Spike Lee's DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) has been upgraded to 4K HDR.

It appears that The Complete Indiana Jones series of films, will be upgraded to 4K HDR on disc in the US on June 14th. No Australasian date available yet, but I would expect it to be released quite close to the US date.

This means that it is very likely that the iTunes Indiana Jones films will be upgraded to Dolby Vision/4K HDR around the US release date of June 14th.

A fifth movie is reportedly being released in 2022.

The Complete Indiana Jones bundle is available on iTunes for $19.99 ATM. Could be worth picking up at that price, then waiting for the expected upgrade down the line.

Movie of the Week: Friday 15 January

LITTLE WOMEN (2020) [Drama] @ $0.99 Rental or $9.99 Buy (Dolby VISION/Dolby ATMOS)

In the years after the Civil War, Jo March lives in New York and makes her living as a writer, while her sister Amy studies painting in Paris. Amy has a chance encounter with Theodore, a childhood crush who proposed to Jo but was ultimately rejected. Their oldest sibling, Meg, is married to a schoolteacher, while shy sister Beth develops a devastating illness that brings the family back together.

Stacks of Superhero movies all at $9.99. Includes the Marvel Cinematic Universe films

With the Superhero/Marvel titles being cut to $9.99 each this week, I decided to replace 10 4K UHD titles that I recently sold on Trade Me.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Avengers

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Endgame

Black Panther

Captain Marvel

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Iron Man

Spider-Man: Homecoming/Venom (bundle)

Total of $94.91. Bargain 😀 

Grabbed another two Marvels today.

Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Movieman, I was tempted earlier when I saw you post the Back to the future trilogy for $19.99. Can I just ask as you have the same TV as I do, when they are older titles such as these which have DV/Atmos and 4K how good is the actual upscale to 4K?

Obviously the trailers are in SD and I'm just mindful about getting a quality product for my GZ1000.

Thanks in advance

JPNZ:

 

Movieman, I was tempted earlier when I saw you post the Back to the future trilogy for $19.99. Can I just ask as you have the same TV as I do, when they are older titles such as these which have DV/Atmos and 4K how good is the actual upscale to 4K?

 

Obviously the trailers are in SD and I'm just mindful about getting a quality product for my GZ1000.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

The GZ1000 is a great TV, and upscales any source really well, so you will be getting the absolute best PQ possible from whatever you are feeding it.

Movies from the 80’s and 90’s shot on film usually had grain, which many enthusiasts think gives the movie a more “filmic” look. So the older films will never look as “clean” as the latest films that are shot digitally. With this in mind, I can only say that older movies are the best that they have ever looked, without having the wow factor of the latest blockbusters, which look amazing on the Apple TV 4K.

The general opinion is that streamed movies on the ATV 4K are very close to disc quality to most people’s eyes, but the same people think Atmos is noticeably lesser quality (my ears can’t tell the difference) but, unless you are an audiophile, I think you will be very happy with both PQ and AQ. Buy or rent one when it’s at 4.99/0.99 and judge for yourself. After all, we are all different in what we deem to be good quality when it comes to audio visual.

I have watched the Back to the Future Trilogy many times over the years, and I have owned them on DVD, Blu-ray and now ATV 4K, and without seeing them on 4K disc, I can safely say that they look easily the best I’ve seen them.

I don’t profess to be an expert on the technicalities of the movie industry, but I hope that my reply has helped answer your question.

Movieman:

 

I have watched the Back to the Future Trilogy many times over the years, and I have owned them on DVD, Blu-ray and now ATV 4K, and without seeing them on 4K disc, I can safely say that they look easily the best I’ve seen them.

 

I don’t profess to be an expert on the technicalities of the movie industry, but I hope that my reply has helped answer your question.

 

Exactly what I was after, if its close to the same PQ as the 4K bluray available at retail level then I'll be happy. Most 4K movies Ive rented off itunes/apple tv have been great.

Thanks for your quick reply!

grolschie: Are they upscaled, or rescanned from film?

The films available in 4K on the ATV 4K are supplied by the studios, some being 2K upscales, others full blown 4K scans. When the studios release a catalogue movie or new release on 4K UHD disc, iTunes get the same transfers, but will lose some quality when streaming.

Many complaints about PQ on both the ATV 4K and disc, come from users with inferior 4K UHD TV’s. You really do “get what you pay for” when it comes to 4K TV’s.

One thing that puzzles me about 4K from iTunes, is who is responsible for changing movies that are 4K HDR on disc, to Dolby Vision on iTunes. The same goes for DTS:X to Dolby Atmos. Maybe one of our tech experts knows the answer.

Most of the DTS:X soundtracks are only available in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 in iTunes. I am hoping that the ATV 4K will include the ability to decode DTS:X in a future hardware release.

ATV 4K has made a great leap in a/v quality, and I expect streaming to improve even further as it becomes the home entertainment of choice in the future.

Thanks. So it pays to google each 4k movie before purchasing I guess.

grolschie:

 

Thanks. So it pays to google each 4k movie before purchasing I guess.

 

Yes, That's what I do. If reviews on PQ/AQ are good, then you can expect the movie to look good on the ATV 4K, and vice-versa.

NEW APPLE TV RUMOURS:

Apple are well known for running a tight ship, and not allowing information on new hardware etc. to be leaked to the public, until they are ready to make an announcement. However there are several "Apple Insiders" who make a living out of posting new rumours on Apple products.

The latest from the rumour mill, is that there will be a new Apple TV released sometime this year, and will include the new video codec H.266.

H.266: Versatile Video Encoding (VVC)

Fraunhofer HHI, the company behind the H.264 and H.265 video codecs, has unveiled (6 July 2020) its latest creation: the aptly-named H.266. Just as the world has finally gotten around to adopting HEVC/H.265, we get a newer version that will offer the same quality at about half the file size.

H.266 video encoding—also called Versatile Video Coding (VVC)—promises to usher in a new era of lightweight 4K streaming, not to mention the possibility of recording 8K video and high-res 360° formats without having to acquire boatloads of storage in the process.

Movie of the Week: Friday 22 January

THE INFORMER (2020) [Thriller] @ $0.99 Rental or $9.99 Buy (HD/Dolby Digital Plus 5.1)

Recruited by the FBI, ex-con and former special operations soldier Pete Koslow uses his covert skills to try and take down the General - the most powerful crime boss in New York. When a sting results in the death of an undercover cop, Pete suddenly finds himself caught in the crossfire between the mob and the FBI. Forced to return to prison, Koslow must now come up with a plan to escape from the clutches of the law and the General to save himself and his family.

Superhero films still Under $10 for a limited time.

90's movies still Under $5 for a limited time.

Dolby Vision/4K HDR movies Under $10 for a limited time.