HDR

uhf-in-uhd:-weird-al’s-cult-classic-movie-will-get-its-first-4k-release

UHF in UHD: Weird Al’s cult classic movie will get its first 4K release

#4k, Blu-ray, culture, HDR, Shout Factory, UHF, ultrahd, Weird Al / /

MY MOP! —

For those of you just joining us, today we’re teaching poodles how to fly.

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  • Weird Al’s Rambo parody was a drop in the bucket amidst all the other jokes in the film, but it’s among the most memorable.

    Shout Factory

  • This is the promotional image for the collector’s edition with all its physical knickknacks.

    Shout Factory

Believe it or not, it’s been 35 years since Weird Al’s quotable cult classic UHF first came out. Right on time for that anniversary, Shout Factory will release an UltraHD Blu-ray of the movie. This will be the first time it has ever been available in 4K.

Releasing July 2 but pre-ordering now, the disc will include a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative, along with audio commentary from Weird Al and Jay Levy, the film’s director.

It will also come bundled with a standard HD Blu-ray that includes the film in that older format along with a bunch of special features, including video of a 2014 Comic-Con panel on the movie, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes videos, and some other assets. Some of those return from the movie’s last physical edition, which was a 25th anniversary HD Blu-ray, but not 4K.

There will be deluxe editions that include some physical collectibles, including an 18×24-inch poster of the “original theatrical artwork,” as well as a new, same-sized poster of new poster art made for this edition. You’ll also find 10 scratch-and-sniff stickers alongside a guide with time prompts for using them, plus some stickers “designed to replicate vintage vending machine prism stickers from the late ’80s and early ’90s” and a Spatula City fridge magnet. Add to that a 6-inch “UHF Remote Control Stress Relief Collectible.” All that stuff is limited to 1,000 units.

For an even smaller number of units of the collector’s edition (500), there will be five UHF-themed hard enamel pins.

The set is available in four tiers priced at $40, $53, $76, and $130, which is a mess, but if you’re not interested in collecting all the physical doohickies, it’s that first price for just the movie that you need to know.

UHF was released in 1989, and it was parody musician Weird Al’s first movie starring role and writing credit. Conceived as a series of bits that would allow him to satirize films in the same way he was known for satirizing songs, it, unfortunately, was a box office flop. It gained a small and passionate cult following on VHS throughout the ’90s.

Another movie written in part by Weird Al, Weird: The Al Yankovich Story, was released on Roku’s streaming channel in 2022. It was a very different kind of movie. Instead of rapid-fire spoofing numerous films like UHF did, it spoofed the musical biopic genre, with Daniel Radcliffe playing Weird Al in a heavily fictionalized account of his life.

The limited-run nature of this UHF release suggests that while the film still has its cult following, it remains outside the mainstream. Its fans probably like it that way, though.

Listing image by Shout Factory

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flying-coach?-at-least-you’ll-be-able-to-watch-movies-on-an-in-seat-oled-tv-soon

Flying coach? At least you’ll be able to watch movies on an in-seat OLED TV soon

#4k, Astrova, HDR, Icelandair, oled, panasonic, Panasonic Avionics, Qantus, Tech, United Airlines / /

In-Flight Entertainment —

Who needs legroom when you have 8.3 million individually emissive pixels?

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  • This is one of the Panasonic Avionics Astrova in-flight entertainment systems, set to debut in Icelandair, Qantus, and United Airlines flights in the next couple of years.

    Panasonic

  • The goal doesn’t seem to be to keep them in first class; economy seats will get them too, albeit in smaller sizes.

    Panasonic

Flying on commercial airlines today might be a lot more of a pain than it used to be, but new tech is going to bring some improvement to one part of the experience—in-flight entertainment. Panasonic Avionics’ brand Astrova in-flight entertainment systems are starting to roll out on commercial flights on certain airlines, promising 4K HDR TVs and other features to the backs of seats that should be a huge upgrade over the abysmal screens we normally watch in-flight movies on.

Look at most commercial airlines today, and you’ll find a tiny, terrible LCD TV embedded in the seat in front of you. These HD, standard dynamic range screens have terrible contrast and poor viewing angles, and they aren’t bright enough to achieve a good viewing experience when the overhead lights are on.

They’re bad enough that I always bring my own hardware for flights—most recently, I took three flights with Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which I plan to write about later this week. But most people just bring a tablet.

Astrova is Panasonic’s name for an in-flight entertainment system that aims to improve things dramatically. The OLED screens have 4K resolution and support HDR+. They also have two USB-C charging ports built in that can charge at up to 100 W, and they support Bluetooth, so you can use AirPods or Sony’s popular WH-1000 over-ear headphones.

With current systems, you have to bring an adapter to make that happen, if it’s possible.

Panasonic has paired the screens with new colored LED lighting systems that aim to make it so the bright overhead cabin lights don’t have to come on, washing out the image.

The screens come in 13-, 16-, 19-, 22-, 27-, 32-, and 42-inch variants. “How would you fit a 42-inch screen in an airplane seat?” you might ask. Well, that size is likely for ultra-high-end international flights where people can pay thousands and thousands of dollars for private cabins. Those aren’t the only types of seats that will get some kind of Astrova OLED system, though.

The rollout begins this year with Icelandair and Qantas planning to install Astrova systems in 2025 and late 2024. Icelandair will be first; new Airbus A321neo LR craft will see 16-inch screens in business class and 13-inch ones in economy. Qantas will install Astrova as part of its retrofit of its A330-200 fleet of planes and in newly ordered A350-1000 craft. The emphasis for Qantas is on long-haul flights, specifically those between Australia and Europe or the United States.

Last summer, US-based United Airlines announced many of its longer international flights would see these systems installed in 2025, with some domestic flights to follow, so it won’t be limited to intercontinental flights.

It’s doubtful that these screens will hold a candle to the latest high-end OLED TVs from LG and Samsung, and it looks like it will be a few years before they’re widespread in domestic flights. But any improvement is welcome on the terrible in-flight entertainment systems we’re using now. Now, if only another company could invent some way to use new tech to make the seats 20 percent bigger—I can dream, anyway.

Listing image by Panasonic

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