For a long time I have bought the digital versions of movies off of iTunes and have more recently been expanding my physical collection. I’m curious, how big is the difference between the 4K digital version of a movie compared to the actual 4K disc? If I own the 4K digital version of a movie is there any reason to also pick up the disc version?
You must log in or register to comment.
Oppenheimer for instance, has a 4K streaming bitrate of 24.8Mbps while the 4K BD has a bitrate of 61.5 Mbps. Those are the video-only bitrate, not combined.
I also buy the physical disc with the digital copies as well. While the digital version is convenient you can’t beat the physical disc IMO. I have collected over 600 Blu-ray’s and while it’s easy to pull up some of those movies on iTunes. I still find myself grabbing the disc because I can see the difference and especially hear the difference.
The biggest difference is in audio; if you have a serious HiFi setup, it might be worth the hassle of physical to get lossless audio, but most of the time I’d say streaming is far closer to the sweet spot on the convenience-quality spectrum.
Apple TV+ and iTunes gets ~40mbps video which is more than double the quality of other streaming services already, unless you use Bravia Core to get ~80mbps. Given the efficiency of modern compression algorithms, I think you have to pixel peep or do side-by-side comparisons to see the difference. That’s why I just stick with streaming and be happy.
See comparison table here.
I agree. I mostly pirate stuff. I download mostly 1080p content. In 1080p, WEB-DL is almost always clearly inferior to bluray. Now in 4k, often enough I keep the WEB-DL no problem. h265 is a marvel.
Discussion of piracy in any form is NOT allowed in this sub.
K.
Would a digital download from a tv (linked to iTunes with movies anywhere) be better quality than digital from somewhere else?
I’ve felt that for things linked with my Movies Anywhere account, that iTunes/Apple has a higher quality but I have nothing to back that up.
With the digital version you should always be able to play it. In a few years you may not have something that’ll play physical media.
With the physical version you should always be able to play it. In a few years you may not have something that’ll play digital media.
Fixed it for you!
You do know that physical media is going away right?
If you have a bunch of blue ray discs and they stop making blue ray players what will you do?
There will always be a way to play digital media.
Who told you physical media is going away?
I believe it’s some kind of bot or person paid to spread FUD regarding buying physical instead of digital. If you check his/her account history it’s only active in the big streaming subreddits and nothing else.
Makes sense honestly. The stuff they are saying doesn’t even make sense and there is no logical consistency whatsoever.
Disk is always better than digital due to the sheer amount of bitrate. Its a night and day difference.
What about when the disc is only HDR10 on 66GB disc and digital is Dolby Vision? Like Mad max fury road or many other titles?
You can check this video by HDTVTest where he shows how the BluRay is simply outmatched when you compare it to streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney https://youtu.be/XbN00Sm0Bsg?si=wN_mU3NahleacID3
Thanks, hadn’t seen this vid
Usually the benefit is more in the audio department. Digital sounds like it’s coming from a tin can once you have heard Blu-ray audio.
Dolby vision vs HDR10 isnt as major of a difference as many people make it sound. Plenty of incredible movies have HDR10. HDR10 with no compression beats DV with compression any day of the week.
I suspect Joe Average won’t notice a difference in most of these cases.
Not noticeable unless you have a proper home theater full of high end equipment.
I buy physical discs, yet also love digital copies. Physical discs look and sound better, but digital copies are quite handy.
Discs will remain a better option for now, until streaming service to their video quality. But honestly, it doesn’t matter to me as much. I have moved on to online library. For physical, I only get movies that I really really like, or a really good collectors edition, stuff like that. If you’re not a videophile, then online library is just fine.
As someone who owns over 300 titles on Blu-ray and over 500 DVDs, I don’t buy physical media anymore. The PQ of 4K streaming usually meets the high benchmark I have. I also feel, it will continue to evolve and only get better.
The one area I find a tad lacking is in the audio department. Lossless audio is still noticeably better on physical media than in streaming. It’s not a data based assessment but just my perception when played thru my hi-fi system that has quality components in the chain. But again, I think with time it will get better.
I think it really depends on your gear/equipment and your own eyes/ears. Every setup is different (not just in screen and speaker quality but also in internet speeds and streaming apps). Likewise every person is different in what they’re used (what their quality standard is) to and what they notice.
Streaming 4K can range from awful to very good. 4K Blu-ray will look and sound leagues better than awful streaming but might look nearly indistinguishable and only sound slightly better compared to very good streaming and not overly picky eyes/ears.
The best is to test for yourself. I’d say if you’re unsatisfied with the quality you currently have it’s worth exploring, but if you’re already really content with the quality you currently have then maybe it’s not worth the extra cost?
Best of both worlds is Plex, rip your Blu-ray’s to a computer and stream them. I never have to touch a disc, but get full quality.
How easy is it to rip to plex? Do copyright protections get in the way?
MakeMKV
Let’s not call it digital, because both are digital. Let me refer one to disk and the other to Demond. 😁 Chances are you won’t notice it on the picture. But audio you might have more dynamics. But I doubt you will watch both on demand and a disc version side by side to notice the difference.
I went completely away from physical media for movies because of the minimalist standpoint. And rocking the on demand media over Dolby Atmos surround sound and Dolby Vision on an OLED directly over the TV (since Apple TV is causing problems since the latest update. Different story) and as long as the movie is good I am immersed in the movie. 😊
More importantly, ask yourself when making popcorn 🍿 with butter and salt or sugar? 😁👍
Well Apple generally streams at the highest quality available assuming you tweaked your settings. Any upgrades are rolled in to ensure the possibility of the best quality image/sound. One the features I really enjoy.
Biggest difference in audio quality, especially with regards to bass. The best example would be scenes with gunfire like the opening Opera Siege sequence of Tenet or the batmobile chase in Batman (2021).
However not all movies have that big difference - if you have heavy dialogue or if there was little effort put into sound design then you might as well stick to digital.
As a guide, if the sound quality was excellent in the movie theatre then i would put down money for 4k disk.