[Azekecse]

The means of delivering the content has nothing to do with the display device quality. If you have a crap media player and a low bandwidth pipe, the content will look just as bad on a cheap projector as good one.. Content does not specify contrast.. that is a function of the display device. The content that is streamed is not the issue, it is the bandwidth you have access to and the device you are steaming on.
So is it worth it for you to upgrade, that is something only you can answer. I know that the quality of all streamed content is better than what I get from Verizon FIOS.. .. FIOS HD is so poor it can hardly be call HD..

I've compared DTV vs FiOS TV, because FiOS TV has Fiber to Home and though I thought there would be difference in Pic quality there was not, IMHO. I did not compare 4K content however, I still utilize my Apple4KTV for that resource.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

 

[airscapes]

I've compared DTV vs FiOS TV, because FiOS TV has Fiber to Home and though I thought there would be difference in Pic quality there was not, IMHO. I did not compare 4K content however, I still utilize my Apple4KTV for that resource.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

It may be that different areas of the country have different results .. FIOS in the SE PA area is just terrible with compression and low bit rate quality. This has been verified in different locations and they don't really care.. No 4K just basic HD looking as bad as SD on a 120"

 

[willieconway]

Reading thru this thread I get the feeling you have to be all in to one method or the other. Years ago I had cable kind of the streaming of the day and I also had an inexpensive source of DVDs I ended up with a collection of over 3000 DVDs. Cable was always late to the party with new releases and you had to watch it when it was on.

Now with streaming it is when you want it but new release still lag unless you want to pay extra for the new release. We wait on some and we rent some (RedBox) or pay to stream some. We then are now very selective as to what we actually go out and buy the hard media.

The collection has slowed way down but what we collect now are special movies that we will enjoy over and over along with the bonus materials that don’t stream. Instead of buying 10 movies a week we now buy about 10 per year.
The old DVD collection still gets selective playing and a select few have been updated even. The collected media is now a lot more special IMO. There is room for both methods.

I don't get the extremism either. It seems the "streaming sucks" crowd gets personally insulted by the idea of someone being happy with streaming. I'm no stranger to physical media but I enjoy the convenience and selection of streaming services immensely, and in most cases the quality is - at least - fine.

 

[CinemacDaddy]

I am definitely not of the opinion that streaming sucks. In fact, streaming quality has reached a point where it is very good indeed. That being said, black levels are pretty much uniformly splotchy and crushed on all the streams I watch (with high bandwidth and an Apple TV 4K) and the ultimate resolution, motion handling, etc. seem to lag behind the quality of a top-notch Blu-Ray. Streaming quality also varies a good bit between services and sometimes the transfer that is being used for a movie is clearly an older version. On the Criterion Channel, for example, I have noticed that they hold out on offering the most recent Blu Ray remasters and instead run old DVD transfers. They still look very good and the streaming quality of that service is excellent, but still not up to having a Criterion Blu Ray in hand.

Do you by chance have your Apple TV set to HDR display mode by default? If so, the black splotchiness you are describing that looks like bad compression could actually be bad HDR upscaling. The recommendation is to set it to 4K SDR and enable match dynamic range. Non HDR content blacks will look much better and HDR content will still enable HDR mode. Downside is screensavers and UI are no longer HDR. I compared these two configurations back to back the other night and Vikings looked way better in dark scenes without fake HDR.

 

[[email protected]]

I don't get the extremism either. It seems the "streaming sucks" crowd gets personally insulted by the idea of someone being happy with streaming. I'm no stranger to physical media but I enjoy the convenience and selection of streaming services immensely, and in most cases the quality is - at least - fine.

Having seen lots and lots of comparison screenshots between streaming services and discs of the same content, you're right in saying quality is "fine". I'd say, especially if you're watching on a TV, most people would be happy with the quality that's offered by current streaming services today, with most having a hard time spotting differences between the two. But when you're spending tens of thousands of dollars on a dedicated space and equipment, the differences can be pretty obvious to spot. A lot of us are viewing in a more controlled environment and with higher performing equipment too. Plus the difference in image size alone can make encoded quality issues stand out, even if you don't have a state of the art projector and screen.

Then there's the argument about why someone would spend all that money on a room and equipment if you're not at least going to give it the best source material you can find? I think that's the main argument being made. I give streaming quality a 7.5 out of 10 if Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray are the standard we're comparing against. There's also an argument to me made about lossy vs lossless audio formats, but that's an argument for a different subforum.

 

[bud16415]

I don't get the extremism either. It seems the "streaming sucks" crowd gets personally insulted by the idea of someone being happy with streaming. I'm no stranger to physical media but I enjoy the convenience and selection of streaming services immensely, and in most cases the quality is - at least - fine.

I don’t even belong in this forum as every projector I have ever owned falls in the <3000 forum. I feel I have amazing sound and PQ but then again as a kid of the 50-60s I cut my teeth on a 20” round B&W TV with rabbit ears that my dad made me hold as that was the only way we could get the fights.

The thing I like about streaming is saving money and those IMO sappy romantic comedy / Hallmark movies look just fine streamed. The last movie I rented was from RedBox it was Tenet on BD for 2 bucks. Sometimes I do that and like the movie enough I run out and buy it. I did that with Dunkirk. This movie I would like to own but I can wait till its half price.
I haven’t really thought about this much but having a budget projector and a 110” image maybe my expectations are not as high so I’m more easily pleased. We have some friends that like to come over and watch what they call a real movie theater and they all have very fine high quality flat panel TVs at home. They mostly stream and even if I stream a movie they seem blown away. HT is kind of like drinking wine I think.