How do you tell if a film is really 4k?

[hello92]

Not sure if this is the best spot for this. But from what I have looked up and read so far some films labeled with UHD aren't real 4k at all. Some films may get shot in 4k but then they're not mastered in 4k (whatever that means). So I guess the end product isn't really 4k at all? Can you clarify this? because it seems confusing.

 

[Wiz33]

Real 4k is overrated. HDR is more of a game changer on the 4K TV than the increase resolution. Some of the best UHD disc that was reviewed a reference/demo quality is actually a 2K DI upscaled to 4K. Your chance of being able to tell a 2K DI from a 4K DI UHD disc from viewing is pretty much zero.

 

[hello92]

Real 4k is overrated. HDR is more of a game changer on the 4K TV than the increase resolution. Some of the best UHD disc that was reviewed a reference/demo quality is actually a 2K DI upscaled to 4K. Your chance of being able to tell a 2K DI from a 4K DI UHD disc from viewing is pretty much zero.

Well my TV I got does have hdr unfortunately I'm now hearing LG's tv's aren't true 4k they're 3k something to do with RGBW apparently they give you 3k worth of pixels and fill in the rest with white pixels and call it 4k. So I may cancel the order for that tv since its not really 4k.

 

[Wiz33]

What model? If it's a LED/LCD, you'll get better performance on a Samsung

 

[hello92]

What model? If it's a LED/LCD, you'll get better performance on a Samsung

LG 49UH6030. Unless I'm misunderstanding people are saying that LG uses RGBW which I guess is 3k basically with a bunch of white pixels to make it have the pixel count of 4k. (probably a crude interpretation but that is the gist of it I guess.)

 

[Wiz33]

It's a true 4K so no problem in that respect. However HDR Pro is not HDR 10 spec so while it will have a larger contrast range but not the 1000 nits brightness require by HDR 10 spec. It's probably also a 8 bit panel which mean it won't have the best WCG.

 

[americanaudiophile]

An older film transfer or video may not be at 4K. They might upscale it to 4k. Not the same as native 4k but it would be done with very expensive scalers that are way better than anything built into a TV. Net result would still be the best transfer at the highest resolution you could get.
A movie that was shot in 4k video or above would likely be edited in it's native resolution (might be 8k) and then converted down to 4k for blueray distribution. I guess if the facility that did the work wasn't fully set up to 4k standards they might have to downconvert to process or edit the video and then upconvert again to master it for 4K.
No TV made today (including $30k TVs made for mastering) meet the full spec of HDR10. The spec was designed to allow for future TV tech that would have much higher output than any currently available. Unless you are using the TV like a monitor (sitting real close) you won't see the extra pixels anyway.
Better black levels and proper color are much more important. HDR gives you more colors (wider color space) and greater dynamic range (difference between the blackest black and whitest white). You can see the difference with one eye at any distance.

 

[hello92]

An older film transfer or video may not be at 4K. They might upscale it to 4k. Not the same as native 4k but it would be done with very expensive scalers that are way better than anything built into a TV. Net result would still be the best transfer at the highest resolution you could get.
A movie that was shot in 4k video or above would likely be edited in it's native resolution (might be 8k) and then converted down to 4k for blueray distribution. I guess if the facility that did the work wasn't fully set up to 4k standards they might have to downconvert to process or edit the video and then upconvert again to master it for 4K.
No TV made today (including $30k TVs made for mastering) meet the full spec of HDR10. The spec was designed to allow for future TV tech that would have much higher output than any currently available. Unless you are using the TV like a monitor (sitting real close) you won't see the extra pixels anyway.
Better black levels and proper color are much more important. HDR gives you more colors (wider color space) and greater dynamic range (difference between the blackest black and whitest white). You can see the difference with one eye at any distance.

Thanks for the info. Im just trying to learn when purchasing movies what to look for in a film that will give me the best possible experience. And as for HDR 10 its come to my knowledge that some tvs have different qualitity HDR levels.

 

[Wiz33]

Some of the best reference/Demo UHD disc is from 2K DI upscale. Check out the review for Pacific Rim, it's a 2K DI but almost universally regarded as one of the Best UHD demo disc. Samsung KS8xxx series and up and all current LG OLED all meets HDR 10 spec.