Can you really see a difference between Blu-ray and 4K?

[voltagejim]

Over the years I have gotten rid of all my DVD's and went to bluray. Now I am debating sometime in the future if I should move to 4k. But is there a noticable difference? WIll all movies that got a bluray get a 4k? If I go to 4k I don't want to not be able to get some of the movies I have on bluray on 4k.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Freddie_Quell

Yes. Every single movie ever made will get an UHD release. It's a promise.

That's reassuring. Listing all of my 1080p blurry discs on eBay now.

[dj_intrepid]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

That's reassuring. Listing all of my 1080p blurry discs on eBay now.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by voltagejim

Over the years I have gotten rid of all my DVD's and went to bluray. Now I am debating sometime in the future if I should move to 4k. But is there a noticable difference?

to a blind and death person the answer is obviously no, for me at my home the answer is yse, but no one can answer that question for anyone else because there are too many factors. that can change the equation.

WIll all movies that got a bluray get a 4k? If I go to 4k I don't want to not be able to get some of the movies I have on bluray on 4k.1

no one can answer that for you, but you also don't need to get rid of all your BD collection before starting a UHD one.

[dj_intrepid]

Originally Posted by voltagejim

Over the years I have gotten rid of all my DVD's and went to bluray. Now I am debating sometime in the future if I should move to 4k. But is there a noticable difference? WIll all movies that got a bluray get a 4k? If I go to 4k I don't want to not be able to get some of the movies I have on bluray on 4k.

It really depends on the film, the restoration, and the quality of the transfer. Sometimes it is a marginal improvement, other times it is a huge leap forward over an older HD transfer. I was skeptical about the advantages of moving from blu-ray to 4k, but after buying some 4k titles when I bought my first 4k TV, I was greatly impressed. There have been only a few 4k titles that I bought that I didn't really feel were worth it, but I continue to be impressed by most of the 4k releases of the films that I buy, and I now have over 200 titles in my collection. I see the 4k format as the closest thing to owning a fresh mint print of a film and that's what it's all about for me.

[voltagejim]

I guess my other concern is special features. There seems to be less and less special features anymore. Do 4k releases of older DVD and bluray version keep the same special features those had?

I already have a 4k tv and watch blurays on that, so just worried I won't see any difference

[Modren]

Originally Posted by voltagejim

I guess my other concern is special features. There seems to be less and less special features anymore. Do 4k releases of older DVD and bluray version keep the same special features those had?

I already have a 4k tv and watch blurays on that, so just worried I won't see any difference

Depends on the release, but it seems many UHD releases don't retain all the special features that would've been on the Blu-ray or DVD. You'll have to do your research when it comes to upgrading various titles. I also believe UHD is less versatile when it comes to certain interactivity features (like image galleries), and actual 4K-mastered special features are still extremely rare.

[Staying Salty]

This thread will help you make an informed decision.

Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K) Discs and High Dynamic Range (HDR) for Dummies

These reviews will help answer your questions.

Where can I find detailed Dolby Vision 4K BD Reviews?

Where can I find detailed HDR10 4K BD Reviews?

[rdodolak]

Absolutely, you can see a difference.

[Thomas Veil]

I would only upgrade your favorites, especially if it's a large collection. I can't say I've been wowed by 4k on the majority of titles but it's a step forward..

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by Modren

I also believe UHD is less versatile when it comes to certain interactivity features (like image galleries), and actual 4K-mastered special features are still extremely rare.

That's a good point. I remember on Moon there is an image gallery and I couldn't figure out how to get back to the main menu so I had to exit the movie and start it over again.

[wxman2003]

Not every UHD disc will be significantly better than the SDR disc. Most yes, but not all.

[nick4Knight]

It's refreshing that this latest concern troll thread has not been spammed into the "mainboard" for 4K. You win some points for understanding on some level how obnoxious doing that is

As to the question I guess it differs person to person. But I think even saying that is stupid because undeniably there are VAST differences in picture between a 2K scan on blu-ray struck from said master in the 2000's, and a 4K scan made in and FOR 4K blu-ray mastering era. Which is the majority of releases.

And I contend that anyone playing the vastness down is doing so for buying justification reasons. Even your thread is predicated on this physchological mechanism.

There is of course subtle HDR contrast differences in Digital Intermediate content, quite easily notable throughout a whole runtime. Then there is in your face HDR moments that reveals a chasm to the formats. Then there is WCG which can make your jaw drop. While the blu-ray format, esp. using outdated masters things either look "boosted" and garrish or they look one-note and like a tinted haze is across the image. The compression of colours is so distinct to me in SDR.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by voltagejim

Over the years I have gotten rid of all my DVD's and went to bluray. Now I am debating sometime in the future if I should move to 4k. But is there a noticable difference? WIll all movies that got a bluray get a 4k? If I go to 4k I don't want to not be able to get some of the movies I have on bluray on 4k.

No on the resolution and I run a 120-in image with a JVC RS3100 native 4K laser projector viewed from 9.5 ft. Resolution differences at that size are still barely perceptible. The big difference is that UHD Blu-ray HDR is 10-bit video which does have significant advantages over 8-bit REC.709 video on Blu-ray. It’s that difference that gives UHD discs a wider color gamut and specular highlights.

Anyone telling you they can see a resolution difference from 10 feet on 65-in set is full of it. It’s the color and the highlights that make it pop.

If you’re building a collection you might as well take advantage of combo UHD Blu/HD Blu packs, but I wouldn’t strive to replace every BD in your collection unless there’s a significant improvement in the transfer.

[teddyballgame]

Originally Posted by Tok

Anyone telling you they can see a resolution difference from 10 feet on 65-in set is full of it.

More difficult but I would not be sitting that far anyway. For 65" a viewing distance of 6-7 feet (2m) would be ideal to me.

If you really want the most detail expression then look for a large self emissive display. Each pixel having its preferred luminance coupled with a glossy screen and high contrast modulation value. CM being a measurement for how well individual pixels can be visually distinguished from neighboring pixels. This is why 4k OLEDs still beat 8k LCDs like z9k in most scenarios. Motion resolution is still pretty poor though

[caztia]

Yep huge difference in most cases. HDR and WCG!!

[danny24]

Originally Posted by voltagejim

Over the years I have gotten rid of all my DVD's and went to bluray. Now I am debating sometime in the future if I should move to 4k. But is there a noticable difference? WIll all movies that got a bluray get a 4k? If I go to 4k I don't want to not be able to get some of the movies I have on bluray on 4k.

You don't abandon Blu-ray if you go to 4K. I still buy Blu-ray along with UHD. You pick and choose your select titles to upgrade to UHD. That's how I would start collecting UHD's. There isn't enough catalog on UHD to even sniff Blu-ray.

Start collecting them slowly select titles and see how it goes. Never abandon Blu-ray that would be a mistake. The 4K upscaling makes BD's look really good which doesn't happen with DVD because it's SD. Keep your Blu-ray's and just choose select UHD's to upgrade. Than just start buying UHD's of what movies you want if available. Blu-ray isn't DVD, it's high definition it's still gonna look really good. It would be a mistake to stop collecting BD's. Like I said I collect both but I choose UHD over BD now. That's the way to do it and upgrade select faves on UHD.

Yes there is a difference, the HDR and increased resolution make it worth it.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by teddyballgame

More difficult but I would not be sitting that far anyway. For 65" a viewing distance of 6-7 feet (2m) would be ideal to me.

If you really want the most detail expression then look for a large self emissive display. Each pixel having its preferred luminance coupled with a glossy screen and high contrast modulation value. CM being a measurement for how well individual pixels can be visually distinguished from neighboring pixels. This is why 4k OLEDs still beat 8k LCDs like z9k in most scenarios. Motion resolution is still pretty poor though

Factor in the pixels per inch on 120-in and then consider a viewing distance of 9-10 ft minimum.

Size of a single pixel (ideal. No interpixel gap)
HD ~ 335 pixels/sq in, each pixel is ~ 0.003 sq in
4K ~ 1340 pixels/sq in, ~ 0.0007 sq in

Visual acuity taken into account most people will never notice that minute of difference from a typical viewing distance even on a large screen and also factor in that compression is required on all content that very few single one pixel are ever addressed. 4K allows more delineation but content compression groups pixel blocks as necessary.

So just for ease on a display of 60 inches (a quarter of the viewing area)
HD ~ 1340 pix/sq in, ~0.0007 sq in
4K ~ 5360 pix/sq in, ~0.0002 sq in

There’s really not a significant difference in pixel density that one will notice from typical viewing distance.

So the answer is go really really BIG if you want to appreciate the resolution difference.

[teddyballgame]

You can do all the multiplication and division you want based on diagonal screen, resolution, and viewing distance. They are valid factors but it's always just part of the story. It's harder to measure the quality of the pixels

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by teddyballgame

You can do all the multiplication and division you want based on diagonal screen, resolution, and viewing distance. They are valid factors but it's always just part of the story. It's harder to measure the quality of the pixels

Yup. We're fundamentally talking about our flawed biological peepers, which are going to be different for everyone and not fit into a neat, simplistic table of numbers. The true mathematics of it is going to be very complex equations, actually.

So ignoring HDR and WCG for now, from my own imperfect eyes I can see the difference on a 65" TV about 7-8 ft away.

So, what's happening? I can't see any individual pixels by some margin - but I think that's the point. People focusing on whether you are close enough or the screen is big enough to see all that lovely 4K sort of misses the point. The resolution goes way beyond what the human eye can perceive at these modestly big screen sizes of 55" and 65" and the distance it's viewed at. Or smaller sizes when you sit closer. So, we might subtly detect individual pixels on 1080p even if we don't consciously notice it, yet in 4K it goes way beyond so we perceive an image that is both smoother and sharper with more detail than we can actually detect (even if that's just film grain), so we see an image that is closer to real life. It's about the density, basically. Mathematically, this effect probably has relationships with oversampling in film scanning (when you scan the film at a higher resolution that you're intending it for), good quality audio having a sampling rate beyond human hearing, etc.

In relation to the above I think that's what 8K displays are really all about, not 8K content. The density of the pixels, even with upscaled content, to make them invisible when someone is choosing a really big TV!

I suppose that it's comparable to WCG too. It's got more colours than we can apparently see, but in practice it's how that all works together on screen to give a smoother colour gradient with colours that can really pop when required.