Mastered in 4K Resolution Blu Rays

[spindrift]

Saw Spidey 2 and Godzilla coming in July in Blu Ray- these are mastered in 4k resolution for those new 4k players but wondering...will the picture on regular Blu Ray players be BETTER than curent version?

 

[Natrix]

There are already several titles available including Spider-Man and Ghostbusters. All reviews I have seen say the PQ is better. The bit rates are higher since there are no special features on the disk along with retaining more detail due to having a higher resolution source.

 

[PsychoCenobite]

These are a bit of a marketing gimmick from the studios.

Basically the film is "mastered in 4K" but is then reduced down to 1080p (2K).

They are not proper 4K Blu-rays that need a special 4K player or a 4K screen.

A lot of films are already mastered in 4K and then reduced for Blu-ray, so this isn't as special as they make it sound. Basically they should have been mastered in 4K the first time they were released on Blu-ray, i.e. Ghostbusters, but weren't.

It's only worth buying these if the original Blu-ray wasn't from a 4K master.

Ghostbusters is the only one that I'd probably buy, as that actually looks a lot better than the original Blu-ray.

Glory looks quite nice as well.

Taxi Driver was originally mastered in 4K for its first Blu-ray release, so there wouldn't be any noticeable difference between that and the new "Mastered in 4K" release.

Here are some reviews, Mastered in 4K and Original Blu-ray, and have screen captures of both for you to compare (login to see them in full 1080p):

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-Blu-ray/69723/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-Blu-ray/3661/

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Glory-Blu-ray/69725/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Glory-Blu-ray/276/

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Taxi-Driver-Blu-ray/69727/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Taxi-Driver-Blu-ray/1105/

PsychoCenobite

 

[sifu74]

Can anyone answer me why they say 4K is 4times the resolution of 1080P when 4k is 3840x2160 and 2k is 1920x1080? That to me is double and not quadruple the resolution like they claim.

 

[spindrift]

These are a bit of a marketing gimmick from the studios.

Basically the film is "mastered in 4K" but is then reduced down to 1080p (2K).

They are not proper 4K Blu-rays that need a special 4K player or a 4K screen.

A lot of films are already mastered in 4K and then reduced for Blu-ray, so this isn't as special as they make it sound. Basically they should have been mastered in 4K the first time they were released on Blu-ray, i.e. Ghostbusters, but weren't.

It's only worth buying these if the original Blu-ray wasn't from a 4K master.

Ghostbusters is the only one that I'd probably buy, as that actually looks a lot better than the original Blu-ray.

Glory looks quite nice as well.

Taxi Driver was originally mastered in 4K for its first Blu-ray release, so there wouldn't be any noticeable difference between that and the new "Mastered in 4K" release.

Here are some reviews, Mastered in 4K and Original Blu-ray, and have screen captures of both for you to compare (login to see them in full 1080p):

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-Blu-ray/69723/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Ghostbusters-Blu-ray/3661/

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Glory-Blu-ray/69725/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Glory-Blu-ray/276/

Mastered in 4K: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Taxi-Driver-Blu-ray/69727/
Original Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Taxi-Driver-Blu-ray/1105/

PsychoCenobite

Thanks for clearing this up....now I can relax and stick to my blus I have....
Just not a great deal of difference to really upgrade...yet

 

[ProgMatinee]

in all seriousness do people actually want, enjoy that much better resolution and that matter frame speed?

I just don't see the point.

 

[rushmore223]

I watched some of the Spiderman footage on a 4K TV at Best Buy, and in all honesty, I was not impressed, just looked like a really good 1080P set.

I'm a big proponent of Video and Tech in general, and tend to be an early adopter, but this just did not seem to be the jump in clarity I was expecting.

It's too early for these sets to catch on anyway, as most people have only just recently made the step up to HD and are unwlling to shell out the money for an upgrade that wont even be available for broadcast for a very long time.

 

[Grenouille]

So these will be this generation's Superbit.

 

[NASEDO]

4k is great for a 100" TV, but for a 40" you would have to sit a foot away to notice. The human eye can only see so good.

 

[DFanatic]

It comes to a point where enough is enough. I'm all for new technology but there is no way in hell I'll buy these movies over again and again every time they improve on things like resolution (among other things). I'm pretty satisfied with the way movies are looking right now.

 

[Natrix]

I watched some of the Spiderman footage on a 4K TV at Best Buy, and in all honesty, I was not impressed, just looked like a really good 1080P set.

I'm a big proponent of Video and Tech in general, and tend to be an early adopter, but this just did not seem to be the jump in clarity I was expecting.

It's too early for these sets to catch on anyway, as most people have only just recently made the step up to HD and are unwlling to shell out the money for an upgrade that wont even be available for broadcast for a very long time.

Was it true 4k material or was it the upscaled 1080P Blu Ray mastered from 4k? I bet it was the latter since everything I have read about 4k TV's has been very positive on the upgrade in PQ with true 4k material.

 

[CptCosmo]

Can anyone answer me why they say 4K is 4times the resolution of 1080P when 4k is 3840x2160 and 2k is 1920x1080? That to me is double and not quadruple the resolution like they claim.

If we round the numbers and think of them as a values of lengths of a rectangle we can see where 4* comes from.
3840=rounded up to 4000
2160=rounded down to 2000

So you have a rectangle that is 4000x2000. What is it's area? Well area is LxW so 8000 right?
If we do the same to 1920 x 1080 we get
2000 x 1000 plug those into the rectangle formula for area =LxW = 2000. What do we get when we compare the values of each? a factor of 4 times greater on the larger resolution. 8000/2000=4
Hope that helps.

 

[rushmore223]

Was it true 4k material or was it the upscaled 1080P Blu Ray mastered from 4k? I bet it was the latter since everything I have read about 4k TV's has been very positive on the upgrade in PQ with true 4k material.

It was the upscaled 1080P, I'm not sure if a 4K master exists outside the studio.

I saw some other footage as well, mostly panoramic mountain vistas and things of that ilk. I feel like they really weren't going out of their way to impress the consumer.

The 4K set was standing alone by itself, I think it would be in the manufacturers best interest to have the 4K side by side with a 1080P set, as I felt like I really needed something to compare it to. The difference wasn't like seeing a Standard def TV and then seeing HD, it was more like seeing a basic HDTV and then seeing a top of the line HDTV. There were differences, but I experienced no wow factor.

Edit-that experience aside, I am still reserving final judgment until I see something I know was real 4K, just for the time being I was not as impressed as I expected to be.

 

[DarthIndy]

Ghostbusters is the only one worth upgrading. They have fixed the horrible contrast levels from the previous Blu-ray.