The Matrix - regraded, v2.0

[captainsolo]

Scouting the bd.com forums and many are saying the new Blu-ray Disc is a messed up hdr to sdr conversion.
I have to say while it looks improved overall I do think the new timing goes a bit too far with some color but then again I’m so used to the 1999 dvd I cant get away from it.

[bronan]

Comparisons for the UHD are up on capsaholic now.

[Stamper]

It's like again like the T2 release, the SDR disc is messed up, but the 4K looks good... I think we're going to get more of these in the future.

[random.next]

New remaster 1080p + old remaster open matte

[titanic]

It's like again like the T2 release, the SDR disc is messed up, but the 4K looks good... I think we're going to get more of these in the future.

the 4k looks good?
I thought it was DNRed to hell, therefore "not good"!

[Turisu]

I have the UHD and the new remastered BD. It appears to me that it isn't just the case that the BD is a straight HDR to SDR conversion. The BD seems to have a very different colour timing in many scenes. At first I thought it was my TV's settings until I saw the shots on caps-o-holic. The interrogation scene for instance has way more green on the UHD than the BD which is far more neutral (as it has been suggested the scene looked theatrically).


People seem to be complaining that the new BD has blown out skies in some scenes but there is a 1999 interview (I don't recall if it was Bill Pope or the Wachowskis) which I remember seeing quoted in several discussions regarding the original theatrical colour timing of The Matrix where it is stated that highlights such as skies were deliberately blown out for effect.


So my point is; is it possible that the remastered BD, with its blown out highlights and more neutral grading, is actually closer to the original theatrical look of the film?

[Doctor M]

Just to be clear, I don't like HDR. I think it makes everything looks worse. It's the visual equivalent of audio mixes with explosions so loud you have to turn your speakers down and then back up again to hear people talking.

HDBits has an ongoing thread about movies without 4k detail on UHD BDs. The goal is to make encodings that can be much smaller at 1080p but preserve the wider color and HDR features.

Anyway, someone recently posted a 6 minute test clip of the new Matrix like this... and to my eye, it is all sorts of wrong.
Special effects look more fake because of the HDR, and some scenes are blatantly the wrong colors. The green room where Neo is interrogated? Startlingly different from anything I remember seeing ever.

Sure, my memory is mostly of the DVD, but I saw the movie 3 times opening weekend in 1999. The DVD is still closer than most timings (that includes the 35mm release).
I need to track down a clip of the new BD and see if that is even worth getting.

I have a copy on my Dropbox account, so anyone interested in seeing this, PM me. You will need a TV or device that can play x265/HDR clips.

Edit: Of course it's possible the UHD could look better without HDR. Several times I've found that UHD BD screenshots that extrapolate the HDR to SDR seem to look more natural than the actual HDR video. (Which reminds me that I want to open up a new thread about that...)

[captainsolo]

I wanted this for the new BD but the caps and postings had me leery. There's also apparently some visible artifacts as per photos on the BD.com thread when the beam gun is fired on ship you can see a blue aqua colored blob for a moment.
Is this worthwhile for the new BD disc? For me I'm still with the 1999 DVD all the way.

BTW I appreciate the HDR discussion. I'm also quite afraid it will be used in all the wrong ways.

[Chewielewis]

I wanted this for the new BD but the caps and postings had me leery. There's also apparently some visible artifacts as per photos on the BD.com thread when the beam gun is fired on ship you can see a blue aqua colored blob for a moment.
Is this worthwhile for the new BD disc? For me I'm still with the 1999 DVD all the way.

Ive watched the new HDR disc, not going to lie i did notice those blue peaking artifacts, including one big blue blob in the highlights while Cypher is sitting on Morpheos. These artifacts aside its a pretty stunning disc and by far the closest we've seen this film look to the 35mm. The  standard BR seems a bit rough but it could be possible for a better looking HDR to SDR conversion out there some time. 

I haven't seen the dolby vision disc so i wonder if some of these errors are corrected in this.

[Turisu]

The UHD looks very green in many scenes. Even more so than the new BD. The limited available evidence suggests that this was not the case with the original theatrical prints. So I would venture to say that the new BD is closer to the 35mm.