1080p or Downconverted 4K?

[Drooch]

I will likely keep my Kuro plasma for some time but am wondering if it’s time to start buying 4K discs.

Do films look better on blu-ray, or as downconverted 4k (in a decent Pioneer UHD player, for example)?

[chip75]

It depends on the HDR to SDR conversion, but it may be a moot point as you'd need HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 to playback 4K content from discs (as far as I recall).

[McGarnigal]

I would just start buying 4k discs that come with the Blu-ray copy (which is pretty much all of them) but keep watching the Blu-ray for now/no need to invest in a 4k player. Then you can get one of the latest greatest players down the line when you need it.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Drooch

I will likely keep my Kuro plasma for some time but am wondering if it’s time to start buying 4K discs.

Do films look better on blu-ray, or as downconverted 4k (in a decent Pioneer UHD player, for example)?

How much longer are you anticipating on keeping your Kuro because, buying 4K movies wouldn't be beneficial on a plasma TV. 4K movies are going down convert to 1080p anyway, the same as the Blu-rays that you're watching now. I would wait until you're ready to purchase a 4K TV and Blu-ray player before you start buying 4K movies. That's like buying a car before you get a drivers license. You can't drive nor purchase a car without a license.

[Drooch]

Originally Posted by slimdude

How much longer are you anticipating on keeping your Kuro because, buying 4K movies wouldn't be beneficial on a plasma TV. 4K movies are going down convert to 1080p anyway, the same as the Blu-rays that you're watching now. I would wait until you're ready to purchase a 4K TV and Blu-ray player before you start buying 4K movies. That's like buying a car before you get a drivers license. You can't drive nor purchase a car without a license.

I’ll stick with the TV for a couple years at least, but will get a 4K player immediately if watching downconverted 4K discs is better than blu ray.

For example, it sounds like a downconverted 4K Jurassic Park or Matrix will look much better than their blu ray counterparts, is that correct?

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Drooch

I’ll stick with the TV for a couple years at least, but will get a 4K player immediately if watching downconverted 4K discs is better than blu ray.

For example, it sounds like a downconverted 4K Jurassic Park or Matrix will look much better than their blu ray counterparts, is that correct?

It depends on the TV and its settings because, some brands down converts look better than others. The next Blu-ray movie you buy, get the 4K just to see how it look, then you can compare the 4K being down converted vs the standard 1080 Blu-ray.

[Drooch]

Originally Posted by slimdude

It depends on the TV and its settings because, some brands down converts look better than others. The next Blu-ray movie you buy, get the 4K just to see how it look, then you can compare the 4K being down converted vs the standard 1080 Blu-ray.

Doesn’t it mainly depend on the 4K player that’s doing the downconversion? I was going to get the best Panasonic...

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by Drooch

Do films look better on blu-ray, or as downconverted 4k?

They do look better downconverted most of the time (IMO). But it depends on the disc and the SDR conversion (i.e. the player).

Few discs really just don't work well though and can be a little frustrating. Effects are: too dull, too dark and/or too bright.

IMO buying the 4Ks before being able to watch them properly makes a lot of sense though. I did so day 1. And still do, because I'm watching on a projector and the proper ones are actually proper only by now and do still cost more than I am willing to pay for the compromise they offer.

But I wouldn't want to miss it for the better compression alone. Can't remember the last time I had compresssion issues since watching the UHDs. And it becomes obvious when I do watch a BD as well.

Originally Posted by chip75

It depends on the HDR to SDR conversion, but it may be a moot point as you'd need HDMI 2.0 and HDCP 2.2 to playback 4K content from discs (as far as I recall).

No, HDMI 2.0 isn't needed. I could "downconvert" the HDCP via my Fury, if I needed to, but it's not needed. The player will just fallback to 1080p output if the required HDMI/HDCP chain is not present.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by andreasy969

No, HDMI 2.0 isn't needed. I could "downconvert" the HDCP via my Fury, if I needed to, but it's not needed. The player will just fallback to 1080p output if the required HDMI/HDCP chain is not present.

Thanks, I couldn't quite recall, as I haven't tried it in a while. I kinda remembered it would fallback to 1080p, but I wasn't sure about the other stuff.

[Lee A Stewart]

Originally Posted by slimdude

How much longer are you anticipating on keeping your Kuro because, buying 4K movies wouldn't be beneficial on a plasma TV. 4K movies are going down convert to 1080p anyway, the same as the Blu-rays that you're watching now. I would wait until you're ready to purchase a 4K TV and Blu-ray player before you start buying 4K movies. That's like buying a car before you get a drivers license. You can't drive nor purchase a car without a license.

Actually, you CAN purchase a car without a drivers license. You just can't drive it.

[Retroj23]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Actually, you CAN purchase a car without a drivers license. You just can't drive it.

Well, you can drive it but of course you run the risk of being pulled over.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by Drooch

I’ll stick with the TV for a couple years at least, but will get a 4K player immediately if watching downconverted 4K discs is better than blu ray.

For example, it sounds like a downconverted 4K Jurassic Park or Matrix will look much better than their blu ray counterparts, is that correct?

It can probably vary a bit based on what you're using, but as a rule of thumb when I was still watching on a 1080p projector, a 4K disc downconverted was better if it was a better mastering. For example, The Matrix UHD looked better downconverted than watching the remastered Blu-Ray, which had wonkier colors and really blown-out contrast. The trade-off is that the picture is a bit too dim, but it was still the best option.

[Drooch]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

It can probably vary a bit based on what you're using, but as a rule of thumb when I was still watching on a 1080p projector, a 4K disc downconverted was better if it was a better mastering. For example, The Matrix UHD looked better downconverted than watching the remastered Blu-Ray, which had wonkier colors and really blown-out contrast. The trade-off is that the picture is a bit too dim, but it was still the best option.

This is what I was after, thank you. Did the dimness come from the source or was the downconversion causing dimming, do you think?

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by Drooch

I’ll stick with the TV for a couple years at least, but will get a 4K player immediately if watching downconverted 4K discs is better than blu ray.

For example, it sounds like a downconverted 4K Jurassic Park or Matrix will look much better than their blu ray counterparts, is that correct?

I haven't had any issues downconverting to 1080p and there is a noticeable uplift in quality - the lack of compression alone is worth the entry fee, but I'm watching projected so there might be diminishing returns dependant on size but for me, projected at 1080p still beats 4k on a 'small' 50". If I wasn't doing that, I'd have a tough time justifying it.

The first disc I bought, Unforgiven, had a very lengthy comparison with the remastered bluray it came with and the 4k disc was an obvious winner.

Note also that I have a very small fraction of a collection compared to some and I might just not have come across any problematic discs.

[samlop10]

If you want the best 4K > 1080p and HDR > SDR conversion, definitely get a Panasonic, and ideally the 820 model. It currently has the best tone mapping / conversion available in a 4K player right now outside of significantly more expensive video processors which run thousands of dollars.

I want to say the great majority of 4K discs will look better downconverted (or at least just as good as the standard blu-ray), with very few in which the standard blu-ray will look better. That’s on a case by case basis though, and really only when the 4K was screwed up.

It also just makes sense to start buying 4K discs to future proof, assuming you’re planning on getting a new TV down the line (since 99% of them are 4K now anyway).

[KRW1]

It's worth buying 4k discs now in any case, just in case they do vanish. Who knows how long Alien will be on the shelf, and I'd be heartbroken to have missed out on that.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/10/disn...its-vault.html

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by Drooch

This is what I was after, thank you. Did the dimness come from the source or was the downconversion causing dimming, do you think?

In my completely non-technical opinion, I definitely feel the conversion from HDR to SDR is what makes it look dimmer, as it can't handle the full contrast of the image. This is keeping in mind that the whole idea of HDR is to make the darks darker and brights brighter.