Apple TV /VUDU playback vs Disc 4K in Panasonic 820 Audio Quality?

fast fred

fast fred

Full Audioholic
So how much audio quality are we losing by watching content movies from digital copy vs. the real deal disc in Panasonic 820??

Is the sound measurable or marginal??

Are we losing overall dynamics or subwoofer power etc?

Highs?

Thanks
 
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depechefan

Audioholic
I know that this is quite old but for audio I think it still holds true:


My experience is that it is audible but of course depends on your equipment and expectations.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Do you find the audio difference between dvd and bluray significant? I consider it generally subtle as far as differences between the lossy and lossless codecs (trusting you're actually comparing the same mix otherwise, too); the streaming services are often using DD+ which potentially is better than dvd but for streaming Atmos so far the reports have been a bit disappointing. I consider the video to be a more noticeable difference myself between streaming vs bluray. Streaming just isn't up to having the disc yet overall.
 
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depechefan

Audioholic
My experience with BD vs DVD is that there is a noticeable difference. The dynamic range on BD is hard to beat. DVD audio and video was incredible when it first entered the market but now it feels very dated. In my opinion of course.
 
panteragstk

panteragstk

Audioholic Warlord
My experience with BD vs DVD is that there is a noticeable difference. The dynamic range on BD is hard to beat. DVD audio and video was incredible when it first entered the market but now it feels very dated. In my opinion of course.
That very much depends on the movie. Some of the newer soundtracks are mastered poorly or they tried to convert something to Atmos that was originally DD 5.1 and it doesn't really work.

I'd be willing to bet if you took what was considered a good DVD release and put it up to the same movie on BD, there wouldn't be that huge of a difference in sound. Video, yes, but not sound. Again, this greatly depends on the movie so it's not a rule or anything, but it's been true quite a lot.

Now, the OPs question was is streaming better or worse than the original disc? For BD movies I'd say the original will pretty much always be better. No automatic quality adjustments or anything of the sort happening and there is a LOT more audio data in BD discs than streaming movies.

Is it ALWAYS better? Probably not.
 
fast fred

fast fred

Full Audioholic
I guess I was asking if Current 4K mastered discs always outshine the Streaming Digital Copies

I was watching the 4K Disc of LOTR The Two Towers and was blown away by the dynamics of sound, when I played the same in the Apple TV digital version, the same scenes were lackluster, I needed to bump the volume significantly and still didnt get the same experience.

Maybe its just that movie?
 
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depechefan

Audioholic
This matches my experience. So whenever I discover a movie that I like and might watch more than once I will get the disk.
 
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depechefan

Audioholic
(It certainly is not just that movie. Try Bohemian Rhapsody, Bladerunner, Skyfall, etc, etc. I'm sure you can find examples where the difference is less pronounced but in my experience the disks are almost always better. Particularly for audio).
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
I guess I was asking if Current 4K mastered discs always outshine the Streaming Digital Copies

I was watching the 4K Disc of LOTR The Two Towers and was blown away by the dynamics of sound, when I played the same in the Apple TV digital version, the same scenes were lackluster, I needed to bump the volume significantly and still didnt get the same experience.

Maybe its just that movie?
You will find volume low in most anything viewed on the Apple TV 4K. We'll see if the new model is better and offers bitstreaming of DD+ rather than the PCM conversion. Comparing 4K discs to the Apple TV 4K versions, I've always preferred the picture and sound of the disc to the stream. Streamers can't compete with the lossless audio on a disc. Now, I will say the picture from the Movies Anywhere app is damn good, better in fact than the same title through any other app. Not sure why, but it looks great.
 
fast fred

fast fred

Full Audioholic
How about audio quality of VUDU or MA compared to disc?

Yah I hope the new ATV4K will get better, I just ordered one
 
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Trebdp83

Audioholic Ninja
Haven’t used Vudu in a very long time. Never heard a stream sound better than the same title on blu-ray/UHD blu-ray disc. I actually prefer some DTS HD MA audio tracks to the atmos versions on some discs. Punchy those tracks. Do come back with info on the new Apple TV 4K. Couldn’t get anything out of Apple.
 
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