Screenshot Comparisons 4K

[andreasy969]

Despicable Me 3

I tried to do it justice by doing additional caps more often than not whenever 200 nits looked like crap or appeared to be losing highlight detail. Should not be compared solely based on the 200 nits caps imo and even slightly gimmick-HDR-wary me can already tell by the SDR conversion that this should look lovely - in particular the "added glow" that can be found in many scenes.

I for one won't be upgrading the first 3 though - this was a first buy.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/115419

BD (upscaled) left, UHD-BD (madVR/SDR/200 nits) right

Disclaimer as to why the UHD-BD images may appear to be too dim:

[Show spoiler]Please note that the UHD-BD shots have been converted from HDR to SDR using special techniques, which drastically compresses the dynamic range of the original image (the color bit depth has been compressed as well). The UHD-BD shots are therefore not an accurate representation of the original HDR image - dynamic range, colors (tone and intensity) and contrast should be taken with a big pinch of salt and the main focus should be on comparing details. Typically, the image will appear too dark (which is by design when the caps are done at 200 nits), may lack a certain "pop" and may at times also appear "boosted" when compared to the BD shots. The SDR conversion should still give you a good idea of the actual image of the UHD-BD though and one should also be able to at least catch a glimpse of the increased dynamic range. The BD shots have been upscaled for comparison purposes, but other than that should be accurate. You might also want to check out this post of mine (incl. the further link there) where I tried to show/explain this:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=589

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[gnj1958]

Originally Posted by BluRayHiDef

The UHD pics on the right look significantly better than the FHD pics on the left; the colors are much bolder and the contrast is higher.

lol yeah OK

[BluRayHiDef]

Originally Posted by gnj1958

lol yeah OK

Your sarcasm is rude and unnecessary. Furthermore, the difference between the two sets of pics is obvious even on my smart phone (Sony XA 2 Ultra). I would imagine that the difference would be even more pronounced if the UHD pics hadn't been converted to SDR.

[eChopper]

whilst the colour and contrast for American made is better in UHD

in terms of detail improvement the difference is SFA (looking at a 30 inch monitor )

[Spartan21]

Originally Posted by gnj1958

Looks identical. 4K is a little darker that's all.

Wrong.

[Ben_UK]

Originally Posted by gnj1958

Looks identical. 4K is a little darker that's all.

Its pretty close, if you zoom in to the images you can see a bit more detail in the UHD, however its probably not something you would notice at first glance.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by Ben_UK

Its pretty close, if you zoom in to the images you can see a bit more detail in the UHD, however its probably not something you would notice at first glance.

I do agree that the difference in detail is not big with American Made. It's actually rather typical for 2K DI imo. But it's still noticable without having to look for it or zooming in. Maybe not so much actual detail, but the UHD has a much clearer/sharper/less filtered image.

If one does not see any difference:

Just take #3 for example: With the UHD, you get an image that appears to be rather close to the original digital source, with the source noise rather intact for ex, while the BD is simply missing texture and sharpness (just look at Tom). Or just look at the ashtray - I can see the difference in detail even when comparing downscaled to 1080p.

Another thing I noticed easily in motion and before taking the caps are the much better resolved/sharper (I think - maybe intentional/artificial) lens effects that can be seen in #13 for example (the orange "halos" on the plane) - on the UHD those are crystal clear, on the BD they are rather wischiwaschi.

And the clearer image becomes even more noticable in motion. The BD looks good on its own, but it looks relatively "bad" in comparison.

And then there's also the additional highlight detail. I didn't take many highlight caps with American Made, but there's still a very good example with #11 (prison cell): I think the increased highlight detail with the overhead lamp is very noticable at first glance.

[andreasy969]

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

I knew this one would turn out rather extensive and I actually omitted some caps. Anyway, both mouse-over and additional caps are very well worth it.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/115580

BD (upscaled) left, UHD-BD (madVR/SDR/200 nits) right

Disclaimer as to why the UHD-BD images may appear to be too dim:

[Show spoiler]Please note that the UHD-BD shots have been converted from HDR to SDR using special techniques, which drastically compresses the dynamic range of the original image (the color bit depth has been compressed as well). The UHD-BD shots are therefore not an accurate representation of the original HDR image - dynamic range, colors (tone and intensity) and contrast should be taken with a big pinch of salt and the main focus should be on comparing details. Typically, the image will appear too dark (which is by design when the caps are done at 200 nits), may lack a certain "pop" and may at times also appear "boosted" when compared to the BD shots. The SDR conversion should still give you a good idea of the actual image of the UHD-BD though and one should also be able to at least catch a glimpse of the increased dynamic range. The BD shots have been upscaled for comparison purposes, but other than that should be accurate. You might also want to check out this post of mine (incl. the further link there) where I tried to show/explain this:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=589

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[andreasy969]

Black Panther

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/115674

BD (upscaled) left, UHD-BD (madVR/SDR/200 nits) right

Disclaimer as to why the UHD-BD images may appear to be too dim:

[Show spoiler]Please note that the UHD-BD shots have been converted from HDR to SDR using special techniques, which drastically compresses the dynamic range of the original image (the color bit depth has been compressed as well). The UHD-BD shots are therefore not an accurate representation of the original HDR image - dynamic range, colors (tone and intensity) and contrast should be taken with a big pinch of salt and the main focus should be on comparing details. Typically, the image will appear too dark (which is by design when the caps are done at 200 nits), may lack a certain "pop" and may at times also appear "boosted" when compared to the BD shots. The SDR conversion should still give you a good idea of the actual image of the UHD-BD though and one should also be able to at least catch a glimpse of the increased dynamic range. The BD shots have been upscaled for comparison purposes, but other than that should be accurate. You might also want to check out this post of mine (incl. the further link there) where I tried to show/explain this:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=589

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[andreasy969]

Phantom Thread

The UHD is lacking the Universal intro btw. which led to a rather annoying 25secs+1frame offset and to some late-night mental math when taking the matching BD caps after having watched the movie yesterday.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/115705

BD (upscaled) left, UHD-BD (madVR/SDR/200 nits) right

Disclaimer as to why the UHD-BD images may appear to be too dim:

[Show spoiler]Please note that the UHD-BD shots have been converted from HDR to SDR using special techniques, which drastically compresses the dynamic range of the original image (the color bit depth has been compressed as well). The UHD-BD shots are therefore not an accurate representation of the original HDR image - dynamic range, colors (tone and intensity) and contrast should be taken with a big pinch of salt and the main focus should be on comparing details. Typically, the image will appear too dark (which is by design when the caps are done at 200 nits), may lack a certain "pop" and may at times also appear "boosted" when compared to the BD shots. The SDR conversion should still give you a good idea of the actual image of the UHD-BD though and one should also be able to at least catch a glimpse of the increased dynamic range. The BD shots have been upscaled for comparison purposes, but other than that should be accurate. You might also want to check out this post of mine (incl. the further link there) where I tried to show/explain this:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=589

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[OutOfBoose]

Lovely grain on UHD.

[Pyoko]

I get the feeling of ever-so-slightly upscaled/low-pass filtered/not-oversampled grain on some of these shots, but beautiful nonetheless. Price just dropped a bit too so I think I'll finally put in an order (gotta wait and pool my Amazon purchases now due to new customs regulations, bleh.)

And have I been spoiled by UHDs and Arrow releases or are regular BDs getting a bit worse now? Ringing around the letterbox and muddled grain...

[Geoff D]

Regular BDs from many of the major studios have looked like that for a while now, especially with regard to ringing on the letterbox bars from whatever scaling/filtering has been applied, it just seems all the more obvious when compared to the 4K.

[Agent Kay]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Regular BDs from many of the major studios have looked like that for a while now, especially with regard to ringing on the letterbox bars from whatever scaling/filtering has been applied, it just seems all the more obvious when compared to the 4K.

Yeah it's a long time thing.

[Pyoko]

That checks out, I was on a bit of a hiatus before going UHD, I think the last time I bought a new studio BD was The Hateful Eight.

[NoFro]

Wow, Phantom Thread looks like it has a really nice increase in detail. Nearly picked it up today, wish I had! Looks gorgeous.

[andreasy969]

Ghost in the Shell

BD, as stated already yesterday, is the white 2017 Japanese one.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/115814

BD (upscaled) left, UHD-BD (madVR/SDR/200 nits) right

Disclaimer as to why the UHD-BD images may appear to be too dim:

[Show spoiler]Please note that the UHD-BD shots have been converted from HDR to SDR using special techniques, which drastically compresses the dynamic range of the original image (the color bit depth has been compressed as well). The UHD-BD shots are therefore not an accurate representation of the original HDR image - dynamic range, colors (tone and intensity) and contrast should be taken with a big pinch of salt and the main focus should be on comparing details. Typically, the image will appear too dark (which is by design when the caps are done at 200 nits), may lack a certain "pop" and may at times also appear "boosted" when compared to the BD shots. The SDR conversion should still give you a good idea of the actual image of the UHD-BD though and one should also be able to at least catch a glimpse of the increased dynamic range. The BD shots have been upscaled for comparison purposes, but other than that should be accurate. You might also want to check out this post of mine (incl. the further link there) where I tried to show/explain this:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=589

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[Show spoiler]obsolete UHD cap:

[OutOfBoose]

Banding or whatever that is on the second comparison is a disaster.

DNR isn't so bad, but now it's not grain, but something resembling digital noise. Not pretty, but I can't say it ruins the image.

Grainy sequences suffer the most. Some color changes are rather surprising. Like that pink interior of the copter.

[Geoff D]

Whatever's been done to the UHD it still appears to retain a healthy sense of texture, and in some shots it's actually a lot more authentic than the BD, e.g.

BD



UHD



Looks absolutely wonderful to me, hinky shot of the Major aside. Should be getting mine tomorrow, I don't often turn on the ol' AVR but for this I'll make an exception. (Yes, the sound is "only" 2.0 PCM but with the Dolby Surround upmixer it'll be fine)

[Geoff D]

And, funnily enough, it looks a good bit contrastier than the BD in some shots, so one wonders if the makers of the Hollywood version had seen this disc they wouldn't have made their movie look so damnably greyed out (their reasoning being that the anime always had this kind of flat, grey black level). Kinda ironic that the animated original now appears to have much more convincing HDR than the modern live-action take on it!