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[Bobby Roberts]

Question:

Are there projectors that can basically downsample a 4k UHD for 1080p display?

Dunno why this has never occurred to me before. I said upthread something about basically riding Blu-Ray until the wheels fall off because my front projection PQ is pretty damned good as it is (and that's with mid-range at best equipment), challenging a lot of the multiplex presentations in my area. At which point I'd upgrade everything to 4k.

BUT:

If there are players that basically downsample the 4k image to 2k/1080, could I get a little extra life out of that projector? Some 1080p projectors are able to display color ranges much more wide/dynamic than the rec.709 standard blu-ray provides. I'm pretty sure mine is one of those, but I'm also pretty sure that its not up to any HDR spec or whatever that UHD is using, either.

Just kinda curious about the whole thing.

 

[jstevenson]

Transfers definitely matter more than just about anything else.

And as noted, even stuff like which lenses are used matter. A good recent example of this would be Rogue One, which talked a lot about the huge image sensors on the Arri Alexa 65 (6k or so) camera they were using but then used the old Ultrapanavision 70mm lenses.

They got the look they were going for (and Disney DI'd at 4K which is a first for Star Wars - as JJ did TFA in 2K), but that combo negated a chunk of the 6k sensor for sure.

So basically a very well made movie in this instance, used equipment that didn't actually get the benefits of the full resolution, but still got the look they were going for at a very high quality level and then had a good mastering and transfer process.

Flip side could be true too, high end equipment to get a 6K image but its shot poorly, mastered and colored terribly, and then given a bad transfer and it'll look like shit.


That said, the combo of 4K and HDR scans, combined with the high bitrate from UHD, is extremely exciting for cinephiles

 

[Ronin Ray]

I have 3 4k movies and the jump up from Blu-ray isn't that big for me as far as resolution. I love HDR though and think it's the star of the show. Just going to wait for 4K movies to go down in price because right now I don't think there worth the extra price. I do want to see planet Earth 2 or the revenant as I hear those looks really good.

 

[Westonian]

Question:

Are there projectors that can basically downsample a 4k UHD for 1080p display?

Dunno why this has never occurred to me before. I said upthread something about basically riding Blu-Ray until the wheels fall off because my front projection PQ is pretty damned good as it is (and that's with mid-range at best equipment), challenging a lot of the multiplex presentations in my area. At which point I'd upgrade everything to 4k.

BUT:

If there are players that basically downsample the 4k image to 2k/1080, could I get a little extra life out of that projector? Some 1080p projectors are able to display color ranges much more wide/dynamic than the rec.709 standard blu-ray provides. I'm pretty sure mine is one of those, but I'm also pretty sure that its not up to any HDR spec or whatever that UHD is using, either.

Just kinda curious about the whole thing.

That's an excellent question. I'm 99% certain that the Oppo UDP-203 player will do what you're asking. It can down-convert 4K to 1080p and will even convert HDR to SDR. You could even drop the resolution while keeping the BT.2020 color space.

From Oppo's FAQ:

Can the UDP-203 strip HDR metadata from 4K discs and media files while maintaining the BT.2020 color space?

Yes. For customers using projectors or older 4K displays that do not support HDR, yet still want to take advantage of the BT.2020 color space, the UDP-203 is capable of stripping the HDR metadata from the signal while still maintaining the BT.2020 color space output.

So basically, I don't think you're going to find or necessarily want a projector handling that conversion. But the Oppo can and will do that for you.

 

[BumRush]

Great thread!

Anyone have any blu-ray recommendations to showcase 3D?

 

[Westonian]

Great thread!

Anyone have any blu-ray recommendations to showcase 3D?

Any of the recent Pixar releases are going to look great. My personal favorite is actually Disney's Tangled. I think it looks phenomenal in 3D.

 

[captive]

Transfers definitely matter more than just about anything else.

And as noted, even stuff like which lenses are used matter. A good recent example of this would be Rogue One, which talked a lot about the huge image sensors on the Arri Alexa 65 (6k or so) camera they were using but then used the old Ultrapanavision 70mm lenses.

They got the look they were going for (and Disney DI'd at 4K which is a first for Star Wars - as JJ did TFA in 2K), but that combo negated a chunk of the 6k sensor for sure.

So basically a very well made movie in this instance, used equipment that didn't actually get the benefits of the full resolution, but still got the look they were going for at a very high quality level and then had a good mastering and transfer process.

Flip side could be true too, high end equipment to get a 6K image but its shot poorly, mastered and colored terribly, and then given a bad transfer and it'll look like shit.


That said, the combo of 4K and HDR scans, combined with the high bitrate from UHD, is extremely exciting for cinephiles

do you have any technical sources to back these claims? 6k is roughly 19mega pixels, starting to get a little more demanding but still not that much. 70mm is well into medium format film, those lenses should easily out resolve 19 megapixels. Unless of course you meant that they didnt use the full image projected by those 70mm lenses as i imagine the 6k sensor surface area is smaller than surface area of 70mm film.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

That's an excellent question. I'm 99% certain that the Oppo UDP-203 player will do what you're asking. It can down-convert 4K to 1080p and will even convert HDR to SDR. You could even drop the resolution while keeping the BT.2020 color space.

So basically, I don't think you're going to find or necessarily want a projector handling that conversion. But the Oppo can and will do that for you.

Okay! So I could actually make the jump to UHD while keeping my current 1080p projector and enjoy the increased color/contrast range.

That's really good to know.

 

[Dpp1978]

do you have any technical sources to back these claims? 6k is roughly 19mega pixels, starting to get a little more demanding but still not that much. 70mm is well into medium format film, those lenses should easily out resolve 19 megapixels. Unless of course you meant that they didnt use the full image projected by those 70mm lenses as i imagine the 6k sensor surface area is smaller than surface area of 70mm film.

The Alexa 65's sensor is a little bigger than the active area of 65mm negative.

http://arrirentalgroup.com/alexa65/

 

[BTails]

Any of the recent Pixar releases are going to look great. My personal favorite is actually Disney's Tangled. I think it looks phenomenal in 3D.

Agreed. I actually think Big Hero 6 is probably the best one I have, but if you're in North America, you'll have to import since it didn't get a 3d release here.

Dredd is super fun in 3d when it comes to live action movies.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Great thread. Upgraded a busted TV last Christmas to a 65" 4K Samsung. Looking at picking up the Xbox One X as a 4K player this coming Christmas and currently have a handful of 4K movies on the wish list.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

I just picked up mad max and arrival on uhd yesterday. Mad max had a really grainy look which im not sure is on purpose or my set up causing it. Only movie ive noticed it in yet. The hdr however looked great, fire especially popped so much.

It's a 2K upres. A lot of UHDs are like this.

 

[Dpp1978]

It's a 2K upres. A lot of UHDs are like this.

Which has very little, if anything to do with the issue at hand.

Added this to the "Real or Fake 4K" link in the OP. Is that fine?

I'm honoured. Thank you.

 

[jstevenson]

The Alexa 65's sensor is a little bigger than the active area of 65mm negative.

http://arrirentalgroup.com/alexa65/

Yup, plus anamorphic lenses meant they cropped too

certainly didn't take full advantage of the camera, but it also didn't really need to either to get the look they were going for

 

[BumRush]

Any of the recent Pixar releases are going to look great. My personal favorite is actually Disney's Tangled. I think it looks phenomenal in 3D.

Cool, thanks!

 

[The Elite]

I have to say some of the best 3D I have seen was in The Bubble 1966. They definitely play it up for the camera but it still looked great. Crazy movie as well with one weird ending. We watched it on my friend's projector.

The wing shot near the beginning of the film was that type of 3D you rarely see.

Grabbing some classic 3D is a good idea.

 

[BumRush]

Okay! So I could actually make the jump to UHD while keeping my current 1080p projector and enjoy the increased color/contrast range.

That's really good to know.

Interesting series of posts re: downsampling...

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Interesting series of posts re: downsampling...

Yeah, I'm looking up that Oppo here on my break pretty soon, in fact.

Getting a player that can play blu-rays, UHD, and will downsample from 4k to a 1080p picture while keeping the colorspace will likely do me just fine until 4k projectors come down in price to a point where I won't feel like a real piece of shit putting one on my card.

Although it assumes the downsampling is done well, too. I do wonder if there are artifacts involved with that conversion.

 

[BumRush]

Yeah, I'm looking up that Oppo here on my break pretty soon, in fact.

Getting a player that can play blu-rays, UHD, and will downsample from 4k to a 1080p picture while keeping the colorspace will likely do me just fine until 4k projectors come down in price to a point where I won't feel like a real piece of shit putting one on my card.

Although it assumes the downsampling is done well, too. I do wonder if there are artifacts involved with that conversion.

Have you checked out the Epson 6040UB?

I'm looking into it as it's WAY more affordable than the Sony (true) 4K projectors, but has been getting incredible reviews.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson-6040ub-home-theater-projector-review.htm

There are YouTube clips out there (I fill send them to you if your interested) that showcase the projector.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Have you checked out the Epson 6040UB?

I'm looking into it as it's WAY more affordable than the Sony (true) 4K projectors, but has been getting incredible reviews.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson-6040ub-home-theater-projector-review.htm

There are YouTube clips out there (I fill send them to you if your interested) that showcase the projector.

Every time I think about getting one of those Epson projectors, I have to stop and remind myself that it's just a stop gap piece of hardware to bridge the gap to the real thing and it's not exactly cheap either. Better to ride out my current one, and then get a proper replacement rather than jump on board too early because it's a shiny new thing.

 

[CS_Dan]

Dredd is super fun in 3d when it comes to live action movies.

It's great in 3D, but at least in the version I have they also crammed the 2D version into the same disk. The 2D version looks awful.

 

[The Elite]

My 4k of Dredd came with the 3D as well. I am not sure they advertise that.

I think I prefer 3D over 4k for Dredd.

 

[Vyer]

Amazon has Lucy, The Revenant and Sicario UHDs for around $15.

Just a heads up: some XB1S have issues with Lucy (and Oblivion) UHDs where they won't play.

 

[Westonian]

XB1S is just not a great UHD player. Unless you want it primarily as an XBox, I would save the money and buy a dedicated UHD player. Perhaps the XB1X will be better.

Also, Oblivion is not worth the upgrade to UHD in my opinion.

Lucy, Sicario and The Revenant are great though.

 

[New002]

Great thread!

Anyone have any blu-ray recommendations to showcase 3D?

Tron Legacy is my go-to 3D disc.

 

[jstevenson]

XB1S is just not a great UHD player. Unless you want it primarily as an XBox, I would save the money and buy a dedicated UHD player. Perhaps the XB1X will be better.

Also, Oblivion is not worth the upgrade to UHD in my opinion.

Lucy, Sicario and The Revenant are great though.

esp if you have a Frys nearby --- you can catch the LG on sale for like 120-130 bucks every few weeks or so if you get their promo codes by e-mail and watch Slickdeals.

Of course, the LG is a bit of a transport lottery to get one that isn't noisy as well, but it's way cheaper than the Oppo

 

[Vyer]

XB1S is just not a great UHD player. Unless you want it primarily as an XBox, I would save the money and buy a dedicated UHD player. Perhaps the XB1X will be better.

Also, Oblivion is not worth the upgrade to UHD in my opinion.

Lucy, Sicario and The Revenant are great though.

Oblivion is really the only problem I had with it, but yeah I'd still pick up a dedicated when it's convenient

 

[jstevenson]

Great thread!

Anyone have any blu-ray recommendations to showcase 3D?

Disney CG Animated stuff is usually great. Avatar is terrific of course. Gravity is another great one.

 

[Westonian]

esp if you have a Frys nearby --- you can catch the LG on sale for like 120-130 bucks every few weeks or so if you get their promo codes by e-mail and watch Slickdeals.

Of course, the LG is a bit of a transport lottery to get one that isn't noisy as well, but it's way cheaper than the Oppo

LG was my first player before getting the Oppo. I liked it a lot. It's sparse for streaming apps (although compared to the Oppo at least it's better than nothing) if you're looking for 4K content aside from discs. It's definitely the best value available today.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Seems like we have a nice trickle of good movies coming to UHD blu ray the next few months:

• ET
• Terminator 2
• Close Encounters
• Dracula
• Kick Ass
• Starship Troopers
• Blade Runner
• Westworld Season 1 (is this the first TV show to be released in UHD?)
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• Wonder Woman

Still clinging to those reddit rumors that came along with Guardians 2, and hoping Force Awakens is coming. I would love to buy that movie for a third time!

Amazon has Lucy, The Revenant and Sicario UHDs for around $15.

Just a heads up: some XB1S have issues with Lucy (and Oblivion) UHDs where they won't play.

The S is pretty disappointing as a UHD player. I regret trading my standalone Samsung player for it. It looks worse, and I've run into glitches. Batman v Superman plays fine up until the big BvS fight, then it glitches out like a mother fucker. It is at the exact same moments every time, and the same disc plays absolutely fine on the Samsung player.

FIY, amazon also has the Terminator 2 release up for preorder for $18.

 

[jstevenson]

LG was my first player before getting the Oppo. I liked it a lot. It's sparse for streaming apps (although compared to the Oppo at least it's better than nothing) if you're looking for 4K content aside from discs. It's definitely the best value available today.

yeah, I mean, generally these days the TVs themselves (esp LG's WebOS TVs) are the best route for streaming apps (esp if you want Dolby Vision from VUDU or Netflix)

 

[F34R]

Seems like we have a nice trickle of good movies coming to UHD blu ray the next few months:

• ET
• Terminator 2
• Close Encounters
• Dracula
• Kick Ass
• Starship Troopers
• Blade Runner
• Westworld Season 1 (is this the first TV show to be released in UHD?)
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• Wonder Woman

Still clinging to those reddit rumors that came along with Guardians 2, and hoping Force Awakens is coming. I would love to buy that movie for a third time!



The S is pretty disappointing as a UHD player. I regret trading my standalone Samsung player for it. It looks worse, and I've run into glitches. Batman v Superman plays fine up until the big BvS fight, then it glitches out like a mother fucker. It is at the exact same moments every time, and the same disc plays absolutely fine on the Samsung player.

FIY, amazon also has the Terminator 2 release up for preorder for $18.

I have those in bold pre-ordered already. The Terminator 2 movie, I have the limited collector edition with the ARM!!!! lol

 

[-griffy-]

GOTG2 is gonna be my first 4K Blu-ray. Now I need to get something that can actually play one.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Have you checked out the Epson 6040UB?

I'm looking into it as it's WAY more affordable than the Sony (true) 4K projectors, but has been getting incredible reviews.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson-6040ub-home-theater-projector-review.htm

There are YouTube clips out there (I fill send them to you if your interested) that showcase the projector.

I used to have an Epson (the 8030, I think? 8035? It's been awhile) and then jumped to the Sony VPL HW45, whose picture is really goddamned good, especially for the price point. I'm gonna stick with this for quite awhile I think.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

Would love to jump only once on GotG2 by getting the 4k version.
Will buy WW on 4k.
Really want to see Moana in 4k and hoping that's on Disney's short list.

 

[Westonian]

I was stoked to see that Best Buy was offering GotG vol. 2 in a bundle of 4K, Blu-ray and 3D.

Then I saw the ugly ass steelbook you're forced to buy in order to get that bundle. It looks like a my first photoshop project from a 3rd grade kid.

*barf*

 

[Syriel]

Question:

Are there projectors that can basically downsample a 4k UHD for 1080p display?

Dunno why this has never occurred to me before. I said upthread something about basically riding Blu-Ray until the wheels fall off because my front projection PQ is pretty damned good as it is (and that's with mid-range at best equipment), challenging a lot of the multiplex presentations in my area. At which point I'd upgrade everything to 4k.

BUT:

If there are players that basically downsample the 4k image to 2k/1080, could I get a little extra life out of that projector? Some 1080p projectors are able to display color ranges much more wide/dynamic than the rec.709 standard blu-ray provides. I'm pretty sure mine is one of those, but I'm also pretty sure that its not up to any HDR spec or whatever that UHD is using, either.

Just kinda curious about the whole thing.

Someone already mentioned the 6040.

The 5040 is the consumer version that you can pick up yourself if you don't want to go thru an installer:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IO0QWJA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It drops to ~$2500 on sale and has gotten good reviews, tho it is just HDR10 and not Dolby Vision.

Still, with Optoma breaking the $2k barrier for actual 4k projection, competing projectors will likely drop soon.

XB1S is just not a great UHD player. Unless you want it primarily as an XBox, I would save the money and buy a dedicated UHD player. Perhaps the XB1X will be better.

Also, Oblivion is not worth the upgrade to UHD in my opinion.

Lucy, Sicario and The Revenant are great though.

XB1S just does HDR10 IIRC.

A Dolby Vision player will outshine it with discs encoded for DV.

 

[The Elite]

I was stoked to see that Best Buy was offering GotG vol. 2 in a bundle of 4K, Blu-ray and 3D.

Then I saw the ugly ass steelbook you're forced to buy in order to get that bundle. It looks like a my first photoshop project from a 3rd grade kid.

*barf*

Oh FFS. Who does this shit?

 

[Realyst]

I was stoked to see that Best Buy was offering GotG vol. 2 in a bundle of 4K, Blu-ray and 3D.

Then I saw the ugly ass steelbook you're forced to buy in order to get that bundle. It looks like a my first photoshop project from a 3rd grade kid.

*barf*

Yeah, I'm not super thrilled about the artwork on the case. But still, it's gonna become increasingly more rare to get any movie with both 4K and 3D in the same package in NA, so I'll take what I can get.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

I was stoked to see that Best Buy was offering GotG vol. 2 in a bundle of 4K, Blu-ray and 3D.

Then I saw the ugly ass steelbook you're forced to buy in order to get that bundle. It looks like a my first photoshop project from a 3rd grade kid.

*barf*

At least this one has the name of the movie on the spine. I friggin' hate when a Steelbook doesn't have the title on the spine, because it just looks out of place on the shelf.

At least it's not The Fifth Element's 4k Steelbook that was literally the same one BB already used for the Blu-ray release.

 

[BumRush]

I used to have an Epson (the 8030, I think? 8035? It's been awhile) and then jumped to the Sony VPL HW45, whose picture is really goddamned good, especially for the price point. I'm gonna stick with this for quite awhile I think.

Yeah that's an incredible projector. Should easily last you a few great years until 4K projectors become (as) affordable

 

[tapedeck]

I was stoked to see that Best Buy was offering GotG vol. 2 in a bundle of 4K, Blu-ray and 3D.

Then I saw the ugly ass steelbook you're forced to buy in order to get that bundle. It looks like a my first photoshop project from a 3rd grade kid.

*barf*

Yeah that's pretty Busch League...I'll probably get the 4K disc from target, AFAIK every 4K disc still comes with the regular blu ray..don't care about 3D personally.

I actually never saw GoTG2 in theaters so I'm pretty excited to see it for the first time at home in 4K.

 

[F34R]

The case doesn't bother me a bit. 1. I'm rarely looking at the case 2. I don't think it's that bad anyways. I was super happy that it has the 4k/3d combo in it. That's what is most important for me, so bought it I did.

 

[mechashiva]

The case doesn't bother me a bit. 1. I'm rarely looking at the case 2. I don't think it's that bad anyways. I was super happy that it has the 4k/3d combo in it. That's what is most important for me, so bought it I did.

Same here! I picked up the 2016 LG 4K and 3D tv the other day!

 

[Zeyphersan]

I’ll be getting my first 4K TV this fall with the launch of the 4K Apple TV. The LG OLEDs are still the one to get if I have the budget, correct?

And can someone go in depth of how Dolby Atmos works? Is it an increase in the number of speakers or what?

 

[Marty Chinn]

I’ll be getting my first 4K TV this fall with the launch of the 4K Apple TV. The LG OLEDs are still the one to get if I have the budget, correct?

Yes, LG OLEDs are a good solid choice.

And can someone go in depth of how Dolby Atmos works? Is it an increase in the number of speakers or what?

Ya, it's an increase in the number of speakers and you either mount them in your ceiling or try the ones that will reflect the sound off your ceiling.

 

[Geno Breaker]

Sony and Oppo both have region free universal players.

Oppo requires a hardware mod, but it's super easy. No soldering. Plug and play. Costs about $80.

Ok sweet, thanks for the answers.

 

[Oozer3993]

It's looking like the digital copy of GotG2 that comes with the Bluray will not include the 4K Dolby Vision VUDU version:

At this time, per Disney's PR agency, it does NOT appear as though the Digital redemption code included with the 4K Blu-ray combo packs will redeem for this VUDU UHD version -- I checked a Disney-provided code and it only unlocked the HDX resolution (1080p + 5.1 audio) -- but we'll check again when our 4K Blu-ray screener arrives.

----------------------

Any of the recent Pixar releases are going to look great. My personal favorite is actually Disney's Tangled. I think it looks phenomenal in 3D.

Co-sign. Tangled is excellent in 3D, and I'll give a special shout out to Moana which looks magnificent in 3 dimensions. Also, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar look great in 3D.

Agreed. I actually think Big Hero 6 is probably the best one I have, but if you're in North America, you'll have to import since it didn't get a 3d release here.

*sigh* Fine Disney, I will bow to your whims and import it even though I already have the US Steelbook.

 

[Hex]

It's looking like the digital copy of GotG2 that comes with the Bluray will not include the 4K Dolby Vision VUDU version:



----------------------



Co-sign. Tangled is excellent in 3D, and I'll give a special shout out to Moana which looks magnificent in 3 dimensions. Also, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar look great in 3D.



*sigh* Fine Disney, I will bow to your whims and import it even though I already have the US Steelbook.

Sadly this is rather common.
Though in most cases the UHD 4K will eventually open up on your VUDU account but it can take a while

 

[RumblingRosco]

Let's say I have no home theater equipment. What's a mid-tier price range, roughly-speaking, for a 50-60" 4K TV, a 2.1 system, and a 4K Blu-ray player? $1,000-$2,000?