4k? Wow me!
 

So, been thinking of taking the plunge into 4k with the purchase of 4k versions of films recently despite not yet having the equipment (the 4ks come with regular blus for enjoyment at the moment).
However, looking at some reviews, a lot of them seem to say something to the extent of:"While better than bluray, it's not leaps and bounds better looking" or "Provides a marginal upgrade" etc.

Soooooo, what's the big deal here? Is it really that much of a jump that, say, DVD to Blu was, to merit not only in this instance a new player but a new tv.

As mentioned in the lament for physical media thread, I am not streaming things and tend to purchase the movies I enjoy and want to enjoy again. So, my logical mind says might as well purchase them at the current best quality out there when it comes with a disc you can play in the meanwhile. Seems it's about $8 more for a 4k disc (at least the three I just ordered were: Ghostbusters Afterlife, The Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home)

So, to the 4k hardcores, what turned you?
To those still on the fence about a full on 4k upgrade like I am, what is causing you to stay put?

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

The upgrade from BD to UHD is far more nuanced than DVD to BD was.

A few things you need to be aware of:

1. Many modern special effects movies, despite what format they may have been shot on, are finished digitally at 2k. That 2k file is then upscaled to 4k for disc/steaming. There are still benefits beyond pure resolution (better compression, hdr), but there oftentimes isn't much of a difference in detail.

2. The UHD format is far more dependent on equipment variables than regular HD. For one, most displays aren't bright enough to display UHD at the brightness they were actually mastered at. It's then up to your player and/or display to convert the image to something your display can show. And there are no real standards for any of this. It can get complicated.

3. There are multiple formats of HDR. Dolby Vision and HDR10 are the two big ones. Every disc has HDR10, but DV is generally superior and studios sometimes cheap out on the HDR10 encoding when DV is also included. If you're not DV capable, you can sometimes get a far lesser presentation of an otherwise reference disc. This all gets back to the equipment issues mentioned above.

All that said (and I really only scratched the surface), I still think 4k is worth it. For one, there are a lot of 4k exclusive new transfers. Something like the Predator UHD, for example, is so far superior to any BD available it's not even funny. I tend to prefer older films on UHD because they're actually native 4k (as opposed to 2k upscaled) and the difference compared to BD is far more pronounced. And the better compression and HDR really does make a difference, even if you're dealing with a 2k source.

Also, your viewing conditions matter. If you're 15 feet away from 55" screen in a bright room, UHD is probably not worth it.
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Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Catching my first flick in a Dolby Cinema theater at my local AMC. Shortly thereafter I upgraded to 4K and Atmos. It's been awesome ever since.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I misread the thread title as “Wow, me!” :)

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I finally upgraded my receiver in order to watch 4k content a few months ago. While I'm not completely blown away, it does look better. I personally wouldn't drop a few grand to get to get to 4k all in one go, just replaced gear as they died on me.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

For reasons Rocket stated above in #1, I've been far, far more blown away by transfers of older movies than new ones. Apocalypse Now, 2001, even Psycho look like pristine film prints in 4k. While new movies just looks like the digital creations that they are.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Blu-ray is still an excellent format. Beyond that, it's largely a case of diminishing returns. The difference in resolution between 1080p and 4K is rarely noticeable, especially if you watch via streaming rather than disc. The biggest improvement is the addition of HDR, which (as mentioned above) can be highly dependent on your equipment. In addition, some content winds up being mastered with an overly dark image and few highlights of note (ex: The Mandalorian).

In most cases, 4K content does look better than Blu-ray, but the improvement is usually subtle. It's very rare that you'll experience a "night and day" comparison. Those cases where you will (like Predator or M:I-2) invariably wind up being due to the 4K release getting a fresh film-to-video remaster while the Blu-ray is stuck with an older and dated master.

I'd actually say that the biggest benefit to the 4K format is that it has prompted studios to remaster a number of titles that weren't served well on Blu-ray the first time around.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

That's the problem: My gear just keeps going and going. There's no resale value in any of it, and I can't justify hauling it out to the curb to be taken to the junk pile.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I've never bothered with buying a dedicated 4K player, but since getting the Xbox One S that could play them (and now having the Series X and PS5 that can also play 4K discs), whenever there's an opportunity for a 4k disc I'll usually grab that version. Most of my Blu-ray discs still look good, and even many of my DVDs still look OK on my 60" display, but the ones that don't are the ones I'll focus on for upgrades. And like someone said above, a lot of CGI heavy films are finished at 2K and uprezzed to 4K, so you're not exactly getting every bit of resolution you could be getting otherwise.

If you're not an AV, top quality, hifi snob, you're not going to get the most out of upgrading, but if you've got one of the video game consoles that can play them, then go ahead and start buying some 4K titles that you like and eventually get the display upgraded.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I've been much more selective buying 4K movies. I have yet to make a blind-buy. Back in the DVD heyday, I did that all the time.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

You will certainly be wowed if you buy “My Fair Lady” in 4K.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Sad to say but this would be a blind-buy. But I have thought of getting it because the transfer is superior.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

This is the first disc that came to mind when I read the first post.

If you are into classic film, the UHDs for My Fair Lady and The Ten Commandments are absolutely essential. Newer "wow" movies on UHD include usual suspects like the latest Transformers movies, Pacific Rim, The Revenant, Sully, The Martian, Blade Runner 2049, etc.

Probably the craziest HDR for sheer visual appeal is Space Adventure Cobra: The Movie, an anime movie from the 1980s with outrageously great colors.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I think it depends on your equipment and what you're willing to invest. Prior to 2021, I had a 60" 4K LCD TV, and thought the difference was noticeable, but minimal. I now have an OLED 78" 4K TV and can't live without 4K. :) I honestly wouldn't bother with 4K with anything less than a 50" set.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Rocket1312's comment about the PQ of Predator (and I presume Predator 2, which is a fave of mine) in UHD blowing the blu ray out of the water has me wondering if I should grab this set from Amazon:

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Sure, but you'll then be stuck owning the third and fourth movies. :)

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I liked Predators...haven't seen The Predator.

That said, is the PQ of Predator on 4K really only better because they ditched the horrible aspect of noise reduction from the previous master that made the people look so plastic. If they'd have kept the grain in the BluRay instead of massacre it as they did. Either way, at least that was recognized for this release.

I suppose a whole thread could be made on what films look and/or sound better in a "lower" quality format. Terminator 2 I'm looking at you.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

One thing I will add here in researching more based on some comments here, it does seem 4k is fantastic for older films. I'm reading about, say, My Fair Lady as been suggested as well as Vertigo, The Shinning, Wizard of Oz. However, a film like, say, Ghostbusters Afterlife doesn't seem to be much of a jump. I'm not jumpin' into the 4k pool just yet (at least not until I can manage to snaggle a PS5) but am probably ok with Blu save for some of those older flicks where, in some instances, I haven't even upgraded the DVDs of.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

Adding: I looked into, for example, some of the 4K I already own. As mentioned in the lament for psychical media thread, I'd go to this shop that sold discs much lower then online prices and in some instances the 4ks were only 3 bucks more. So, I snagged a few but haven't always. From the reviews of the 4ks I did snag:

Captain Marvel: "Disney's 2160p/HDR UHD presentation of Captain Marvel offers a fairly standard upgrade set over the counterpart 1080p Blu-ray. It is the superior image, not by leaps and bounds, but the added resolution, bitrate, and color scale all contribute to an image that reveals notably sharper details and bolder and deeper color hues. The textural increases are not dramatic."

Avengers Endgame: "The movie looks good and is a step forward from the Blu-ray, but it is certainly not a revelation and it is definitely not within the top of the UHD rankings. The UHD essentially tinkers around the edges, presenting the film with improved sharpness and superior color depth, but there's nothing resembling a dramatic leap upwards for anything in the visual spectrum."

Spider-Man Homecoming: "The HDR color palette doesn't fundamentally alter the movie's overall color scheme. The resultant UHD offers a fair, but not overwhelming, increase in textural clarity and sharpness."

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: " The 4K UHD version shows noticeable but relatively subtle upticks in fine detail, though I have to say not always to the benefit of some of the CGI."

Ghostbusters: Afterlife: "this is the superior image, but it's not so vastly superior as to render the Blu-ray unwatchable."

Nothing, really, in the types of films I usually snag making me want to dive headlong into the upgrade pool.

That said, reading reviews for, say, Vertigo...now that's more like it!

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

That's one thing I find is that old films that look like old films (ie. grain, muted colors etc.) is not really distracting. A film like "Shaft" (1971) could technically look amazing in 4K but given its age and budget, the DVD image still looks good and I wouldn't find it distracting to watch. To me, newer films look right when they use the latest technology.

It's like a '65 Mustang with faded and dull paint still looks right because of its age whereas a brand new car with faded and dull paint looks wrong.

Of course picture quality and what is deemed "acceptable" is all subjective and based on one's own internal set of standards.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

To add to this, I think in some regards there's an element of nostalgia for me seeing a film kinda' gritty/run down instead of pristine like it was shot yesterday. There are some Noirs, for example, where I like when they look kind of beat up or even those Universal Monster movies. I remember them mainly from TV screenings with cigarette burns, hair, etc.

I liken it to some old 1920s jazz recordings or Mercury Theatre radio stuff. Sure, we can totally clean up all the pops and blemishes but sometimes leaving them in takes you back in time more then, say, something that has been cleaned up with modern tech.

Case in point, I just read the review of the Psycho 4K that says that format of the film probably looks better then the film prints that were released in the first run.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

The majority of the Disney MCU 4K discs are nothing special. If you get 4K via Disney+, then that's fine. The same goes for the Star Wars stuff outside of Rogue One. Rogue One is demo-worthy on 4K disc.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

CGI-driven blockbusters often have their effects made at 2K resolution, so their UHDs have to cheat on resolution for big set pieces. The purest video quality you could probably get on UHD is from quiet dramas filmed on 65mm cameras, which avoid using digital composites and the like for set dressing.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

You think so? Rogue One has very frustrating low-contrast photography with milky black levels and almost no highlights. I'll give you that the 4K does look better than the Blu-ray, but the Blu-ray is really subpar to start with.

Re: 4k? Wow me!
 

I think so. And I even prefer it to the Disney+ feed. Out of all the SW discs it looks and sounds the best, IMO. Outside of Rogue One, I could not even tell you which of the MCU 4K discs looks/sounds the best. Most of them have been neutered in the sound department and can look dark as hell. Disney+ is perfectly fine for me with regards to the MCU flicks. The Eternals looks and sounds great via Disney+.