Are blu-ray players still worth buying?

[Sal1950]

Imagine buying a new TV, an Xbox One just for its 4K capabilities and then renting a movie only to be told "You need to reduce the quality to HDX" I had already bought a handful of movies on the platform but now I will try to get the disc if I can.

Check with Redbox, they're starting up a 4K disc rental at various locations, you might have a good shot at one living in LA
If not send them an email encouraging them to expand the service to your area. I do this every so often since they have not opened any 4K kiosks near me yet.
https://www.redbox.com/4K

 

[Astrozombie]

There's a Red Box a block away but it always has trouble taking my credit card

 

[North_Sky]

I think that if you don't collect Blu-ray movies (2K and 4K) there's no use to buy a Blu-ray player (2K or 4K). And if you only occasionally watch a Blu-ray movie (2K, 4K or 3D) and are more into audio music...there is a Pioneer universal 4K BR player.

If you are an afficionafo of discs, you have already an Oppo BR (2K or 4K) player. Or more. If not ... Pioneer and Panasonic ... for hiend.

And for casual movie entertainment on a budget, Sony X800M2 universal 4K BR player ($199 on sale ... or $249 max).

I'm a collector so I have tons of Blu-ray players (universal 2K and 4K and 3D).

If you buy a nice OLED 4K TV, you want to see what it can do with some of the best 4K Blu-ray movies. If not it comes with tons of movie apps (streaming).
Panasonic OLED (Canada and UK), Sony and LG OLED (all countries including USA).
Just to name the three best.

So the question of this thread...Are Blu-ray players still worth buying?
The answer depends of each videophile and audiophile on a budget...below say $1,000 and rock bottom...$50 or so. They don't make them expensive anymore like yesteryears for $5,000-+10,000 ... no need to when Oppo was still in business with their models 95 ($999), 105/105D ($1,199/1,299) and 205 4K @ $1,299. Those were the good days of hiend audio and video.

OPPO is no more, Cambridge is no more, Samsung is no more.
Hiend universal 4k (video & audio) is from Pioneer now ($999)
And hiend 4K video is from Panasonic ($999)
Budget universal 4K is from Sony ($199-249)
Budget 4K video is from Panasonic ($499)

Today BR players are expandable...disposable.
Streaming is not the same quality as discs. Brand new 4K BR releases (some) are $29.99 and $34.99 (some less $24.99 and some up to $44.99 ... Steelbook).
Streaming is cheaper, but of lesser quality in general.

So the answer is not a general one; it all depends of what rocks the boat of each person's own level when it comes to movie entertainment @ home.
It's the exact same thing with music entertainment, except that here the limit is the sky.
I'm talking the sources here. ...Like...Are CD players/Turntables still worth buying?

Are you a mono guy or a stereo hi-fi guy? Are you a multichannel man?
Are you a digit man, an analog man or both men?

Me I'm Blu man. Blues is also high on my music taste, along with Opera and Tango music. For movies, all genres...on Blu (2K, 4K & 3D). I like mono, stereo and multichannel (7.2.4) with eleven speakers and minimum two subwoofers (for both movies & music).

8K is next, but I don't see any 8K Blu-ray player on the horizon.
I think we hit the limit in Blu-ray players. But I'm no expert, same as trying to predict the second pandemic wave.

Stay safe, watch a Blu-ray movie tonight from your Blu-ray player (2K or 4k).
Check out 1917, or John Wick 3, or Blade Runner 2049 on 4K Blu.
...Or any type of movie you like best on Blu-ray (2K or 4K or 3D) for best storyline, pure entertainment, best adrenaline picture and audio quality. Check something/anything on Blu that will make you forget that we are in a pandemic...you, your wife, your family.

Or don't; just stream instead, or go to bed early...for an early wakeup this weekend coming up. I'm going fishing this weekend ...

* Reason for editing: Three typos (minor)

 

[headshake]

I'd say if your tv is smaller than 80" 16:9 diagonal then you can skip the 4k bluray.

If you just use tv audio i'd prob skip it too.

If you sit too far from the tv you are just bumping down what you can see too. Go too far from a 4k screen and it might as well be 1080.

8k is like audio past 20khz. It is for eagles and bats.

With all that being said, the data rate for a Bluray crushes ALL streaming services. A ripped bluray is still prob better than most streaming services.

IMO The current best budget bluray is the panny ub420. Lets you have hdr streaming, 3d, hdr adjustment/remapping

and I got it for $150.

I use plex for most movies on a qnap. I only buy the disc if I love the movie.

Flash Gordon and the Blue Brothers come out on 4k this year. I am waiting for that.

John Wick 3, or Blade Runner 2049

Those are gorgeous movies for sure. Like art on a wall. I need to see 1917.

 

[North_Sky]

I should review Blu-ray movies for the camera shots and the music composers.
This pandemic is changing the panorama, the soundstage, the minefield.

* Great music score in 1917. ...And the sound effects too.
...Sound mixing, visual effects, cinematography.

 

[Sal1950]

I need to see 1917.

Nice photography, movie was boring as all heck to me.
JMHO

 

[Nathan Raymond]

I probably have about 1000 DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD Blu-Ray titles in total. >50% Blu-Ray, <10% UHD. I don't have a 4k playback device, so the UHD purchases were incidental (i.e. about the same cost on sale as a standard Blu-Ray, and they include a standard Blu-Ray). I prefer a Blu-Ray to streaming, especially if it's well mastered and has good extras. I enjoy having high quality audio and no visible artifacts. Unless things have changed, recommending UHD Blu-Rays is harder, as this article outlines:

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1519123680

As that article gets into, studios have not been consistent when it comes to releasing UHD discs in the best quality possible. Also if you have an interest in Criterion films, but don't have a lot yet, their streaming service could be very compelling (I haven't tried it myself to see, since I already own most of the Criterion films I'm interested in). Just keep in mind that streaming services can change at the drop of a hat, and I personally don't trust that I "own" any copy of anything on any streaming service.

 

[headshake]

I probably have about 1000 DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD Blu-Ray titles in total. >50% Blu-Ray, <10% UHD. I don't have a 4k playback device, so the UHD purchases were incidental (i.e. about the same cost on sale as a standard Blu-Ray, and they include a standard Blu-Ray). I prefer a Blu-Ray to streaming, especially if it's well mastered and has good extras. I enjoy having high quality audio and no visible artifacts. Unless things have changed, recommending UHD Blu-Rays is harder, as this article outlines:

https://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.php?subaction=showfull&id=1519123680

As that article gets into, studios have not been consistent when it comes to releasing UHD discs in the best quality possible. Also if you have an interest in Criterion films, but don't have a lot yet, their streaming service could be very compelling (I haven't tried it myself to see, since I already own most of the Criterion films I'm interested in). Just keep in mind that streaming services can change at the drop of a hat, and I personally don't trust that I "own" any copy of anything on any streaming service.

Yeah, it really is a goofy situation. Effects done in 2k, movies released in 4k. Just marketing for some movies.

I've read about a few movies where they tossed the 4k scans thinking nobody would ever be able to watch it (at the time 4k consumer devices did not exists). I am finding there are very few movies that are worth it for the resolution. Even one of my favs "Fury Road" is not real 4k.

https://4kmedia.org/real-or-fake-4k/

HDR is another mess.

The criterion collection is 4k scanned and releases 1080p. They look fantastic though. The "Night of the Living Dead" release is watchable. I could never see what was going on in the dark scenes before.

The future for 4k is scanning old movies and new 4k productions. The movies that were made digitally are lost or the pixels were never captured to begin with. This is why you see 1980's 4k movies because there is film (data) to scan.

 

[Wes]

I rent most blurays and use that as a way to know which ones I want to collect....but ripping those would be illegal in the US. Even buying the disc, ripping it and then selling the disc (let alone distributing the rip in any way) would be illegal here.

Almost. Ripping it should be legal, but retaining the rip after a return would not be.

 

[Wes]

How often do people watch the same video again? I only do this for masterworks form Fellini, Hitchcock, Antonioni, and a few others. I just get them from the local library every few years.

I rip my music tho, except a few things on SACD which are troublesome to rip.

 

[Promit]

With all that being said, the data rate for a Bluray crushes ALL streaming services. A ripped bluray is still prob better than most streaming services.

I skimmed the thread quickly and didn't actually see any numbers on this, so I thought I'd add them myself. All numbers are for UHD/4k streams in optimal conditions.
UHD Blu-Ray: h.265 (HEVC) at 100 mbps
Netflix: 16 mbps
Hulu: 16 mbps
Disney+: ~18 average, 28 peak (US only)
Vudu: 15 mbps
Amazon Prime: ~15 mbps probably

Watching 4K on streaming is like listening to 128 kbps MP3. Most people will be perfectly happy and never notice the difference.

Additionally, many of the streaming providers have been lowering bitrates (especially in Europe) to reduce overall network congestion during the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to higher overall network utilization.

 

[Promit]

Personally, I have a couple (less than a dozen) UHD movies that I wanted on disc because I like them a lot, I like to rewatch them, and I want them in absolute maximum quality. I'll continue to flesh that out with some secondary choices as things go on sale. Then I have a more substantial digital library of ripped/re-encoded movies on Plex that I'll go back to or just watch scenes from frequently but don't need crazy quality.

 

[North_Sky]

Let say you have a nice 4K front projector (Sony, JVC or other quality ones), or/and say you have a nice OLED 65" or 77" 4K TV (Sony, LG, Panasonic ...), or a nice QLED 4K TV (Samsung 85"), or a nice LED 4K TV (Sony 85"), or larger (86", 88", 100", ...) ....Sky's the limit ... 8K ...
▪ https://www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-the-wall-luxury-292-inches,news-30348.html

Then it's worth it to get a Blu-ray player for only $149 (4K Panasonic 420 on sale, or even less), or a Universal Blu-ray player for only $199 (4K Sony X800M2 on sale or open box).

They'll give you state-of-the-art picture quality on any large quality screen display, even on smaller sizes (55" to 65"). Check some native 4K reference demo material from Sony, Samsung and LG. It's spooky, 3D alike with incredible details and colors and contrast and brightness and high dynamic range and high nits and gorgeous oily blacks and virgin pure whites.

Yeah, for the low cost (below $200), in those situations it's worth it to get a Blu-ray player (4K). IMHO viewed from my "bedroom window" (own eyes).

 

[Chrispy]

Almost. Ripping it should be legal, but retaining the rip after a return would not be.

That's what I said. Ripping from a rental would be illegal, as well as buying one then ripping it, and then returning it/selling it, wouldn't be legal at least as I understand current laws here in the US.

 

[Sal1950]

Yeah, it really is a goofy situation. Effects done in 2k, movies released in 4k. Just marketing for some movies.

I've read about a few movies where they tossed the 4k scans thinking nobody would ever be able to watch it (at the time 4k consumer devices did not exists). I am finding there are very few movies that are worth it for the resolution. Even one of my favs "Fury Road" is not real 4k.

https://4kmedia.org/real-or-fake-4k/

HDR is another mess.

The criterion collection is 4k scanned and releases 1080p. They look fantastic though. The "Night of the Living Dead" release is watchable. I could never see what was going on in the dark scenes before.

The future for 4k is scanning old movies and new 4k productions. The movies that were made digitally are lost or the pixels were never captured to begin with. This is why you see 1980's 4k movies because there is film (data) to scan.

The movie studios are just about the same as the music labels. They take ancient tapes that were poorly recorded in the first place, and remaster them in 24/96, 24/192 or DSD then sell them at a premium price as HD recordings. No matter the provenance of the original mix, if you master it to anything faster than Red Book, it"s High Definition Audio. BALONEY! Plus I'm not too sure that well done Red Book can be bettered for human listening anyway, So I'm pretty sure it's all marketing hype.
I'm also not a fan of HDR in video, much of the time it just seems dark overall to me.

 

[headshake]

Personally, I have a couple (less than a dozen) UHD movies that I wanted on disc because I like them a lot, I like to rewatch them, and I want them in absolute maximum quality. I'll continue to flesh that out with some secondary choices as things go on sale. Then I have a more substantial digital library of ripped/re-encoded movies on Plex that I'll go back to or just watch scenes from frequently but don't need crazy quality.

Yeah, me too. Reference quality for the good ones.

I buy used 4k discs on ebay 1st - people sell the 4k copies w/o the 1080 for cheap.

My UHD collection:
Predator
Labyrinth
Mad Max: Fury Road (is really 2k)
Ghostbusters

That's it for my collection UHD disc collection. I'll stream before I buy.

I'm also not a fan of HDR in video, much of the time it just seems dark overall to me.

That's because each movie has a different standard of what the max value of the brightness is. Some discs have no value of the max value. So what is your tv supposed to do? It has its own limit on brightness. A projector has even less to work with. Think of it as brightness headroom. The panasonic ub420 can remap the brightness of the disc/stream to a ballpark number for your display. This is still only the average brightness across the disc/stream though. What about a really dark scene? The JVC projectors can do a frame-by-frame hdr remap to get the most out of it. Beyond that, folks use PC's to custom tweak hdr settings per movie (madVR). HDR is messed up. I too am not a fan.

 

[Wes]

That's what I said. Ripping from a rental would be illegal, as well as buying one then ripping it, and then returning it/selling it, wouldn't be legal at least as I understand current laws here in the US.

No, "ripping from a rental" would not be illegal under US law, as long as you destroy the rip before returning the rental.

 

[Chrispy]

No, "ripping from a rental" would not be illegal under US law, as long as you destroy the rip before returning the rental.

Well what would be the point of ripping it while you had the rental disc? Puhleeze

 

[Wes]

You can answer that one for yourself

 

[Chrispy]

You can answer that one for yourself

Oh, I have, many times You delete yours, right?