Official 4K / HDR Thread

[SkinnyPupp]

I've been watching a ton of content on my new TV lately, and REALLY enjoying it so far. I have been focusing as much as possible on watching HDR content, since IMO that was the "next big step" in TV's since 1080p.

So I thought I'd start a thread where TV fans can talk about the content they've come across that really shows off capabilities of HDR and to a lesser extent 4K UHD.

First post:

As far as attaining content, there's not much for me unfortunately. I get Netflix and Amazon Prime but that's it. Google Play only offers 4K and HDR in USA and Canada, and Amazon movie rentals/purchases don't work here, only Prime Video. Also the 4K movie offerings are limited on Netflix HK compared to USA and Canada, and a lot of movies that are in 4K there are only 1080p here.

That leaves UHD Blu-Ray as my only other option, but I'm not going to spend $40 USD on every movie I want to check out after dropping $200 on a player. So that leaves piracy for now unfortunately. I am generally anti-piracy, and I usually ask people what their justification is for pirating content. But the studios aren't giving me much of a choice by cutting me off. So there's my justification

Thankfully there's plenty of decent to great content on Netflix and Amazon, as they really focus on 4K and occasionally offer HDR. Problem is, I already watched a lot of it on my shitty old 32" 720p That includes Stranger Things, Star Trek Discovery, Daredevil, Punisher, and a few more.

So far, the show that stands out the most to me is Ozark. There are plenty of dimly lit scenes, and they look amazing. It's such a dark series, and they really put HDR to good use.

Grand Tour is another. Top Gear always focused on cinematography, and now they can do it in 4K HDR. Cars and scenery look stunning. Jeremy Clarkson's teeth do as well, but in another way

I've checked out some shows where the HDR doesn't exactly stand out much... 13 Reasons, Okja, Ocean's Eight... They all look great, but they aren't "showcase" titles. And unfortunately I didn't enjoy the movies either. 13 Reasons is starting to get interesting, but I can't stand the main character Clay.

The title I am really looking forward to is Planet Earth II. I actually held off on watching it, waiting to buy a new TV even if it took years. Well it did take years, and here I am, and there's no way for me to get the content legally. I tried buying it on Amazon but it wouldn't let me with my billing address. Actually I don't even know if the streaming version is 4K, since there are no details on the purchase page, and all the reviews are for all versions combined into one page

[Mr.HappySilp]

The technology is there but the channels providers in general aren't ready for 4k. It going to cost a ton to start broadcasting content in 4k since there needs to be new equipment. Then the ISP themselves aren't really making the moves till the broadcaster does (again money issue here).

If you are talking about streaming content as far as I know ISP in Canada is still not there yet. Sure there are unlimited usage package but the hardware doesn't support everyone streaming 4k. So there are still issues.

[Hondaracer]

Netflix 4k is the best, highest amount of true 4k content available. Every new series, every new movie is in true 4k and a lot in HDR now as well.

Telus has about 8 4k channels now and a lot of them look fantastic. However I don’t feel like you get the true experience until you’re in fiber. The draw over he copper infrastructure is a little much and even if you have enough data overhead, I still see pixelization from time to time.

The 4k Pvr and wireless set top boxes Telus provides do a fine job at outputting a true 4k experience. However I still use my Tv’s built in Netflix app as I feel like the Sony processor is a better quality product than the Arris set top boxes.

[MarkyMark]

I'm hoping to have a 4k HDR TV as well as Dolby Atmos sound setup by the end of the year. It's nice that Netflix is really putting out a lot of 4K HDR content now, as well as Dolby Vision.

It's too bad cable seems like a long ways off before there will be sufficient 4k content. They are already teasing 8k TVs lol, pretty ridiculous.

[Berzerker]

I'm having a hard time getting used to 4K images. Really fucks with my brain and I find it hard to concentrate. Anyone else have this problem?
It's almost like the image is "to realistic" for my brain to accept. I had this problem when TV's went to a higher Hertz value as well.

Another Huge downside for me and Netflix is my internet. I use Telus wireless internet (rural area with no other options) and I have a limit of 250gig per month. I don't think I could even stream 4K with the amount of data it uses and I know damn sure 250gig would get eaten up real quick lol.

Berz ouit.

[SkinnyPupp]

Originally Posted by Berzerker

I'm having a hard time getting used to 4K images. Really fucks with my brain and I find it hard to concentrate. Anyone else have this problem?
It's almost like the image is "to realistic" for my brain to accept. I had this problem when TV's went to a higher Hertz value as well.

Another Huge downside for me and Netflix is my internet. I use Telus wireless internet (rural area with no other options) and I have a limit of 250gig per month. I don't think I could even stream 4K with the amount of data it uses and I know damn sure 250gig would get eaten up real quick lol.

Berz ouit.

Make sure you disable any interpolation settings on your TV. Unless you're sitting 3 feet away from it, my guess is that's what's fucking with you

YouTube

How to disable:

Samsung: Go to Menu > Picture > Picture Options and enable/disable 'Auto Motion Plus.'

Sony: Go to Menu > Picture adjustments > Advanced settings > Motion and enable/disable 'Motionflow.'

Vizio: Go to Menu > Picture > More Picture. Adjust 'Reduce Judder' to adjust smoothing on 24p and 30p video. Adjust 'Reduce Motion Blur' to adjust smoothing on 60p video.

LG: Go to Menu > Picture > Picture Mode Settings and enable/disable 'TruMotion.'

[SkinnyPupp]

I thought I had it bad with the availability here, but I forgot that they have capped internet plans in Canada and USA... Makes it even more fucked that those are the only regions Google offers 4K and HDR content

250GB a month would be about 35 hours worth of 4K content on Netflix. You do need 25 Mbps though (though according to stats, it streams at like 12 Mbps). You could use an app (Android or Windows version) to download titles and watch the file all at once, although I don't know if that works with 4K

[Hondaracer]

we watch nothing but Netflix and relatively heavy computer use (dont really Torrent though anymore)

Never even come close to the Terrabyte allowed with Fibre 150. Also Telus (not sure about shaw) now offers completely unlimited data for an extra $5 a month, so it's a non-issue

Streaming 4k and using some monitoring devices i have built into my work computer it's typically pulling between 18 and 23mbps (streaming 4k youtube)

When a whole show is buffered via netflix, it seems you use about 75% of the total bandwidth you do streaming live

[Mr.Money]

that's lame telus fiber 4k tv only offers 8 channels...i thought we were talking everything out there.

the thing that scares me about investing to 4k right now is 8k,They do have computer monitors at 8k at stupid prices and lot of Asia companies right now have already figured out the Tech for 8k TV from what I've seen at CES....it's like their running a monopoly first getting the adoption rate of 4K resolution in the door than get in your pockets again for 8k....Soon you're gonna pop in a blu-ray that has to down convert 8k to 4k for older gen ultra hd tvs..


i just fucking know it.

and it looks like japan is planning to record 2020 Summer Olympics in 8k entirely for broadcasting

[SkinnyPupp]

4K is just a stop gap to 8K, always was. Home streaming and broadcasting will probably stay there for quite a while, but for movies 8K is where it will be at.

But like I keep saying, the real progress was the advent of HDR. This is what makes the "wow" difference compared to the old standard.

4K is allows for more detail (again it depends on screen size and distance from eyes), but wide colour gamut and scenes with amazing contrast with detail in the very bright and dark areas is what looks amazing, IMHO.

As for 4K vs 8K it all depends on how big your screen is, and how close you are to it.

[MarkyMark]

What good is 8K unless your screen is 80"+?

It's pointless to wait really, if you wait a few years until 8K TVs are in the stores and affordable, you could have been enjoying a 4K TV which probably looks just as good if your screen size isn't insanely massive.

[Hondaracer]

The infrastructure isn’t going to be there for 8k for id say at least 10 years. We would have to see a monumental shift in telecom companies attitudes towards data flow.

As well, no one is buying movies anymore. Especially in a hard format such as BR etc. so you’re extremely limited in your delivery methods. People want less hardware, not more. So it comes down to streaming content.

[underscore]

If you play the waiting game you'll end up using your current setup forever since there will always be something better just over the horizon. Since the era of big rear projection TVs the next best thing hasn't been far off. The jump to LCD, then 16x9, then 1080p, then high refresh rate 1080p, then 4k, then 4k HDR, soon 8k, etc. At some point you have to pick one of the more significant improvements and jump on board, then wait through the less important stuff for the next one.

Like Skinny said I think currently the big improvement that makes the current gen of stuff the time to buy in is HDR. You can degrade the effectiveness of 4k from screen size/viewing distance/your eyes/etc, but the difference in the colours from HDR you're going to get regardless.

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Telus has about 8 4k channels now and a lot of them look fantastic. However I don’t feel like you get the true experience until you’re in fiber. The draw over he copper infrastructure is a little much and even if you have enough data overhead, I still see pixelization from time to time.

I haven't got cable so I haven't looked into this, but I wonder if eventually (or maybe already?) "recording" with the PVR will just download a file like when you pre-load Netflix, then you can get away from any issues from limited bandwidth.

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

As well, no one is buying movies anymore. Especially in a hard format such as BR etc. so you’re extremely limited in your delivery methods. People want less hardware, not more. So it comes down to streaming content.

My concern with streaming/cable is wondering what the bitrate is vs a hard copy. You'll get 4k worth of pixels either way but if it's compressed too much it's not going to look as good as it could. Frame rate as well, it looks like Netflix does everything at 4k60 which is excellent but I wouldn't be surprised if other providers still run at 24fps to save costs.

[Ch28]

Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime in 4k was amazing

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime in 4k was amazing

Just finished watching it, it was so nice to get away from the dark gritty urban feel of the Marvel series on Netflix.

Really liked the colour in HDR, some splashes really pop in the desert/Middle Eastern scenes against the dusty brown background.

[SkinnyPupp]

I watched the pilot last night and I agree, Jack Ryan looks great so far. I can only watch so many "serious" shows with my wife though, as she prefers to unwind to something more pleasant after work. Pilot was quite intense

I just recalled that as I was watching Star Trek Discovery, all I kept thinking was "imagine how amazing this would look on a good TV". So I think I'll be checking that out again, even though I didn't like it that much. It's a 1080p HDR Netflix series here, but I'm not sure if you guys had to sub to CBS All Access or not to get it, and what their quality is like for Canadian subscribers.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by underscore

I haven't got cable so I haven't looked into this, but I wonder if eventually (or maybe already?) "recording" with the PVR will just download a file like when you pre-load Netflix, then you can get away from any issues from limited bandwidth.

Currently impossible.

The carriers (not the CRTC) require that if a PVR system is to access recordings “in the cloud” like that, every single instance of that recording has to be individual.

So say joe blow records Big Brother on Saturday night, and I also record the same show, there has to be TWO physical recordings in the cloud for that to be feasible. It’s stupid.

[underscore]

That's some next level stupidity, and they wonder why people are dumping cable.

[Hondaracer]

It’s eirher somthing that they are going to realize quickly isn’t going to work and change, or they are going to hold onto it long enough until no one is subscribing to their channels anymore

And sorry, just to clarifywhen I say carriers, I’m meaning the channels and content providers themselves, not the provider like Telus, Shaw, etc

[underscore]

I figured that was who you meant. I feel like a few might change, and a few will hold out until they go broke, and end up being another version of the gunshot "how could they do this" meme.

[RRxtar]

Watched Planet Earth 2 pretty well immediately after hooking up my 65" HDR 4K tv in the new man cave.

I honestly cant tell if its all real life or half the next level of CGI. it was mind blasting.

[Slifer]

Jack Ryan was pretty good. Kinda reminded me of 24..

[ime2006]

I have to say ..........

Transformers: The Last Knight

Its 4K quality is breath taking!!!! BUT the story content is also "Breath Taking"


Tested on my 4K Projector...

Also, watched Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Video Quality is also stunning!!!

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

bro what model 4k projector do you have?

[ime2006]

Originally Posted by Ulic Qel-Droma

bro what model 4k projector do you have?

I have Optoma UHD65

There are a lot 4K projector out there now.

they are getting cheaper too.

Check out LG's Laser 4K projector

YouTube