MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > 4K, Blu Ray, DVD, VHS, Beta...

4K, Blu Ray, DVD, VHS, Beta...

posted 7 years ago by PeteRose (2893)
27 replies | jump to latest

My friend got a 4K player, and several 4K discs, and while playing our board game Empire Builder (Eurorails) I asked if we could crack open T2 Judgment Day and see how it looked in 4K. He has a 4K TV, and it sure did look great, but I am not convinced I could perceive any improvement above and beyond Blu Ray quality.

When DVDs came out, it was like night and day compared with the tapes we had all become accustomed to. I was a bit stubborn when Blu Ray came around, but eventually I did accept that the quality was a vast improvement. With this newest change, I'm having a hard time seeing any justification for its existance. What do you think? Is 4K worth it? Can you tell the difference?

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

You know what,Pete..that actually made me laugh.

I'm sorry,don't meant to offend you,but i have a full HD tv screen and the quality of the image and sound is the same with 4k screens.

Maybe in time i will buy myself an 5+1 system,ah well

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

I misread that, still not sure what's funny about it.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

For god sake, i can make my own fulld HD screen to appear like a 4k screen only adjusting the image settings

There's no need to spend too many money for a 4k tv

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Calm down, I didn't spend anything. What settings are you adjusting? I have a 1080p TV, and my PC outputs 1080. If there are settings I can adjust to achieve 4K resolution, please tell me. This is the kind if info we should all know.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

1920x1080 is full HD,but the trick is change your image settings from your own tv,simple

I've watched so many comparisons between them on youtube and came to the conclusion that you can achieve the same results with a full HD screen.

And i am calm,btw

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

I'm watching ThioJoe on YouTube right now. I'll get back to you. The point of this thread is not really about whether we can get 4K with our full HD screens, but whether our human eyes can even tell the difference between those resolutions.

[–] lordbishop34 (1442) 7 years ago

I think we can distinguish a certain level of sharpness to the image, but it all depends on what you are looking at. The smaller the screen the more debatable the image quality gains become. For instance don't pay extra for a 4K phone screen.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

If the source images are only 1080p, that is a set number of pixels, so even with adjustment of screen settings, I have a hard time understanding how you'd really achieve 4K resolution. I believe that that screen would tell you that, but if the source images are a given size, and that size is not 4K, I don't really believe it.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

Pete,i really don't know what to tell you further

If you are seeking for the gaming or movie/tv shows,to watch..

I'll tell you this : as lordship told,the HDMI inpunts you should look for

Man,my own screen gives me such great image and sound quality..

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution#/media/File%3ADigital_video_resolutions_(VCD_to_4K).svg

It is obviously a larger image, so it can't be the same, but I'm just wondering if our eyes can appreciate the improvement in resolution. Mine couldn't seem to.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

It's bullshit,Pete.

Mine is 81 cm wide,full HD and trust me,i.can make the image to appear as a 4k only changing the settings

[–] TexasJack (12516) 7 years ago

"Changing settings" sounds like you are talking about upscaling, in which case you have to consider the source material and the quality of the components that are performing that upscaling. At the end of the day, I think you would really have to do a direct A/B test to make a determination.

In my experience, there is definitely an incremental improvement when moving up through each resolution, but the question is: how noticeable is that improvement? If you jump from DVD to 4k, I think that difference is quite noticeable. Between 1080 (Blu-Ray) and 4k, not so much.

There is no question but that images captured with a 4k camera will present with the greatest possible degree of clarity with a 4k source and and a 4k screen.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Yeah I just researched this whole settings deal, and it is possible with many 1080 screens. You essentially unlock the TV's ability to use more memory, from a thumb drive, then the pixels that are normally duplicated (1 for 4) are usable. However, unless the source material you are watching is 4K, this is a pointless venture. The 1080p blu ray that I watch will be stretched 4 times, undoing the tweaking that I just did. This hack seems like a solid plan, if I had a 4K player and some discs, or if my graphics on my PC could output that resolution, I'm just not sure they can.

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

So you are on PC?

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Yeah I told you about it on the recent purchases thread

[–] croft_alice (12180) 7 years ago

Yeah,you did

Sorry,i was distracted by something else...ok..what video board do you have?

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Right now I just have AMD integrated graphics output HDMI through my Asrock motherboard. 1080 might be the best I can do with this setup. So far the integrated graphics hasn't been limiting, as I don't game a whole lot, and when I do It's usually games I like that are a couple years old at least. I may add a video card, potentially with 4K in mind.

[–] lordbishop34 (1442) 7 years ago

From what I am reading you are still not getting a 4K image you are still limited what the screen is capable of displaying. It has the effect of improving the image but it is not as good as native 4K displays and content.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Yeah it's tricky business. So far 1080p has been absolutely satisfactory so I don't think I'll be upgrading anytime soon.

[–] lordbishop34 (1442) 7 years ago

Yeah I don't disagree with this. When I do upgrade my TV it will be 4K but I am not rushing out to grab a 4K right now and the 1080p screen on my laptop is good enough I had a choice to get a 4K screen but the up charge wasn't worth it.

[–] lordbishop34 (1442) 7 years ago

With the proper source material the image quality IS better. Particularly noticeable if you go closer to the screen. Obviously the difference will be mostly seen as the screen gets bigger. The image for 4K does not need to be stretched as much as 1080. So a 60in TV with 4K with good source material will look better than a high quality 1080P.

If you are in the market for a TV you buy a 4K, there is little reason not too. They are cheaper now and the majority of what you will find in many stores. The one thing I will say is when buying one is future proofing. Pay attention to things like HDMI standards and whether it has HDR, but beyond those just pick what looks best.

[–] TexasJack (12516) 7 years ago

This discussion reminds of the time, way back when, that I ripped my CD's to a format that was playable on the iPod.

I found a distinct difference between the source CD and the 128k format that was the most popular digital audio file format at the time. At 192k, there was some difference, but not much. At 256k, I found myself listening to the decay of individual cymbal hits and trying like hell to discern a difference. At that point, I realized: If I had to put forth that much effort to identify a difference, my work was done and I ripped everything at 256.

Of course, digital storage has since become so inexpensive that this exercise would be a huge waste of time today.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Yeah when storage became so cheap I just decided to have all music at 320k or lossless.

[–] rooprect (202) 7 years ago

Shortly after 4K hit the market there was a great article that pointed out the obvious (even though most of us overlook it)...

It all depends on how close you are to the screen.

Here's an extreme example: if you stick your face right up to the screen, say 6" away, you'll definitely see the difference between 4K & 1080p. This is how stores sell you on the idea, because shoppers walk right up to the screen and immediately see the difference.

But in the average home, we sit 8-10 feet away where (the article claims) the human eye can't tell the difference. After all we're talking about a fraction of a millimeter pixel difference at 8-10 feet away.

Making matters worse, studies show the larger our screens, the further away we sit. So you have people watching 70" 4K screens at sometimes 16-20 feet away where you *definitely* can't see the difference.

The bottom line, if you really want to see the difference between 4K & 1080p, you have to sit 5' or less from the screen. If that describes you then go for it. But if you're like me and you watch movies in bed 8-10' away, save your money or shop for larger screen size & better contrast ratios where the difference can be appreciated at normal viewing distance.

[–] PeteRose (2893) 7 years ago

Thanks, that's what I suspected. In reality I do sit sort of close, only because my apartment is miniscule, but I still don't think it would make all that much difference, enough to make me change up.

[–] Gd5150 (11961) 7 years ago

The resolutions are getting so fine that in order to really see a difference you need bigger and bigger screens. With 4K it won’t make a noticeable difference until your screen size surpasses 80”.

If you had a 20’ movie theatre screen sure you’d see a difference with 4K. Especially when watching YouTube time lapse videos of cityscapes at night shot with 8k and 12k cameras.

With regular movies on regular size TV screens 4K is overkill.