Rise of the Planet of the Apes Ultra HD Blu-ray Review & Comments

Simon Crust

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Is the Digital Download an actual proper iTunes copy or one of those stupid UV things?
 
Releasing upscales as "4K" seems hugely disingenuous. I don't recall this happening when blu-ray first came out. It's downright dishonest and is most likely false advertising.
 
Releasing upscales as "4K" seems hugely disingenuous. I don't recall this happening when blu-ray first came out. It's downright dishonest and is most likely false advertising.
Until recently the majority of digitally photographed films were shot at a resolution of 2K and even those that were shot at a higher resolution were finished in post-production at a resolution of 2K. Rise was actually shot on 35mm film but the effects and the DI were done at 2K, so that's all the studio can release unless you expect them to re-do all the effects at a cost of millions which obviously isn't going to happen.
 
Until recently the majority of digitally photographed films were shot at a resolution of 2K and even those that were shot at a higher resolution were finished in post-production at a resolution of 2K. Rise was actually shot on 35mm film but the effects and the DI were done at 2K, so that's all the studio can release unless you expect them to re-do all the effects at a cost of millions which obviously isn't going to happen.

Then why release the UHD BD at all? Studios should just be up front and honest and say sorry, but we don't have movie X in 4K, so the blu-ray is as good as it gets.

I'll be voting with my wallet, and I hope others do the same.
 
But the review states that's it's an improvement over the blu-ray in all aspects. If it looks good, who cares what the DI was?
 
But the review states that's it's an improvement over the blu-ray in all aspects. If it looks good, who cares what the DI was?

Once detail is gone, it's gone forever. Perhaps the new disc looks better due to bitrate, codec, or perhaps it's just a different transfer which happens to look better. Who knows, but all of those would be equally applicable on a blu-ray release.
 
Then why release the UHD BD at all? Studios should just be up front and honest and say sorry, but we don't have movie X in 4K, so the blu-ray is as good as it gets.

I'll be voting with my wallet, and I hope others do the same.
It's not just about resolution. Look at a UHD like Pacific Rim which is also an upscale. It's reference quality and looks a lot better than some of the native 4K discs. Looking forward to the review of Dawn.
 
Once detail is gone, it's gone forever. Perhaps the new disc looks better due to bitrate, codec, or perhaps it's just a different transfer which happens to look better. Who knows, but all of those would be equally applicable on a blu-ray release.

The comparison is made against the latest Blu-ray, which is also in the box.
 
Then why release the UHD BD at all? Studios should just be up front and honest and say sorry, but we don't have movie X in 4K, so the blu-ray is as good as it gets.

I'll be voting with my wallet, and I hope others do the same.
There's more to Ultra HD Blu-ray than just resolution, in fact that might be the least important aspect because unless you've got a very large screen you probably won't notice the additional resolution at any normal viewing distance. What makes an Ultra HD Blu-ray look so good is actually more to do with 10-bit video depth, wider colour gamut and high dynamic range. I've seen plenty of movies that used a 2K DI but looked absolutely stunning on UHD Blu-ray and beat the pants off the regular Blu-ray version.
 
There's more to Ultra HD Blu-ray than just resolution, in fact that might be the least important aspect because unless you've got a very large screen you probably won't notice the additional resolution at any normal viewing distance. What makes an Ultra HD Blu-ray look so good is actually more to do with 10-bit video depth, wider colour gamut and high dynamic range. I've seen plenty of movies that used a 2K DI but looked absolutely stunning on UHD Blu-ray and beat the pants off the regular Blu-ray version.

Thanks Steve, I wasn't aware of that.

I've just gone UHD but have little material to play around with yet (Planet Earth 2 and Netflix). I may have to do a side by side of my own somehow.
 
Thanks Steve, I wasn't aware of that.

I've just gone UHD but have little material to play around with yet (Planet Earth 2 and Netflix). I may have to do a side by side of my own somehow.
Of course that doesn't mean that some of the UHD Blu-ray releases so far haven't been cynical cash grabs but most have impressed me. I'm sure you'll be amazed by Planet Earth II which was shot and finished at 4K.
 
Of course that doesn't mean that some of the UHD Blu-ray releases so far haven't been cynical cash grabs but most have impressed me. I'm sure you'll be amazed by Planet Earth II which was shot and finished at 4K.

My new TV is still in its box at the moment (65" B7) but will be taking its place in my living room this evening. Planet Earth 2 will be the first thing I try.

I'm more intrigued now than I was to see how the Harry Potter films fare on UHD BD. They're 2K DIs apparently, but perhaps some HDR or the wider colour gamut can bring back a little of the detail lost to the black crush on the BDs.
 
No Atmos,DTS X :(. Think I'll pass .
 
My new TV is still in its box at the moment (65" B7) but will be taking its place in my living room this evening. Planet Earth 2 will be the first thing I try.

I'm more intrigued now than I was to see how the Harry Potter films fare on UHD BD. They're 2K DIs apparently, but perhaps some HDR or the wider colour gamut can bring back a little of the detail lost to the black crush on the BDs.
Excellent choice of TV, which player did you go for?
 
In that case you should pick up Despicable Me 1 & 2, Power Rangers, The Fate of the Furious and Resident Evil: Vendetta because they're all DV UHD Blu-rays that you can play on your UP970 and B7 combo.
 
In that case you should pick up Despicable Me 1 & 2, Power Rangers, The Fate of the Furious and Resident Evil: Vendetta because they're all DV UHD Blu-rays that you can play on your UP970 and B7 combo.
I can feel Phil Hinton shaking his head now looking at that list.
 
In my opinion no way this disc deserves a score of 8. It was released in Dolby Atmos in cinemas and to omit that is unforgivable- or was it simply a mistake as suggested eleswhere?

Pointing out how good the original audio is is simply irrelevant.

6 out of 10 is more accurate.

I'll wait for the "fixed" disc.
 
In my opinion no way this disc deserves a score of 8. It was released in Dolby Atmos in cinemas and to omit that is unforgivable- or was it simply a mistake as suggested eleswhere?

Pointing out how good the original audio is is simply irrelevant.

6 out of 10 is more accurate.

I'll wait for the "fixed" disc.

I really have to agree with this . It's a cash in pure and simple with the latest Cinema release . I don't usually take umbridge on reviews to this extent and take them on board for a purchase and disscussion ( if I have not already done so ) but this is just a simple cash grab to take advantage of the latest Cinema release and rather than just the mention in the review The score should reflect this and It's just that. I've never felt the need before but this is taking the pee of peeps who love the format . As such this should be outed and fround upon for future releases on the format. CALL THEM OUT ON IT AVforum .....please.
 
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...if we were back in the hayday of bluray and a new release came out with simply lossy Dolby Digital or dts 5.1 instead of lossless Dolby True HD or dts-HD there would be an uproar!!
 
I think only Dawn had an Atmos track for the theatrical cinema release not Rise. But still, it's a massive shame neither have immersive audio, the films really would lend themselves to it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the films are priced around £18 each, even better if you can get the 10% Zavvi code working! (As I did).

I've watched both this week and am very pleased with the overall improvements in detail and colour. Worth the upgrade IMO.
 
...Oh and Dawn does look magnificent in its 1.85:1 aspect ratio with the much improved colours.
 

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