BATTLE OF THRONES: HBO vs. 4K Blu-ray - Which Offers the Ultimate Game of Thrones Experience?

[@Z3r0Strife]

Physical media is having a great year with new releases of classic movie on the 4k format.

[@UriTV123]

Hell ye. I snatched Reservoir Dogs in 4K blu ray. It was a jaw dropping difference compared to the 2007 blu ray.

[@highround1153]

100% agree! Just ordered The Trial 60th anniversary restoration from the UK

[@maestercraig3990]

I purchased the same 4K Boxset when it released. Its a completely superior experience on 4K vs streaming. I would recommend it to all who enjoy the show & still want to continue to revisit it in the best experience possible.

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

I totally agree that discs in general provide a more realistic sense of depth versus streaming. It was one of the glaring differences for me with Top Gun Maverick 4K disc vs streaming on VUDU. Along with skin tones pushing red on VUDU and the disc is sharper with more detail with natural looking skin tones.

[@ealanosborne]

Yeah, I noticed with my screen shots that the HBO Max version had a slight tinge of red in the skin tones versus the more natural disc color palette.

[@paulgal]

Is it worth the extra money though ? Maverick is £19.99 over in the Uk and you can get it on Apple movies for £12.99.

[@RobertK1993]

@@ealanosborne HBO Max Disney+ Netflix Amazon Prime is checkerboard rendering 4K like PS4 Pro being 4K compressed way to kcuh to not really be clear

[@emiliofederici9459]

The audio difference is all in the usual misconception that all Atmos is the same: Atmos is just a container and a standard for 3D-positioning of sounds; all 4K discs have Atmos based on TrueHD tracks (no compression), Atmos in streaming services uses DD+ that is a lossy compression format.

[@inigogc]

Atmos isn’t technically a container. It just describes either of the two formats you mentioned , with extra metadata. That is why they are backwards compatible to incompatible devices, that support the base formats (Dolby Digital Plus and DTS Digital). TrueHD (and DTS-HD) is NOT without compression. PCM audio is compression free, the aforementioned formats ARE compressed, they just don’t lose anything, when decoded, in comparison to the original track. Kinda like how you don’t lose any data if you use a .zip or .7z (it outputs the same file you put in).

[@garmmermibe5397]

Around the 12:10 point, when you start talking about the audio's presence on the disk vs the streamed version, in my limited experience as a novice and self-taught audio engineer, the streamed version almost certainly used pass filters to cut off the top and bottom/ high and low frequencies of sounds to reduce the data being streamed. This especially becomes noticeable if you have a capable low end speaker (subwoofer or warm headphones) as while you may not always be able to "hear" sounds below 20 hertz, you can most certainly feel them with a powerful and loud enough speaker. And, on top of that, most people's hearing doesn't cut off *exactly* at 20 hertz. With lower frequencies being entirely cut off of streamed versions of audio, you lose a significant amount of a vague but important "atmospheric" quality. Higher frequencies have a similar feeling with "airiness" or "ringiness" though, I've found people pick up on this less often as they aren't "felt" as easily as lower bass sounds. Though these sounds do start to stand out more if you have a brighter headphones and listen to uncompressed audio. Which, compression can be another extremely detrimental factor to higher frequency sounds as the sample rate won't always be "often enough" to reconstruct and capture shorter wavelengths that happen between the recording samples. This becomes very obvious when listening to extremely compressed music files like 16-32 bitrate files as instruments like cymbals start to have their harmonic frequencies cut out of the track and you're only left with sounds closer to the fundamental frequency. You essentially end up cutting out a good portion of the natural timbre of instruments and they end up just not sounding right. In movies, this might be more applicable to things like swords clashing or the clinks and clacks of the smaller bits of a gun shifting around when cycling. If anyone would like a more illustrated (or rather, audible) example of how compression can drastically and negatively affect higher frequency sounds, you can listen to this video- kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqmWf3pjl7CDr6c

[@ealanosborne]

Excellent insight! Thank you very much! 🤘

[@skypallman6169]

Lol self taugh audio engineer 😂

[@t-rex1480]

Currently, streaming cannot yet compare with physical media if a person is seeking the absolute best quality for either video or audio in my humble opinion. The best solution is something like Kaleidescape but it's pretty expensive so physical media is my go to for movies and shows I actually care about. Thanks for the comparison and showing the difference 👍

[@ealanosborne]

Yeah, if we could only all afford Kaleidescape, that would be glorious! 😄🤩

[@EvoCarl]

Streaming can compare with physical with Bravia Core service, problem being it’s stuck on just Sony TV’s.

[@lucaslee1483]

@@EvoCarl Core doesn't offer lossless audio. If you have a good surround system there is a difference. But yes, Core is the closest you can get visually.

[@mistafussi7813]

@@EvoCarlon paper it’s a nearly a match for physical media but I’ve yet to see a film that’s on Braviacore look as good as the 4k disc version.

[@patrykwegierkiewicz9156]

I have the 4K Steelbook edition . Beautiful release and reference quality for both audio and video that make you relive the show in whole new way. A must have for every GOT fan and a 4K disk collector! 🙂

[@bradensinclair9517]

Just bought the 4k Bluray collection a month ago. Best 4k Bluray set I've ever bought, so good.

[@dallascowboyshighlights9632]

I recall an episode in the last season where you basically couldn’t see anything during an extended night scene. I’m assuming this is much better on physical disc.

[@Music-Matters]

My experience is that physical media usually sounds best to me, but as an HT enthusiast, I always have to check myself for the placebo effect. :)

[@scottwallace1]

It’s not placebo. The bit rate difference is crazy and the file size of the content in the disc versus the compressed version via streaming is wildly in favor of disc. 4K disc and Kaleidescape is the way to go.

[@Music-Matters]

@@scottwallace1 I didn’t say that it was. But in this hobby placebo effect and diminishing returns is definitely a thing.

[@SirSSau]

I never watched GOT So when I seen the 4K 8 season set was $120au, I had to get it. Now just waiting for the delivery to see what all the fuss is about. I have a decent setup - LG C1 65’’ Oled, Panasonic ub820 4K player, and atmos speakers, so should be a good watch.

[@ealanosborne]

Pretty sure you’ll love it. 😁🎉

[@sawyerramos3113]

a good watch? I envy you! You are in for the trip of a lifetime!

[@SirSSau]

@@sawyerramos3113 Ha, it was a year ago mate, but yeah it was great, and now I see why people were mad of the ending.

[@89JAEH]

I agree that 4K is way better. I only own the 1st season in 4K for now.

[@bonespiel]

The only problem with ordering the disc's from Amazon is many were finding many read problems. When I ordered my set things would not load correctly. Lots of skipping visuals and audio. So I'm not certain how to guarantee my copy is perfect.

[@subzerohf]

Totally agreed. One time I had to return a box-set not once but twice to Amazon. After the second return I gave up.

[@bbump1828]

I have this set also and pretty much notice the same things you are describing. Visuals are fairly similar but dark scenes do look incredible on a disc (especially on an OLED). Audio isn't as close, disc is much better. Just pre-ordered house of the dragon on 4k disc. Will be interested to see how that compares.

[@ealanosborne]

Oh wow, that's already available for pre-order? That was fast! 🤘

[@Optora.]

I ordered that too, the Price for the 4K steelbook had great discounts. Cant wait, it arrives a few days before christmas

[@archivey-h8e]

Audio is compressed so hard for streaming, they take into account most people just use their TV speakers.

[@grimmbilly9263]

I enjoyed GoT, but I don't think I could watch the whole series again, especially knowing how it all ends. I'm curious if you own or have seen Everest 4K/bluray? It has a Dolby Atmos mix and in the latter half of the movie a storm moves in and sounds great. I don't have a great Atmos setup, so I was wondering what you think about that mix.

[@ealanosborne]

I’ve never even seen Everest! Thanks for the recommendation! 🤘

[@caio4179]

well, I watched GOT for the first time last week and really enjoyed how it ended. It was never supposed to be a happy ending, the whole tv show is about power, greed and blood. Although the public liked Daenerys, the power has gone to her head and the creators finished the show as it was supposed to be.

[@patb5266]

I agree, as much I enjoyed GoT it would be hard to rewatch considering what a travesty S8 was. I actually had all of it on my Mac and just deleted it lol. It was only 720P and I was surprised at how bad the pic was even though it was full Dolby surround.

[@patb5266]

@@caio4179 Nice, glad you enjoyed it. Amazing series for sure!

[@powerguymark]

When you mentioned the flaming sword battle being panned by critics who watched it on HBO. They were seeing a stream piped through cable TV which is horrific. The signal gets passed from amplifier to amplifier distorting the image over and over resulting in a blackened image with much less resolution. Because most people were watching that via cable back in the day that example probably shouldn't be included in your analysis between these two formats.

[@trapez77]

Back in the day lol

[@trapez77]

Back in the day lol

[@corepdxmanagement857]

Great vid. You answered your own question, as many down below have too. Disc wins big time, every time. However, there are some caveats too. On the side of video, that depends hugely on your TV and streaming device settings. In short though, video is just going to be better thru a direct connect HDR signal from a DVD player. As to why disc wins over stream, it's all about internet speed and data size. If your speed is 100megs, mine is 1Gig, the streaming platforms have to appeal to the masses. So it goes, they send out the size of file that most can handle and its as good as it can get, 100mb or 1Gig, that won't matter to the quality of video or audio for that matter. Where the disc versus streaming matters most is by far and away audio. Like the above, the direct connection of an HDMI cable from the drive (CD is the drive) versus floating over air, hard line connection wins again. One comment below, even better than CD or disc, by far, is the actual source file, from Kaleidescape. You get the whole darn move studio file, every last bit, to a hard drive, then from there the direct connect is HDMI cable. Hands down, this is as pure as it gets and there is no compression loss at all. But, and life is full of them in all shapes and sizes, you have to have the audio gear to truly utilize the extra data. You can have the best TV, and best 4k Blu-ray player, but if you are just using the TV as the audio component, none of it matters much at all audio wise. But if you have the gear, and you match it carefully to the file, streamed or not, the audio quality goes from good to absolutely fantastic. I have had the good fortune to use my own gear switching between CD and Kaleidescape, and K-scape is flat out better. One of the best scenes to compare is TG Maverick, when Mav takes off over the General. There is so much more sound detail in K-scape, it's stunning if you compare it from one moment to the next.......but interestingly, when I watched the whole move on the CD first, I enjoyed it just as much as I did in K-scape. Sorry for the long note here, but one final one, you are right to on volume, in K-scape, clarify varies from 10 to 20dB as compared to disc then streaming. In short, I can turn it up louder without ear banging or down lower, and still hear what you need to hear. In peace, keep up the great work!

[@hannoversa]

Your samples are not in 4k, so it's hard to tell what you are referring to.

[@FreeJAC]

Higher bitrate using the disc vs streaming. Would like a similar comparison with Netflix vs Disc. Netflix has streaming cache servers and they have been doing streaming longer so should do it better than hbomax.

[@OMGtheykilledKenny42]

Dolby Digital+ vs Dolby TrueHD Atmos is a huge difference.

[@ernievc]

Yes! it is always better to have the Blu-ray Discs, but if I want to binge a few episodes, I always resort to a streaming service or Apple TV 🤷🏻‍♂️ It’s just more convenient

[@ealanosborne]

I get that! 🤘

[@TheDarthlocobr]

if possible I would like some indication of Speaker Cable to buy on Black Friday

[@ealanosborne]

I've used this in the past and it's great 👇 amzn.to/3cmGoCP

[@farhanarif43]

What I know is Blu Ray Disc is 10X large of file size but have the best quality ever. Streaming Service is compressed by 10X too so its literally garbage quality. But what I dont understand is people use wifi to stream on TV so why need to compress that much?.. and while putting a variety of advanced technology inside it. And if they start to release in 8K soon, I could tell it will never be the same as bluray disc too and that's gonna forever continue for 12k, 24k and so on.

[@fourlights]

The audio bit rate especially, is far higher on disc than streaming. And you're right about series being edited like disney+ such as Falcon and Winter soldier had some bad edits. Ownership and superior experience on disc always.

[@htenthusiast2897]

Tremendous comparison. I have 3 streaming devices, XBox One Series X, Sony TV app, and Apple TV, each streams differently. In summary my go to is the XBox, although HBO Max currently has a bug that they’re trying to fix on XBox that makes the image unwatchable. So much for streaming consistency. Average internet speed doesn’t seem to impact the quality, as long as the speed is decent. I also see variations in streaming apps. For instance, Star Wars on Disney Plus is better than the Digital on Apple App, it’s that good, the closest that I saw to a disk. In the end the the disk is still the best, perhaps also having slight variations between disk players. The big question being, what is the gold standard. 🤔

[@ChristofferETJ]

And there we have it, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Sound, The Receiver, and Ealan.

[@TybudX]

I have the new Dune movie in UHD as well as The Batman. They are both unreal. Dune is the first movie I have owned that made it felt like I was in the second row of the theater. And The Batman? So if you watch The Batman on an atmos set up you get the full effect. But if you watch it using headphones you get a completely different movie experience. The scenes where Bruce is talking to Catwoman especially set it apart. It sounds like he's right behind you. So they went through the trouble of mastering the sound differently depending on what your listening devices are. It's very impressive.

[@ealanosborne]

Awesome! I’ll have to try that out with The Batman since I picked that up on 4K a couple weeks ago. 🤘

[@alexsch5583]

Totally worth it getting this Box Set with 4 Seasons of peak television! The bonus material is vast, almost like they included a couple extra seasons. However, the bonus content is at most nice to have, not really worth your while. There are some nice reverence level scenes but don't sit through all of it for a couple good minutes, thats what chapter selections are there for!

[@justcruisin109]

Thanks for the review. I'd always thought that 4K disks would give a better experience than streaming from Amazon Prime, Apple, Netflix and so on but quantifying that difference is difficult for me. As you would know, during the COVID peak, many of the streamers even reduced their bandwidth so as to not overload internet transmissions. As a part of your review, did you collect any bandwidth measurements? Apple give their filesizes of their downloadable movies and they seem smaller than the disks of similar movies I have but the compression used makes comparisions difficult. Cheers

[@ealanosborne]

I hadn’t checked actual bandwidth numbers, no. Good idea, though. I’d also be interested to know any differences between downloaded files vs disc file sizes. 🤘

[@Antibackgroundnoise]

As far as I'm concerned streaming movies on my gallery OLED has never been the same since the pandemic.

[@salehkambijo1849]

@@ealanosborne really can't wait to know if downloaded 4khdr files vs disc?

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

I love that blue liner of your coat matching your blue background. Little details excite me way too much 😭🤣

[@ealanosborne]

Wasn't even trying! The stars aligned, I guess! HAHA!

[@tworocksandapebble]

I have a 7.3.6 setup with a JVc NP5 (native 4k, HDR10, etc.). Wondering if it's worth getting the 4k collection if I already have it on Blu-Ray. I know it has Atmos; what about the PQ?

[@ealanosborne]

Huh…since you already have it on Blu-ray, it might not be worth the upgrade. If you just experienced it on only HBO, I’d say get the 4K no question. Although the HDR on the 4K version is fantastic for night scenes. And there are a LOT of night scenes throughout this series. 🤷‍♂️

[@tworocksandapebble]

@ealanosborne While I have it on blu-ray, I've only watched on HBO, but wanted to give it another run.

[@tracyupshaw7862]

anytime you use disk vs streaming or even listening to a cd in your car vs Bluetooth you'll notice a difference in quality. almost everything sounds and looks better when on disk.

[@Nikhil4G]

Streaming service can not beat Physical discs any day soon. Problem is the compression, + the channels feels like they tweaked manually at some exetnt. The overall thump and rumble effect is almost lost, there is no "crunch or tightness" in sound specially in the scenes that involve Center+LFE combo. DD+ format at low bit rate is as bad as stereo imo, there is no immersion which can be felt. Unless the streaming providers increase their Bitrate, I don't think this problem is getting solved easily. Condition is more pathetic in Indian providers where they provide usual DD+ 5.1 at 192kbps and ATMOS at 768kbps 😪🤕

[@President_Vladimir_Putin]

How many discs it contains in package ?? 1 - 8 seasons In India, Amazon selling total 33 discs and very expensive.

[@ealanosborne]

Yes, 33 sounds right. Each season is contained on 4 discs, except Season 8 which had fewer episodes.

[@President_Vladimir_Putin]

@@ealanosborne thanks bro

[@xuxon24]

The reality is that we can get decent image in streaming, but they haven't been able to give us proper audio. It's always dolby digital plus that the nitrate doesn't go more than 800. But if you see the bitrate of a Blu-ray it's 3k or more some movies can easily do 5k and that's a huge difference a huge amount of data that it's compressed. Video bitrates can be like 17k or 21k and that's decent even if blurays can achieve really high amount of bits like above 50k but many won't be able to see the difference but audio is clear as day. I always said if you are really a fan splurge on the blurays or get the remux. But if you don't really care get a great TV and the upscaling will at least make it look awesome.

[@midevil1980]

Know of any great deals on this set for Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

[@ealanosborne]

Nah. 😞 Cheapest I’ve seen it right now is $149.99.

[@midevil1980]

@@ealanosborne - Yeah, same here, unfortunately... Maybe there will be something better on Monday. Fingers crossed! 🤞

[@itsmetee466]

I Think its vers Common on most streaming services. Like you mension abort the “Low audio”

[@J4Berg]

I will always be for physical media. I will pry get GoT when its super cheap I already have it on regular bluray. At the end of the video you mentioned Star Wars. One of the best things I have ever purchased was the Harmy's Despecialized Edition. I can watch it as I watched it as a kid years and years ago.

[@ealanosborne]

I've been made aware of that version of Star Wars from another comment! I am definitely looking into it! 🤘

[@ro4eva]

Is it even available for purchase? Man I'd love to get my hands on that. Talk about a 'labor of love', huh? Thank you to everyone who worked on making the 'Despecialized Edition' a reality. It means a lot.

[@J4Berg]

If you really want to go through the trouble of downloading the despecialized versions and then burning them to a blu ray disc you can. I know that Harmy himself never wanted to charge for these but I’ll be honest, I’m too lazy and I don’t have the time to make jewel cases and cover art and even do disc art so I purchased mine on eBay.

[@ankitm4]

I play HBO max on Apple TV 4K that does 4K at 60Hz. Can the ultra blue ray disk on some Blue ray play do 120Hz. I have a 120Hz OLED TV.

[@ealanosborne]

I would assume there are picture settings on your TV that could make that happen? 🤷‍♂️ Although normally 120Hz refresh rate is only necessary for high-end gaming, like with a PS5 or XBOX Series X…

[@jvaderberry]

What 4K player do you use Ealan? Thanks.

[@ealanosborne]

LG UBK90 🤘

[@omegafire6253]

I was disappointed needing to experience house of dragon through streaming. My outdated internet speed could play to that but experiencing it in disc is worthwhile and can't wait for the 4k version of it coming out. No more picture quality dropping, but I think that is an HBO Max issue rather then my internet because Netflix still streams well enough.

[@Shenmue06]

I think it's worth buying if you're able to find it on sale. If it's not on sale and a person is only going to watch the series one time they're better off just paying for HBO max for a couple of months. Game of thrones is the most popular show ever made so the 4k blu-rays will most likely be around for a really long time and it'll probably never be removed from HBO max. I definitely recommend waiting for it to go on sale.

[@amdreallyfast]

I wonder what kind of bandwidth would be required to stream the same data as the disk

[@inigogc]

Well for starters, the discs stream a max of (I think) 128 Mbps. In addition, the streaming would need buffer space. So you’d probably need a few hundred Mbps to get the same experience. I do have 1Gbps, but i know most don’t.

[@remcovanderslot5387]

Insert the very first disc and start the first episode. There you see three night's watch riders. First at daylight in the snow inside castle black while in the next shot the door from the wall of ice opens in front of the camera. This very shot is dark and I see the difference already. On HBO Max in 4k (here at least) you see actual blocks in the door itself. On the disc this is smooth and sharp. Next up is the scene that the riders go into the ice tunnel that leads through the wall. On HBO Max it has a lot (!) of grain while on the disc this is is much cleaner and more sharp. Also fast moving scenes like the one with the white walkers a few minutes later you'll see less artifacts while watching the series from the disc. And this is just the first (5-10) minutes of the very first episode. Yes the shots in daylight seem to have the same sharpness. The Dolby Atmos track is indeed more pronounced on the foreground in HBO Max. The disc is better but needed to up the volume a bit while watching the disc. The bass on the disc is deeper and more pronounced. I haven't watched all side to side yet, but spending the money on the disc when you're a fan of the series seems like a good investment to me when watching on a 4k TV and even more when listening on a Dolby Atmos capable surround. Great video BTW!

[@ealanosborne]

Thank you! And thanks for your insights!

[@sorary8573]

I am okay buying Blu-rays however it feels like a step back. Now I have to spare space to store them. I like having everything digitally. Can you not purchase them online and build a library? Not that long to download with gigabit internet nowadays.

[@ealanosborne]

You can download them. Although if it’s from your major companies (VUDU, Apple, etc) it would still be compressed. The only uncompressed, bit-perfect versions you can download (that I’m aware of) is from Kaleidescape, but it’s still very expensive to own one of those. Eventually, media players like it will come down in price. 👍

[@sorary8573]

@@ealanosborne Thanks for letting me know. I just checked kaleidescape and the pricing really seems too high versus buying the discs. Not to mention one can buy used blu-rays which would be even more so of a bargain. Why do you think the big players like compress the downloadable versions too? Storage is cheap nowadays.

[@SealedOrPorted]

You are making a great argument for physical media for those who care about such things as pristine visuals and uncompressed audio. Standard Level 5 DV streaming standards average about 15 MB/s where as the 4K UHD disc puts out around 60-65 MB/s on average.

[@ro4eva]

Awesome.

[@erock81487]

You mentioned a slight washed out look via the streaming, which makes me wonder what tv you are using to view these? Just curious and wonder if an OLED tv would help negate that? Or maybe you are using one and it still was the case. Thanks!

[@ealanosborne]

I’m watching it on an LG OLED, so the blacks looked darker on the disc for sure. 🤘

[@ro4eva]

@@ealanosborne - LG OLED, in my opinion, is great.

[@erock81487]

@@ealanosborne cool. thanks for the response.

[@Deadite8593]

Look into "despecialized" Star Wars, it's a fan project of painstakingly edited together pieces of original reels/laserdisc/bluray/etc footage (and spent years colorgrading and even editing together with chroma-key mixed source scenes) to put together original theatrical versions in 1080p with a 7.1 mix of the original audio. I've kept an old laserdisc player around for decades just for watching Star Wars, but since I found out about despecialized I haven't used them since. He's working on 4k HDR versions now, fingers crossed. As far as GOT, I own the original 1080p bluray releases. At the time like you I didn't own a home theater so I was happy with them, but I've now added the 4k boxset to my amazon movie wishlist and will hopefully be picking it up on a sale.

[@ealanosborne]

Ooooo! I will definitely look into “despecialized” Star Wars. Thanks for the heads up! 🤘

[@fulinsun9056]

Hey man! Nice comparison here. I am really wondering whether the UHD player on PS5 could perform the same level from a BD player? Any chance you could make a comparison of this? I have LG G1 and LG SN11RG combo and I am wondering whether I should go for the PS5.

[@ealanosborne]

PS5 is the better of the gaming consoles when it comes to playing 4K blu-rays - less buggy than the XBOX Series X can be at times (so I've read). It does a great job, considering it can also be your main media hub. A dedicated 4K Blu-ray player (like the Panasonic UB820, for example) will give you better color management and picture detail, but that may not be enough to justify getting both a PS5 and 4K Blu-ray player. Like I said, PS5 does a pretty stellar job. :)

[@fulinsun9056]

@@ealanosborne Thank you very much!

[@inigogc]

@@ealanosborneyou’d lose Dolby Vision though. Also for your information, you need to change the audio settings in the Blu-ray app for Blu-ray or you WON’T get Atmos. The PS5 is definitely a reasonable start compared to a couple hundred pound dedicated player. It is MUCH better at upscaling than my Xbox with lesser discs too.

[@avgeek8810]

Thanks for the video! Are you recoding in 24fps? Not optimal for viewing videos like this on KZbin, only for movies. 30 or 60 fps would be better 😊

[@Optora.]

I thought my connection is laggging😂😂

[@ro4eva]

Hey, have you seen 'The Hobbit' - the version with a significantly higher fps? If yes, how did you like it?

[@avgeek8810]

@@ro4eva Yes I enjoyed it but the movie Gemini man is in 60fps which is a bit to much for movies. But maybe we just need to get used to it.

[@pepeshadilay]

To truly stream 4k you need like 100mbs wifi most of the time the streaming picture drops to 1080p with out even telling you

[@matthewfloyd4878]

Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi original theatrical releases are available on licensed DVD too. They were Best Buy and Walmart “exclusives.” They are marked Limited Edition Widescreen at the top of the case and the theatrical version is not on the feature film disc. They are on the included bonus disc. It’s a laser disc transfer so non-anamorphic widescreen. Very obscure. Not many people know anything about it. Enjoy!

[@ealanosborne]

Thanks for the tip! 🔥🤘

[@matthewfloyd4878]

@@mikep3835 I’ve seen some videos on the work that went into them - very impressive. However, I personally don’t support bootlegs. The reason the original theatrical films haven’t been rereleased is because of the marketing campaign that pushed “for the last time ever on home video.” They went all in on the campaign. I think the non-anamorphic DVDs pushed the liability envelope, but they are out there.

[@drachireidnoc6659]

Thanks for the in depth video. I was able to snag this box set for $100. Excited to check it out. What type of TV did you use?

[@ealanosborne]

LG C9 OLED 🤘

[@andysiegel725]

Did you have issues with discs freezing or not playing?

[@ealanosborne]

Nope. 🤷‍♂️

[@andysiegel725]

@@ealanosbornethanks for the reply. There is a big sale on the complete series 4K, I’ve read reviews of ppl saying this, but not sure how widespread. Could be quality control issues with recent batches or how the discs are doubled stacked…

[@Zac403AMVsNStuff]

19:08 Giving off my precious vibes.

[@pepeshadilay]

An old x box one s is only like 100 bucks at a local pawn shop... great deal

[@anone3842]

That 4K boxset is £182 ($215, €208) 😬😬😬. I have original release season 1 and season 2 limited edition steel books with the Sigil magnet (they also have Atmos - no other blurays contained the Atmos) and also season 8 4K limited steel book with Sigil magnet. Would love the complete boxset but not at that price!

[@Fergutor]

I liked your telling of your experience comparing both releases but you need to learn how to pixel peep properly with a computer (capture without loss, same frame, compare with a program like FSViewer). Also you can measure audio with a computer as well (properly, not putting a mic in front of your speakers as I imagine you would do given you took pictures of the screen with a phone). You are totally right about the owning of media and the dangers it's subjected to.

[@PlayerEIeven]

I'm kind of late to the party here, but does this same methodology apply to music? I am often told that vinyl records are the true way to experience music in it's most authentic form, is that true? Is it really better than digital audio?

[@ealanosborne]

If you have some really nice speakers and nice turntable, yes, it’ll be an incredible experience. That or a nice CD player with an audiophile grade DAC in it (digital-to-analog converter) will sound fuller and add depth to the sound compared to its streaming counterpart. 🙌

[@timdefrank3641]

@@ealanosbornedidn’t they redo the streaming for 4k and atmos? Is the disc still superior given this?

[@ealanosborne]

@@timdefrank3641 Yeah when I tested it out, it was the improved 4K stream on HBO. Daylight scenes still looked impressive even on HBO. But the darker scenes with HDR were superior on the disc (and that show has a LOT of scenes at night or in dark areas). Sound was superior on disc too. 🤘

[@timdefrank3641]

@@ealanosborne of course they removed4k and atmos unless you get their highest tier plan so guess imma have to buy discs

[@ealanosborne]

@@timdefrank3641 Ah yes…there’s that.

[@jlebeau5150]

The “WB discs are stupid” bit had me dying

[@GibzNgravy]

Did you watch on a oled tv is my question?

[@ealanosborne]

Sure did! 🎉

[@sawyerramos3113]

let me sum this up PHYSICAL MEDIA ALL THE WAY! I am watching this series right now (just watched "The Long Night" last night) and OMG the detail in both, sound and picture is BREATH-TAKING! I have two shakers in my sofa and WOW! When Yara and Ellaria are about to get it on, and they are attacked, that boom scared the hell out of me. There have been many instances where a horse comes out of nowhere and my left or right surround scares the SHIT otta of me. What a trip im having!

[@ealanosborne]

Hahaha! Thanks for sharing this! 😄🎉

[@the_elder_wand3845]

Great video! Subscribed!❤

[@ealanosborne]

Welcome to the madness! 😁🎉

[@fransdegroot9778]

Disk are better to look. You must have a good player for it.

[@wesleywelsh1592]

Thanks for taking the time to make this! I think I’ll save the money and stick with streaming unless it goes on sale. 👍

[@Gothic55]

GOT 4K boxset is the way to go. It is quite expensive but sometimes VFM IS MOT JUST BADED ON COST.

[@GibzNgravy]

Pro tip 77" LG oled G4 if you got the money there's three 83... omg perfect blacks! And castles are enormous!!! On my 9th~ rewatch and easily the best watch yet

[@cd-rom.]

Can we get a discount if we return season 8?

[@ealanosborne]

I WISH! 😄

[@OopsCaiuCortei]

Hi does it come in full hd bluray or just 4k

[@ealanosborne]

Yes, it comes with Full HD Blu-ray copies as well

[@xshadowscreamx]

Streaming dark scenes in 4K is absolutely chalked on all shows. I did not truly see half of terminal list.

[@xshadowscreamx]

@Mike P I wish I could turn 4K off on the tv app for prime video. I did on Disney I think which made the mandalorian watchable. With 4K streaming even daytime scenes can still look a bit washed out which makes the eyes feel uncomfortable.

[@allmtbnzscottbrownhill2896]

Awesome informative video helped me confirm my need to invest in a quality 4K Blu Ray player like the DP-UB9000 and invest in some 4K UHD discs for my favorite movies. Thank you

[@ealanosborne]

You’re welcome! 🤘

[@frostman9661]

I would love to see your perspective and comparison between physical disc and bit-perfect digital rip of the same disc to see if you can notice any differences in video and audio. Loved the video!

[@ealanosborne]

Yeah, someday I’ll make the transition to some rip streamer (like a Zappiti or the like) so it’s easier to access my physical library. The whole concept behind it is to be a bit-perfect presentation, so if it didn’t look and sound like the disc, there’s something wrong! 😄 I would love to make that comparison, though. 🤘

[@frostman9661]

@Ealan Osborne exactly! Before I make that kind of investment though into a media player, I'd want to know if it's worth it and really is identical. Hopefully one day you can make it happen! Cheers!

[@ealanosborne]

@@frostman9661 me too! In the meantime, though, I know Techno Dad has reviewed media players like Zappiti. Check that out too! 🤔🤘

[@frostman9661]

@@ealanosborne thanks! Will do!

[@lucasadd]

Amazing video, thks. From Brasil! Makes me doubt. Blu-ray 4k here is very expensive. I'm thinking of buying the complete series on regular 1080p blu-ray. If you compare the blu-ray 1080p, with the hbo max stream in 4k, vision+atmos... which one is better to watch? which will have better image and audio quality!?

[@ealanosborne]

I still think the sound will be better/deeper/fuller, especially with explosions and similar things. The picture quality, though? Eh, depending on your internet speed, the picture might be better with a 4K UHD stream.

[@lucasadd]

@@ealanosborne thanks for the awnser. I had imagined exactly The same dilemma with Breaking Bad. I want to buy the series on blu-ray 1080p but it's on netflix in 4k. I still dont know What to do. My Internet is good. I have an lg oled a1 and i use the ps5 to play the physical media.

[@shanghaichica]

I’m watching season 1 on 4K blu ray. It’s night and day better than what I originally watched via stream and my purchased iTunes HD download.

[@ealanosborne]

Right?! That’s good to know about the iTunes version, too. Thanks for the input! 🤘

[@Aduder999]

I have House of the Dragon on 4k. And other than the really dark episode. The quality was fantastic. I'm so tempted to get this 4k box set.

[@Jimmie_Rudolfsson]

Probably the best comparison video I've seen about GOT 4K Vs HBO. But what about the blu-ray releases? HBO should be a better experience than those right?

[@ealanosborne]

Yes, I would think so. But that’s just my educated guess. 😁

[@subzerohf]

I am one of those suckers who bought VHS, Laser Disc, DVD, Bluray versions of Star Wars. Every format claimed to be the very best technology could offer. And... the rest is history. I have told myself to stop being a sucker, so I refuse to buy a 4K disc player. Streaming is probably 90-95% in terms of video and sound quality compared to disc. And that is good enough for me.

[@ealanosborne]

If anything, I think you’ll cave again once premium media players like Kaleidescape become more affordable. All the benefits of bit-perfect, uncompressed video and audio in a “streaming” format. Maybe? At least that’s what I’m waiting for… 😄

[@VinnyCThatWhoIBe]

first thing I do with any disc is check audio settings

[@lamakicker69]

What if you downloaded the episode on HBO Max? You wouldn’t be streaming anymore, I imagine that could help for people not wanting to buy the discs.

[@ealanosborne]

Yes, that would help, since it’s not actively streaming from a remote server far away, just streaming from the file on your device. 👍

[@lamakicker69]

@@ealanosborne awesome then that’s what I’ll do. Can’t wait to try it out! I actually used your sub $1000 5.1.2 buying guide for my first home theater setup, got the speakers for total of $420 and then a x2600h off marketplace for $375. For sub $800 I’m loving it after only a few days! Appreciate your content!

[@ro4eva]

@@lamakicker69 - I bet your home is boom-boom-booming.

[@michaelmyersplays4992]

It’s on sale rn on Amazon for 109

[@lebavu8260]

Badass review and comparisons 👍

[@ealanosborne]

Thank you!!! 🤘

[@SternButFair]

Disney omitted what from Disney+? If you want to watch Song of the South on repeat, something is wrong with you lol

[@ro4eva]

You sound like you might watch 'The Woman King' on repeat.

[@SternButFair]

@@ro4eva that doesn't make any sense. i've never even heard of that film

[@dvddmc]

its becoming more and more today where most people dont care. they see it on streaming and just move on

[@cherrycotapie]

hello, i know its been a year since you wrote this. I wanna say that HBO subscription isn't available in my country and im forced to watch low quality streams. I absolutely live and die for GoT and have watched to 5+ times, also reading the books. Im considering buying the cd because or that and not having to be troubled with waiting for the episode to load.

[@flyinlow1]

The final season also looks a lot better on an OLED.

[@GTRyan35]

Down with streaming! Up with the disc!!!

[@JIMN26]

Love the soothing background rock me to sleep craddle music in your video. Lol

[@ealanosborne]

You’re welcome! 😁

[@Van_frederick]

The higher bitrate

[@mcguiremnc]

Audio differences would make sense, HBO I'd imagine is DD+ Compressed Atmos vs Blu-Ray TrueHD lossless Atmos. How compression impacts 4K HDR or DV video I've never compared. I'm erasing this information from my knowledge... ignorance is bliss...lol. I still have hundreds of DVD's that are useless to me, I refuse to replace them with hundreds of Blu-ray that are destined for the same.

[@robertrobitaille320]

I have that box set. 4k is wow and Dolby Atmos among the best.

[@mariusm4829]

In Romania HBO quality is not so good at all ,not to mention the 5.1 sound which is a lie .If you want a real quality than bluray is the answer .

[@byronquinley1400]

Does 4K fix season 8??

[@ealanosborne]

HA! I wish. But it sure looks and sounds GREAT! 😄

[@psyphonyxaudio]

Must be cold out there in the shed.. I see you wearing a few extra layers =)

[@ealanosborne]

Haha! Exactly. 😄

[@D1Calderon]

I would but I already own the Blu-ray Discs.

[@RobertK1993]

Streaming services will crash and 4K Ultra HD Blu ray will make a comeback.

[@RobertK1993]

@Mike P I hope all streaming companies get into financial difficulty

[@RyanDabrowskiBoilerUp]

Hmm, I am not sure, I mean I haven’t even seen GoT, like at all, so I may first watch it on its stream, where I may be buying it, within the next couple of weeks….

[@ealanosborne]

Fair enough! 🙌 You may not even like the show, who knows… 😁

[@RyanDabrowskiBoilerUp]

@@ealanosborne exactly why I will first stream it, to make the call if it’s worth buying, but I do generally like action/adventure story’s, I’m hoping to make the call if it’s worth getting it on 4K disc, after watching what I hope will be the first 1-4 episodes this weekend…

[@jessejaehnig8278]

That is on the top of my list since I got a 4K player and OLED tv

[@ealanosborne]

As it should be! 😁🎉

[@32toddv]

Physical 4k disc always looks better than streaming.

[@obi1cannoli777]

I feel you. I too have started collecting 4k blu Ray. Really looking for a steel book of 5th Element(my fave) without spending a small fortune. Its the sound I was this years old when I realized your logo says e & o. Clever!

[@ealanosborne]

Haha! Yes indeed. I went through many crappy logos before landing on that one. 😄

[@OMGtheykilledKenny42]

There's a 4K UHD blu ray remaster of Die Hard (30th anniversary) but I don't think it has Atmos encoded, just 5.1 I think.

[@Burt_Fuggin_Reynolds]

Are we talking 10% better? 20? 100?

[@leadershippush3808]

Physical Media is #1….. My system comes to life when I watch Physical media

[@stusok6981]

Band of Brothers Next! please

[@ealanosborne]

Hmmm…that’s a good idea… 🤔