Due to a recently increased upload speed, I can now stream to some of my users 4K content from my Plex server. However, I do not have infinite hard drive space, so I would, at least initially, prefer to limit my 4K collection to films and TV show shows that actually benefit from it.
Personally, and with several of my friends, we’ve come to the agreement that 4K video has about as much advantage as 720 versus 1080. It’s not that big of a leap, and often not entirely worth the upgrade (when accounting for the hard drive space consideration, the added darkness, etc). However, with some films and TV shows, it really does make a huge difference.
With that in mind, what films and TV shows would you recommend that definitely benefit from 4K viewing?
If you’re streaming, the difference between 4k and 1080p is almost not noticeable. You need to have an actual 4k TV (no upscaling) and either
- buy the Blurays with 4k
- 4k files (not transcoded at all)
To see the real difference. IMO 1080p at full bitrate (bluray quality) is enough for the vast majority of audiences.
Nature Documentaries. IMAX releases.
It probably comes down to how the show was originally shot and/or upscaled. IMO it also comes down to your vision, screen size, and viewing distance.
I remember the early 00s having a high prevalence of, “raa, your eyes can’t tell the difference between 720 and 1080 at 10+ feet unless you have a bolliondy inch display!!!”. I would argue that you can see say 1080 vs 4k on a 50ish inch screen at 10 feet, but the difference isn’t that significant. At least with my vision. It’s the most obvious with high contrast items, like black text on white background.
Newer movie/show shot with sharp modern glass on a high resolution media? 4k. Older upscaled show? I would lean 1080, unless it was shot on film and they rescanned it.
It will also really matter how the video was compressed. I’ve seen low resolution videos look much better than higher resolution videos thanks to the codec and/or settings that were used for the higher resolution video.
It probably comes down to how the show was originally shot and/or upscaled.
Do you have any that you would recommend?
Tentpole blockbusters like Avatar or Oppenheimer are gonna be your best bets. Look for films that were filmed on iMax to get that maximum pop.
No, sorry :( I am just a camera hobbyist, but don’t consume much traditional media.
OK, thanks. 👍
In general - things that are colourful and/or have special effects.
Blue Planet, Top Gun Maverick, Fast and Furious saga (not the first few, 4k made no difference there) come to mind first atm.
Things that have acting and script itself as the main selling point generally are perfectly fine in 1080p. The Office and Slow Horses would be a good example of that, I suppose.
Personally, I get everything I want my son to watch in the highest quality I can - Shawshank Redemptiom and Shutter Island are the latest additions to my library that, I think, would absolutely fine in 1080p, but… 4K HDR it is :D
Man, Top Gun Maverick in 4k is so good you can see Tom Cruise from the closet.
Lawrence of Arabia
Optimal viewing experience of Lawrence in Arabia was in real life
I found that movie to be just a bit disappointing. But it did look good.
Yeah definitely outdated and flat racist at parts (especially when you learn how little of it actually happened), but it’s an incredible looking film especially when you realize the time it was made.
Greyhound was great (AV wise) in 4k 7.1, might be a good one if you like war movies. Other than that the movie is bleh to be honest. I only put it on to show off my setup…
Yeah, I’m not really looking for shows that show off the 4K. I’ve had 4K TVs before. I’m just trying to be a bit discriminating regarding what I spend hard drive space on. I don’t wanna get a huge video file in 4K if the 4K experience isn’t worth it. You know what I mean?
