4k disc better than streaming 4k content

M

Mr._Clark

Audioholic Samurai
I notice that playback from 4k disc has noticeably better picture (color contrast) quality and sound (dynamic and presence) quality than streaming the same content from Apple TV 4k
One of the most obvious one is the Top Gun Maverick 4k disc vs its 4k streaming content .

It is less obvious in my living room with LG 4k class 80 series TV and bookshelf speakers.
It is very obvious is my HT setup with Sony XW5000 laser projector and B&W 800D3 speakers

It makes me want to collect a few more good movies in 4k disc because the same content streaming in 4k has less quality ...

Does anyone observe the same difference between 4k disc playback vs 4k streaming quality ?
I've noticed significant differences at times, especially in the audio.

On the other hand, the audio on some 4K disks is forked up:

"Sadly, in spite of how incredibly amazing this object-based mix is, there is one area where it sorely drops the ball when compared to its DTS-HD Master Audio counterpart. And that is the bass . . . because it's all about that bass. To be fair, the low-end on this 3D track is plenty powerful at providing the visuals with some wall-rattling, couch-shaking oomph, particularly during the beach siege and the attack at the Louvre. However, the bigger disappointment comes at the opening sequence when the pulsating radio frequency, which made the Blu-ray a reference disc for the DIY bassheads because it drops down to 10Hz at loud decibels (bass chart), was suddenly missing on this UHD edition. Much like they did with War of the Worlds, a high-pass filter has been applied to the mix, maddeningly cutting off the low-end at 30Hz (bass chart) for the entirety of the movie."


And of course the video on many 4K disks is just upscaled 1080p content (not native 4K), it may not have HDR, etc. I'll concede that I have not noticed much difference between HDR10 and HDR10+ on my TVs.

Overall I strongly prefer 4K disks over streaming, but I always look at the audio and video quality of a 4K disk before buying it.
 
W

Wardog555

Full Audioholic
Well yeah of cause.

I often wait for content to come out on disk before I download it and watch it. Case in point. Game of thrones. House of the dragon. Westworld. The last of us. Are some examples.
And movies. Especially the newer blockbusters. Waiting for the avatar movies now so I can rewatch the first one in 4k and Dolby atmos!

The audio Especially is the biggest difference.
I did watch the first episode of house of the dragon in 4k stream quality and was left underwhelmed. The 4k disk is much much better!
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
Well yeah of cause.

I often wait for content to come out on disk before I download it and watch it. Case in point. Game of thrones. House of the dragon. Westworld. The last of us. Are some examples.
And movies. Especially the newer blockbusters. Waiting for the avatar movies now so I can rewatch the first one in 4k and Dolby atmos!

The audio Especially is the biggest difference.
I did watch the first episode of house of the dragon in 4k stream quality and was left underwhelmed. The 4k disk is much much better!
Supposedly, True Lies, Titanic, The Abyss and Avatar are all hitting 4k disc this year! I would love it if those 4k editions of Titanic and Avatar include the 3D Disc. Abyss in 3D would be very cool, but highly doubt they'll do anything 3D with that movie. Just getting it on 4K is big enough.
 
isolar8001

isolar8001

Audioholic General
The Man Who Fell To Earth just came out on 4K disc......my god, it is incredible.
These older "shot on film" movies really benefit from the 4K upgrade.
 
M

Movie2099

Audioholic General
The Man Who Fell To Earth just came out on 4K disc......my god, it is incredible.
These older "shot on film" movies really benefit from the 4K upgrade.
Absolutely! Older movies shot on film given the right 4k treatment, look fantastic. A demo worthy 4k disc for an old movie would be Django from 1966. Arrow Video did the restoration. That is the cleanest old movie I've ever seen. They were able to get the original camera negative and add Dolby Vision. It looks like it could've been shot within the last decade. Not something that's 57 years old.

The older black and white movies look amazing in 4k as well. Citizen Kane, The man who shot Liberty Vance, Touch of Evil, etc.. They all look excellent.
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top