 surround is amazing, my favorite release. The US Criterion is OK in my opinion, the 4K release is bad, the image is soft with denoise and the sound is 5.1.
Accepting a lousy transfer because it comes in a cool box blows my mind. Like, really?
@@purplemicrodot58 yeah it's ridiculous logic
I guess that was the sign to close the video
@@purplemicrodot58 clearly the guy on the left is just a “collector” not really a film fan
He also hasn't seen a decent proportion of movies that are considered Reference Discs. I don't know why he's there.
The Batman Begins, Jurassic Park and 3-10 To Yuma transfers were actually really good compared to a lot of awful 4K transfers I've seen. I'd definitely take those over the awful Pirates 1 and Terminator 2 transfers
@@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r don’t forget SALT it was a terrible transfer,I wonder if we can sue for lying ?
Can’t talk for the others as I haven’t rewatched their 4Ks, but I will say for Batman Begins, it was substandard but not among the worst transfers I’ve seen. It still had a lot of the issues ‘classic’ WB remasters tend to have anymore, but not nearly as bad, and not nearly as often IIRC. It and many of the 4Ks I’ve seen just could’ve and should’ve been done better.
I used to work as a dvd / early blue ray encoder for a media company in London. And some of the naughty short cuts I saw the BBC doing for their older Standard Def period drama movies, they would send a digibeta standard Def 720x576 resolution Master tape and ask us to upscale to HD as they wanted to make a quick buck instead of re scanning from the original rolls of film. The upscale would be done via rack mounted hardware so all processing would be done in real time, but the give away would be the Loss of detail in the distance, and on trees, and fences and hair. I couldn't believe it, as I'm a true believer of moves as a hard copy. So some of your examples of 4k discs being softer than the 1080pHD disc makes me think that the softer 4k discs are probably an upscale from a 1080p crispy film scan, the detail in the HD file is already there so an upscale to 4k would not be too difficult, they've probably added a shit load of sharpening then slapped a broadcast quality denoiser and adjusted that from scene to scene...i too personally hate noise reduction, I wood prefure to see the original film grain on a transfer (if it was originally shot on film). I also refused to buy 28 days later on Bluray as the movie was shot digital in standard definition 720x576 so the blueray again is either an upscale or a re film scan, you should be able to tell from the end scene in the movie, the 'SOS' jet scene was shot on film... So if you can see lots of detail in the distant mountains it's a re scan, if it's just mushy or soft then it's an upscale 🙄😳😇
Wow, thanks for that info!
Standard definition material on blu-ray tends to look better than it does on DVD. The BD format allows for significantly larger file sizes, which in turn allows for superior compression and overall transparency to the source master.
That is very lazy of the BBC! Thanks for the info. Was ''Faulty Towers'' upscaled real time also?
@@sem_skywalker we never worked on faulty towers dvd transfer.
I remember when I didn't even know what DNR was and I got the Terminator 2 and Platoon 4k, I didn't know what was happening, people's faces were melting and no one looked quite right in most scenes. Then of course I learned what DNR was and can now detect (and despise) it in less obvious uses. But really, it says a lot about DNR that I had no clue what it was or had any reason to suspect the movies would look off, yet I could easily detect something was wrong. Thanks uncanny valley!
Dnr has been used way before 4k
This was me when I saw the 4K version of Lord of the Rings in theaters. I noticed the issues that DNR would create (waxy faces, things more out of focus looking more blurry, digital film grain over the CG being erased making the effects more noticeable) and I also noticed the use of color being less effective, but I didn't know at the time that it was the result of a bad transfer and I had previously only watched them via the DVD's years prior, so I thought it was an issue with the way the movie was made from the get-go. It made them much less engaging to the point that I rated Two Towers a 5/10 and Fellowship a 6/10. It was only until months later when I learned about the DNR and what previous verisons looked like where I made the effort to find the original theatrical and extended blu-rays from 2010/2011.
Disney’s recent 4K UHD Cinderella (1950) is simply an amazing transfer that fixes all the issues that even the Blu Ray had. Hopefully it is a new step forward in all future classic animated titles.
What I wish is that they would use the original movie poster art for the cover.
Always a plus and it literally requires no effort.
I'm actually surprised people don't like the Lord of the Rings 4K. They're the 4Ks that got me into Collecting 4K physical media.
Wow, really? I'm a huge fan of the films, and I'm completely satisfied with the 4K release.
Because of revisionist excessive use of DNR wiping away virtually almost all film grain. That’s why people hate them.
Some scenes are worse than others regarding the waxy faces. Otherwise though, it's a phenomenal looking and sound transfer.
Yeah.. they did take the film grade away.. so people who watch TV series don`t care. Movie fans are terrified.
4k were better than the bluray releases, blurays had that green/blue tint. 4k has none of that garbage.
Recent titles from Paramount that I own and have heard people complain about the transfers on are Friday the 13th and Saturday Night Fever.
I think Disney intentionally puts out bad discs because they want to steer you to their streaming service.
Other than the IMAX Enhanced movies, I am yet to see anything that looks better on Disney+ versus the 4K disc. Their Atmouse mixes are notoriously lacklustre too. Little more than static 7.1 mixes in an Atmos container that lack bass and volume.
The very nature of streaming not providing the highest quality makes every disney 4k disc better than disney plus.
Unless you like buffering, pixelation, and dips in quality at random moments.
Idk about the discs being intentionally bad, but last I recall the versions on Disney+ are identical to the 4K discs (with the exception on MCU movies with IMAX Enhanced). Last I recall, the Star Wars 4K releases had more changes under the request of George Lucas (Mahclunkey), so I'm pretty sure all the changes are because of him rather than Disney, and all the 4K's for Disney/Pixar films look fine.
Now if we were talking about Disney making the prices high so people would rather watch it on streaming, yes that feels like something they would do.
For me it’s when the 4K version looks worse then the Blu Ray version then you gone and botched the transfer.
I think it depends on how you define worse. A lot of blurays have the wrong color timings, but people got used to seeing the movies in that way. They get corrected on a 4k and the bluray people riot. That said, in cases like heavy dnr on a 4k, the bluray can actually be objectively better.
People lose their minds over DNR and colouring because they're used to an older version...even where a Director/DP have been involved in the Remastering process and have legitimate reasons for the new version more accurately reflecting their Original Vision. You can't please everyone! 🤷🏻♂️
The movie clip inserts are fantastic you guys 😂
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
I really want them to do a 4k transfer of Dances with wolves but I am afraid it will be done on the cheap and they do a bad job. Its one of my favorite films of all time.
I could see Arrow taking that on. Seeing as they have recently released Robin Hood, a new 4K of Waterworks so maybe they will do the same with Dances With Wolves. I'd expect them to do a good job on it too.
@@halcyondaystunes *Waterworld
I believe that Dances is due next year I think. I just hope that they give it the respect it deserves and use a 100GB disc or maybe 2 100GB discs esp if it's the D.C, to keep the suppression rates down. Unlike Para's release of once upon a time in the west which deserved so much more..
R.H.P.Of T opening sequence was bad but after that scene the quality was amazing. Has to be one of my fav transfers to date. Plus the work that went into the release was outstanding. Esp the Steelbook set. Worth a lot of money I believe nowadays, just like second sights top version of dawn of the dead
It's pretty well known by now but the T2 Blu-ray used the wrong master, it actually used a master created specifically for the film's 3D re-release.
Disney is the worst. To have full right to Star Wars and to not release the original trilogy with a new 4K scan with the original artwork slipcovers is a sin.
Ever heard of 4k77, 4k80, and 4k83? Fan scans of the original 3 films that were shown in theatres at the time (from collector stashes I think.) You won't get a slipcover and the file sizes are obviously going to be huge but there you go, 4k Star Wars, unfucked by unnecessary editing.
Disney recently penned a deal with Sony to handle the their physical distribution, (and Sony has a pretty good 4K track record), so I'm optimistic things will improve. Hopefully the original SW trilogy will have a proper re-release on 4K
Right on with the eye exam! I'm mid 30s now and didn't realize how much I wasn't seeing until I got some lenses prescribed.
Of note, pointing out the poor or worst transfers is important as listing the top/best 4K transfers. So kudos. Keep up the great work. Of note, Planes, Trains.... & 3:10 To Yuma WERE on my list to upgrade to. Thanks.
PS Definitely like your qualifications I've seen in several of your videos where you share your criteria on a particular list.
WB removing special features from discs is a big disappointment (Vacation, Enter the Dragon, Exorcist, etc). T2 is probably the worst transfer I’ve seen with the weird teal hue that permeates the whole film. Packaging can also be a significant issue (Indy Jones box set).
That’s wild that you guys review all of these titles without both of you or at least one of you watching all of them. Weird format, but I guess if it works for you guys.
@@KevininNC Agreed, it’s obvious only one person made this list. 🤣
Did any of your least favorites make the list? Are We Wrong? Let Us Know Below!
00:00 Intro/What Makes a Release Bad?
02:20 Top 5 Transfers that are not bad, but should have been better
06:19 Top 5 Transfers that are unanimously bad
11:07 Worst Physical Media Studios
13:11 PSA: Get Your Eyes Checked Once A Year
Can Terminator 2 really be that bad?
Insane take from the guy on the left 😂
Never trust a man who wears sunglasses indoors.
Thank you, I get all my life advice from RUclips comments...
There is a reason I wear them, but until I'm insulted properly I won't explain. I'm also wearing a hat indoors if you want to report that to your higher-ups at the fashion police department.
I will say, in your quest for superiority, you watched our video and engaged with our channel, so I humbly thank you for being a customer in my sunglass-covered eyes.
Nicely put together video guys.
I've seen some of the 4K's on the "bad" list.
For the most part, Pirates Of The Caribbean was fine. I think it's the most natural colour pallette over the DVD and BD which were both created from the same master. But they seriously messed up the compression on the 4K causing details to dissappear. I don't think it's anything to do with DNR.
I've done a video on my channel called "Is Blu-ray Lying To Us?" talking about how the Blu-ray image has lied to us for 15 years. Showing how colours were boosted to help exaggerate fine detail and now the colours have been corrected again the detail levels are back to normal. I think this is also why people claim excessive DNR or scrubbing.
I did 3 image poles on my community page for Curse Of The Black Pearl, asking "which image was most Filmic? The 4K image won.
For Heat I asked "Which do you prefer?" They chose the DVD Image.
And for Saving Private Ryan I asked "Which image looked worse?" They voted the DVD with the 4K being best.
4K images will always look darker with there being billions more colours available for the image compared to how many are available for BD
I've also got a video called Don't Compere Blu-ray and 4K Unless...
This is also where so many people mess up.
Also TV/Projector picture settings will massively affect any image if not set correctly.
Take it easy
Trevor
thank you for filming in IMAX aspect ratio and not charging us extra.
Watching 4k movies with sunglasses would be difficult to gauge the difference between a VHS release.
I gotta say WB is pretty good. I do 3rd part QC for them and they still love physical media. They were the very last to give up on 3D.
I picked up the pirates of the caribbean in 4k cause I LOVE the franchise to death and it makes me sad. I hope there’s eventually a good 4k transfer for the films cause they deserve it
Dude on left sounds too malleable and chill to form an opinion or offer an objective review. I’m guessing those shades are hiding some glassy eyeballs?
Paramount blurays and 4Ks don't pick up where they left off. If you pause the movie and go into the kitchen, you had better get back fast or you'll have to start the movie over again from the beginning, FBI warnings and all.
Wow, Im not sure I picked up on that. That sucks!
@@4K_Kings It does indeed!
This is why I don't first-day buy unless it's a reputable company with a good track record (i.e. LionsGate). I always wait for the reviews of the transfers.
Yeah I agree. Criterion, Kino Lorber, and Arrow have a consistent track record for me at this point, and I trust Warner Brothers more than other big studios because from what i've read they always do 4K scans from the original negative if they have it (sometimes 8K for some movies) unless the director says otherwise (in which case the fault can be blamed on the director).
Maybe blue ray is still the best
Thanks for the info. I was considering upgrading to 4K for some of the movies you reviewed (STAR WARS, TERMINATOR, PIRATES...) but now you saved me from a lot of disappointment & I'll stick to what I have (DVD & BLU-RAY Versions). I'm looking to get the up-coming: TO LIVE & DIE IN L.A. & I would like to see your review before I commit to the Blu-Ray or 4k version.
The 2015 T2 Blu-ray is the only decent release! I would add star wars OG trilogy 4k releases too because they are just DNR crazy and Frankensteined. 4k77 is the best way to watch the film! Disney & Paramount just don't care about releases! 💀
One movie that sticks out to me as a bad transfer is the Blu-ray edition of, Scarface.
The original sound effects of the fire arms was changed to sound less like an actual deafening, fire arm, and more like a video game one.
Remember the bank robbery shoot out scene from, Heat?
Imagine that, without the loud intensity and echoing of the guns.
Technology is objective, it's not matter of opinion. The stories, aesthetics or artistry in these movies is not what we are judging here, we are judging their transfers and they are either good or bad, better or worse, period. A good transfer will be as close to the original source as possible with all its grain, virtues, or flaws presented in it, because their presence means that everything was correctly transferred. A bad one is one that messes with it, usually downgrades it by losing detail or changes the original colors and contrast. The other big thing that is messing with 4k media even if the transfer was done correctly is that many movies are being scanned from a deteriorated source or from a source that has a lower resolution and it's just digitally upscaled. Remasterization is extremely important to preserve them and it's the best way to ensure quality to the consumer, buts thats the last thing these greedy studios are willing to do. I would work for free for 3 years or more to remaster Jurassic Park to ensure it looks as good as when it first came out in glorious 35mm brand new film, but they don't think like that, they don't see legacy, they only see money, the one they will expend on that remasterization ignoring the bigger amount they will gain after is done.
@@hiair I don't think Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park will ever look great in 4K, simply because their CGI was rendered in resolutions much lower than 4K. If they scan it super crispy sharp, it will make the movie look *worse* compared to how it was seen in cinemas when they were released, because the CGI parts will look fake and won't blend with the practical effects, they will pop out with their blurriness. There's no point releasing these movies in higher than 1080p resolution. But I agree with you on the color balance and source material issues.
I’m confused what the host on left is contributing to this video, dude on the right is on point with technical commenting which is what we’re watching this video for. More that please
What's the guy on the left's gimmick? Does he just pretend he doesn't watch or care about film to appear cool? Maybe he was just having a bad day. 🤷🏽♂️
@@ibezzant tiresome and don’t even start me on the “wearing sunglasses indoors” shit.
I think the Goodfellas 4K scan is actually great and looks a lot more like the 35mm prints (which I’ve seen multiple times over the past 10 years) but everyone got used to the shitty previous transfers.
Inglourious Basterds always gets dumped on and idk why; I took a chance, bought it, and it looks really good.
I saw that come up a few times. I agree though, I looked at the screenshots and thought it looked fine.
Good on you for judging for yourself. It's a solid upgrade. Got off to a bad start when released because a youtuber with a lot of subs trashed it without really knowing better
Its not so much of it being a bad transfer, but more the case of not much of an upgrade from the blu ray to justify a double dip or a trilple dip in my case lol
Bourne Identity 4K looks like an upscaled DVD
I'm so sad for the Bourne fans.
I thought there were moments on the dark knight 4k that characters also look a bit to orange during some indoor scenes. However i think everything else with the disc is great (especially the imax sequences)
I'm subscribing just because they ended the video with "Stay healthy out there" HILARIOUS.
Thanks for watching!
Props on the DJ Harvey shirt. 😀
T2 Skynet Edition bluray is all I need
I got T2 shipped from California to Scotland for $3.99, which was about £2.50 then. Still feels like I was ripped off.
Love that PJ Harvey shirt!
Got to see her in Detroit a few years back.
Had Mick Harvey from the Bad Seeds with her.
Great show.
I agree on the Paramount & Disney.. Keep getting upset each disc & dont know what to expect from them 😂
5:45 spot on guy, spot on!
still hoping a boutique label will do a proper gremlins 4k release
I would adore Gremlins 2 from Arrow or even VS, but yes, both deserve respectable releases.
Gremlins looks great on 4K!
I think the JP1 4K is great. It's a darker image, but a richer one.
I agree with the titles mentioned in this list. Watching Batman Begins and 3:10 to Yuma felt like I watched bad compressed torrent download. 3:10 to Yuma does look great on the shelf thanks to Lionsgate. The same can be said for the Harry Potter set. Bad but not terrible.
I find it odd that studios are lazy with artwork- why can’t they just do the original poster. Yet, independent botique studios show more love to packaging than the major studios. It’s sad.
I’m surprised The Matrix Trilogy isn’t on this list- huge disappointment with recoloring and DNR. The blurays are the definitive release for that trilogy.
With studios cutting corners with DNR and AI- it’s Russian Roulette nowadays purchasing a 4K title.
Well, I was writing a comment yesterday about my doubts of 4K Ultra HD's. I was thinking to step over to 4K Ultra HD beginning next year. But when I saw what the local store was selling in 4K, I immediately felt like coming down from the cloud I was on. All the 4K's at the store were old movies from the past. What can you expect from a movie that was made in the good old days with old technology, transferred to 4K? My idea was not to buy old movies in 4K, but new movie titles that are made with the latest technology, that makes 4K really possible. So I was thinking about "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice". That would be a treat, right? Well, as I was falling off my cloud, I begun to ask myself which titles will be coming out in 4K in the near future that would be worth buying it, knowing for the moment that all what we get to see at the theatre are reboots and sequels. Which brings me up to the crucial question : how long will 4K be available? Who wants to see an old movie in 4K and pay up to $40 for a copy? Not me. And thanks to you my fears are confirmed. 4K's suck at least when it comes to releases of old movies in that new format.
its a shame that disney 4k sucks really bad. ive been recently buying 4k films, and i really hate disney right now for other reasons. but to add the cherry on top, and let them have some of my cash for 4k movies, they do not offer a single movie i would like to own that the 4k release looks better. im sitting here blu rays in my cart debating even buying them. i wish disney would stop wasting there time on crap and focus on something positive and dump money into making proper 4k releases of their animated films. in fact i saw a goofy movie 4k remaster mini doc on youtube where it looks amazing and im wondering why disney is that bad. i want that 4k goofy movie, but disney is so far up its own ass with whatever they cant smell the roses anyways
1:24 Russ summing up the collectors curse on physical media. Buying shite in a pretty box! 😅
😂 That and pins.
I saw T2 3D theatrical release like back in 2016 and i remember it looked great but not 4k HDR sharp tho.
Russ must have a serious sensitivity to light. I feel for you bruv
Is the dude with the sunglasses awake? Seems not very interested in this video
9:31 - That's the best joke right there. lol
Braveheart and Gladiator come to mind ... absolutely not worth the upgrades. These epic visual movies should look stunning.
I own both on 4K, but I had never owned them previously so I wasn't sure what I was getting. I think they both look great, but haven't seen the other releases to compare.
Huh? It’s generally agreed that Braveheart and Gladiator look gorgeous on 4K, because they do.
I've got Gladiator and I thought it looked alright.
I’ll give pushback on Disney; they seem more like a mixed bag than anything.
Star Wars for example: 1-3 is just…a mess, especially TPM. 4-6: 4 is decent but 5,6 are really disappointing. 7-9: literally all reference quality discs, film grain, and incredible hdr coloring.
My top 4k movies that i got for 2023 was
Bloodsport 4k
Ronin 4k
Point break 4k
Face off 4k
4K scans of some movies that were early adopters of advanced CGI can be a hard task, because the CGI was rendered at much lower than 4K resolution. I think that might be one of the reasons why T2 and Jurassic Park doesn't meet expectations. They can't scan it super sharp because than the CGI scenes would look bad, so they rather scan it a bit soft to mask out the limitations of the CGI. But if that's the case, why bother releasing those in 4K? For the money, of course. They should never release such movies in higher than 1080p resolution.
I remember watching Inception 4k and not really being able to tell the difference from my bluray disc. Maybe its me lol
First time watching your channel.
Guy on left: "I've never watched it. I don't seem to care. What am I doing here?" Great job guys!
Maybe get the 4K discs, and capture clips and do some in-depth visual analysis.
Welp I just got plane trains and automobiles. I’ll see how it is tonight lol
Let us know what you thought!
I actually like the clean look of T2 but will buy a re-release if one comes out.
I enjoyed its digital more than the actual disc
Paramount got me with both 48 Hrs. And Flashdance… hella irritating. I have Frankenstein copies now - paramount presents box with the 4K inside, maybe including the BD if there’s no features on the 4K disc. Irritating… Disney’s soundtracks continue to disappoint but frustratingly enough, I keep buying them because I like the movies. Here’s hoping they don’t ruin Avatar or the eventual release of The Abyss.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the Abyss...
Great PJ Tee
3:10 to Yuma looks great to me
It may be Paramount Presents but I did enjoy The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 4K.
That was the first time they put out a Paramount Presents 4K disc. As soon as I saw that I knew it was only going to be downhill from here on the double dips
JP is messy, but I just love T2.
Jurassic Park 4k, Collectors edition coming soon, Wonder what the Transfer is like?
I saw this too. Looks like an excuse to sell discs and throw some memorabilia and a hard box at us, but I doubt they're doing anything different for the transfer.
Forrest Gump looks great in 4k, but yeah that 3:10 to Yuma 4k is quite blurry
I loved the Bourne Identity & its Transfer.. but if we get more i'll take em too 😂
The UK blu ray of Killing Zoe is the worst blu ray transfer, one were I said "the worst". It's essentially a poor quality 90's DVD transfer slapped onto blu ray. Actually the quality is so bad, it looks like a VHS on a HD TV.
Is it worse than the one eyed jacks release (prior to criterion) or The Osterman Weekend?
0:45 “the dvd is better” LMAO
Yeah LOTR has some DNR, but it's not as bad as people say. There's some waxyness, but it's passable. It mostly looks and sounds outstanding.
12:35
Not bad but I wanted more is how I felt about the pulp fiction transfer
Batman begins had a bad intro that pixelation I haven't seen , right after, " finders keepers" Bruce runs with Arrowhead was bad in 4k. Also need specifics to Bourne comparison of 4k vs blu.
Terminator 2, Aliens and Jurassic Park are 3 of my favorite films and also have the worst transfers. 😭
Definitely ‘Giant’, I reckon is the worst 4K I’ve ever seen. The studio mustn’t have had a good enough print to scan in the first place. It’s pretty much as bad as the Blu-ray.
I actually liked the Jurassic Park release in 4K. The DVD didn't have the resolution and the bluray had distracting amounts of noise in the dark scenes. The 4K disc fixed both, so I'm happy.
There's a movie called "Kin." I watched on digital 1080p and it was fine. Unfortunately, I bought it on 4K and it's worse than "Forrest Gump." It is the worst 4K I've seen.
The fans have made wonderful versions of the Star Wars trilogy in 4K. No reason to buy the garbage from Disney.
I would think 4k Blu Ray cost a lot of money 🤑 and it's supposed to be such great quality that even if you zoom up to the picture it should still look very clear and good not blurry that makes it sound like a laser disc 📀
11:13 Hmm. What’s is the movie and the scene?
Wolf of Wall Street.
@@4K_Kings ok
Most release says 4k but they don’t have HDR so it’s a cheap transfer or they don’t have Dolby atmos or Dolby vision I bought SALT and it was the worst a lot of snow
I like my original laserdisc of the original unedited Star Wars.
‘Nobody’ has got to be up there with one of the worst ever transfers.
Really? What happened?
No wth. Get a better tv or set of eyes
What is the worst is more challenging to assess than it appears. The caveat is the equipment end of the equation. The 4K experience depends on what kind of flat screen is being used, how good the HDMI cable is or not and, of course, the quality and performance of the 4K player and whether the settings on the player have been optimized or not. Better [more expensive] components will invariably yield different and better results when it comes down to it.
Star Wars TPM, Wizard Of Oz and Batmsn: Mask Of The Phantasm are probably the worst I’ve seen on 4K, which is a shame as they’re all great movies. They all had pretty much the same issues, too-a botched audio mixing, random shots/scenes that looked like they put an Insta blur filter on it, and then TPM had the unfortunate bonus of a chase scene in the jungle where it looked like I was watching on GBA Video-for whatever reason, that one action was compressed to Helen Bach. :/
Alternatively, as far as studios go, I actually think Paramount and Universal are the best for 4Ks. And to stick up for Disney a mo, cos they *really* need all the help they can get rn, OG Beauty And The Beast 4K was flawless AFAICT, and I’d say the same about Aladdin if it wasn’t for that censored opening song standing out more than ever. The only animated 4K I’ve seen done better than either was Prince Of Egypt, which was just, peak. 👌
This list is mostly correct. Also, my vision needs correction because of old age.
Which 4Ks were you disappointed by? And yes, check your eyes! Otherwise what's all this extra clarity for?
@@4K_Kings Sonyʼs 4K transfer of District 9 had a looping issue in one scene, so that was disappointing.
@@4K_Kings The early Universal Studios releases that included King Kong and Robin Hood were disappointing. That was when they made the HDR too excessive, made the blacks too dark, the whites too white, and the oranges too hot.
Did Arrow fix those issues on their release of Robin Hood?
@@4K_Kings I was referring to the Ridley Scott / Russell Crowe Robin Hood
I think the worst for me is Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Looks like a bad DVD. Also disappointed with the lost potential of Casino (Reservoir Dogs looks 100x better!) and The Deer Hunter.
Amen on Reservoir Dogs
Yes, the closing shots of the departing mothership are in really low resolution. Such a disappointment.
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER 4k is crap. That sound does not sound like a disco soundtrack should sound.
Ghostbusters was so disappointing for me that it almost make me not to buy 4K movies anymore.
That is extreme. Just do your research before buying.
I thought Jurassic Park looked amazing myself. I get that it has heavy DNR, but I thought it looked phenomenal on my system. Batman Begins was super disappointing. LOTR also looks phenomenal to me, but I'm a casual fan of the franchise at best
I have the 2017 4K release of T2 fortunately. Looks great. I heard people talk about an AI enhanced version and was like WTF are they on about then saw that there was a release in 2021 of it.
The Bourne Indentity (first film only) 4k is one of the worst transfers ever. I had to shut it off and put on the bluray. The other films 4k transfer in the set are ok at best. But the first film being so bad is unforgivable.. Now Terminator 2 transfer.. Cameron's excuses are full of you know what. He could fix it very easy. He is just lazy about it.. I wanted to buy Pirates set but I the reviews are so bad and Disney does not support physical media..
Color Of Money blu ray is definitely a terrible transfer. It’s blurry . The person who did the transfer messed it up hugely. The dvd actually looks better.
Could it be in the way that you used it?
Pan's Labyrinth on 4K Blu-ray is really bad. The original US Blu-ray VC-1 is bad, the European VC-1 29 Mbps with 7.1 surround is amazing, my favorite release. The US Criterion is OK in my opinion, the 4K release is bad, the image is soft with denoise and the sound is 5.1.
That's terrible to hear. I don't own that movie in 4K, but was hoping criterion would double dip on us. Sounds like it's needed