Is it worth buying a 4K Player

[Lost Angeles]

I have a 4K OLED TV, a decent surround sound system, my BDP is about 8 years old but still playing OK. Is it worth upgrading? Money’s no problem.
4K discs are about 20 quid each and there’s not a lot available yet I’ve just bought 5 Blu-Rays discs for £30 last week including a couple of films that were only out last Christmas.
I’ve got an unlimited Cinema ticket so I’m not desperate to buy anything newly released on disc I can wait till they’re discounted.
I’ve seen 30 films this year, the last 3 weeks there’s been nothing worth seeing, I’m not sure I’d want to watch Hacksaw Ridge that often, I’ll buy Miss Sloane and Logan Lucky and probably American Made but wouldn’t want to pay more than £6 each for any of the others, thought Dunkirk was disappointing. In general I think there’s a lack of decent films and ideas around.
I know the quality of a 4K player will be better than my BDP but is 4K going to take off, it looks like 3D has flopped, I don’t know anyone except me with a BDP so has Blu-Ray even really taken off?
Anyone got any thoughts, one day I think I should upgrade and the next I think leave it. Can anyone convince me to upgrade.

 

[Gray]

From all that you've said, If I were you, I wouldn't think twice.

(Personally, I would really struggle to name 10 films that I have ever watched)

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Planet Earth 2 is worth watching in 4K and getting a player for. If I was to buy one now I would probably buy a cheap Panasonic one because they are very quiet in operation. The other films are so so on 4k, sometimes you think they look good, other times you just think Blu-rays are just as good for me. Now we got HDR10+ next year perhaps wait and get that on one, but like I say don’t spend loads on one, in my view it’s definitely not worth it. But I am not saying it isn’t good just a lack of quality at the moment.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

I just bought two Sony X800 4K BDPs. Well, I got one for my birthday and bought the second.

They were knocked down from $300 to $150 at all the chain stores here in the US, probably to clear them out as they were a slow seller and models like the LG and bottom end Samsung were selling even cheaper.

I've got no complaints about the BDPs themselves, both picture and audio are a definite step up from the older (admittedly budget) BDPs they replaced.

The lack of decent movies, other than the usual all-CGI "Batman vs The Smurfs" type stuff, is a drawback though, and of the four discs I've bought so far, none are Atmos either.

Hopefully that will start to change now that 4K TVs and 4K BDPs have practically killed off 1080p sales.

 

[Samd]

I have a 4K OLED TV, a decent surround sound system, my BDP is about 8 years old but still playing OK. Is it worth upgrading? Money’s no problem.4K discs are about 20 quid each and there’s not a lot available yet I’ve just bought 5 Blu-Rays discs for £30 last week including a couple of films that were only out last Christmas. I’ve got an unlimited Cinema ticket so I’m not desperate to buy anything newly released on disc I can wait till they’re discounted.I’ve seen 30 films this year, the last 3 weeks there’s been nothing worth seeing, I’m not sure I’d want to watch Hacksaw Ridge that often, I’ll buy Miss Sloane and Logan Lucky and probably American Made but wouldn’t want to pay more than £6 each for any of the others, thought Dunkirk was disappointing. In general I think there’s a lack of decent films and ideas around.I know the quality of a 4K player will be better than my BDP but is 4K going to take off, it looks like 3D has flopped, I don’t know anyone except me with a BDP so has Blu-Ray even really taken off?Anyone got any thoughts, one day I think I should upgrade and the next I think leave it. Can anyone convince me to upgrade.

You also state that you have a decent surround system. One of the reasons I sold my Cambridge CXC for an Oppo was SACD - some really great stuff available.

 

[Lost Angeles]

Sorry guys I’ve been a bit slow with coming back with this as I’ve been busy with other things and I’ve got the usual problem of being unable to log in as I can’t access the page as I'm not authorised.
I think I’m going to stay with what I’ve got at the moment and see what happens over the next 12 months. If my machine packs up I’ll buy a 4K player and if someone I know player packs up I’ll see if I can sell them my BDP on a deal with a short guarantee and then I’ll buy a 4Kplayer.

In some time in the future I’ll be in the same position wondering whether to update to a 10K player to go with my 10K TV.

 

[bigboss]

In some time in the future I’ll be in the same position wondering whether to update to a 10K player to go with my 10K TV.  

Nah, after 4K, it'll be 8K then 16K.

 

[buzz_lightclick]

In some time in the future I’ll be in the same position wondering whether to update to a 10K player to go with my 10K TV.

Nah, after 4K, it'll be 8K then 16K.

Seeing as 8K is available now (in Korea and Japan) I wonder why they didn't just skip 4K and go straight to 8K?

 

[bigboss]

To appreciate 8K over 4K, you need a really big screen, so screen prices need to fall considerably. Besides, it's the small increments that keep sales going.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

In some time in the future I’ll be in the same position wondering whether to update to a 10K player to go with my 10K TV.

Nah, after 4K, it'll be 8K then 16K.

Seeing as 8K is available now (in Korea and Japan) I wonder why they didn't just skip 4K and go straight to 8K?

I don't think 8K will catch on for the foreseeable for four reasons: (1) the price of the hardware; (2) limits on just how much data can be squeezed onto a CD / DVD / BD sized disc - you'd need something the size of an old fashioned 1980s 12 inch laser disc to get an 8K movie on; (3) streaming service (e.g. Netflix) and internet bandwidth limitations; and (4) consumers getting p*ssed off with yet another "latest and greatest" designed to prise yet more money from their wallets.

8K may catch on in countries like Japan where money seems to be no object and where internet bandwidth limits are sky-high, and around the rest of the World in cinemas and the homes of the ultra-rich. But for you or I, or anyone else out here in the "real World", probably no more than we all went out and bought 4K projectors and massive screens, or had our own home cinemas that Sam Goldwyn himself would have been envious of.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Sorry guys I’ve been a bit slow with coming back with this as I’ve been busy with other things and I’ve got the usual problem of being unable to log in as I can’t access the page as I'm not authorised. I think I’m going to stay with what I’ve got at the moment and see what happens over the next 12 months. If my machine packs up I’ll buy a 4K player and if someone I know player packs up I’ll see if I can sell them my BDP on a deal with a short guarantee and then I’ll buy a 4Kplayer.

In some time in the future I’ll be in the same position wondering whether to update to a 10K player to go with my 10K TV.

Replacing (admittedly budget) 1080p BDPs was the main reason we switched to 4K BDPs. That and that the Sony X800 model was being sold off at $150 a unit over here to clear them off the shelves before Chrimbo.

As far as the choice of movies to actually play on them, I'm still disappointed. All the all-CGI blockbusters are available, presumably because of pure sales voulmes and because its easy to create the CGI in 4K to begin with anyway, but if you want a movie a lttile less mainstream (and not 99% CGI) you're still going to struggle to find many on 4K BD. Hopefully that'll change next year.