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World War Z only in SDR

L

lujan

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 30, 2024
Messages
558
Anyone know why the studio didn't send Kaleidescape the HDR10 or DV version of this 4K title? Kaleidescape only has the 4K version in SDR, whereas Apple TV has it in Dolby Vision:

WorldWarZ4K.jpg
 
We've never been provided with direct per-title answers from K. As you point out, assets with HDR/Dolby Vision are provided to all the other digital stores, so I'm unsure that K would be specifically denied access.

What we have been told is that some studios are charging more for HDR assets, that HDR assets take longer to process, every title needs to sell sufficient copies to recoup costs, etc. Therefore, it's just as likely that K chose not to include HDR for financial reasons.

This mostly happens to 4K catalog titles, and it ramped up substantially last year with about 30 titles arriving without HDR. It could very well be that K was managing resources (financial and manpower) during the development of the Strato V.

Having tracked this issue, I can say that it's definitely happening less this year than last, but it does still occur. Hopefully there'll be a rush of new users due to the Strato V, and that'll bring expanded resources to the content team.

L

Thread 'UHD w/o HDR Store Analysis'

I did a quick analysis of the K Store in regards to UHD vs. HDR releases:

74 movies are currently limited to UHD on K but available in HDR elsewhere.
44 releases were between 2015 and 2022, averaging 5.5 per year.
30 releases were in the last 12 months.

So, if it seems like this is happening more and more, it is.

@KDeering just pointed out in another thread that this may be related to the new "Library Titles at Theaters" announcement. That would certainly make sense, as a lot of the recent titles facing this limitation are the type that would show up in theaters for special events...
  • Like
 
Broncowrangler said:
I was also surprised to see Fury in 5.1. That atmos track on the 4k disc is borderline reference.
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Audio is a completely different story. For things like Atmos, there's absolutely the possibility that the studio doesn't make an asset available to K, or the only Atmos assets are lossy streaming quality, etc. I will also point out that Atmos/Audio Track requests are the most likely to be responded to by K. If there's an audio asset that they're missing, and it's available from the studio, they'll try to get it and add it.
 
LoveCinema said:
Audio is a completely different story. For things like Atmos, there's absolutely the possibility that the studio doesn't make an asset available to K, or the only Atmos assets are lossy streaming quality, etc. I will also point out that Atmos/Audio Track requests are the most likely to be responded to by K. If there's an audio asset that they're missing, and it's available from the studio, they'll try to get it and add it.
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Just a mere observation on my part, that’s all. Anyways, I will continue to roll with my 4k disc. When they add the aforementioned asset, I will go ahead with the d2d (already received my $4.92 digital offer).
 
Broncowrangler said:
Just a mere observation on my part, that’s all. Anyways, I will continue to roll with my 4k disc. When they add the aforementioned asset, I will go ahead with the d2d (already received my $4.92 digital offer).
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You can always get it now, so you have it (just in case it gets removed from the catalog at a later date, which can happen) and then just do the update if/when the improved release is available. SDR to HDR is not a cost upgrade since they're both 4k.
 
StanfieldNC said:
You can always get it now, so you have it (just in case it gets removed from the catalog at a later date, which can happen) and then just do the update if/when the improved release is available. SDR to HDR is not a cost upgrade since they're both 4k.
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Ok thanks for that. I was actually pointing out the lack of an atmos track on Fury, but if the audio component is upgradeable as well then I will get it now.
 
I have gotten the impression in the past that there are occasions when the HDR version is not up to Kaleidescape’s quality standards so they just go with the SDR version. However, I could never get confirmation.

John
 
JohnJ said:
I have gotten the impression in the past that there are occasions when the HDR version is not up to Kaleidescape’s quality standards so they just go with the SDR version. However, I could never get confirmation.

John
Click to expand...
I did watch the 4K DV version on Apple TV and it did not look very good IMO, so that may be true?
 
I have this and it looks great and the sound is awesome too, worth getting if you like it.
 
lujan said:
I'm wondering if Kaleidescape will get the 4K copies of these titles that are coming out on disc very soon? Especially interested in knowing if they will finally get the 4K HDR version of "World War Z"?
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I wouldn't expect it to. The fact is that digital stores have had access to the 4K HDR/DV version of these movies for quite a while. If HDR isn't currently present on the K Store, there's a reason for it (likely financial).

Obviously we can request upgrades, but K actually recommends purchasing the movies that you want to see upgraded as this reflects in title popularity. If a title is popular enough, perhaps it will be lined up for a Dolby Vision upgrade and with it the addition of HDR.

Having said that, much more high profile titles are still sitting in this position after multiple disc releases and re-releases.
 
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lujan said:
I'm wondering if Kaleidescape will get the 4K copies of these titles that are coming out on disc very soon? Especially interested in knowing if they will finally get the 4K HDR version of "World War Z"?
Click to expand...
BTW, special attention for Friday the 13th Part 2. I'm keeping a close eye on this one to see if there's any indication of change in the K Store. Based upon 2023's releases, I'd give this title almost no chance of being released on K.

To clarify, here's the 2023 4K catalog movies from Paramount that didn't get upgraded:
Halloween H20
Monster Squad
Rosemary's Baby
Scream 3
Sweeney Todd
The Naked Gun

Hmm, 5 of the 6 unreleased 4K catalog upgrades from Paramount are horror related. And there's another horror related 4K catalog release coming up, one that's already present on other digital stores but not yet on K. I'm watching this, but I'm not hopeful.
 
Broncowrangler said:
Update: Fury is now available with Atmos and Dolby vision. Great news!!

Fwiw, the disc only includes HDR10.
Click to expand...
However, Atmos is only available with the DV download. The HDR10 download still has 5.1. Is it likely that K will reprocess the HDR10 file to add the Atmos track?

On my movie wishlist spreadsheet I keep track of which format (K or disc) has the best audio track, and I now realize I can't rely on the little Dolby Atmos label on a movie's landing page in the K store. I have to view the individual audio tracks to see which 4K format has the Atmos track, since I have a Strato C. 🫤
 
MXT said:
However, Atmos is only available with the DV download. The HDR10 download still has 5.1. Is it likely that K will reprocess the HDR10 file to add the Atmos track?
Click to expand...

Answering my own question. Based on this thread, it seems likely that HDR10 versions of movies will eventually be retranscoded with Atmos (if Atmos is available with the DV versions).
 
Just got my Strato set up last week and this was one of the first movies I looked up (and downloaded).
Still seems to be 4K SDR
 
PascalP said:
Just got my Strato set up last week and this was one of the first movies I looked up (and downloaded).
Still seems to be 4K SDR
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Yes, please submit a request for a DV/DA upgrade to: movies@kaleidescape.com

These subpar releases annoy me endlessly and I hate that K doesn't do anything about them. Unfortunately, it's something they continue to do and not a month goes by when they don't add a couple more. Ugh.
 
LoveCinema said:
Yes, please submit a request for a DV/DA upgrade to: movies@kaleidescape.com

These subpar releases annoy me endlessly and I hate that K doesn't do anything about them. Unfortunately, it's something they continue to do and not a month goes by when they don't add a couple more. Ugh.
Click to expand...
I’ve sent multiple requests to that email and the only response I get is “it’s coming soon”… that was 2.5 years ago.
 
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