New to Blu: October 5 – 11
October 5, 2016 
2 Comments
In a week rife with 4K-UHD releases, it’s interesting to learn that the 1080p version of Warcraft: The Beginning may look better than the 4K transfer.
Reports Blu-ray.com of the 4K release: “It’s very attractive on its own merits, but the Blu-ray, which is already awesome to begin with, just feels better on the eyes and suits the movie more than this.
“Chances are, though, if one watches one version over the other, without stopping to compare them, few will walk away from either presentation disappointed.”
Another critic, at High-Def Digest, had similar reservations about the 30th anniversary edition of Labyrinth, which features a new 4K scan taken from the original 35mm camera negative.
“Now here’s where I’m going to get myself in trouble with some 4K aficionados, as I actually think a good argument can be made that not only isn’t the 4K version much of visual improvement over the accompanied Blu-ray disc, but that the Blu-ray version is actually more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, despite the lower resolution.”
Also new on 4K this week are Lucy (“the 2160p, HDR-enabled presentation dazzles from the first shot”), Everest (“a nice, albeit rather subtle, uptick in quality“), Oblivion (“the Ultra HD image is… well, a little bit underwhelming“), The Huntsman: Winter’s War Extended Edition (“a significant upgrade over the standard BD”) and The Da Vinci Code 10th Anniversary.
Another fairy tale sequel that’s new to Blu, Alice Through the Looking Glass, lands here two weeks ahead of the US.
Other newcomers include Everybody Wants Some, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Lost in the Sun, Miles Ahead, Attack on Titan: Hangeki No Noroshi and American Horror Story: Hotel.
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October 11, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Not surprised about the meh 4k discs. For a long time av commentators have been saying exactly what the High Def Digest reviewer saw. None of the 4k UHD systems I’ve seen so far have made a compelling reason to upgrade.
I think it’s a title by title case. The Revenant looks astounding in 4K and even the Star Trek remasters impress. Whether it’s worth the cost of upgrading depends on whether that involves buying a new 4K TV as well as a 4K disc player and upgrading your disc collection. At this stage, with players selling from $900-$1200, probably not. But the differences with the better 4K transfers on a 65 inch-plus display are telling.