Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 4k UHD -- 27 DISC Boxed Set -- 3/31/2020 — Page 8

What?!! This makes no sense. Two versions available at the same time - and with no clear indicator of which version the customer is actually buying on the box?

If you buy the movies on Blu-ray, you get the Blu-ray versions of the films.

If you buy the movies on Ultra HD, you get the Ultra HD versions of the films on both the UHD discs and the BD discs.

Just like when the Blu-ray box sets included the Blu-ray versions of the films on both the BD discs and the DVD discs. So there’s already been a precedent for this.

oojason said:

https://twitter.com/StarWarsVisComp/status/1242646906846826500 (with more comments in the link):-

‘Confirmed by @thedigitalbits that if you buy the Blu-ray-only set you get 11SE on Blu-ray, but if you buy the UHD / Blu-ray combo set you get the 19SE on Blu-ray. Because that’s not confusing to consumers.’
 

I can imagine it won’t clearly marked as such on the packaging either…
 

That’s very disappointing news. And a crazy decision from Disney! There is now no incentive for customers to buy the new Blu-Ray set, given it is the same as the previously released (and rereleased not long ago) 2011 versions.

For those in the same boat as me who don’t have any 4K equipment, the UHD set seems far too expensive as a means of getting the new Blu-Rays.

What a festering pile of pants.

You can buy the UK Skywalker set for 65 GBP and have the 2019 SE without any 4K discs.

Argh. I’m all confused now. I’ve had another look at the thread by “Star Wars Visual Comparisons” on twitter. In the opening tweet, he states,

• “Confirmed by @thedigitalbits that if you buy the Blu-ray-only set you get 11SE on Blu-ray”.

But in a later response, he says,

• “I wasn’t aware they were making a new Blu-ray only box set.”

This thread is rapidly turning into the Chewbacca defence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdba9C2G14

It honestly makes zero sense that Disney would go to the trouble of pressing up blu-rays with the new transfer (and new artwork) for the 4K releases, especially after clearing all the old stock with the most recent blu-ray release, only to put out a new blu-ray box-set and blu-ray only release with newly pressed discs that still contain the old transfers.

I mean, I know everything having to do with Star Wars’ home video releases has never really made any sense for a very long time now, but this really doesn’t make any sense, just from a production standpoint. The whole reason there was a re-release on blu-ray was to clear the old stock, get it repackaged, and put in warehouses and on shelves.

Anything being pressed up for this set, and put in new packaging, pretty much has to be the new transfers being put on new discs, with new on-disc art, etc.

We probably won’t find out for sure until someone gets a new blu-ray only version of this Skywalker Saga box-set and posts a video or writes a description themselves.

Bluto said:

oojason said:

https://twitter.com/StarWarsVisComp/status/1242646906846826500 (with more comments in the link):-

‘Confirmed by @thedigitalbits that if you buy the Blu-ray-only set you get 11SE on Blu-ray, but if you buy the UHD / Blu-ray combo set you get the 19SE on Blu-ray. Because that’s not confusing to consumers.’
 

I can imagine it won’t clearly marked as such on the packaging either…
 

That’s very disappointing news. And a crazy decision from Disney! There is now no incentive for customers to buy the new Blu-Ray set, given it is the same as the previously released (and rereleased not long ago) 2011 versions.

For those in the same boat as me who don’t have any 4K equipment, the UHD set seems far too expensive as a means of getting the new Blu-Rays.

What a festering pile of pants.

I mean… why would anyone want the new Blu-rays?

adywan said:

Because they are a better transfer than the crap 2011 versions

This exactly.

Granted, we’re talking about niches of niches here (people who prefer physical media, prefer that physical media to be blu-ray, and people who care what version of Star Wars it is they own on physical blu-ray) but just in case you’re a Star Wars fan who wants an official release to look as good as possible and isn’t interested in either Disney+ or piracy - these blu-rays are the answer.

Broom Kid said:

adywan said:

Because they are a better transfer than the crap 2011 versions

This exactly.

Granted, we’re talking about niches of niches here (people who prefer physical media, prefer that physical media to be blu-ray, and people who care what version of Star Wars it is they own on physical blu-ray) but just in case you’re a Star Wars fan who wants an official release to look as good as possible and isn’t interested in either Disney+ or piracy - these blu-rays are the answer.

I guess that’s fair. In my mind people are just going to watch Despecialized or the 4K restorations, and if they really care that much about the SE they’ll either get the 4K or use D+. But there is a small, incredibly niche audience in there that isn’t covered, I suppose.

Some of us have no interest in 4k. No 4k TV’s, no 4k player. I still watch DVD’s quite often. I’m watching an upscale of the EU broadcast (widescreen SD) of the 97 SE TESB as I type.

The way I see it, if the 18 disc blu-ray set has the same special feature discs as the 4k 27 disk set, that the blu-ray versions of the films are going to identical. So either all the discs in all the sets are the 2011 version or they are all the 2019 version. And as the last BR release came BEFORE the D+ version premiered, I think it is safe to assume that the new BR’s are all the new D+ version. Though I am not getting a copy (mostly for financial reasons) right away so It would be good to hear if that is truly the case before I spend the money for something I don’t need. And they are also available on DVD, just no special features.

yotsuya said:

Some of us have no interest in 4k. No 4k TV’s, no 4k player. I still watch DVD’s quite often. I’m watching an upscale of the EU broadcast (widescreen SD) of the 97 SE TESB as I type.

So you don’t care about resolution, you have no problem watching a DVD of the 97 ESB SE. Fair enough. But are you really that interested in the 19SEs? The changes have only gotten worse since 97.

I think it’s also worth remembering some people will want the best possible presentation of the Prequels, and even though the D+ versions aren’t as different - they’re still a better transfer than the 2011 blus, correct?

But yes, when it comes to this place and starwarstrilogy.com - it’s probably much more likely that these sets’ quality is only of note in regards to its utility for making better fan restorations. My interest in the set was primarily for the opportunity to get really good extras, and once it became clear that opportunity was going to be completely ignored, I lost all interest in the set.

BUT: for those who don’t really mind the changes to the OT, and who enjoy the PT, these blu-rays are right up their alley because the '19 versions are as good as all six films have looked on (officially released) HD.

Broom Kid said:

I think it’s also worth remembering some people will want the best possible presentation of the Prequels, and even though the D+ versions aren’t as different - they’re still a better transfer than the 2011 blus, correct?

I believe they are the same.

Really! I thought I’d heard there were noticeable color grading differences at the least?

I think Dom and I were specifically referencing the PT, not the OT.

DominicCobb said:

Broom Kid said:

I think it’s also worth remembering some people will want the best possible presentation of the Prequels, and even though the D+ versions aren’t as different - they’re still a better transfer than the 2011 blus, correct?

I believe they are the same.

According to thedigitalbits TPM is a new scan which was also used for the 3D re-release (there’s still a lot of DNR in an attempt to blend the film elements and digital scenes) and AOTC and ROTS are based on the old 2K masters (they were shot in 1080p but mastered in 2K) but with additional upscaling and “film look” processing to bring them to 4K. The grades are also slightly different.

The Blu-Rays included in the new set are downscales of the new 4K master, not the same as the old blu-rays.

Octorox said:

According to thedigitalbits TPM is a new scan which was also used for the 3D re-release (there’s still a lot of DNR in an attempt to blend the film elements and digital scenes) and AOTC and ROTS are based on the old 2K masters (they were shot in 1080p but mastered in 2K) but with additional upscaling and “film look” processing to bring them to 4K. The grades are also slightly different.

The Blu-Rays included in the new set are downscales of the new 4K master, not the same as the old blu-rays.

Thanks for the clarification!

Now the only question is whether or not buying the blu-ray only Skywalker Saga set means you get these 2019 transfers, or (presumably?) new artwork placed on the top of the 2011 Fox discs (?)

I wonder if the confusion is coming from people buying blu-ray only single disc versions, which ARE the 2011 discs just re-packaged, and have been on shelves for awhile now. From what I understand, the artwork for the new 4K single-disc releases is the exact same as the blu-ray only single-disc releases that preceded them, so maybe THAT’S where the confusion is coming in?

Octorox said:

DominicCobb said:

Broom Kid said:

I think it’s also worth remembering some people will want the best possible presentation of the Prequels, and even though the D+ versions aren’t as different - they’re still a better transfer than the 2011 blus, correct?

I believe they are the same.

According to thedigitalbits TPM is a new scan which was also used for the 3D re-release (there’s still a lot of DNR in an attempt to blend the film elements and digital scenes) and AOTC and ROTS are based on the old 2K masters (they were shot in 1080p but mastered in 2K) but with additional upscaling and “film look” processing to bring them to 4K. The grades are also slightly different.

The Blu-Rays included in the new set are downscales of the new 4K master, not the same as the old blu-rays.

I’d be curious to see a comparison.

Having played around with the Disney+ versions of the PT for my preservation project, I can confirm that they are new transfers with improved color grading and upsampling. They’re not hugely different from the 2011 blu-rays with the exception of AOTC which looks closer to the DVD grading.

Anchorhead said:

Density said:

George didn’t gaslight us like that.

Lucas has been gaslighting the fan base for 40 years. Nine films, six films, twelve films, never about Vader, always about Vader, Vader not the father, Vader always the father, Han shot in self defense, Leia was always the sister, “what I’d always planned”, “I just didn’t have the technology in 1980/1977/1983”, The Original Vision, commissioned two authors to each write a second film, the 1977 negatives are gone forever, films should never be altered, the director can alter, etc, etc, etc.

He built the franchise off of gaslighting the fan base and his constant lying created the fracturing that led to things like this very community.

Not only that, but Lucasfilm under George’s reign also released multiple versions of the original trilogy with very little added in terms of extras or picture quality. Getting consumers to buy multiple copies of the OT, instead of the releasing the “Ultimate” set, did not begin with Disney.