Best Thing About 4K HDR is That None of Us Have Seen the Full Benefit Yet

[cleeve]

Well, almost none of us, anyway. Z9D owners might have an argument .

Unlike Blu-ray or DVD before it, the beauty about 4K UHD discs is that the discs we buy today will likely look substantially more impressive in 5 years.

For the most part, current display tech just isn't capable of keeping perfect blacks with a high amount light output. When TVs start hitting super high nits while still maintaining excellent black levels, 4K HDR will truly shine. These new displays should also alleviate the inherit "dimness" that many complain about, as the baseline brightness will be much higher.

The continued evolution of OLED and Samsung's introduction of MicroLED will lead the way in this regard. All of our current sets will age pretty poorly when compared to what's to come, and the beauty of it is our 4K UHD libraries should reap the full benefits of these upgrades.

[DJR662]

I think by the time MicroLED tech becomes available for consumers, we might be heading towards 8K. I expect them to go hand in hand, hopefully along with glasses free 3D...

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by DJR662

I think by the time MicroLED tech becomes available for consumers, we might be heading towards 8K. I expect them to go hand in hand, hopefully along with glasses free 3D...

Which is moot since 8K content is extremely limited.

[Fendergopher]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Which is moot since 8K content is extremely limited.

Not to mention how 4K content is only just starting to become normalized for movie content, with only like a handful of TV stations broadcasting in 4K. That's also ignoring how many 4K releases are just upscales. Netflix original series tend to have pretty big budgets as well, so they don't necessarily reflect most serialized content with regards to 4K.

By the time we're seeing 8K TV broadcasts it'll be 2035 or something.

[nick4Knight]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Which is moot since 8K content is extremely limited.

You would get 8K for the temporal resolution uptick, the pixel density sharpening the image, for the upscaling algorithms (next gen AI chips) to work for UHD content.

Not for the idea there is native content expected.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by nick4amber

You would get 8K for the temporal resolution uptick, the pixel density sharpening the image, for the upscaling algorithms (next gen AI chips) to work for UHD content.

Not for the idea there is native content expected.

Temporal resolution relies on frame rate, not pixels. 24fps content will still look like 24fps content on an 8K TV. As for increased pixel density helping the sources, it makes an appreciable difference when moving from a 1080p display to 2160p as the former's 2M pixels can be quite noticeable from a certain distance, but 8M pixels for 4K means that you literally have to have your nose up against the screen to discern the individual pixels, so moving from 2160p to 4320p won't make nearly as much difference. 8K is fine for the people who want it but it's a poster child for diminishing returns.

Originally Posted by Archivy

Correct, because the Criterion Collection has yet to jump in.

Oh joy, then they can wreak their substandard compression on UHD as well. It's treading a very fine line on BD but will be brutally exposed on UHD.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Oh joy, then they can wreak their substandard compression on UHD as well. It's treading a very fine line on BD but will be brutally exposed on UHD.

Different codec/encoder, different bandwidth, different capacity.

Kawasaki oil tanker =/= Kawasaki motorcycle =/= Kawasaki hedge trimmer

[Archivy]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Oh joy, then they can wreak their substandard compression on UHD as well. It's treading a very fine line on BD but will be brutally exposed on UHD.

I am a HTF enthusiast for the content more than the tech specs. (I do appreciate the tech and keeping up with it, but the content is MORE important to me, because without content I want to watch, the tech is irrelevant. Great content on bad tech > Bad content on great tech, IMO).

Here's my point: The Criterion Collection getting into 4k UHD Blu-ray will open up a whole 'nother door of content. IMO, the vast majority of UHD Blu-ray content currently available is bad enough that I would never consider buying it. In contrast, the Criterion Collection actually consistently release movies on disc that I want to purchase. I would love to have those movies in 4k UHD. Criterion going 4k opens the path to that dream becoming reality.

TL;DR:

We haven't seen the full benefit of 4k HDR yet because the content that I actually want to watch on the format hasn't been released yet, and that's because the Criterion Collection has yet to jump in. If they never jump in, the format will always be a "what-if" format, imo.

[jibucha]

agreed :: it would be nice if an understanding of this was pervasive
i already look forward to having an 8K display (primary for the reasons you articulated)

Originally Posted by nick4amber

You would get 8K for the temporal resolution uptick, the pixel density sharpening the image, for the upscaling algorithms (next gen AI chips) to work for UHD content.

Not for the idea there is native content expected.

[CharlesLeeDay]

Originally Posted by cleeve

Well, almost none of us, anyway. Z9D owners might have an argument .

Unlike Blu-ray or DVD before it, the beauty about 4K UHD discs is that the discs we buy today will likely look substantially more impressive in 5 years.

For the most part, current display tech just isn't capable of keeping perfect blacks with a high amount light output. When TVs start hitting super high nits while still maintaining excellent black levels, 4K HDR will truly shine. These new displays should also alleviate the inherit "dimness" that many complain about, as the baseline brightness will be much higher.

The continued evolution of OLED and Samsung's introduction of MicroLED will lead the way in this regard. All of our current sets will age pretty poorly when compared to what's to come, and the beauty of it is our 4K UHD libraries should reap the full benefits of these upgrades.

lolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

[Geoff D]

Eh, I'm liking the chances of my Light Cannon™ ZD9 still holding its own in years to come.

[bradnoyes]

My favorite part is watching the movies.

[nick4Knight]

I kinda disagree with the OP. If you changed the title to "The super rich and mastering suites have not seen the full benefit of HDR yet" I'd agree

For a multitude of reasons the theoretical tech of HDR and the real world content and implementation are seemingly worlds apart for 90% or more of titles that we'll see on UHD.

[RustinCohle]

I only buy discs to get my collection numbers up. Trying to hit 1,000 by the end of the year. I watch maybe one a month.

[mastafishere]

A year and a half ago I wanted to upgrade to a 4K set and wound up settling on Samsung UN65KS8000. I wanted to get an OLED but the input lag was no good for games, which me and wife play a lot. If they can ever fix the input lag on OLED sets, I'll probably upgrade again as the picture quality difference is stunning. Until then, I'm pretty happy with my set. 4K movies look only marginally better than 1080p but they still look awesome. Still, I feel like I COULD be seeing the full benefit of 4K discs now if I went with the OLED (or at least, more of the benefit) but that darn input lag...

[ghebert]

From the few movies I've seen in 4K so far, it seems like I'm getting 1080p uncompressed more than anything. There's certainly a difference between 4K and 1080p upscaled to 4K.

[eddievanhalen]

Originally Posted by ghebert

From the few movies I've seen in 4K so far, it seems like I'm getting 1080p uncompressed more than anything. There's certainly a difference between 4K and 1080p upscaled to 4K.

I could tell you about some 2K to 4K upscales that look nithing like their BD counterparts even switching HDR off. Compare Prometheus, Alien Covenant, Star Trek Into Darkness or John Wick 2 on UHD BD with HDR off to their BD counterparts and you'll know what I'm talking about.

[ROSS.T.G.]

In a few years we’ll all be watching movies on spaceships with perfect black levels.

[bradnoyes]

The best thing about cars is that they float if you shoot them into space.

[redxrebellion]

In space no one can hear you scream about how awesome the picture looks, so what’s the point?