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Apple TV+'s 'Severance' to Get Rare Blu-Ray Release Ahead of Season 2

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Apple TV+'s acclaimed sci-fi series "Severance" is set to receive a rare Blu-ray release this December, just ahead of the much-anticipated second season (via Blu-ray.com).

severance-apple-tv-plus.jpeg

Severance premiered on Apple TV+ in February 2022. It was an immediate hit upon its debut, quickly gaining attention for its unique premise and dark tone. The show follows Mark Scout (played by Adam Scott) and his colleagues at Lumon Industries, where employees undergo a procedure called "severance." This process separates their work and personal lives by splitting their memories in two, creating a stark division between their identities inside and outside of work.

The release of the first season on Blu-ray on December 17, 2024 will allow fans and collectors to own a physical copy of the series for the first time. The launch marks one of the rare occasions where an Apple TV+ show will be available outside the streaming platform and on physical media.

While Apple TV+ offers a growing catalog of original content, physical media releases have been infrequent. Unlike some streaming platforms that have embraced physical distribution of their most successful series, Apple typically retains a tight hold on its streaming exclusives. In the case of Severance, the release is being handled by Fifth Season, one of the co-production companies involved in the making of the show. Apple itself is not directly responsible for the Blu-ray's distribution.

Severance on Blu-ray is available to pre-order on Amazon now for $42.98. It is worth noting that the release is only in Full HD (1080p), without the option of UHD (4K). Season two of Severance is set to be released exclusively on Apple TV+ on January 17, 2025.

Article Link: Apple TV+'s 'Severance' to Get Rare Blu-Ray Release Ahead of Season 2
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2024/10/08/severance-to-get-blu-ray/
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ignatius345 said:
Love this, and hope more good shows follow suit. As great as streaming is, that compression sometimes really shows.
Click to expand...

I got Prey on 4k UHD which was previously only available on streaming on Hulu. The resolution is the same, but there's so much more detail on the 4k UHD disc than on Hulu. It's really quite jarring. Like, you see shots of fields, but half the grass is missing on Hulu. You see tree bark, but half the texture is missing on Hulu. There's not as much facial texture on streaming.

This is just how modern compression algorithms work I guess. If you weren't looking for it I guess you wouldn't notice it.
 
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mattopotamus said:
Which is strange to not release as a UHD. The people buying disc for quality are wanting UHD.
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Ohh, I'm guilty of skimming and didn't realize this was a 1080p release. Yeesh, what's the point! I know good TVs and Blu-Ray players can be pretty good at upscaling, but making it HD only makes it more of a souvenir, I feel, versus a high-quality definitive release.

mozumder said:
I got Prey on 4k UHD which was previously only available on streaming on Hulu. The resolution is the same, but there's so much more detail on the 4k UHD disc than on Hulu. It's really quite jarring. Like, you see shots of fields, but half the grass is missing on Hulu. You see tree bark, but half the texture is missing on Hulu. There's not as much facial texture on streaming.

This is just how modern compression algorithms work I guess. If you weren't looking for it I guess you wouldn't notice it.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, random stuff like grass and water is exactly where compression algorithms fall apart. I notice it a lot in scenes like this -- and also in subtle gradients like a view of a sky, where you start to see this horrible banding effect when the compression has reduced the gradient to a handful of colors. Nasty.

Same goes for audio, actually. If you want to stress test a compressed audio track, listen to something unstructured like the sound of water flowing. You start hearing this awful distortion that's smearing out the detail the same way the grass does in that video.
 
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Curious why not 4K? Pardon my ignorance, but what resolution is Severance originally shot in and streamed?

However, I do like physical media. So many shows, movies, and even music that I like aren't on streaming any more. Plus, I like all the extras you got on DVDs/BluRays that aren't usually included in streaming. Some streaming movies do include it, but not many.
 
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guzhogi said:
Curious why not 4K? Pardon my ignorance, but what resolution is Severance originally shot in and streamed?

However, I do like physical media. So many shows, movies, and even music that I like aren't on streaming any more. Plus, I like all the extras you got on DVDs/BluRays that aren't usually included in streaming. Some streaming movies do include it, but not many.
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It’s because of pirating. It’s the same reason why any show you download to watch later from a streaming service is only 1080p. Downloads have a higher bitrate than when streaming so potentially if a 4K download was available it would make for high quality pirated version on the seas. You can stream in 4K but only download in 1080p. Reason 10,897 why we can’t have nice things.
 
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Good shows like this need to be preserved on a physical release

As far as quality, 1080p on disc is barely a step down from typical 4k streaming.....aside from Apple. But even then....the bitrate of 4k streaming on the high end is in the 20MBPS range vs native 1080p on disc being in the 30-40 range.

As far as sound, a disc is gonna blow away the garbage quality of streaming if you have a proper surround system.
 
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Maybe they're anticipating the next President's DRAMAAA (DVD Readers All Made in America Again Act), but for some reason it'll take some time before achieving 4K DVD readers. Just musing.
 
jonnyb098 said:
Good shows like this need to be preserved on a physical release

As far as quality, 1080p on disc is barely a step down from typical 4k streaming.....aside from Apple. But even then....the bitrate of 4k streaming on the high end is in the 20MBPS range vs native 1080p on disc being in the 30-40 range.

As far as sound, a disc is gonna blow away the garbage quality of streaming if you have a proper surround system.
Click to expand...
We will agree to disagree on this.
 
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mozumder said:
I got Prey on 4k UHD which was previously only available on streaming on Hulu. The resolution is the same, but there's so much more detail on the 4k UHD disc than on Hulu. It's really quite jarring. Like, you see shots of fields, but half the grass is missing on Hulu. You see tree bark, but half the texture is missing on Hulu. There's not as much facial texture on streaming.

This is just how modern compression algorithms work I guess. If you weren't looking for it I guess you wouldn't notice it.
Click to expand...

It’s likely the same compression algorithms, it comes down to bitrate. There’s just more data on the disc compared to streaming services.
 
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jonnyb098 said:
Good shows like this need to be preserved on a physical release

As far as quality, 1080p on disc is barely a step down from typical 4k streaming.....aside from Apple. But even then....the bitrate of 4k streaming on the high end is in the 20MBPS range vs native 1080p on disc being in the 30-40 range.

As far as sound, a disc is gonna blow away the garbage quality of streaming if you have a proper surround system.
Click to expand...
Yeah, people don’t realize that the highly compressed 4K stream is just slightly better than 1080p Blu-ray and way worse sounding.
I think the general public would be in shock if they actually watched a Blu-ray 4K movie with a banger system.
 
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