4K Movies - worth upgrading from blu-ray or not?
Discussion
I've replaced a number of the movies I have on blu-ray with 4Ks and some have been worth every penny and some haven't. So, I'm hoping for recommendations to buy or not to bother with. I've also found Amazon com have a lot more releases on 4K that Amazon co uk.
My experiences have been that 'The Terminator', 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'The Magnificent Seven' were much better on 4K than blu-ray. 'Roadhouse' was good but not outstanding. I'm not sure 'Pulp Fiction' , 'Get Carter' and 'Deep Impact' were much better.
So, what's your experiences been?
My experiences have been that 'The Terminator', 'Conan the Barbarian' and 'The Magnificent Seven' were much better on 4K than blu-ray. 'Roadhouse' was good but not outstanding. I'm not sure 'Pulp Fiction' , 'Get Carter' and 'Deep Impact' were much better.
So, what's your experiences been?
Interesting. I’ve recently caught the 4K bug myself and have had similar experiences upgrading some of my favourites from DVD/Blu-ray. Some have been incredible, like seeing them for the first time again, while others, less so! Some recent pick-ups:
Dirty Harry – Phenomenal. The colours and detail are a massive improvement over earlier releases. It’s really noticeable during the opening rooftop scenes, where distinct details such as cars, storefronts, and billboards can be easily seen.
Tombstone – So, so disappointed with this one, as it's a real favourite of mine. There is literally no difference, at least not to me, between the 4K and the also bundled Blu-ray. The 4K just looks overly soft, with muted colours. Maybe I need to tinker with my HDR settings!
I’ve definitely noticed that boutique labels such as such as Criterion, Kino Lorber etc. tend to put in far more effort. Typically, their releases are scanned from the original camera negatives and come bundled with decent new extras.
Bigger studios often seem to be lazier. Most frustrating is the practice of bundling a bare-bones 4K disc with a previously released Blu-ray, meaning no new extras and a higher cost! That said, fair play to Warner Bros, as they do tend to put in real effort - Amadeus and The Searchers were both amazing.
Also, your stance on DNR (removing film grain) will influence how you view these releases. Some can be overly scrubbed, making them look too clean or waxy, James Cameron is particularly bad with his films! American Graffiti was also a bit contentious, but I actually liked it!
Dirty Harry – Phenomenal. The colours and detail are a massive improvement over earlier releases. It’s really noticeable during the opening rooftop scenes, where distinct details such as cars, storefronts, and billboards can be easily seen.
Tombstone – So, so disappointed with this one, as it's a real favourite of mine. There is literally no difference, at least not to me, between the 4K and the also bundled Blu-ray. The 4K just looks overly soft, with muted colours. Maybe I need to tinker with my HDR settings!
I’ve definitely noticed that boutique labels such as such as Criterion, Kino Lorber etc. tend to put in far more effort. Typically, their releases are scanned from the original camera negatives and come bundled with decent new extras.
Bigger studios often seem to be lazier. Most frustrating is the practice of bundling a bare-bones 4K disc with a previously released Blu-ray, meaning no new extras and a higher cost! That said, fair play to Warner Bros, as they do tend to put in real effort - Amadeus and The Searchers were both amazing.
Also, your stance on DNR (removing film grain) will influence how you view these releases. Some can be overly scrubbed, making them look too clean or waxy, James Cameron is particularly bad with his films! American Graffiti was also a bit contentious, but I actually liked it!
Admittedly I'm using a PS5 as my UHD player so maybe not the top end source but my experience is that 4K UHDs are marginally better than regular HD Blu Rays. Mostly down to the HDR. Not generally too much to get excited about. One potential improvement is that they often remaster the big names for UHD, which usually yields an improvement.
Remember that 2K is the standard for digital cinema and that is basically just a slightly wider 1080p. And a lot of UHDs are taken from 2K digital intermediates so are actually professionally done upscales. Like most of the Cameron 4K movies - which have proven controversial.
I've also downloaded 1080p rescaled rips (taken from UHD sources) that preserve the HDR and they pretty much look as good as the UHDs and a bit better than regular Blu Ray. This is comparing BD and UHD on the PS5 (which upscales the BD to 4K) and also BD on PS3 (which keeps at 1080p and lets the TV upscale).
I still gravitate to UHD for absolute classics but am more than happy to buy Blu Ray generally. Esepecially since I have a much greater choice of players that can play it, vs just the PS5 for UHD. And you can get some cracking deals on Blu Rays whereas 4Ks are nearly always at premium prices.
Best bet is to look up youtube reviews - there are a few reviewers who specialise in reviewing 4K discs vs the previous versions so you get the pros and cons.
Remember that 2K is the standard for digital cinema and that is basically just a slightly wider 1080p. And a lot of UHDs are taken from 2K digital intermediates so are actually professionally done upscales. Like most of the Cameron 4K movies - which have proven controversial.
I've also downloaded 1080p rescaled rips (taken from UHD sources) that preserve the HDR and they pretty much look as good as the UHDs and a bit better than regular Blu Ray. This is comparing BD and UHD on the PS5 (which upscales the BD to 4K) and also BD on PS3 (which keeps at 1080p and lets the TV upscale).
I still gravitate to UHD for absolute classics but am more than happy to buy Blu Ray generally. Esepecially since I have a much greater choice of players that can play it, vs just the PS5 for UHD. And you can get some cracking deals on Blu Rays whereas 4Ks are nearly always at premium prices.
Best bet is to look up youtube reviews - there are a few reviewers who specialise in reviewing 4K discs vs the previous versions so you get the pros and cons.
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