Is 4K worth it?

[lildemon666]

I just recently jumped on the 4K format. I bought a series 6 TCL TV and the LG UBK90. So far I really haven’t seen a difference in PQ. Is it my eyes? I mean from DVD to 1080 was a big change. Is it my setup? I have 30+ titles (Die Hard, Labyrith, American Paycho, Big Lebowski, TDK) what is everyone’s thoughts?

[Eschenpod]

Go on YouTube and stream some 4K videos.
There's some impressive GoPro ones that will blow your mind.

[lildemon666]

I have 30 plus 4K UHD movies and I don’t see a difference but when I do look at samples on YouTube I do.

[ThePreacher]

It's not as huge of an upgrade as it was from DVD to Blu-Ray, but there's mostly a noticeable difference in PQ and AQ. The Dark Knight Trilogy for instance - all 3 are an upgrade, but #2 and #3, you can tell immediately.

The Avengers is a huge upgrade if you can believe it (since the Blu-Ray was already awesome). There are some titles that simply aren't worth the upgrade (not because of the format, but because of how the upgrade was handled)....so, it's all dependent on your setup at that point.

Some upgrades are more subtle...I'd almost bet that it might be your calibration settings on your TV if you aren't seeing a difference.

As for if it's "worth it?" That's for you to answer. At first, I was "gung-ho" about 4K UHD and bought everything in the format - price be damned. But now? I have sold off a lot of titles as the higher price point to ME isn't worth it when I can regularly find Blu-Ray movies for cheaper (and not just the typical $5 difference on release day). I still buy titles I KNOW I will love and that have a great transfer and noticeable upgrade, but $30 for a movie just isn't feasible for me.

[DR Herbert West]

Yes.

[gregmtl92]

Originally Posted by lildemon666

I have 30 plus 4K UHD movies and I don’t see a difference but when I do look at samples on YouTube I do.

Have you compared the 1080p BD vs UHD of American Psycho and The Big Lebowski?

[Al_The_Strange]

Out of curiosity, how far away are you from the TV? Is it more than ten feet?

Having seen quite a few UHDs and streamed content, I'd say that it's very hard to differentiate an upscaled BD from a UHD, but a non-upscaled BD will look a lot softer, and noisier.

Resolution draws me to upgrade most titles, especially ones like TDK and The Big Lebowski, the BDs of which were plagued with DNR. But it's HDR that wows me more. I don't think it's as noticeable in movies like these, but it has blown me away in films like Marvel's Avengers, the Matrix trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, and many more.

Improvements like these, even subtle ones, make the upgrades worth it for favorites. But it's not something that'll drive me to buy every single UHD available.

[newtonp01]

Originally Posted by lildemon666

I have 30 plus 4K UHD movies and I don’t see a difference but when I do look at samples on YouTube I do.

This honestly sounds like a settings issue to me.

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by newtonp01

This honestly sounds like a settings issue to me.

Second that thought. Does the HDR10 badge appear when you play a UHD-BD?

[Rustam15]

I have 80+ 4K titles, and apparnely a lousy LED 4K tv (the picture is almost always too dim). Had I done my research, I would have spent more for the quality. That being said, only a handful of titles stand out from the 4K collection, otherwise 1080p is just fine if sometimes not better.

[oilers73]

Are you in Europe? Do you need an adapter?

[lildemon666]

Yes when I play a fulmon the top right hand corner HDR pops up.
Yes the big Lebowski and American Paycho look 10x better than the BD but when I put in TDK it’s the 1080 vs UHD look the same? When I go home I’m going to put the 1080 in my room and then UHD in the living room and compare between both TVs and formats.

[Alister_M]

Since 1080p content is automatically upscaled to 4K, you won't notice a huge resolution increase. It's the HDR and color gamut that are the real improvements.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by newtonp01

This honestly sounds like a settings issue to me.

I noticed the same thing when I first started getting into 4k. Much of the 4k demo stuff (and even go-Pro stuff) on Youtube looks stunning, even with Youtube's compression. If you can find the full-bitrate TV manufacturer's 4k demos from some of the demo sites, they are even more stunning. And that's with no HDR. There's a channel on Youtube where somebody in Japan uploads 4k videos of him just walking all along the streets of Japan, and the detail is so amazing it feels like I'm literally there in Japan on the streets.

The problem, is much of the UHDs we have currently are upscales. Factor in the 24fps frame rate, and other factors that affect films (color timing, etc), and they can often lack the "wow" factor that those shot-in-4k 30/60fps true-to-life natural color demos have. Often I see people claim the jump to 4k resolution is the least important aspect of UHD and I disagree. Resolution and HDR are equally important. The fact that I'm consistently wowed by the 4k demo material (without HDR) while I'm seeing UHD after UHD that offers just a small improvement over blu-ray in terms of additional detail tells me these upscales offer limited improvements. Not that they aren't better, because most of the time the upscales do hold a bit more detail than the blu-rays. But many will never notice that difference.

Which leaves HDR to do all the heavy lifting as far as making an impression. And since HDR is a bit of a mess currently (every studio and every release seems to use it differently, every TV handles it differently - and don't even mention Dolby Vision to me), many just won't think it's worth it.

Keep in mind that compression is also improved drastically on UHD vs blu-ray. So it has that going for it also.

Bottom line - UHD has great potential - there is no reason UHD cannot look just like those 4k demo videos. But Hollywood films usually just don't have the crispness of those 4k demos, especially when so many are upscales.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Bottom line - UHD has great potential - there is no reason UHD cannot look just like those 4k demo videos. But Hollywood films usually just don't have the crispness of those 4k demos, especially when so many are upscales.

The other bottom line is that movies aren't shot to be demo material designed to sell TVs. Never have been, never will be, so the upscale thing is bullshit. Not that there aren't plenty of upscales, but in putting all their chips on 4K resolution people are completely overlooking the aesthetics that are in play with cinematography vs some goober with a pocket camera.

THAT is why I'm more sanguine about needing 4K resolution than some people are, it's not that I don't appreciate it when it's there but if people think that every 4K movie will magically look like some ermazing youtube gopro video just because it's finished in 4K then they're way off the mark.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

The other bottom line is that movies aren't shot to be demo material designed to sell TVs. Never have been, never will be, so the upscale thing is bullshit. Not that there aren't plenty of upscales, but in putting all their chips on 4K resolution people are completely overlooking the aesthetics that are in play with cinematography vs some goober with a pocket camera.

THAT is why I'm more sanguine about needing 4K resolution than some people are, it's not that I don't appreciate it when it's there but if people think that every 4K movie will magically look like some ermazing youtube gopro video just because it's finished in 4K then they're way off the mark.

I more or less said the same thing a while ago here.

These instore 4K/HDR demos sure are nice to look at but they are not representative of what UHD is "supposed" to look like (and neither are those Gopro clips). Those demos are shot in a certain way and with an entirely different purpose than movies. I think this is also a problem with the average person's expectations of 4K/HDR. They see those demos in stores yet when they come home and watch Mission: Impossible Fallout , they find out it looks nothing alike.

I'm glad movies on UHD look like film like it's supposed to. That's also one of the reasons I only want 24p, absolutely no HFR for me. I don't want motion pictures to look like instore demos, I want them to look like actual movies.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Bottom line - UHD has great potential - there is no reason UHD cannot look just like those 4k demo videos. But Hollywood films usually just don't have the crispness of those 4k demos, especially when so many are upscales.

Should one day movies on UHD start to look like those HDR demos, it'll be the day I need to start looking for a new hobby.

With the exception of a few botched releases and the lack of 3D, I think UHD is doing perfectly fine at the moment.

[ROSS.T.G.]

It’s worth it if you want your movies to look the best they can.

[imsounoriginal]

4K depends SO much on hardware and settings, you're gonna have to keep playing around with it until you get it where you like it. I know I went through a lot of trial-and-error with my setup at first.

Regardless, it won't be the upgrade that DVD-to-BD was but you should be able to notice an appreciable difference.

[cpr3584]

I am on the fence about upgrading to 4K. I currently have a Samsung 65in with a Sony soundbar and sub. The TV is in my living room so my family can watch ( viewing distance about 8 to 10 feet). Blu rays look great on the TV so Im wondering if the upgrade is worth it.