Apple

I have a top notch home theater setup. But I only get 4K discs for really special movies that I love and will watch occasionally forever. Most movies are just fine with the digital version, and it's super easy too.

Ok, question for the community here. I have a good audio setup with atmos speakers, towers etc, and a nice TV. How much of a difference would y’all expect me to see and does it matter which 4k player I’ve bought?

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.

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? 😁👍

I found this album while I was trying to make my decision.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone: iTunes 4K vs 4K Blu-Ray - Imgur

4K Blu Ray vs 4K Itunes : hometheater (reddit.com)

As you can see, there's a clear increase in detail - especially with low light images. To me though, the differences weren't big enough. Even from Blu-Ray to 4k, the difference in detail is often negligible when they're created from the same master. Of course, streaming can vary a lot more and I'm sure there are worse examples from iTunes.

I decided to use the money I was going to spend on a standalone 4k player on more movies.

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.

Apple tv is the only thing close. Bravia core doesn't count

Buying a 4K digital movie for 5 bucks, with DVD extras and the possibility you may not have it for life or if you switch countries with your Apple account, is probably worth it. I wouldn’t spent 10 on a digital movie for those reasons, I wait for the sales.

Movies that I really care about, classics, I may save up and buy a physical 4K set.

With digital you're going to see a lot more moiré patterns or "banding" than with disc.

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 buy physical discs, yet also love digital copies. Physical discs look and sound better, but digital copies are quite handy.

The problem with 4K digital is the bitrate varies from title to title and from service to service. The audio is better on the disk if you have an audio system that can take advantage of it.

Movies Anywhere tends to be the best service to stream 4K followed by Apple they tend to be above 20 Mbps on their 4K movie streams.

I tend to buy the disk and redeem the digital code, I use the digital version when I'm not in one of my main viewing setups.

I stopped buying discs and went digital only. Apple TV is fire. The only disc I own that I’ll watch the disc is interstellar because it has the imax scenes and the digital doesn’t afaik

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.

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.

There is a big difference if the equipment you use is also up to scratch. Sound the biggest winner. Picture better the bigger screen you are watching on.

Discs are better but I haven’t got an expensive audio setup for movies. The difference for me would be negligible so for me I just pick up films when they are on sale and drop to £3.99.

I’ve picked up most of the ones I really want over the years so it’s mainly recent releases I’m after now.

Saves me money and a lot of clutter. I’ve got boxes of DVDs in the loft.

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.

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.

Disk is always better than digital due to the sheer amount of bitrate. Its a night and day difference.

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.

It’s probably best to say that physical is better for now….

The future is digital.