Audio Quality: Streaming Vs Blu ray Vs Ripped

[elangoas]

I suppose that ticket price is some special price in Chennai.

Movie ticket rates are fixed by local govt here.. Rs 120 for premium ticket on all days..

Any theater showing good quality sound in a multiplex would charge around 400-700. Plus if you are going with your family then you are paying into 4 while the BD is paid only once.

Ok.. You are pointing to just a few good theaters in your city.. Am referring to the average movie ticket cost in India.. Lets say, you have paid the highest (Rs 500) in your city.. The lowest i have seen is Rs 70 for a non peak Hr / weekdays around the rural areas that i live..

 

[Indranil Sen]

How is the 4K media market developing in India?

 

[sud98]

How is the 4K media market developing in India?

Netflix does provide it in its Ultra option. The STBs tried 4k but it flopped. Not much traction on physical disks.

 

[Indranil Sen]

The 4k media future is questionable globally as folks are moving gradually into streaming services. Even in the US, 4K media production and sales figures are relatively low. If you guys didn't know, Oppo one of the very popular vendors/brands in the Universal player market recently decided to close its operation in the US. The possible reason, although not their official version, is the expected lack of future demand in media or media player market. Major retail outlets in the US are no longer interested in stocking CDs. So I guess the writing is clear on the wall. The only place where media players are still somewhat selling in the US is 2 channel music but this is a very high-end segment of the market where CD/SACD players cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The streaming audio quality as many pointed out is in its infancy and it seems like it is at-least a couple of years behind when compared with the physical media.
Thanks

 

[rpmahale]

I have near about 150 Blu Ray movie. All purchased through Amazon uk, India , Flipkart and from shops. Have near about 50 movie on Laptop with DD/DTS track some are BR tips with 1080p. To my test Blu-ray movies sound more clean, clear, chrisp and have better dynamics compare to BR rips. Nover tried BR rips with lossless audio codec. Have movie streaming options through Netflix, Amazon prime and KODI. Due to lesser bandwidth we miss the dynamics and impactful surround sound but video quality is better than rips. I think KODI with VPN and Real Debris a/c is one of the good and cheap option available today for one who don't want to compromise on quality front and not willing to pay more. Reliability of KODI video apps is one of the major concern in this regards. Last .... a properly calibrated and above average HT system will always give immersive movie watching experience wheather it's Blu-ray,Rips are streaming. " Fast and Furious 7 " and " Master and Commander " sounds better on Pioneer 920 series AVR and JBL 610 speakers ( Fairdeal Mumbai Demo room) then on my Home theatre setup.

 

[dr_rocket]

Yes 120 is a rarity, may be morning shows in weekdays. Weekends usual is 250-400 in Kolkata

 

[rpmahale]

In Navi Mumbai it starts with Rs. 90/- in morning and gradually increases as day progresses and reach up to Rs. 350/- , Also depend upon movie also.

 

[Indranil Sen]

I had the opportunity to visit a couple of audio stores in Calcutta recently and not many of them even keep Bluray media. How is the Bluray media market outside Cal? Do you guys buy it mostly online?
Thanks.

 

[rpmahale]

At my place Crossword and Landmark use to keep Blu-ray movies, but now they have stopped. Now the only source is online. Even audio CD are also very limited in option. Usually I purchase from Amazon uk due to wide options and compatative rates.

 

[elangoas]

The same bluray media that stumbles to sell for the price (Rs 999) offline/online market, is sold like hotcakes for Rs 100, with the exact quality as original on roadside.. Everyone knows / have used (or) must have come across this at some point..

I myself have picked the DVD's a decade back for Rs 50 (Silver one) / Rs 100 for (gold one), had about 50 movies and all of them with either single audio track / multiple audio tracks to watch them on CRT..

Am surprised, why not even a single company has attempted to sell the original BRD for Rs 150 (or) Rs 200? Are most of them doing the math wrong all the time? (or) are they following their competitors price incorrectly?..

 

[pushkarajd]

I have a different view and opinion here. Maybe that's my experience.

I have observed that online streaming through Amazon Prime Video or Netflix gives better sound output. I have atleast 50 BD Discs with me, mostly purchased from Amazon India and some from Amazon UK. The discs purchased from Amazon India sound like crap. Infact I own most of the blockbuster titles in BD Discs like Madmax Fury Road, Gravity, Pacific Rim, Deadpool just to name a few. Especially with Pacific Rim the sound quality is so crappy, that I feel like the BD is made from a 2 ch stereo!

Although the BDs bought from UK seem to be good.

 

[sud98]

I have a different view and opinion here. Maybe that's my experience.

I have observed that online streaming through Amazon Prime Video or Netflix gives better sound output. I have atleast 50 BD Discs with me, mostly purchased from Amazon India and some from Amazon UK. The discs purchased from Amazon India sound like crap. Infact I own most of the blockbuster titles in BD Discs like Madmax Fury Road, Gravity, Pacific Rim, Deadpool just to name a few. Especially with Pacific Rim the sound quality is so crappy, that I feel like the BD is made from a 2 ch stereo!

Although the BDs bought from UK seem to be good.

Something seriously wrong. I have bought BD's from all over. But its not possible for streaming movies to match audio or video quality. Check your settings while playing mad max BD.

 

[pushkarajd]

Something seriously wrong. I have bought BD's from all over. But its not possible for streaming movies to match audio or video quality. Check your settings while playing mad max BD.

Yes, technically I agree to what you are saying. But I have never got the satisfying 5.1ch effect from BDs that got from Prime Video and Netflix.

 

[revolty]

Yes, technically I agree to what you are saying. But I have never got the satisfying 5.1ch effect from BDs that got from Prime Video and Netflix.

Yes, even i agree with sud98. I checked below mentioned movies on both the platforms:

English Movies
MI: ghost protocol (Prime video vs BD) - BD sounded more immersive & satisfying
Inception (Prime video vs BD) - BD sounded more immersive & satisfying

Hindi Movies
Tiger Zinda hai (Prime video vs BD) - BD sounded more immersive & satisfying
Commando 2 (Prime video vs DVD) - Dvd sounded more satisfying
Khakee (Netflix vs DVD) - DVD sounded more immersive

These are just few examples i could recollect. I am using these streaming services primarily because some hindi movies haven't bothered to release their dvd's or BD's like Shivaay, Kaabil etc. Even if DVD or BD releases, it takes 4-5 months. So, i use Prime & netflix to watch those movies. It's not that satisfying but there is no option. As of now, only YRF & SLB are releasing their every movies on BD (and Dharma Productions).
So, humble request, please check your audio settings.

 

[Indranil Sen]

There is no comparison of audio quality between a genuine Bluray disc and its streaming equivalent. If a Bluray disc is genuine and its hd audio doesn't sound good then there is something else like AVR/Pre-processor settings or selection of hd audio track on the source is incorrect.

 

[pushkarajd]

The simple thing that I am getting a very satisfying output from streaming devices points out that the audio settings are not proper....wondering what could be wrong with the BDs.

I will share the audio settings on my BD Player soon...

 

[vj_box]

Cannot compare Dolby Atmos on Netflix with that on BDs as the bitrates are too low on Netflix (I've tried using Win10 Netflix app). While BD will have much higher bitrate audio with Atmos metadata, Netflix is just sending Atmos metadata with Dolby Digital signal which is not comparable (its just that you get height speakers activated).

Second that !

Recently I gave the Netflix 4K plan a shot and tried a few movies. The source is an Xbox one and the boy was I terribly dissappointed with the sound quality ( I had high hopes!). The sound quality from the front speakers and the sub was super muddled let alone the Atmos. But again comparing a streaming content to a raw/near lossless content on a 4K Bluray isnt fair too. In my opinion, if one wants to watch netflix, then I would recommend sticking to a soundbar at best. Dont even think its going to be on par to your Bluray experience. Heck, it doesnt even come closer to a 4.5GB Rip!

 

[vj_box]

Yes, technically I agree to what you are saying. But I have never got the satisfying 5.1ch effect from BDs that got from Prime Video and Netflix.

Wow I too am surpirised when you say that. Unless the BD was a poor clone or contained a badly done rip, there is no way a streaming content is going to offer the fidelity of a BD. When you say, 5.1 CH effect, I assume you refer to the sound steering across all your speakers in which case its a question of your content simply being loud enough to be able to hear on surrounds. The content I tried on Netflix was all muddled. Mind you Transformers sounded super bad on Netflix on my setup.

 

[rpmahale]

Usually I watch movies on Netflix, Amazon prime , Rips and Blu Ray disc. Few movies I watch on streaming services are very good in surround sound. Not as good as Blu-ray but you may get satisfying results. Like " Book of Eli, Mad Max fury road" on Netflix, " Bahubali , Unstoppable, Interstellar " in Rips and " How to train the Dragon" on KODI through Laptop. All have active surround sound constantly engaging all speakers. I have Blu Ray version of " Unstoppable, Interstellar ,How to train the Dragon and Mad Max fury road" and watch the same . Difference is details, dynamics and chrispness in sound. Need to increase the volume by 4-5 dB on volume scale to achieve sufficient listining level. Subwoofer seem to underpowered and also need to increase source or volume level. But if you are getting all for just Rs. 2000/- per year ( Amazon prime or KODI) then it's not a bad deal. Little compromise in sound can save a lot of money on Blu-ray. A properly calibrated mid range HT system may give little better results than an entry level.

 

[pushkarajd]

Wow I too am surpirised when you say that. Unless the BD was a poor clone or contained a badly done rip, there is no way a streaming content is going to offer the fidelity of a BD. When you say, 5.1 CH effect, I assume you refer to the sound steering across all your speakers in which case its a question of your content simply being loud enough to be able to hear on surrounds. The content I tried on Netflix was all muddled. Mind you Transformers sounded super bad on Netflix on my setup.

Right! especially the surround ones....Again all my BDs are original (atleast they seem to be) as I have purchased them all on Amazon (either India or UK). As I said 1-2 movies seem to be worst and some seem to be ok to good! As I said the worst is the Pacific Rim BD! Absolutely no surround effects, just most of the sound coming from the 2 front speakers. Even that BD renders the center speaker useless! The good BDs that I found are Jungle Book (2016), Gravity. These are the ones that I have bought from Amazon India. Die Hard Full Set (5 movies), Fast and Furious Set (all 7 movies) and Bourne Series are all bought from the UK and the SQ is very good in them.

The other worst are Avatar, Titanic where I had very high hopes for the PQ and SQ. Infact Titanic PQ is also not good. The other day when Avatar was being played on TV (Tata Sky) I watched the movie in HD and it was much better (PQ and SQ) than the BD that I own.