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Lord of the Rings | 4K HDR versus 1080p | What do you think ?

KyoZz

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Hello everyone, I just had a discussion about LOTR 4K/HDR adaptation and I wanted to get your opinion on it: do you prefer the original version or the rework?

Here are some comparaison shots:

1080p:
0K63a2.png


4K with HDR:
0K6m9o.png


1080p:
0K6Hrz.png


4K HDR:
0K67X5.png


Sometimes it's not that different:

1080p:
0K6plC.png


4K HDR:
0K6Kkv.png


1080p:
0K6l4T.png


4K HDR:
0K6sL9.png



I am far from being an expert so if you have some technical details to share, be my guest !
 
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AJUMP23

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
most things I have read say the transfer is great, and that the green tint from the Fellowship on the bluRay has been removed. All of that is great news.

The bad news is my steelbook I had ordered for months is not coming in and I feel like they got scalped instead of the delivery fulfilled.
 
VulcanRaven

VulcanRaven

Member
The color timing is much better. I don't like the green/blue tint they added for the Blu-Ray version of the first movie.
 
Melon Husk

Melon Husk

Member
I'm assuming both are extended editions. Comparison shots make the BD looks like a DVD. The BD caps must be compressed. Here, this one with Gandalf is higher quality.

It's a mixed bag.

  1. The resolution is so high that if Gimli held strands of Galadriel's hair we'd see it now.
  2. The lime filter is gone but the Shire is unsaturated. It should be golden green.
  3. Shadows have been lifted but that could be the nature of HDR to SDR conversion.
edit: Thanks anyway, I've been waiting for someone to do this. I'll reserve final judgement until I compare these to my direct screenshots.
 
Last edited:
KyoZz

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Melon Husk said:
I'm assuming both are extended editions. Comparison shots make the BD looks like a DVD. The BD caps must be compressed. Here, this one with Gandalf is higher quality.

It's a mixed bag.

  1. The resolution is so high that if Gimli held strands of Galadriel's hair we'd see it now.
  2. The lime filter is gone but the Shire is unsaturated. It should be golden green.
  3. Shadows have been lifted but that could be the nature of HDR to SDR conversion.
edit: Thanks anyway, I've been waiting for someone to do this. I'll reserve final judgement until I compare these to my direct screenshots.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with everything you said. And indeed the 1080p file is compressed.
Both files are the extended editions.
 
Melon Husk

Melon Husk

Member
KyoShiRo330 said:
Hello everyone, I just had a discussion about LOTR 4K/HDR adaptation and I wanted to get your opinion on it: do you prefer the original version or the rework?

Here are some comparaison shots:

...

1080p:
0K6l4T.png


4K HDR:
0K6sL9.png



I am far from being an expert so if you have some technical details to share, be my guest !
Click to expand...
Theatrical edition blu-ray, closest thing to to extended edition dvd I found, same shot? This is what it should look like if it is the same shot. They could have reused the same shot but graded it for different time of day, I can't remember.
fotr_08_hd.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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Nikana

Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
A. The lack of HDR on these is a huge thing. The HDR so far in what I have seen on my 4K set is very good.

B. The 4K image looks far more natural and pleasing to me.
 
SirKicksalot

SirKicksalot

Member
FOTR was only 70% digitally graded before release. A complete digital intermediate was done by the time ROTK launched. The colour grading was completed in 2011 and supervised by Andrew Lesnie. Multiple sources checked with Jackson and Lesnie back then and they confirmed this is how they want it to look. The Shire's sky and Caradhras looked strange though.

The new release seems to take it closer to AUJ.
Is there a comparison of the Balrog scenes? I always hated the red tint in TTT.
 
Goro Majima

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
Between the higher fidelity and these movies finally having the right color makes it an easy buy in the future for me.

Gonna wait for like $50-60.
 
Melon Husk

Melon Husk

Member
One more FOTR comparison from capsaholic.

Nice grain you got there...

W095Dg9.jpg


...shame if something happened to it

BnwUWAz.jpg

Oh no, Legolas grew a unibrow

They applied too much DNR on some of the grainiest shots. It's not a disaster but the detail in some shots is besmirched. I checked TTT and ROTK and same applies there.
 
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V1LÆM

V1LÆM

Gold Member
getting rid of that god awful filter on Fellowship makes the 4K set totally worth it even if everything else isn't that great. not saying it isn't. i don't know i don't own it.

i've never actually owned all the movies. i had Fellowship on VHS and Two Towers on DVD. definitely will be buying the 4K boxset but digitally instead of physical. i don't have a 4K blu ray player and don't plan on buying one any time soon.

Trogdor1123 said:
Do the digitals get this upgrade too or do you need to buy more discs?
Click to expand...
i know Apple TV/iTunes has upgraded their collection to 4K now. not sure about others like Google/Amazon.

i'm gonna buy it from Apple. it's £25 for the bundle or £11 per movie. yes that's for the 4K version. physical box set is currently £75.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
MaestroMike

MaestroMike

Gold Member
blly155 said:
getting rid of that god awful filter on Fellowship makes the 4K set totally worth it even if everything else isn't that great. not saying it isn't. i don't know i don't own it.

i've never actually owned all the movies. i had Fellowship on VHS and Two Towers on DVD. definitely will be buying the 4K boxset but digitally instead of physical. i don't have a 4K blu ray player and don't plan on buying one any time soon.


i know Apple TV/iTunes has upgraded their collection to 4K now. not sure about others like Google/Amazon.

i'm gonna buy it from Apple. it's £25 for the bundle or £11 per movie. yes that's for the 4K version. physical box set is currently £75.
Click to expand...

Thought you had a XsX or ps5 they play 4k blu-ray movies
 
John2290

John2290

Member
I can't see it in HDR cause I have screen I can use to view my browser in HDR on my TV and I'd have to assume I'd still not see it in HDR cause the photos you linked would be SDR anyway. I'd have to view the HDR version on my TV playing in real time and have to assume the reason the HDR version looks washed out here is because we are viewing it in SDR and it is balanced to look like the original which is massively over saturated. Can you post photos of the is 4k-SDR version?
 
nkarafo

nkarafo

Member
Damn some of those Blu ray green tint shots are terrible. How did they mess it up so bad? It's not like an obscure horror movie, it's LOTR ffs.
 
Y

YCoCg

Member
nkarafo said:
Damn some of those Blu ray green tint shots are terrible. How did they mess it up so bad? It's not like an obscure horror movie, it's LOTR ffs.
Click to expand...
The Blu-ray era was weird, The Matrix, Star Wars, LotR, etc all had colour filters applied on them as they thought it helped "enhance" the colours and made it pop more.

I'm glad that with 4k we seem to be closer to keeping the colours closer to the source and letting HDR/WGC do that extra work instead to make images pop.
 
Birdo

Birdo

Banned
They got rid of the 1080p Teal and Orange grading. Which is good. It's more like the cinema print.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Wow, other than that first snow pic, I think the difference is actually pretty impressive. I think I'm going to pick up the 4K release, but I hear there's going to be some epic collection next summer with all of the bonus content added back in.
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
Zefah said:
Wow, other than that first snow pic, I think the difference is actually pretty impressive. I think I'm going to pick up the 4K release, but I hear there's going to be some epic collection next summer with all of the bonus content added back in.
Click to expand...

Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits said he heard it’s just these two sets but with one new bonus feature. Not the appendices.
 
HE1NZ

HE1NZ

Banned
Your only posting screenshots from Fellowship of the Ring. It's famous for having fucked up colors on Blu-ray. The Two Towers and Return of the Kings weren't, they looks pretty much the same, slightly sharper perhaps.
 
Last edited:
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
HE1NZ said:
Your only posting screenshots from Fellowship of the Ring. It's famous for having fucked up colors on Blu-ray. The Two Towers and Return of the Kings weren't, they looks pretty much the same, slightly sharper perhaps.
Click to expand...

HDR makes a huge difference in both. The color grade is much better. I watched ROTK last week in 1080p and watching the 4K now and it looks much better.
 
HE1NZ

HE1NZ

Banned
ManaByte said:
HDR makes a huge difference in both. The color grade is much better. I watched ROTK last week in 1080p and watching the 4K now and it looks much better.
Click to expand...
HDR is not color grading. Screenshots from above look better than Blu-ray, but they are SDR too.
 
ManaByte

ManaByte

Gold Member
HE1NZ said:
HDR is not color grading. Screenshots from above look better than Blu-ray, but they are SDR too.
Click to expand...

Compare the Ride of the Rohirrim on BD and 4K. You can read colors on the armor that aren’t as vibrant on the BD. And the sky behind them before the charge is stunning on the 4K.

They also adjusted the Hobbit movies so they look closer to LOTR. Watching the first now.
 
HE1NZ

HE1NZ

Banned
ManaByte said:
Compare the Ride of the Rohirrim on BD and 4K. You can read colors on the armor that aren’t as vibrant on the BD. And the sky behind them before the charge is stunning on the 4K.

They also adjusted the Hobbit movies so they look closer to LOTR. Watching the first now.
Click to expand...
Are there SDR screenshots from TTT and ROTK? Somebody should post them in this thread. I'll probably watch the restoration, though I only have SDR.
 
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