bluray

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A/V Nerds: 4k UHD Blu-Ray Player Options

_I recently completed my home 7.1.4 speaker setup and have been really enjoying digging into high-end Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision material. Playing around with nip23 long-form content to share this kind of niche nerd stuff that doesn't quite make sense as a regular nostr note._ ![](https://i.nostr.build/J64rG.jpg) tldr: For videophiles there's really only one option: ~$450 Panasonic UB820. Just do it. ## Videophile nerd standards hell I'll have to do a post to really dig into the 4k UHD video formats: HDR10, HDR10+, and Dolby Vision. The short version: **HDR10** is the baseline high-dynamic range format that's on all 4k UHD blu-ray discs. Better than HD / 1080p blu-rays due to HDR10's greater dynamic range (duh!), more intense contrast, and richer colors. But HDR10 is an inherently compromised HDR format compared to the two more advanced options below. **HDR10+** is an optional enhancement that maximizes the data on the disc (more data and more efficient usage of that data). Part of this additional data — dynamic metadata — is a ginormous game-changer. Imagine an opening scene that's way too bright. So you dial back the Brightness control on your TV. But now dark scenes are way too dark. That one Brightness control is just too blunt a tool to give you good results over an entire movie. HDR10 is (metaphorically) limited to that one Brightness control. HDR10+'s dynamic metadata is like the cinematographer adjusting it for you on a shot-by-shot basis. Absolutely massive improvement. Except there are almost no 4k blu-rays that use it. **Dolby Vision** ("DV") does everything HDR10+ does, but better (has even more, richer data!). Dolby Vision leaps further out in front because it also incorporates a kind of communication layer with a DV-capable TV to optimize how the content is displayed, including locking down certain adjustment options. No tweaking; just hit play. BLISSFULLY relaxing for an otherwise OCD videophile! It is the best format we have to watch video content. Period. It's well worth it. And more and more content (especially streaming, but also 4k blu-rays) is in Dolby Vision. ## Dearth of Dolby Vision-capable players 😢 My original 4k blu-ray player (from 2016!!), a [Samsung UBD-K8500](https://www.samsung.com/uk/video-players/uhd-blu-ray-player/uhd-blu-ray-player-black-ubd-k8500-xu/), only supported baseline HDR10. My Xbox One X can output Dolby Vision (and maybe HDR10+?) but only for streaming services (e.g. Netflix) or gaming. On-disc Dolby Vision is not supported because — this seems beyond ridiculous — the onboard laser hardware literally cannot read the DV data off a 4k blu-ray disc. Current-gen Xbox Series One and the PS5 can't read disc-based DV data, either. wtf? Look carefully at the specs for cheap, dedicated 4k blu-ray players. Very few support Dolby Vision. ## Triple-layer disc woes Another really dumb technology problem: the biggest 4k blu-ray discs have 100GB of data stored on three different layers but plenty of players — including the prominent gaming consoles — are reported to freeze or skip ~2/3 of the way through a movie when the laser tries to refocus itself to the third data layer. Or they'll struggle to even load the intro menus. Again, wtf? Does this tech shit work or not? So even if you find a more affordable 4k blu-ray player with Dolby Vision support (they do exist), odds are that it'll still struggle on some 100GB discs. Because those triple-layer discs store the most data, they offer the best possible picture quality. The reference-quality, demo-worthy 4k blu-rays will fill a 100GB disc. So if you want to experience the best that the format can offer, your player better be able to read triple-layer discs reliably. ## So there's only one option It's the [Panasonic UB820](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N3PQM5N). It's not cheap but it's not a back-breaker, either. Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support. Flawless reads for triple-layer discs. There are other, more expensive players that can achieve all this. But there are zero cheaper players that can do it. ## Yes, it's worth it If your TV supports Dolby Vision — and especially if it's rated for more than 1000 nits — then the Panasonic UB820 is just a must-have for any hardcore videophile. "nits" are a measure of how bright the screen can get. I call this out specifically because all the HDR formats can be authored to target intensities beyond 1000 nits. That's when the dynamic range of your TV really starts to impress. If your TV can't go that bright, it does its best to smoothly ignore the extra-bright (or extra intense color) information. But if it CAN go that intense, whoa baby is it amazing! And with Dolby Vision optimizing how that intensity is mapped to your TV... just pure videophile nerd bliss.

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A/V Nerds: "The Fifth Element" on 4k UHD Blu-Ray

_I recently completed my home 7.1.4 speaker setup and have been really enjoying digging into high-end Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision material. Playing around with nip23 long-form content to share this kind of niche nerd stuff that doesn't quite make sense as a regular nostr note._ ![](https://images.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/171526_large.jpg) tldr: Still a joy, though much of its intentional over-the-top ridiculousness is just too much for me now. The absolute trash 4k transfer is a tragedy. See [Blu-ray.com's 4k review](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Fifth-Element-4K-Blu-ray/171526/#Review). ### The movie I'm fairly sad to report that I just couldn't enjoy the first hour or so anymore. More and more of the movie's creative absurdity that I previously loved is souring to cringe. The bulky, waddling alien designs in the intro sequence are just pointlessly dumb. The savage lampooning of an American-style government — from the casting of a President who looks and sounds like an NFL lineman to all the stupid and/or war-hungry military leaders — I'm sure is hilarious to the French creative team (and, sure, somewhat deserved), but it's just so blunt and caveman-y and insulting. I'm not interested in defending America's honor, but this is just so dumb and cruel in its way that it's unpleasant to watch. Gary Oldman is, as always, a powerhouse. But when you direct him to go big with the campiness, it's... it's a lot. Things improve once Leeloo starts to take over the story. And, maybe this is a surpise given the above, but Chris Tucker's how-do-you-even-describe-it Ruby Rhod is still a shockingly successful, brain-breaking spectacle. Happy to report that the Fhloston Paradise set piece is still a gem and is where all the unique absurd energy truly finds its groove. Overall, I think the movie still works. Luc Besson is unapologetically asking us to YOLO into this crazy world. It's experimental in a idgaf way but he does real work to layer in an appealing emotional core between Corben and Leeloo. It does all somehow come together and ultimately works surprisingly, uniquely well — if you can get past the first hour. ### Video https://i.nostr.build/0ren.jpg Just straight trash. #### Sidebar: On image processing / contrast Our eyes want strong contrast in images. You might complain that this pic is just a little too muted: https://i.nostr.build/8Y9J.jpg But once you start tinkering, it can be very easy to way overshoot the mark: https://i.nostr.build/jQAr.jpg Some of you may think, "Uh, I prefer the boosted version." Yes, it's more lively to our eyes, certain things are so much more emphasized now that you can appreciate those details more. But then look at the highlights. They're so boosted that details have disappeared into full white. Same for the shadows. Crushed to pure black. The art is to dial in just the right amount of contrast boost without blowing out the highs or crushing the lows. And there's just an overall harshness where there had previously been subtle gradations of color and texture. The more you work with image processing, the more you appreciate a lighter touch. Here's another set: https://i.nostr.build/lBRA.jpg https://i.nostr.build/P94W.jpg This was a lower quality image to start with (cellphone cam vs DSLR) and then overjuiced so hard that it's lost any semblance of the natural world. #### Back to the trash "The Fifth Element" video transfer The 4k transfer is similarly overjuiced everywhere. It's hideous. My cellphone photos of the HDR screen are in no way accurate, but even still some of the flaws are entirely evident. https://i.nostr.build/A6GR.jpg Harsh over-contrasty processing. Color saturation similarly overjuiced. There are lots of dark areas in this image, but if we boost those levels, we see that there's NO information in the shadows. Once you crush shadows to black, no amount of brightening can bring back those details. https://i.nostr.build/z9LM.jpg Ruby Rhod's hair and black dress are just (0,0,0) pixels. A good transfer would still provide strong contrast where it's called for, but would preserve the subtleties, some details even in the shadows and highlights. A good transfer paints with up to the full 1 billion available colors. This transfer clumsily, bluntly limits itself to a box of 32 crayons. View this one full-screen: https://i.nostr.build/P9A6.jpg Just harshness everywhere. There's also way too much sharpening applied which adds to the harshness and over-accentuates the natural film grain. I'm not the only one who hates this transfer. > It's noisy and harsh [...] I think a lot of people would be surprised at how artificial Sony's remaster would look compared to an untampered presentation. ([link](https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=15516291&postcount=941)) > There’s no positives that I can mention in regards to Sony’s efforts on The Fifth Element. It may be the single most artificially sharpened UHD. You can literally use the screen as a cheese grater. And the color grade is completely off from 35mm. ([link](https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=15518957&postcount=957)) #### There's a better option Weirdly, there's an alternate 4k disc that was published in the UK by Studiocanal that is said to be a vastly superior transfer. https://i.nostr.build/0r4M.jpg The 4k disc is region-free, so even though it's a UK disc, it'll play fine in any 4k blu-ray player. It's currently $28 on amazon but, given my lessening admiration for the movie (at least the first hour), I'm not interested in double-dipping and spending more money to get this version. ### Audio Nice that it has a Dolby Atmos mix but I think I was too distracted by the horrible visuals to do any kind of critical listening. But for any movie this old (1997), the quality of the original sound elements will always be an obvious limiting factor.

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