Ultimate 4K Movies List on Streaming

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Quick Changelog for December 24, 2024:


1) Max and Best of 2024 pages are now exclusively to members (or until further notice). This change aims to encourage free sign-ups so I can assess whether to continue tracking Max in 2025.

2) Weekly Picks script/algorithm now includes the Max platform, tailoring recommendations to your preferences. Check it out for weekly suggestions. Don't forget to update your preferences to ensure the recommendations stay accurate for you.



Happy Holidays!

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Some quick but relevant 4K News. . .

I'm now tracking 4K HDR movies available to buy or rent on Apple TV iTunes. You can expect weekly updates. I might add a poll every week to let you choose which 4K HDR movie you'd like to see more details about (such as HDR brightness values and Atmos score). Check out the Apple iTunes dedicated page.

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Hi all,

Over the past few days, I’ve been using the Developer HUD on the Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen) to better understand how 4K HDR movies on Apple iTunes handle playback. Here are some key insights:

1) Static (or pre-defined) Bitrate Variations: Static peak and average bitrates for content can vary depending on the playback support (e.g, HDR10 vs. Dolby Vision). Different formats (SDR, HDR10 or Dolby Vision) can have slightly adjusted bitrates within the same (or different) "Tier". If this sounds confusing, I’ve included an example down below...

2) Dynamic Variant Adjustments: Streaming services encode multiple "tiers" for the same title, tailored to different resolutions and HDR types (and possible even more factors that I'm not aware of!). Adaptive bitrate streaming then dynamically selects the most suitable tier (or as they call it, variant) based on the display and network. This explains minor fluctuations in metrics like the real average bitrates. The good news is... that Apple TV delivers on its promises, as the static/pre-defined bitrate closely match the real bitrate values!

3) Frame Rate vs Refresh Rate: Apple TV’s "Match Frame Rate" works well, but for 25 fps content, the refresh rate defaults to 50Hz (not 25Hz), to ensure smooth playback.

4) Next steps: I will analyse and check whether playback handling is exactly the same across other platforms (Netflix/Prime Video/Disney+, etc).

To illustrate, let's take Edge of Tomorrow on Apple iTunes as a 4K HDR (Dolby Vision) example:



HDR Type HDR10
Playback Tier # 11
Pre-defined Peak Bitrate ~24 Mbps
Pre-defined Avg Bitrate ~15 Mbps
Real Avg Bitrate ~15 Mbps

HDR Type Dolby Vision
Playback Tier # 12
Pre-defined Peak Bitrate ~31 Mbps
Pre-defined Avg Bitrate ~25 Mbps
Real Avg Bitrate ~25 Mbps

I’ll be adding a new section to the movie details on the website, which will include playback stats such as peak/avg bitrates, refresh rate (in addition to the frame rate value) and the current aspect ratio for 4K titles. Stay tuned for updates in the coming days... and Happy New Year!

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Hi all,

To kick off 2025 with the full potential of the (still beta) website, let's roll out beta version 0.96

1) Bitrate details (under the 4K Playback Support section) has been added. I believe this is a great feature to begin comparing services in terms of bitrates (yes, Apple TV might get a slight edge here, as is already well-known). I'll be updating this feature soon to include a 'Percentage Difference' to highlight variations in how much the real-time playback deviates from the ideal (static) average bitrate, as well as adding custom search filters on the Advanced Search page.
P.S: You can expect, at a regular pace, for every 4K title to retroactively have bitrate info added. For now, I guarantee that every new release will include this info.



2) The Original Technical Specs section has been renamed to Technical Specs: A leaner approach has been applied, now including the availability information for 4K UHD Blu-ray discs within this section.



3) The HDR Tier & Analysis and Picture & Sound Mastery sections have been moved to appear right after the Technical Specs section for better visibility (previously, they were located after Aggregate Scores).

4) Many new releases on streaming services have been added under Latest Additions.

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Retroactively collecting bitrate information for nearly 3,000 titles across multiple services in the database at this point would be a daunting task... So, I'm prioritizing blockbusters and high-profile 4K titles to make the process more manageable. Here's the order I'll be following over the next few days:

. Disney+ (blockbusters, Marvel, Star Wars) <--- DONE
. Netflix (high-profile titles)
. Prime Video & Max (4K HDR catalog)
. Paramount+ and Stan (AU) -- last.

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Update: Bitrate Collection Complete

In addition, I’ve updated every streamer page to include audio bitrate information for Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround (look for the note on each page).

More updates coming soon!

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Changelog History (January 14, 2025)

Dolby Vision & Dolby Atmos Certified Badges
Added: New Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos badges on movie titles.
Spot 4K titles mastered with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound directly in (post) production, unlike enhancement layers applied by streaming services.



New Filters for Precision Searches on the Advanced Search page
Added: Filter by Peak and Average Bitrates.
Find titles with optimal bitrates.

Added: Filter by Streaming Aspect Ratio.
If needed, tailor search to match screen setup.



Collapsible Audio Bitrates Table
Added: A dynamic, expandable/collapsible table to display audio bitrates by streaming service on the Advanced Search and All Movies pages.

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The 4K News page has been created! Soon, I'll be adding a News carousel (or something similar) to the homepage, along with an RSS feed-style feature for the platform. I'll keep you updated. By the way, the latest 4K additions have been uploaded, complete with in-depth details and insights.

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Tip of the Day


The Jungle Book (Disney+) – a must for an amazing Atmos mix to test the height channels!

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Planned next steps:

Core Database: “Global Streaming Titles”

. 4K Movies available in all 4 tracked regions (AU, CA, UK, US) will be listed as "Streaming Worldwide".
. No need to display country flags anymore, making the project more universal.
. Since these movies are widely available, region-specific tracking won’t be necessary.
. This approach reduces my workload.

Feature: “Limited Availability Tracker”

. Movies available in only 1-3 regions will be moved to a new page, that may include:
. Where these 4K movies are streaming.
. How often they change availability.
. Detailed HDR/Atmos/bitrate insights for these region-limited titles.

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Dolby Atmos - Reference


These movies, available on streaming or UHD disc, will push the speakers to their limits. I've added the full audio analysis on the site.

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Impressive 4K HDR Movies


Many great HDR presentations exist, but out of curiosity and at random, consider this a sample, including a few lesser-known (or hidden gem) 4K titles worth discovering...
(Due to the number of titles, the full 4K HDR List, including service availability + HDR range quality, is available on the website)

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Happy Sunday, I'm here (again)!

Not all 4K is real 4K. Some movies are upscaled from 2K instead of being true 4K masters. This sample list highlights some of the best native 4K movies recently released (as of February 23, 2025), available on major streaming services...

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Hi everyone,

I'm happy to announce the Smart 4K Lists page (screenshot #1), a new way to discover top-tier 4K streaming content easier and more powerful. These are dynamically updated lists, all updated in real-time with live streaming availability.

To start, I've added 4 (four) types of lists, but the plan is to expand and create a dedicated hub of (dynamic) 4K lists. While the Curated Lists page (screenshot #2) provides great recommendations, it’s static and doesn’t update instantly.

The Smart 4K Lists page will be free for all members until the end of the first week of March. After that, it will be exclusive to Patreon members.

Hope this makes finding 4K content a lot easier for us.

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Changelog (March 3, 2025):

The Streaming Comparison Tool page now includes 'Bitrate Stats', displaying peak and average bitrates for each streaming service! (example below)

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Hey everyone!

I’m happy to introduce a brand-new feature (currently in the experimental phase): The Dolby Vision Analyzer!

For months, I’ve been fine-tuning the Dolby Atmos Analyzer, helping us identify reference-grade audio for the 4K streaming content. Now, I’m bringing that same level of analysis to HDR picture quality with my Dolby Vision Analyzer!

What Does This Mean?​

Every movie evaluated in Dolby Vision now includes:

HDR Contrast – Highlight performance & brightness range
Black Levels – Deep, inky blacks vs. raised shadows
Color Depth – Vibrancy, grading and bit-depth quality
Tone Mapping – Consistency across different scenes
Clarity & Detail – Fine textures & film grain retention
Compression – Artifact handling, banding & encoding quality

Each movie receives a final score, along with an evaluation, letting us know if it's Reference-Grade, Excellent, Good, Average or Poor Dolby Vision quality.

Where to Find It?​

Check out the Dolby Vision Analyzer in the Latest Additions section on the Homepage. Soon, it may expand to All Movies and other pages.

Here's a sample:

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Multi-Service / BD Fun Fact:



On 4K UHD disc: HDR Average Brightness is 325 nits

On Paramount+: HDR Average Brightness is 324 nits

On Amazon Prime Video: HDR Average Brightness is 320 nits

Overall, they're technically very close and similar. It's good to see that the streaming version remains fairly faithful to the disc version...

More comparisons here.

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New Page Live: Dolby Vision & Atmos Analyzer




Just launched a new dedicated section (I'd say it's 90% finished for the first version). Now we can filter 4K streaming titles by Picture and Audio Quality scores, including HDR contrast, surround effects, dialogue clarity and more...

The filters are fully customizable, e.g. view DV titles only, Atmos titles only or by specific PQ/AQ criteria.

Feedback always welcome!

P.S.: I believe this might be the first page of its kind in the world. I've always wanted to implement something similar to what we used to see here on blu-ray.com for Blu-ray discs... Who remembers the CinemaSquid BD Aggregator website?! If you do, you're definitely old school!

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New!

Netflix HDR10+ Titles are now tracked!

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It’s been a big week, with over 50 new 4K releases across the streaming services!

Highlights – Part 1:



.... to be continued.