You are equipped with a Blu-ray Ultra HD player and diffuser. Only here you don't know what to buy to feed all this beautiful world! A tip, don't throw your devolved on the next editions... Unworthy of the support, they might well divert you from the wonderful world of 4K.
But before moving on to serious things, I wanted to denounce the rise of the AI in the restorations and other 4K remasterings for almost two years (with a sharp acceleration in 2024), even though the loose work of digital tripatouillations (degreasing here, artificial accentuation of contours there) had been constantly decreasing for several years now (the case of school Terminator 2 seemed to be from the past). Weary, at least today (I try to remain optimistic), what I will call the « optimizations » Algorithms remain too visible (with pêle-mêle an abnormally photochemical texture « clean », unfortunate detours, an abuse of sharpness, troubles in the development, a fluctuation scattered from the details in the blurries and visual aberrations created in the background), that they are used with more (Aliens, Avatar, Friends, Teeth of the Sea 3, Sugarland Express, True Lies) or less (1984, Abyss, The Life of Adele, Se7en,Terminator, Titanic, WillowIntensity. A processing is all intrusive, especially if it is used in order to make a 35 mm capture look like a digital shooting (Cuckoo James Cameron). However, using it as a technical solution (face to problems impossible to solve with traditional methods) to correct (and not change) shooting failures (such as unintentional and unsightly camera movement on the set of Se7en) is a certain advantage even if related to a form of revisionism. At the end of the day, AI is a tool like another that needs to be handled with care. In the future, if there is any use, I hope that this technology will be more discreet or at least, that it will be oriented towards correction and not modification. Wait and see!
Without further delay, here are the flops of the 4K Ultra HD support... Twenty editions available on the French market where something is wrong! #WeLovePhysicalMedia 📀✨
It is brought to the attention of our dear readers that, in addition to the specified and used viewing equipment, the rendering may differ from one installation to another, whether or not it is calibrated, as well as personal preferences and expectations may influence notation.
Video broadcaster (QD-OLED) : Sony Bravia XR-65A95L
Sources (4K) : Oppo UDP-203 Audiocom Reference | Zappiti Reference
Pregnant (5.1.4): Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max, SB-4000
Image Modes : Professional (SDR or HDR) | Dolby Dark Vision | IMAX Enhanced
Listening modes : Dolby Atmos | Dolby Surround | DTS:X | DTS Neural:X
Contents
Aliens, return
Publisher : 20th Century Studios | Release date 24 April 2024
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.85 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Result of a 35 mm capture by the chef opV for Vendetta), the granular photograph so characteristic of the work is more than a distant memory (the silver texture was simply annihilated) and is now like a digital production whose rendering, « improved » algorithmically in its details (not without having caused many visual problems), is much closer to a video game (coucho) Aliens: Fireteam) a film. Too clear everywhere, the AI having decided that each element of the framework should be « redesigned » With more or less fidelity (regardless of the initial development settings), the image has a very disturbing hardness even if some improvements are amazing (the texture of the uniforms, the environment of the colony). And since the result of the previous 2K scan, it lets the same dirt and other scratches shine not without having first accentuated them (how are these not details?). Fortunately, it's not just negative... More natural, the colorimetric palette with cold blue-grey tones is more tainted by the orange-breast drifts of the previous Blu-ray, so that the red and purple shades cover a beautiful vibrance. The same applies to carnation, otherwise healthier (this is notable in the 1st class Jenette Vasquez). The contrasts have also been perfected with deeper blacks (but not too much anyway) than in the past and bolder whites. Average binary flow was measured at 51.526 kbps. On the other hand, even if a little brighter, light sources such as helmet lamps and sparks from welding torches remain generally dull and above all, do not provide any new information in the high luminances. Would it be a simple light adjustment? I think so.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French DTS-HD HR 5.1
Equipped and modernized without separating itself from its vintage sound design, the VO today proposed in Dolby Atmos takes full advantage of the channels at its disposal so that the fear envelops lastingly (cf. the presence and cries of xenomorphs emanating from all directions). The dynamics are fantastic, the directional effects and the atmospheres work at full speed, the rear cry is regular (the activity of the loading dock, the screaming of the outer wind, the debunking in the hive), the dialogues are clearly exuded by the power plant, the verticality of the mixing is not there to make figuration (spaceships, rain, reverberations in restricted spaces), the LFE channel is not lacking muscle (flames, crash, explosions, handling robot, sentinels-radars) and the partition of James Horner, with warrior coppers, exploits the entire space with great fidelity. Less open and energetic, the VF DTS-HD HR plays it small arm in comparison.
Avatar
Publisher : 20th Century Studios | Release date : 12 July 2023
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.78 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
A 4K upscaling produced by a home AI (made by the director) based on the original 2K hardware, this remastered version recalibrated in HDR (a Dolby Vision reissue was released in 2024) and operated in 3D HFR TrueCut Motion in the dark rooms (the 48 fps is unfortunately not supported by the Blu-ray Ultra HD standard, where its absence) blows hot and cold! Would James Cameron have opened a Pandora's box? Has he fallen back into his already at work on the UHD transfer of Terminator 2: Last Judgment ? Clearly yes during scenes including real shots since scaling there is coarse with artifacts from everywhere... Not to mention a numerical reduction of noise (DNR) in the pack and a reinforcement of the contours (edge enhancement) extremely aggressive for an artificial rendering as possible. The detours are approximate (sometimes with double contours), the draft backgrounds, the smoothed and/or too accentuated details (at times in the same frame), the waxy or cracked faces and too many elements (including the actors) are abnormally detached from the others (in and outside the GDR premises). That's awful! Not really during full CGI scenes where the AI gives the impression of being in its element (the synthetic images lend themselves particularly well to clinical accuracy). The increased sharpness of the details (the faces of the Na'vis, accessories, clothing), the accuracy of the contours (the vegetal landscape) and the accentuation of the relief rarely betrays the use of an ascending conversion into automatic mode. It's bluffing! If this is « façade » too heterogeneous to convince, the luxuriant colorimetric palette by nature sees some of its shades enhanced (blue skin, the multiple shades of exotic flowers, green vegetation), the more assertive contrasts spread firmed blacks (the shadows are better designed) and brighter whites (the sacred seeds), and the light sources display less intensity than in the past (the mushrooms and
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos? Clearly yes during scenes including real shots since scaling there is coarse with artifacts from everywhere... Not to mention a numerical reduction of noise (DNR) in the pack and a reinforcement of the contours (edge enhancement) extremely aggressive for an artificial rendering as possible. The detours are approximate (sometimes with double contours), the draft backgrounds, the smoothed and/or too accentuated details (at times in the same frame), the waxy or cracked faces and too many elements (including the actors) are abnormally detached from the others (in and outside the GDR premises). That's awful! Not really during full CGI scenes where the AI gives the impression of being in its element (the synthetic images lend themselves particularly well to clinical accuracy). The increased sharpness of the details (the faces of the Na'vis, accessories, clothing), the accuracy of the contours (the vegetal landscape) and the accentuation of the relief rarely betrays the use of an ascending conversion into automatic mode. It's bluffing! If this is « façade » too heterogeneous to convince, the luxuriant colorimetric palette by nature sees some of its shades enhanced (blue skin, the multiple shades of exotic flowers, green vegetation), the more assertive contrasts spread firmed blacks (the shadows are better designed) and brighter whites (the sacred seeds), and the light sources display less intensity than in the past (the mushrooms and
, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Rhythmed by orchestral music with new age/ethnic sounds by James Horner, the soundtrack Dolby Atmos (only on the VO), who does not suffer from the syndrome « Atmouse » (too regularly encountered at Disney) but still needs to push the volume to fully enjoy it, spells out more than a recovery... Especially as it stands out from the previous mix DTS-HD MA 5.1 by its seat in the bottom of the spectrum and its vertical dimension. Perfectly balanced and taking advantage of an unplanned dynamic, it delivers a lively listening to the ultra-enveloping sound field (the atmospheres of the jungle) where the full potential of surrounds and height channels (see the Banshee back flight) seems to be reached. The plant exudes the dialogues with great clarity and the LFE channel gives real weight to many passages (deforestation, the destruction of the Tree House and the heavy steps of Colonel Miles Quaritch's AMP exoskeleton). In comparison, the VF traded the DTS 5.1 track of the old 2D editions for a Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding. « fallen » 3D disk. That's very regrettable!
Publisher : Metropolitan Video | Release date Big Boss
• Video format : 27 October 2018 DI 4K
: 2160p24 | Ratio 2.35 – CSD | BT.709 – HEVC encoding | Immagine Ritrovata This 4K restoration carried out in 2016 by
• Soundtrack : Mandarin DTS-HD MA 6.1 and 2.0, Cantonese DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DTS-HD MA 7.1
No changes on the acoustic side since these are the same tracks already proposed on the Blu-ray released in 2011 (the VF is therefore not the version). René Chateau operated in VHS). As to which to choose, it will be based on your personal expectations and tastes (the effects, atmospheres and score being different from one track to another!), while knowing that no one is really satisfactory. If you want the natural and dynamic you will turn to the Mandarin DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track (the real VO), if you want to hear progressive rock it is towards the Cantonese DTS-HD MA 2.0 track that you will have to listen to, and if you want spatialization it is for the Mandarin DTS-HD MA 6.1 and French DTS-HD MA 7.1 tracks that you will opt for. But where the first one has punch and adds to its 2.0 mono mix a few additional atmospheres at the rear, the second is flat and much more artificial (but the voices seem distant) while denaturing the work with over-exaggerated sounds (yes, Bruce Lee's screams do not exist in VO!) and almost-absent music.
Fog (1980)
Publisher : Studiocanal | Release date : 07 November 2018
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.35 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
It's pure vintage juice with a rather strong granulosity, a weak sting (cf. passages in the church) and dark scenes with little contrast. But in direct comparison with the Blu-ray, this UHD transfer delivers more refined details, more saturated colors (the red outfit of Adrienne Barbeau), more sinister blacks and more marked light sources (the bulbs of the fridges in the intro, the mist). There is, however, a problem because some blacks start to flash (as in the history around the fire) in Dolby Vision. And if this is not the case with HDR10 encoding, HDR10 suffers from strawberry compression (not in DV therefore) with chromatic aberrations in the grain, pixels in the fog and flickering lighting (illumination of the cross at the end).
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and LPCM 2.0, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
Closer to a timid surround stereo track to the tightened front scene and suffocated voices, the VF is much less than the VO, which is far from being demonstrative. But the latter is still more dynamic (in murders), let the fores breathe and distill a few small effects surround.
Friends – Total
Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 25 September 2024
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.78 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Apart from season 1, the quality of other seasons varies more and more (within the same episode sometimes) although the freshly vibrant and catchy (but not always natural) images of these UHD Dolby Vision transfers (from the original negatives) breathe a new life into the series (captured in Super 35) at the same time as a renewed stability. Yes, these are the ones that are going to be difficult to dissect by an unprecedented blinking and the use of an AI that is certainly driven (so it will not compete with each other). the Artificial Truce of IRON JIM) but indeed visible (the scattered fluctuations of blur and/or abuse of sharpness in the background do not deceive when it is present). No doubt, fans will be divided*... But before we get to the heart of the subject, it should be noted that all the titles have been rebuilt, that the black melts (brighter than in the past) have been redone electronically to keep an aspect of the first generation, that the framing has been slightly modified (of shifts on one side or on the other according to the planes), and that the optics like the shot-stocks (softened for the occasion) are now getting better married to the rest.
* Even though Kevin Bright, the executive producer of the series and director of about 50 episodes, had taken part in the re-escalation of the 12 episodes released in the theaters in 2019 (for the 25th anniversary of sitcom) by taking personal care of color correction. Recently, in the columns of Firsthe had mentioned the 4K upgrade of the remaining 224 promising that « the grain of the image would be perfect », allowing even fans to « see new small details ». The question then arises: Did he take part in any way in the last work done or did the team in charge of dealing with it just draw on his work five years ago?
We can find ourselves with a combo DNR + EE visible intermittently (and more frank from season 8 on the side of the reduction of digital noise for a « courtesy smoothing » on the face of the actors). However, it seems obvious that the details are quite good in the vast majority of cases (the sweetness of the first few seasons being inherent in the source) and that the silver texture is more palpable than in previous physical iterations. Despite the tricks causing a certain heterogeneity (and rather rare inconsistencies as mentioned earlier), 4K resolution is therefore felt throughout, while very medium encoding (too much content on each disc), causing compressive problems such as macrobloc (happily stealthy), tends to lower the definition of granulosity. On the WCG and HDR side, the colorimetric palette is now much warmer (cf. the carnation) with other brighter hues (primary ones are acidulated), and the light sources have been mesmerized (to make the skin of the characters shine from time to time as if oiled). In fact, closer to the general aesthetics of modern sitcoms (where everything is violently illuminated) and very far away from the austeres Blu-ray (or dull TV broadcasts) that we used to watch, the result may surprise. However, even if too much colour in places, it shows greater chromatic neutrality by removing the blue dominant night as well as the drifts (greenish or reddish) preexi
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2.0
Composed of spontaneous laughter (the series having been recorded in public), small atmospheres of everyday life (domestic noises, street passers-by, customers of Central Perk) and especially dialogues (at the origin of comic springs), this soundtrack proposed in VO DTS-HD MA 5.1 (and no longer in Dolby Digital 5.1) and VF Dolby Digital 2.0 (there nothing changed) is broadcast with great clarity. The first is nevertheless to be preferred over the second for its authenticity, its scope and its purity of listening. Because where the VF is fluttered and equipped with aggressive mischievous, the English track wraps (a multichannel separation developed in studio, stereo capture obliges) and sounds right. The laughter bursts of the spectators take on surrounds (logical since coming from the rear), the voices are always audible, the musical cuts ring perfectly and the bass simmer occasionally. So we're invited on stage and not left away from the show. If French dubbing remains a sacred « Proust madeleine » (except when Rachel, Joey and Chandler's voices change in the last two seasons), he is still too often poorly synchronized (a constancy since his broadcast).
In the mood for Love
Publisher : The Jokers | Release date : 1 December 2021
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.66 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Supervised and approved by Wong Kar-wai, this UHD HDR10 transfer created from a 4K scan of the original 35 mm negative (the restoration was conducted by Immagine Ritrovata Bologna from 2017 to 2020 and calibration by One Cool Production) hardly sat on the subject and ruined the modesty as much as the refinement of the photograph signed Christopher Doyle and Mark Li-ping. Falling in a misguided revisionism (the red of passion is extinguished to give way to the malaising green) and using boundless digital tripatoulages (cf. the excessive use of DNR), the Hong Kong filmmaker who bewitched Cannes in the year 2000 could escape from his demons like James Cameron and Peter Jackson (with The Lord of the Rings and above all The Hobbit) before him. In these conditions, how to appreciate the fetishist pictorial care of its frames? The silver texture has disappeared with the fine details (difficult to distinguish the inlaid motifs from the carpeted corridors or the fibres of the qipao worn by Mrs Chan), the colorimetric palette has been contaminated by the green hues (including carnation and whites) for more dull reds on rare occasions (where saturation has been increased), and while the contrasts generally draw well, the shadows are regularly squatted by compressive tingling. Definitely, except for the slightly amplified high lights (the reflections on Mr. Chow's gomina) that do not distort in any way the felt and poetic lighting of the places, it is a massacre! About this brand new version restored in 4K, Wong Kar-wai wrote: « The window is no longer dusty ». So I will answer him: « Household is an art that is not given to everyone ».
• Soundtrack : Cantonese Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Restored by Jet Tone Films Studio Robert Mackenzie Sound Under the supervision of the director, the soundtrack Dolby Atmos is on the contrary of visuals a great success whose few additions (additional effects of this one) merely amplify the intrinsic qualities of the original mixing. The clarity of the dialogues (and of the unsaid) is never taken in default, the basses are of great accuracy, the dynamics are wonderfully nuanced, the high atmospheres (rainstorms) are naturally mixed with the rest of the acoustic environment (whose multi-directional proximity is striking), and the sublime sentimental ritournelle of Shigeru Umebayashi and Michael Galasso (special mention to the melancholy emanating from the theme of Yumeji) flies away with an unprecedented luxuriance... The violin solos were no longer anemic but rather round and full. If the two VO impose on a purely artistic plane vis-à-vis the VF, the 3D track obviously replaces its stereophonic consoeurs by a spatialization that they cannot reasonably reach.
Jurassic Park
Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 22 May 2018
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.85 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
If the chill is there, it is not for dinosaurs but because of many plans showing signs of a noise reducing device (but where is the silver grain?). And that's a shame, since the improvement is often noticeable vis-à-vis the 2011 Blu-ray. The colours are more saturated (reds and greens) and therefore less washed even though preserving the questionable calibration (without the excess yellow for a healthier carnation) of the 3D conversion, the contrasts are more balanced (scrambled whites and black clogged are ancient history) and the lightings that are brighter benefit from a much better clasping of the high lights. But here, between the details that were chewed (!) and the absence of a 4K restoration worthy of that name (Universal Not having left the original negative to produce this new master's degree), visible by the presence of some dust parasites, it is the disappointment that predominates.
• Soundtrack : English DTS:XExclusively captured with large-format cameras (Panavision 65 mm and IMAX 65 mm), meticulously digitized in 8K and then passed in 4K, oscillating between color (the subjective) and N&B (the lens) and carefully calibrated by Kostas Theodosiou (so that the digital version matches the analog reference print), Hoyte Van Hoytema's sumptuous photograph is perfectly returned by this indefatigable UHD HDR10 transfer (still no Dolby Vision for Nolan) that a solid compression comes to support (an average bitrate of 65.8 Mbps despite a duration of three hours). The definition is just prodigious (the panoramic views are of incredible precision), the level of detail is never seen (is the eye able to see more than that?) and the silver granularity is displayed with an insolent finesse (even if heterogeneous by the diversity of the films used). The old-fashioned photochemical calibration delivers beautifully unsaturated hues by taking advantage of the warmer shades than on the Blu-ray (it is easily noticed during the passages with Jean Tatlock, interpreted by Florence Pugh) and the HDR technology, maintained under control (red peaks of 223 bits for an average luminance of 164 cd/m2), strengthens the management of contrasts (very natural with matt blacks) for a more sensitive darkness and light sources with subtly raised radiance (sieved domestic lighting, daylight, dives into the heart of the matter, nuclear explosion). For N&B, full of shades and light
The natural nature of the dialogues, the engagement of the score, the spatialisation of the ambient effects, the activity of the airspace (the rotors of the helicopter or the roarings of the T-Rex) and the depth of the serious present on the VO DTS:X, bury the frailst VF, less powerful and immersive despite its aggressiveness and the great presence of the surrounds. Roaring for pleasure!
King Kong (2005)
Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 25 July 2017
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.35 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
Captured in Super 35 and (unfortunately) finalized in 2K, this oversampled 4K source was visibly produced at the rush (to coincide with the beginnings of the support) without any artistic reflection behind. All (or almost all) sliders have been pushed to the full, going as far as to squander in places the magnificent photograph of Chief Operator Andrew Lesnie (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit). And that's not all, since serious compressive problems (such as tingling and color banding) regularly invite you to travel (nothing with an average bitrate of only 46 Mbps). The fine details and textures, far from being at the height of the format, have been drastically accentuated by a strengthening of the coarse contours (of the edge enhancement) where certain planes, with strange softness, incriminate the use of a violent noise reducer (of the DNR). The silver grain is in fact terribly heterogeneous and the images far too artificial... This tends to prove the unthought-out integration of HDR technology (limited to HDR10), with light sources so pushed (especially on reflections) that they become cartoonesque. In addition, we often lose on the pruning side (less cottony clouds). MaxFALL was measured at 96 cd/m2 and MaxCCL at 1000 nits. But everything is (happily) not to be thrown away, since the lush colorimetric palette gains as much in shade (a more measured overall saturation and a less pregnant yellow-green dominant) than in vibrance (for an island frame more « Paradise »), and that the blacks show an increased depth well at the moment of sacrifice on the island and at evenings at the Big Apple). There is finally only here where the natural finds his way...
• Soundtrack : English DTS:XExclusively captured with large-format cameras (Panavision 65 mm and IMAX 65 mm), meticulously digitized in 8K and then passed in 4K, oscillating between color (the subjective) and N&B (the lens) and carefully calibrated by Kostas Theodosiou (so that the digital version matches the analog reference print), Hoyte Van Hoytema's sumptuous photograph is perfectly returned by this indefatigable UHD HDR10 transfer (still no Dolby Vision for Nolan) that a solid compression comes to support (an average bitrate of 65.8 Mbps despite a duration of three hours). The definition is just prodigious (the panoramic views are of incredible precision), the level of detail is never seen (is the eye able to see more than that?) and the silver granularity is displayed with an insolent finesse (even if heterogeneous by the diversity of the films used). The old-fashioned photochemical calibration delivers beautifully unsaturated hues by taking advantage of the warmer shades than on the Blu-ray (it is easily noticed during the passages with Jean Tatlock, interpreted by Florence Pugh) and the HDR technology, maintained under control (red peaks of 223 bits for an average luminance of 164 cd/m2), strengthens the management of contrasts (very natural with matt blacks) for a more sensitive darkness and light sources with subtly raised radiance (sieved domestic lighting, daylight, dives into the heart of the matter, nuclear explosion). For N&B, full of shades and light
Even more scale and opening than the previous soundtrack DTS-HD MA 51 for a VO DTS:X (24-bit, 7413 kbps) titanium with maximum envelope... The addition of verticality, far from being annoyed (cf. the rush of the brachiosaurs and the pit to the giant insects), adding to a sound of every moment. The spatialisation is even more palpable (the atmospheres of the New York jungle, the fauna and flora on Skull Island), aggressive rear activity, the perfectly targeted effects (road traffic, the presence of the bestiary), the vehement dynamics, the crystalline dialogues, the score of James Newton Howard (between lyrical softness and tribal ferocity) particularly large and the colossal bass (King Kong screams, heavy steps of reptiles, motors of the SS Venture). Very slender at its level but necessarily less precise in its rendering, the VF DTS 5.1 (24-bit, 768 kbps) delivers whatever happens from the great acoustic spectacle even if a little more « dry » than in his 3D friend. If the dubbing is of quality, the voices are too prominent vis-à-vis the other audio components of the mixing.
The Hobbit – Trilogy
Publisher : Warner Bros. | Release date : 16 December 2020
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.40 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Scattered until it looks like a video game, the image disappoints somewhat! Because if the HDR and the colors reinforce the fairytale of the work (increased luminosity, modernised colors, magical lighting as possible and reinforced contrasts), the drastic accentuation of the contours (too hard textures, frequent detours of the vertiginous background decorations and presence of DNR) as well as the application of the latter (do the more ardent flames of the Smaug dragon cause the melting of a part of the snow?) remove this 4K remasterization from the precision of its HD counterpart.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French DTS-HD MA 7.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 (An Unexpected Trip)
Dynamic and immersive (spaceization is formidable), the soundtrack Dolby Atmos really does justice to the inventiveness of mixing. The voices are of great clarity, the deep natural atmospheres, the ubiquitous surround effects, the memorable aerial scene, the symphonic score of Howard Shore aired with great care and the devastating bass. It sends heavy... even the robust and animated VFs despite a lower acoustic weight.
The Magnificent (1973)
Publisher : Studiocanal | Release date 31 October 2023
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.66 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Produced in 2023 Studiochannel from the original negative 35 mm, this 4K restoration performed by L-Image Found Unfortunately, the laboratory's paw is increased even if the result is generally convincing (despite a fluctuating flow rate of 5 Mb/s). The stability of the images is constant, the imperfections present on the film have been carefully erased (requiring 120 hours of digital work), the increased definition gives precision to the background and the details display with an unprecedented finesse (faces, costumes, decorations) if this is during composite planes (generic, chained melts), visually below because with rough boundaries and a heavily manipulated silver texture while the grain is homogeneous the rest of the time. Yes, but here's the way the food laboratory is visible... The colorimetric palette may be revived (less fad primary) the new calibration is sometimes inconsistent from one plane to the next with the intrusive presence of yellow and green hues (this is noticeable during the jet-ski passage), and the rather dull contrasts leave blacks, although denser than in the past but able to shoot on the green. There is nothing to blame, however, for the solid light sources, now more realistic (light of the day, artificial lighting of Tatiana's house) and delivering a high luminance that is better covered (reflections on water, sunny sky, explosions).
• Soundtrack : French DTS-HD MA 2.0
While the version 3.0 proposed on the 2013 Blu-ray has gone away, the original mono-mix digitally restored from the negative sound and encoded in DTS-HD MA 2.0 format is still a perfectly balanced soundtrack that does not lack resources. The dynamics of the era are intact, the detachment of atmospheres and other effects is evident (including shootings and rain), the cleanliness of the signal is amazing (no breath or distortion), the intelligibility of the dialogues is appreciable and the presentation of Claude Bolling's music is made without saturation.
Little Buddha
Publisher : Rimini Editions | Release date : 12 September 2024
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.00 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Completed by Cinecittà in 2022 under the supervision of the director of photography Vittorio Storaro from the « separation masters », this new 4K restoration that blows hot and cold arrives us via a solid UHD Dolby Vision transfer despite a compression that can happen to wave (an average bitrate of only 48 Mbit/s). The master is very clean, the stability of the frame is evident throughout and the level of detail, clearly increased (a 35 mm capture for the XX century and 65 mm for Siddhartha's life), reveals more refined skin textures as well as more subtle textile fibres than on the previous Blu-ray. Nevertheless, the plans are again cropped in Univisium 2.00 (instead of the original format 2.39), resulting in a loss of image of the order of 16% (which is not nothing), and the thickness of the rendering (sometimes softened by a strand of DNR), coupled with a large uplift of granularity (which has at least been preserved) in the dark, betrays the use of intermediate elements (not original negatives) during restoration. But that's not all... Because as in the past, more precisely during the first edition Arrow Films (who no longer wishes to collaborate with him since) Crystal Plumage Bird, the legendary opioid leader has taken a violent colorimetric revisionism. Vittorio Storaro, James Cameron of photography (cf. article Aliens, Abyss, True Lies and Titanic – L)? Disputable (and the word is frankly weak) at all possible because ultra-filtered in places (so much so that there are only a few touch of colors left in Seattle), the new calibration caricature more than ever the visual disparities between the East (hot and spiritual) and the West (cold and materialistic). The emerald city is thus covered with a glacial monochromatic blue where the « Little Tibet » flashbacks are only stifling gilding (with a sun that burns absolutely everything). For the subtlety of the point (of the level of a CP), we will go back... But then, for what reason(s) many other plans were spared by this massacre, realistic hues to the vibrating primary (red kesas) preserved? Bâcle work whose unpleasant heterogeneity spoils viewing at regular intervals, as the green yellow drifts of certain sequences (Immagine Ritrovata worked on it or well) and the paleness of the scenes in low light (because of black take off) tend to prove. But Buddha be praised, the high luminances are, for the most part at least (when excessive filtering allows), better capped (solar radiation, luminous reflections). Average Peak Nits was measured at 223 cd/m2 and MaxCCL at 10,000 nits (!).
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Proposed in 5.1 (24-bit, 4209 kbps) and 2.0 surround (24-bit, 1907 kbps), two tracks very close to each other even if the first one is more precise at the rear, the VO with mainly frontal sounds still delivers small effects in the surrounds (children in the courtyard of the Temple, lightnings)... Unfortunately, an impossibility for VF 2.0 dual mono (24-bit, 2100 kbps). In any case, it is to a mix (a little encroached by French dubbing) well planned and rather balanced that we are dealing with where the superb music of Ryūichi Sakamoto passes through all available channels (so more or less numerous depending on the soundtrack selected). The dynamics are effective, the dialogues are clear (even if sometimes deaf in Molière's language) and the LFE channel is not much used (nothing abnormal in view of the work).
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Publisher : ESC Editions | Release date : 19 July 2023
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.66 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
From a 4K scan of the original negative (by the Australians of The Grainery), the restoration carried out in 2022 by the Polish Fixafilm, fully supervised and approved by Peter Weir* and its leader op- Russell Boyd, is firmly reproduced by these UHD HDR10 transfers (an average bitrate of 68.35 Mbps) but shows an artificial texture without doubt when using digital filtering. The stability of the frame is excellent, the original 1.66 ratio has been recovered (previous editions that were in 1.78 had a slight zoom) and the copy, of an immaculate cleanliness, is not defiled by any form of dirt. But while the image is generally clearer than in the past (cf. increased fineness of hair, patterns on clothing and vegetation near Hanging Rock), its accuracy is drastically diminished by massive degreasing (faces are regularly « wax » and the wide planes abnormally soft) on which a slight strengthening of the contours and a heterogeneous emulation of granularity (which in no way resembles that of a 35 mm capture) were grafted. In fact, the impression of dealing with an intermediate element (which is absolutely not the case) prevails.
* At the end of the 130-page booklet, he stated: « Congratulations, your work has revitalized him. (...) There is a whole new colorimetric depth and the images shine as if they lived from within. (...) You have retained the aspect of the film, while accentuating in a certain way. (...) It's like an old 18th century painting that has been thoroughly cleaned, but not too much. Congratulations to all those involved. »
Then there are the colorimetric retouches that will be debated, as they show a clear revisionism even so strong at the moment.*. With a golden trend, they reinforce many shades (greenness) while enjoying a better saturation of the primaries (blue sky, the openly carnal red dress of Irma). And the same applies to contrasts, the modernization of which benefits the high luminances (better crapped)... In contrast to the darkness which loses in legibility (blacks too densed can even be blocked). MaxFALL was measured at 182 cd/m2 and MaxCLL at 786 nits (higher light sources).
* Capturing Australia's warmth better and assuming more fully its frankly suraned evanescent mysticism, this mordorous new calibration is rather well attended to the disturbing strangeness that nestles the whole film.
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 2.0
Proposed in DTS-HD MA 5.1 (24-bit, 3.45 Mb/s), the VO does not let itself go to any ill-advised modernism and merely opens the acoustic scene for musical flights (in particular the primitive sensuality of the Pan flute by Gheorghe Zamfir), dynamic and exploring the rear scene with delicacy. « Prisoner » from the front façade, the rest of the mixing makes well detached noises (moving in stereo space) and dialogues (a beautiful clarity). Limited in severes, the monophonic VF (24-bit, 1.97 Mb/s) is necessarily less wide and more clean. It does not prevent it from remaining of great clarity and preserves a delicious authenticity of restitution.
Caribbean Pirates: Black Pearl Curse
Publisher : Disney | Release date : 04 May 2022
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.40 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
While we were right to expect an improved image clarity and an enchanting colorimetric spectrum, it is rather a curse « Disneyian » that we are dealing since far from being fresh, it is the master UHD HDR10 of Disney+ (made in a hurry a few years ago to offer content on the platform) which is exploited here! Abusively filtered and away from the silver rendering that it should display (the film was captured in Super 35), the image suffers from the sequelae of a noise reducer. It's very simple, HD transfer is often more detailed. But that is not all, since a strengthening of the contours had the « good idea » to join the crew. As a result, it is harder and less pricked, it seems more artificial than before... Not to mention the remaining grain which, totally frozen, seems juxtaposed on the elements of the frame. As of course, it is « cracra » As soon as the camera is in motion. And there's still « better », since in addition to the above-mentioned tripodlings, the HDR technology (sepia filter way) dreads photography terribly. Much darker and duller than SDR encoding, it puts the primary (blue sky, the red tunic of the Royal Guard) and obscures the light sources (but where is the sun of the Caribbean?). So yes, the clouds are now more visible, but the Blu-ray remains largely above everything else.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
If she doesn't detract, the soundtrack « Dolby Atmouse » However, the « to approach in beautiful » the previous LPCM 5.1 runway. Because the extended spatial activity (the back effects are more present), the use (too discreet) of the aerial channels (small ambient sounds), the engagement of the score and the clarity of the dialogues cannot make forget its lack of enthusiasm (even with a « kicking » and excessive caution of bass (see Port Royal attack). Better off than in the past, the VF Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 (in place of the DD 5.1 mix) is more fully committed to the Caribbean Sea!
Caribbean Pirates: The Secret of the Cursed Lock
Publisher : Disney | Release date : 07 April 2023
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
On the 1st opusThe curse « Disneyian » continues with this transfer UHD HDR10 far from being of first freshness since drawn from the same master that operated on Disney+ (and therefore rushed to launch the platform)... It's very simple, the visual rendering of the Blu-ray is otherwise more pleasant! The clarity of the image is in no way improved, since the light sources are now much darker (the sun of the Caribbean is no longer than the shadow of itself and only the clouds are better shaped), the colorimetric spectrum has lost its enchantment because it is made baffled by a sepia veil that reduces the primary and the details, regularly accentuated by a strengthening of the obvious contours, are diminished by the use of a DNR coming to erase a large part of the silver grain (which should nevertheless be very present in connection with a Super 35 capture). However, unlike the « glorious » returned from its elder, the edge enhancement is less coarse and the grain not fully frozen. In fact, it is more potable in motion.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Still lacking in aggressiveness (dynamics and bass start timidly at collision) against the previous LPCM 5.1 track (and riding the potash will do nothing), the VO « Dolby Atmouse » space activity (increased surround presence during skirmishes) even though the verticality of mixing is more like a small swell than a storm tide (some ambient sounds and the tentacles of the krake). The dialogues are lively and Hans Zimmer's loud music is delivered with sufficient magnitude. Better pledged than in the past because winning two channels behind, the VF Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 (in place of the DTS 5.1 mix) engages with more courage than its 3D friend!
Caribbean Pirates: To the end of the world
Publisher : Disney | Release date : 07 April 2023
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 2K
4K restoration point worthy of this name but a scale made with the va-vite (the input in definition is in no way obvious) where the HDR obscures the places too much, the WCG reduces the vivacity of the shades and the DNR continues to give the estocade (some less violent than on the first two shutters). So yes, the more ambient morosity of light sources (even if the flames and clouds reveal finer details) and colors (the primary ones are more discreet) lend themselves rather well to this more mature chapter, as well as the silver texture (a Super 35 capture) finally emerges from the waves (while being diminished); But no, it's not more beautiful than the 2007 HD transfer, the natural focus of which is.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
While the magnitude is still in decline (combativity is somewhat missing at call) compared to the former LPCM 5.1 runway, the VO « Dolby Atmouse » (think about riding the pottery) does not fail to deliver a space activity of a crazy richness (information abounds at the back and is timely in the heights) coupled with easy-to-understand dialogues and a memorable musical symphony (well mixed with the set). With a slightly more pronounced dynamic momentum and only slightly more impacting (but with less shades), the VF Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, which picks up two surround speakers (from DTS 5.1 on the previous Blu-ray), is less afraid to get wet despite a tighter spatialization.
Star Wars, Episode I: Ghost Menace
Publisher : Disney | Release date : 05 June 2020
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
She's going to fight the Federation of Trade with the same « defects » (a deliberate choice by George Lucas to visually connect the three opus of the prelogy) than the previous Blu-ray (excessive smoothing to remove the 35 mm silver texture and a heterogeneous definition) despite the modern input linked to the HDR (ragaillarded contrasts and brighter light sources) and the WCG (a new calibration to the better saturated primary).
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
The soundtrack is illustrated on the battlefield once the volume increased by a few crans... Especially the sample (the dynamic has under the elbow) and immersive 3D remixing (the race of podracers is an anthological auditory pleasure) that plunges us into the heart of the conflict with effects/ambitions that tingling from everywhere (height scene understood as during the displacements of space vessels) and impacts « haunted » by the Sith force (cf. the swords that clash during the final duel).
Sugarland Express
Publisher : Universal Pictures | Release date : 04 December 2024
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.35 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Yet supervised by « The Entertainment King », this 4K restoration from a 35 mm negative scan is too uneven to convince. The image suffers from variable degreasing, the previously blurred planes (a failed focus) are clumsyly accentuated by the AI (visual aberrations do not deceive) and the carnation is heterogeneous. Remains a veil of extra sharpness and colors less washed than in the past (reds, yellows and blues).
• Soundtrack : English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French DTS 2.0
Leaving on the lower side of the former dual mono VO, this edition embarks on a new Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track that will lightly open the sound field (vehicles move forward and crowd invests the surrounding channels) while remaining faithful to its frontal origins (dialogues are clear). Despite low muddyness, gunshots and carbblings become more robust. Although well distributed, stereo VF (unbearable dubbing) is more narrowed.
Terminator 2
Publisher : Studiocanal | Release date : 05 December 2017
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.40 – HDR10 | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
This new 4K restoration carried out by James Cameron's teams (and approved by the master) in 2016 for the reappearance of the film in 3D, changes quite radically (too) the aspect of the work. The image has been massively descaled, the calibration of the colors has been modernised (a more neutral and bluish photograph) and visual changes have been made (e.g. erasure of the filming material, change of the faces of the stunters by the actors, etc.). So farewell the silver aspect of the work and hello the ultra-clean and over-read image. While the result may seem flattering at first glance (the film seems to have been shot yesterday in digital format), many plans nevertheless suffer from a rather embarrassing fake rendering, the fault of an excess of DNR (wax faces) coupled with an artificial accentuation of the contours often well visible. But finally, at least in Ultra HD Blu-ray (because the Blu-ray in the package is generally bad), it is the best way to enjoy this cult movie today. Indeed, the compression is solid (an average bitrate of 60.17 Mb/s) while it is all rotten on the Blu-ray, the sharpness never seen, most of the more numerous details (at least comparing this version with the Collector's Edition released in 2009), the rejuvenated colors (not always connections from one plane to another on the newly restored comic) and the optimal contrasts. The same would of course have been desirable without excessive degreasing and abuse of edge enhancement (a lot more visible on the last Blu-ray).
• Soundtrack : English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
From large calibre to controlled dynamics that overflow with precise effects and severe seismics. The VO is to be preferred for excess activity on the rear channels and a more homogeneous set (VF more rough and for free too powerful with bass that can saturate). In both cases, and this is rather a good thing, the original mixing is respected and preserves the sound library of the era which is necessarily a little dated today (like shots and collisions). Vis-à-vis the Blu-ray Collector's Edition released in 2009, the VF is gaining in depth and the VO in multichannel finesse (still proposed in DTS-HD MA 6.1).
Three Colors: Blue, White, Red
Publisher : Potemkine | Release date : 07 December 2021
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 1.85 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
Resulting from a 4K restoration (concretized by Hiventy) drawn from the original 35 mm negatives, these UHD Dolby Vision transfers that had all the cards in hand to sublimate the photograph of each work are unfortunately far below the capacity of the format. Because if finesse and precision are found (details perform with a much better rendering than in HD), the silver texture more elegantly restored, the carefully cleaned copies (with a few dusts nearby), the reinforced contrasts and the high naturalistic lights much better managed (they are no longer burned), the compression problems are rampant and the new calibration of the colors may cause jaser. Indeed, where the former masters suffered from a much too dull colorimetric palette and purple drifts, the tints today get drunk by their beauty (primary ones gain in saturation) but seem to distance themselves from the source by marking the yellows more than reason. It's beautiful and flattering, but the feeling of being ahead The Double Life of Véronique (especially with Blue) to something disturbing. But the worst thing about these Ultra HD Blu-rays is that compression that is totally « Strawberries » slut new 4K masters concocted for the occasion... Pixels and other macroblocs are assiduously incrusted, subsampling of chrominance is almost constant and some flashes of intrusive color emerge during certain plane changes. At this level, it is simply shameful!
• Soundtrack : French DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DTS-HD MA 2.0
Remixed from the Dolby Surround soundtracks used in the cinema, these multichannel soundtracks (2.0 untested) intimately linked to composer Zbigniew Preisner show an undeniable listening comfort. Mixing is perfectly balanced, the dynamic benefits the score, the voices are clear (even in restraint), spatialisation is natural and the rear activity, periodically surprising, serves the atmosphere.
True Lies
Publisher : 20th Century Studios | Release date 24 April 2024
• Video format : 2160p24 | Ratio 2.39 – Dolby Vision | BT.2020 – HEVC encoding | DI 4K
One « modernization » of which the passage to the artificial mill, horrendously heterogeneous from one plane to another, massacre shamelessly the photograph captured in Super 35 by Russell Carpenter (Charlie and his funny ladies). Either blurred and waxy, or too sharp and counter-nature (like cel-shading almost 40% of the time), this image with abnormal photochemical texture « clean » (absent) and then fichtre « Dirty » (invasive) the second after, is agitated by an autopilot treatment... It also affects contrasts (incoherent levels of black) and carnation (from pale to tanned in a snap of fingers). Surprisingly, some fine details naturally persist from there. For the rest, the revisionist colorimetric palette (cold and no longer hot) offers new bold hues (the red sports car, the turquoise seafront of the Florida Keys), the light sources are very bright at times (cf. the fireplace fire during the striptease of Helen) and the HEVC compression, with a bitrate of the order of 65 to 70 Mbps on average, does not get its cover roasted.
• Soundtrack : English Dolby Atmos, French DTS-HD HR 5.1
While she has always been fantastic (including VHS), this turbulent soundtrack powered by Brad Fiedel's score (Terminator) takes advantage of a strong upgrade with a memorable engagement of the height scene (the voice during interrogation, the jet passages, the helicopter ride) and more space to breathe back (the final with the Harrier II). More immersive than ever, the activity around it is substantial to the slightest incartade and music, which benefits from a pleasant fidelity of the mediums, perfectly distributed on all channels. The dialogues are always clear, the dynamics are far from modest and the LFE channel is firm (explosions, shots, jet engines). If it is not to enjoy its dubbing drolatic, there is no reason to favor the VF presented in DTS-HD HR 5.1 because it is less impacting and tighter, it assumes too little the double life that it is supposed to lead.
Tops of support:
- The best 4K Blu-ray in support v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray to test 3D sound v.1, v.2
- The best 4K Blu-ray 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Support flops:
The previous Bazar:
- Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, Volume 9, Volume 10, Volume 11, Volume 12, Volume 13, Volume 14, Volume 15
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