The Hobbit Trilogy 4K UHD Extended & Theatrical (2012-2014)

[pbz06]

Originally Posted by HDMan72

These transfers are still better than LotR transfers though, correct? Still trying to decide to add these in 4K or just purchase the regular blu extended editions from before.

Yes they're "better" overall but a lot of that is stylistic differences.

I'd rather get the 4K UHD versions

[Zombie Dude]

Originally Posted by HDMan72

These transfers are still better than LotR transfers though, correct? Still trying to decide to add these in 4K or just purchase the regular blu extended editions from before.

I like both trilogies in 4k. The Hobbit on 4k would be a higher recommendation though. The colours looks so much better for the most part.

[Alister_M]

HFR was a lame gimmick, I didn't bother seeing the last film in theaters because I hated it on the first two (the theatrical cut is garbage anyway so I dodged two bullets there). They look fine in 24fps, 48fps makes them look like some sort of cheap lousy Middle Earth soap opera.

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by James Freeman

No. Grab the old extended blurays, they are still reference quality.

[hoejunter]

What’s wrong with the EE Blus? I thought they looked great

[DigitalDeluge24]

Originally Posted by lokie56

TL;DR if they ever do sell HFR (even digitally only) I will wait till it's like $10/movie and grab them just for fun.

Can they release it on streaming platforms though? In theory, streaming shouldn't be bound by the limitations of the Blu-ray standard, like lack of support for 48fps, but there are still video standards they need to adhere to. If they release something, it has to be playable on every TV set out there, and I feel some cheaper TV sets will not handle arbitrary frame rates very well.

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by hoejunter

What’s wrong with the EE Blus? I thought they looked great

They're not terrible, but they're not reference quality either. They're fine and perfectly watchable, but the inherent limitations of SDR 1080p (restricted colour and dynamic range) are on full display, especially with the video compression (as Geoffy has noted, you get some aliasing and other video artifacts). Plus, as further evidenced on the 4K discs, the digital photography does carry an overly smooth appearance which results in some inherent smoothness on the BDs instead of rich fine detail. Even before I was more savvy with regards to this stuff, the EE Blu-rays didn't overly impress me.

YMMV.

[Geoff D]

Yeah, they're fine for what they are but are not now nor have ever been "reference" (ugh)

[CreasyBear]

Watching AUJ now and the transfer is quite stunning at normal viewing distance. The odd shot here or there looks a bit oversharpened, but 98% of the time it's outstanding and the HDR is stunning.

[Geoff D]

Stunning for those who have glaucoma, sure. Overly sharpened shinola to anyone who has working eyes who's sitting less than 15ft away from their TV. But ohmaigawd, it's even worse on Five Armies.

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Stunning for those who have glaucoma, sure. Overly sharpened shinola to anyone who has working eyes who's sitting less than 15ft away from their TV. But ohmaigawd, it's even worse on Five Armies.

My perfect vision says otherwise old man.

[Zombie Dude]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

My perfect vision says otherwise old man.

It's in no way perfect but I also agree that it looks quite good and better than the Bluray's. It sucks that they weren't treated better for their 4k debut but I got them at a reasonable price and they're far more pleasing to watch than the Bluray's for the colours alone.

[Vangeli]

Why are people complaining about sharpening when there’s Lee Pace as Thranduil on their screens? Smh

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

My perfect vision says otherwise old man.

Ah, so you just have terrible taste then. Fair enough.

[unberechenbar]

Originally Posted by Vangeli

Why are people complaining about sharpening when there’s Lee Pace as Thranduil on their screens? Smh

What do you mean?

[CreasyBear]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Ah, so you just have terrible taste then. Fair enough.

Careful. You have a lot of knowledge, but your word is not gospel.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

Careful. You have a lot of knowledge, but your word is not gospel.

The sharpening is there and it’s slathered over all three Hobbitses on UHD. If people like that look it’s between them and whatever home video deities they pray to. But as with Jackson’s absurd waxification of the Get Back footage, I just pray that people in the biz don’t get any ideas that this is how everything should be treated.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by HDMan72

These transfers are still better than LotR transfers though, correct? Still trying to decide to add these in 4K or just purchase the regular blu extended editions from before.

For both LOTR and Hobbit, the HDR is the real upgrade. Maybe even more so with Hobbit. I have no real interest in watching these movies in SDR anymore.

[Brian81]

I bought the Hobbit set release week and still have not opened it. Still undecided if I should, or just stick with the BDs in the 3D set.

[HDMan72]

I've never mulled over a movie purchase like these. I went for the 2012 Extended LOTR blu-rays but I've been going back and forth on The Hobbit trilogy. The sharpening would get to me I think but the colors do look so much better, especially the gold scene with Smaug. The HDR I would enjoy, especially with my Sony Z9D but still, those jaggies.