[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Trouble is there's only one shot in the whole show which wasn't manipulated digitally, i.e. practically the entire movie is locked to 2K, which is the resolution of the VFX work. Doing a 4K rebuild by rescanning the raw negative and upscaling any VFX shots (as per current 4K origination) wouldn't get us anywhere in terms of spatial resolution because 99.999% of the movie is basically VFX of some description, ergo it's essentially fixed at 2K. That said, there'd be no complaints if they gave us a new 2K master without the ****ing DNR!

Still, I do find it funny that so many people give Lucas hell for shooting eps II and III in HD (albeit with superior lenses, filters, colour sampling and bit depth than consumer gear) and yet what resolution has become the DI finish of choice, even now? 2K. Why? Because it has proved to be good enough.

Yeah, this means that, on the face of it, true 4K rebuilds of Lucas' prequels are impossible. But most VFX is still finished at 2K, even for new 4K movies, and what are Lucas' prequels almost entirely composed of? VFX shots - so even in the brave new 4K world the prequels would mostly be upscaled anyway!

And besides, spacial resolution is the tip of the iceberg as regards 4K. Wider colour gamuts, higher dynamic range, higher bit depth and better colour sampling could make a marked difference between the same 2K source on 8-bit 4:2:0 1080p Blu-ray mastered for Rec.709 and a 12-bit 4:2:2 2160p (upscaled) 4K Blu-ray mastered for Rec.2020.

This, of course, goes on the assumption that anyone ever wants to watch the prequels ever again.