Best quality 4k movie discs

[garbulky]

I've just decided on a 4k UHD player (Sony X700).
So now I have to buy a 4k disc with wich to test it out.

But the problem I've found is that there are a lot of momvies which may be mastered in 4k but have 2k digital (CGI) intermediaries and the such. Some movies are not even shot in 4k and later "upsampled".
So
1. What are some good true 4k discs with 4k everything?
2. What are your best looking 4k movies you would recommend to demo? Here the movies don't have to be "true 4k" discs. I'm merely interested in what you think is the best looking in picture quality.

[AudioHTIT]

Just to clarify, you’re TV does HDR so that could be important, but not Dolby Vision? You also aren’t interested in surround or Atmos, just a good stereo soundtrack?

For some great short demo and test material, this site has a lot of good free stuff, the kind you see in store demos. I also use it to test my signal path for HDR/DV pass through and the like. You can download them to a flash drive and play them on your TV, UHD disk player, or computer.

4kmedia.org/

Edit: I have to say my favorite 4K disks so far have been the later in the Harry Potter series, but the DTS 7.1 surround is a big part of the enjoyment, as is that my wife and I both like the series, stories, and characters. I believe staring with the third movie they were mastered in 4K.

[garbulky]

Jul 7, 2019 22:25:59 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

Just to clarify, you’re TV does HDR so that could be important, but not Dolby Vision? You also aren’t interested in surround or Atmos, just a good stereo soundtrack?a.org/

[/a]
[/quote]
Yeah. HDR I think up to hdr10. Soundtrack is of no importance

[Gary Cook]

Jul 7, 2019 21:40:14 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I've just decided on a 4k UHD player (Sony X700).
So now I have to buy a 4k disc with wich to test it out.
But the problem I've found is that there are a lot of momvies which may be mastered in 4k but have 2k digital (CGI) intermediaries and the such. Some movies are not even shot in 4k and later "upsampled".
So
1. What are some good true 4k discs with 4k everything?
2. What are your best looking 4k movies you would recommend to demo? Here the movies don't have to be "true 4k" discs. I'm merely interested in what you think is the best looking in picture quality.

My favourites (not in any particular order), Blade Runner 2049, The Greatest Showman, Wonder Woman, Logan, The Martian and Mission Impossible - Fallout.
The things that stand out in HDR are reflections, shiny bright objects, metallic sheen and things that glow in the dark. My Samsung is only 1000 nits, so dull, dark scenes in HDR movies can be, well, dull and dark. The next TV will be 2000+ nits to avoid that problem.

Cheers
Gary

[novisnick]

Jul 8, 2019 2:39:28 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Jul 7, 2019 22:25:59 GMT -5 AudioHTIT said:

Just to clarify, you’re TV does HDR so that could be important, but not Dolby Vision? You also aren’t interested in surround or Atmos, just a good stereo soundtrack?a.org/

[/a]
[/quote]
Yeah. HDR I think up to hdr10. Soundtrack is of no importance
[/quote]


This IS an audio forum? Right? 🤔

[garbulky]

Jul 8, 2019 4:25:11 GMT -5 novisnick said:

Jul 8, 2019 2:39:28 GMT -5 garbulky said:

[/a]
[/quote]
Yeah. HDR I think up to hdr10. Soundtrack is of no importance
[/quote]


This IS an audio forum? Right? 🤔[/quote]
Lol. I just want to see what's the best these discs can do on my tv picture wise. I already think Blu Ray audio is extremely well done.

[Boomzilla]

I've got a handful of 4K discs that you're welcome to borrow. Just let me know.

[LCSeminole]

Spears and Munsil just recently released,(only a week or so ago), their calibration disc for 4K/HDR material which is the first 4K calibration disc that I know of, other than what the professionals use which aren't available to the public. I've not used it as my OLED has been professionally ISF calibrated but the previously released Spears & Munsil home calibration discs are highly thought of so I will probably pick this up at some point just to check my flat panels after a couple years of use. Blu-Ray.com is a great site for looking up current and upcoming blu-rays and UHD blu-rays, which will give you the specs on the "Video" and "Audio", stuff like whether they're upscaled or were filmed in true 4K. Most of the links on Blu-ray.com will take you to Amazon or BestBuy if you want to purchase.

www.blu-ray.com/

spearsandmunsil.com/products/

[davidl81]

I just bought the Nolan series Batman movies in 4K, and I was crazy impressed with 4K/HDR in The Dark Knight. Several of the scenes are shot with IMax cameras and the screen goes 16:9 in these shots. It was breathtaking. I was amazed especially since it is a movie that is almost 10 years old at this point. The John Wick movies (#2 the most) look pretty good in 4k. I have not been overly impressed with the Disney/Marvel/LucasFlim movies in 4K. They are perfectly fine, but noting that I find to be reference quality.

[thrillcat]

Mortal Engines looks amazing. Not as bad as the reviews, but predictable.
Ready Player One is still my go-to demo disc.
2001 is also amazing, especially for a catalog title, but it's also an acquired taste.
Passengers is gorgeous.
Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse looked really good.

Previously mentioned, the Greatest Showman and Blade Runner 2049 are also top notch.

[LCSeminole]

Jul 8, 2019 9:29:35 GMT -5 davidl81 said:

I just bought the Nolan series Batman movies in 4K, and I was crazy impressed with 4K/HDR in The Dark Knight. Several of the scenes are shot with IMax cameras and the screen goes 16:9 in these shots. It was breathtaking. I was amazed especially since it is a movie that is almost 10 years old at this point. The John Wick movies (#2 the most) look pretty good in 4k. I have not been overly impressed with the Disney/Marvel/LucasFlim movies in 4K. They are perfectly fine, but noting that I find to be reference quality.

I've always wondered how much improved The Dark Knight movies video-wise are over their 1080p versions, and they are quite impressive. I've not replaced them mainly because of the lack of 7.1 or Dolby Atmos/DTS:X tracks.

[LCSeminole]

Jul 8, 2019 9:46:03 GMT -5 thrillcat said:

Mortal Engines looks amazing. Not as bad as the reviews, but predictable.
Ready Player One is still my go-to demo disc.
2001 is also amazing, especially for a catalog title, but it's also an acquired taste.
Passengers is gorgeous.
Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse looked really good.

Previously mentioned, the Greatest Showman and Blade Runner 2049 are also top notch.

Agree, Passengers is definitely reference quality, both video and audio-wise. Garbulky this movie was shot in 4K, it's not upscaled, so it's the best filming resolution you'll get. I will say that just because many UHD-Blu-ray movies are upscaled 4K, doesn't mean it won't look stunning. Personally I agree with David above about the Marvel movies, but I do however think Avengers: Infinity War is quite stunning(especially it's shadow detailing on a professionally ISF calibrated panel) in Dolby Vision.

[doc1963]

I'll throw these out there as my go to demo titles for 4K UHD Blu-ray done right…

- Planet Earth 2 (4K DI / HDR-10)
- Lucy (4K DI / HDR-10)
- Passengers (4K DI / HDR-10)
- Mortal Engines (4K DI / HDR-10 / Dolby Vision)
- The Martian (4K DI / HDR-10)
- Interstellar (4K DI / HDR-10)

Not all are great movies, but all are benchmark UHD productions. All are sourced from true 4K digital intermediates and make good use of HDR.

Don't be too put off by the 4K versus 2K mastering. There are also some great titles that are derived from 2K masters and are easily "demo worthy". Ready Player One is a perfect example.

I'd also agree with davidl81 that the "Dark Knight" titles are excellent. They're also derived from 4K masters and can show what a good HDR treatment can do for otherwise "dark" movies.

Good luck and enjoy you new adventure...

[davidl81]

Jul 8, 2019 9:51:36 GMT -5 LCSeminole said:

Jul 8, 2019 9:29:35 GMT -5 davidl81 said:

I just bought the Nolan series Batman movies in 4K, and I was crazy impressed with 4K/HDR in The Dark Knight. Several of the scenes are shot with IMax cameras and the screen goes 16:9 in these shots. It was breathtaking. I was amazed especially since it is a movie that is almost 10 years old at this point. The John Wick movies (#2 the most) look pretty good in 4k. I have not been overly impressed with the Disney/Marvel/LucasFlim movies in 4K. They are perfectly fine, but noting that I find to be reference quality.

I've always wondered how much improved The Dark Knight movies video-wise are over their 1080p versions, and they are quite impressive. I've not replaced them mainly because of the lack of 7.1 or Dolby Atmos/DTS:X tracks.

I almost didn't buy them because of the lack of a DTS-X track, but the DTS-HD track they use is solid.  Very dynamic and impactful.  I did have my AV8802 up convert it to DTS-X, but none the less it did sound great.  The visuals were worth the price alone though.  I think BB had them for $24 each.  I have only watched The Dark Knight on 4K so far, so I really need to watch the other two and see what they look like.  What's funny is I was only going to watch a few mins of Dark Knight just to see what it looked like in 4K, and then i got trapped in it and two hours later I regretted nothing! 

[garbulky]

Hi guys
Thanks for the great advice.
I'm only going to purchase one or two.
So I'm leaning towards these titles
Mission Impossible Ghost protocol - anybody know about the digital intermediate? Also what exactly is a digital intermediate. Does that mean the 4k original copy is completely downsampled and then reupsampled. Or it's only downsampled for the cgi bits? Also is there a website where you can figure out the stuff about digital intermediates and all that?

Interstellar
Passengers
Dark Knight
2001


I'm sorry if I'm a little slow at this. I'm really new to 4k and don't quite understand all the lingo and its importance. For instance people have told me not to worry about the DI.

Also are there any stunning classic/vintage movies that are remastered in 4k?

[thrillcat]

DI = Digital Intermediate.

Just because something was filmed with 4, 6 or 8K cameras doesn't mean the entire post-production process was completed at a higher resolution. Ofentimes, especially with effects-heavy productions, studios may shoot at 6K or higher, but they will create the visual effects at 2K, because creating and rendering GFX at higher resolutions requires an unbelievable amount of horsepower and time. Rendering can take literally months. So they work at 2K, and output to 4K.

Just because something had a 2K intermediate doesn't mean it's not going to look stunning, either. Keep in mind, that 2K intermediate was also used in commercial theaters to export the DCP.

2001 is probably the most stunning remaster out there today.

[doc1963]

Jul 8, 2019 12:26:03 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Hi guys
Thanks for the great advice.
I'm only going to purchase one or two.
So I'm leaning towards these titles

Interstellar
Passengers
Dark Knight
2001
Mission Impossible Ghost protocol - anybody know about the digital intermediate?

Yes, "MI: Ghost Protocol" was produced from a 4K DI.

Jul 8, 2019 12:26:03 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Also what exactly is a digital intermediate. Does that mean the 4k original copy is completely downsampled and then reupsampled. Or it's only downsampled for the cgi bits? Also is there a website where you can figure out the stuff about digital intermediates and all that?

The "DI" (Digital Intermediate) is the source that is used for production. A movie is usually shot digitally at resolutions higher than 4K. Or, in the case of traditional film, is also scanned at very high resolutions (4K and above). During the mastering process, the original elements are down-sampled to a target production resolution (2K or 4K), all FX are added, colorization perfected and sound mixed. Some might refer to this as the "production master".

Nowadays, during the post-production process, an HDR wash is added specifically for the UHD release.

EDIT: thrillcat nailed this as I was typing and did a better job explaining it. Refer to his post above...

Jul 8, 2019 12:26:03 GMT -5 garbulky said:

I'm sorry if I'm a little slow at this. I'm really new to 4k and don't quite understand all the lingo and its importance. For instance people have told me not to worry about the DI.

While the additional resolution of a 4K transfer may be apparent in some cases, the biggest benefit of 4K UHD Blu-ray that you will immediately notice is the use of "High Dynamic Range". I've viewed quite a few titles that originated from 2K masters that may not be razor sharp, but still look stunning because of their use of HDR.

Jul 8, 2019 12:26:03 GMT -5 garbulky said:

Also are there any stunning classic/vintage movies that are remastered in 4k?

Yep... "Gladiator", "Braveheart" and "A Few Good Men" immediately come to mind.

[wilburthegoose]

Grease. Seriously. It’s the best PQ I’ve seen yet.

[garbulky]

Hi all,
Thanks to a kind friend, I get to try out several great 4k blu rays on this list which include several of which were recommended here
Passengers
Blade Runner 2049
Planet Earth 2
Depending on what I think of 4k Blu Ray, I may purchase some more.

LCSeminole I also got the Handforged Blu Ray calibrator. However it is not the 4k version. Would that be an issue or do you think it would work just fine with little to no difference?

[mjay]

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