King Kong 4K UHD (2005) (Ultimate Edition)

[ozzfan84]

I didn't notice much banding when watching it, but during the closing credits I could see some feint horizontal bands as the shade of gold faded to black. I played with the settings, but it was there under every setting. I popped in the blu-ray into the same player for comparison and couldn't see any of that.

[Leonidas King]

The only banding moment for me was when they discover Skull Island with the fog around them. Aside from that there was not much else.

[gwsat]

Just now ordered from Amazon the King Kong (2005) UHD HDR DTS:X MA disk. Should receive it on Sunday and will report after I watch it. Have decided that the reported unevenness of the video is worth taking a chance on, given that many think the UHD HDR version of the film looks beautiful nonetheless.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by gwsat

Just now ordered from Amazon the King Kong (2005) UHD HDR DTS:X MA disk. Should receive it on Sunday and will report after I watch it. Have decided that the reported unevenness of the video is worth taking a chance on, given that many think the UHD HDR version of the film looks beautiful nonetheless.

Great choice. You won't regret it

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

Dynamic mode on the K8500 just doesn't cut it for me. Way too bright and washes out the skylines.

I use User mode and I've adjusted it to my liking and it looks perfect.

Even on my old KU6300, which lacked color and brightness in HDR mode, I thought "dynamic" on the Samsung player was garrish and boosted. I don't really want to criticize it though since my TV at that time wasn't HDR Premium. In any event a lot of this settings stuff depends on what people liked for SDR viewing before UHD came around.

In any event, King Kong definitely has bright color and popping bright HDR. If it looks dull to anyone then something is wrong with your setup.

[nusilver]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

So I can avoid listening to a 3+ hour commentary, can you give some examples? Because I agree the contrast is very hot in the opening city daytime scenes, but when I put the BD in to compare I thought it was hot there too. If there's a specific scene and commentary comment that might change my mind I'd like to look at it.

Also I wonder if my bias light makes it less eye-piercing.

At least everyone seems to agree it looks stunning once the ship leaves dock.

Yes, sorry! I'll give the commentary a re-watch tomorrow and take some notes.

[bbwiscfan]

Will post more thoughts when done.

[mar3o]

Swung by WalMart and picked this up tonight since they still had some copies. Many of the slipcovers were crunched up a bit at the top but one looked quite good. Of course I probably won't have a player until after Christmas, so for now it goes on the shelf. I might watch some of the extras though.

This makes the 2nd UHD disc I own. The first being Passengers with the 3D/4k combo. I'd be more excited if my TV was better at HDR (and if I knew how to manually adjust it for a proper image like I did for SDR with the AVS + Disney WOW test pattern discs). 500-550 nits isn't ideal, especially when combined with such limited dimming zones.

[Rizor]

Picked this up yesterday and sampled a few scenes. It looks quite good, but they definitely removed the grain when upscaling from 2K and sharpened it up a touch. Without the grain, the picture looks a bit too clean and digital, and somewhat lifeless. Some close-ups just don't pop the way I would've expected them to with the grain absent.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Swung by WalMart and picked this up tonight since they still had some copies. Many of the slipcovers were crunched up a bit at the top but one looked quite good. Of course I probably won't have a player until after Christmas, so for now it goes on the shelf. I might watch some of the extras though.

This makes the 2nd UHD disc I own. The first being Passengers with the 3D/4k combo. I'd be more excited if my TV was better at HDR (and if I knew how to manually adjust it for a proper image like I did for SDR with the AVS + Disney WOW test pattern discs). 500-550 nits isn't ideal, especially when combined with such limited dimming zones.

You should make the best of it, it doesn't necessarily mean you can't get a beautiful picture out of it. Besides you haven't even tried it out yet. Just make sure you're watching HDR content in a dark room, (with very low ambient light if needed) it can make all the difference IMO.

[DJR662]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Picked this up yesterday and sampled a few scenes. It looks quite good, but they definitely removed the grain when upscaling from 2K and sharpened it up a touch. Without the grain, the picture looks a bit too clean and digital, and somewhat lifeless. Some close-ups just don't pop the way I would've expected them to with the grain absent.

That's sounds a bit disappointing. Will find out for myself next week when it gets released over here...

[brainofj72]

I'll have to check the BD to confirm, but as I was watching it, I did not get the impression that they added DNR and EE during the UHD transfer process. With how inconsistent it has been applied, I really think it's baked into the DI, like Expendables 2. I doubt Universal would take the time to go shot by shot and remove grain in just portions of frames; that kind of artificial softening seems like a (bad) creative decision made during post-production.

[Sky_Captain]

I don't believe that the BD is an accurate indicator of anything, given how heavily compressed it is.

[jh901]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

In any event, King Kong definitely has bright color and popping bright HDR. If it looks dull to anyone then something is wrong with your setup.

What is your take on grain management? Is the grain better resolved and perhaps simply finer or has life been sucked out of the film?

[mzupeman]

The film does look a bit hot at times but, it's still a much better experience than the Blu overall.

As far as grain removal or whatever... this film always had a super clean look about it.

[joenostalgia23]

I love film grain so now I'm extra excited about seeing this.

[LoSouL]

Solved my problem with this disc.

K8500 playback TOOLS->Picture Mode->User, Contrast up to 10, everything else at 0

Switched the internal player settings from YCbCr(4:4:4) to RGB (Enhanced) - a setting that I previously ruled out because it didn't mix well with the KS8000's Auto/Low black levels, but plays nicely with Normal black level. So I believe it's now doing something similar to the way full RGB on a PS4 Pro defaults to YUV422, giving better yields than the YUV420 option.

Made a few very minor adjustments to match. Everything else I threw in and watched today looks as good as ever, or slightly better, and now this movie in particular looks just fine, excellent at times. Very sharp and clear, with relatively consistent skin tone richness from scene to scene.

Now I can definitely say that I think the "hot" look (which is an eyesore if the hardware settings are working against it) is intended to give the movie a colorized black and white film look, almost like technicolor tinctures. That and some days/locations in the movie are trying to convey a seriously scorched earth, hot and arid feel with it's lighting.

Anyway... wanted to clear the air and make sure the movie gets a fair rep, at least for my part. This really is the other end of the Goodfellas situation. One dealing with shadow, the other dealing with light.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

I'll have to check the BD to confirm, but as I was watching it, I did not get the impression that they added DNR and EE during the UHD transfer process. With how inconsistent it has been applied, I really think it's baked into the DI, like Expendables 2. I doubt Universal would take the time to go shot by shot and remove grain in just portions of frames; that kind of artificial softening seems like a (bad) creative decision made during post-production.

I think there's some definite DNR and sharpening at play here. Technology has come a long way since those early waxy BD's so the signs aren't as obvious, but if you know what to look for, you'll definitely see it (unfortunately). I don't mean to sound so negative. I love this film and the UHD is still pretty solid and I'm happy to own it in 4K.

Originally Posted by mzupeman

As far as grain removal or whatever... this film always had a super clean look about it.

What makes you say this? The film was shot Super 35, which would make this film grainier than films shot anamorphically. I honestly can't remember from theatrical screenings, and while the BD ain't perfect it still exhibits a fairly natural grain structure most of the time.

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by Rizor

I think there's some definite DNR and sharpening at play here. Technology has come a long way since those early waxy BD's so the signs aren't as obvious, but if you know what to look for, you'll definitely see it (unfortunately). I don't mean to sound so negative. I love this film and the UHD is still pretty solid and I'm happy to own it in 4K.

What makes you say this? The film was shot Super 35, which would make this film grainier than films shot anamorphically. I honestly can't remember from theatrical screenings, and while the BD ain't perfect it still exhibits a fairly natural grain structure most of the time.

Just memory.

[Patsfan123]

Originally Posted by LoSouL

Solved my problem with this disc.

K8500 playback TOOLS->Picture Mode->User, Contrast up to 10, everything else at 0

Switched the internal player settings from YCbCr(4:4:4) to RGB (Enhanced) - a setting that I previously ruled out because it didn't mix well with the KS8000's Auto/Low black levels, but plays nicely with Normal black level. So I believe it's now doing something similar to the way full RGB on a PS4 Pro defaults to YUV422, giving better yields than the YUV420 option.

Made a few very minor adjustments to match. Everything else I threw in and watched today looks as good as ever, or slightly better, and now this movie in particular looks just fine, excellent at times. Very sharp and clear, with relatively consistent skin tone richness from scene to scene.

Now I can definitely say that I think the "hot" look (which is an eyesore if the hardware settings are working against it) is intended to give the movie a colorized black and white film look, almost like technicolor tinctures. That and some days/locations in the movie are trying to convey a seriously scorched earth, hot and arid feel with it's lighting.

Anyway... wanted to clear the air and make sure the movie gets a fair rep, at least for my part. This really is the other end of the Goodfellas situation. One dealing with shadow, the other dealing with light.

RGB enhanced changes the black level to PC/high on the K8500. It basically crushes blacks which normally would be offset by setting the black level to high. So you are darkening the UHD then bringing back some detail with the contrast adjustment. The UHD is way brighter than the BD, being super bright, intentional or not, is how the UHD looks.