Will Lord of the Rings Get 4k iTunes Treatment

[Greyman]

I bought the LOTR regular trilogy in 2013 and the Fellowship of the Ring did not get the 4k upgrade. It was replaced by a new version in the store which did get the 4k upgrade.

[PS3_Kiwi]

I watched the iTunes stream of The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical) this afternoon. PQ was very good, not perfect, but very good.

The wonderful Atmos soundtrack steals the show, and has some excellent subwoofer moments.

Video 9/10 Audio 10/10 Movie 10/10

[St. John Smythe]

Originally Posted by Greyman

I bought the LOTR regular trilogy in 2013 and the Fellowship of the Ring did not get the 4k upgrade. It was replaced by a new version in the store which did get the 4k upgrade.

Same here. Reminds me of when Ghostbusters got the 4k upgrade but GB 2 was “replaced” in the store.

[jeremgryph]

On Itunes, Return of the King has a 4K DV and DA banner. Are we sure it isn't updated yet?

This is in the United States, btw.

[Hardback247]

Originally Posted by jeremgryph

On Itunes, Return of the King has a 4K DV and DA banner. Are we sure it isn't updated yet?

This is in the United States, btw.

The extended edition hasn't been updated yet.

[cmcclure16]

Originally Posted by jeremgryph

On Itunes, Return of the King has a 4K DV and DA banner. Are we sure it isn't updated yet?

This is in the United States, btw.

The theatrical is, but the extended is not.

Even when you click the Middle Earth 4K banner, it does not even list ROTK in the Extended section.

[jeremgryph]

Originally Posted by cmcclure16

The theatrical is, but the extended is not.

Even when you click the Middle Earth 4K banner, it does not even list ROTK in the Extended section.

Gotcha! Thanks! I'll just have to keep looking and check if it gets updated or not. I don't want to buy them and it never update.

[lgans316]

See attached screenshots

[Hardback247]

The commentaries for TTT use the new transfer, but the ones for TFOTR use the previous transfer.

[jeremgryph]

Originally Posted by lgans316

See attached screenshots

Shouldn't Apple reflect what MA has? Sorry to be kinda dumb about this.

[kannibaliztik]

Originally Posted by jeremgryph

Shouldn't Apple reflect what MA has? Sorry to be kinda dumb about this.

They do, apple just hasnt added ROTK in 4K yet.

[lgans316]

Originally Posted by kannibaliztik

They do, apple just hasnt added ROTK in 4K yet.

Logically we might think its the same but they need not be going by the bit rates.

1. The base stream is with the Studio. Providers just use their own parameters for streaming it.

(or)

2. Studio gives the base stream to the providers, who are then free to apply their own parameters for streaming it.

I am tempted to think its #2.

[Jumpman]

Originally Posted by Hardback247

The commentaries for TTT use the new transfer, but the ones for TFOTR use the previous transfer.

I hadn’t checked that. That’s good.

[Hardback247]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

I hadn’t checked that. That’s good.

I could tell with TTT because the opening New Line logo has deeper blue colors.

[onyx527]

Originally Posted by PS3_Kiwi

I watched the iTunes stream of The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical) this afternoon. PQ was very good, not perfect, but very good.

The wonderful Atmos soundtrack steals the show, and has some excellent subwoofer moments.

Video 9/10 Audio 10/10 Movie 10/10

I did a little A / B tests yesterday between the Fellowship Dolby vision Atmos Apple TV version, and the 1080p Blu-ray.

I found that the picture was incredibly close. Obviously the resolution is higher on the stream, but it was also almost as deep a picture as the Blu-ray. And the Dolby vision gives it just so much more presence.

Audio wise was very interesting. Ok so I discovered that the atmospheric audio (music, wind, horses etc) was miles better on the Blu-ray... but interestingly the vocals were better on the stream. The remix of audio made the voices clearer somehow. It was way better on the stream. I found the low end lacking as well compared to the DTS HD MA, but still pretty close

Based on this I really don’t know which one I’d choose for a formal viewing. If I didn’t have the disks coming to me by Christmas I’d probably choose the stream just for the new stuff

All in all you ain’t missing a whole lot opting for the stream. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on the disks!

[kmaples]

So I have an AppleTv 4k box hooked up to a Vizio 4k tv. I already owned these titles in HD, both theatrical and extended, and when I pull them up it shows they are 4K Dolby Vision on the main title screen, but when I go to the menu for the title description it just shows HD. I watched just a few minutes of FOTR and I can’t tell any difference between my old Blu-ray’s and current stream. Just curious if there is a true way to determine if the AppleTV is playing back 4k Dv. If my copies are staying HD only I may browse the digital codes for sale, but prefer not to if I can determine they’ve been upgraded.

[Panama Jack]

Originally Posted by kmaples

Just curious if there is a true way to determine if the AppleTV is playing back 4k Dv.

I wonder this as well. I know how to tell in my iTunes account if I have 4K rights, but I sometimes don't feel like my Apple TV 4K is actually playing things in 4K despite having all the settings set to do so (4K Dolby 60 fps) and all the right equipment (4K TV, Apple TV 4K, HDMI 2.0 cables, etc).

[willdearborn]

Yup also seeing the same issue of all LOTR versions being 4K except ROTK EE.

[Fiffy]

Originally Posted by Greyman

I bought the LOTR regular trilogy in 2013 and the Fellowship of the Ring did not get the 4k upgrade. It was replaced by a new version in the store which did get the 4k upgrade.

In 2013 you most likely got an SD digital copy. Even though they were upgraded to HD by MA for early adopters in 2017, they wouldn't be eligible for 4K upgrades now anyway. The same thing happened to me with the Extended Edition Collection which I bought around the same time. No regrets here, given that I already received a free upgrade. I'll just rebuy the trilogy in iTunes or get the UHD BD set when either goes on sale.

[Admiral]

LOTR Return of the King Extended is now showing as 4K DV in my IOS TV app.