DVD vs. Blu-Ray vs. 4K Blu-Ray Discs. Are there any differences? Is it worth it?

[@micker9830]

The resolution is better with 4k vs regular blu ray, but the biggest reason to own the UHD 4k disc, is the HDR. The color improvement and lighting improvements, with the specular highlights etc, are what sets it apart, along with the enhanced resolution that you get.

[@shashankmlrj]

I recently downloaded a 4k copy of No way home and while watching it I noticed so many details like how his instant kill metal arms are actually gold plated. It was cool to notice that. And my monitor is just full Hd. I can’t imagine what it can be on a 55 or 65 inch 4k tv. And this is just a copy on the net. The quality a 4k disc can hold I can’t even imagine

[@LILGHETTI]

I feel like certain movies like Blade Runner, Alien, Saving Private Ryan it feels like you're watching a real 35mm print with HDR or Dolby vision which I love and Dolby atmos is just impressive as well

[@IncognitoChild]

Viewing distance and screen size is key to determine whether you should have Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray. If you're watching a 55-in screen from more than 3 m away you'll be hard pushed to tell the difference between 4K and 2K Blu-ray. However if you have a large format screen 75 in and your sit less than 3 m away you will definitely notice the difference. Then there's Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to consider as well🤔

[@PrezidentHughes]

My 4K Panasonic TV has a really good HDR Remaster feature as well as great upscaling and other enhancements, so regular blu-rays looks great, and are a third the price of 4K discs. So I will be sticking to that setup for the time being. It's interesting what the usual trends trick you into purchasing when if you think about it a little and are slightly savvy you could definitely do without the latest of everything.

[@CanadianBacon6ix]

A 100 inch+ with a 1080p projector with regular blurays still look amazing.

[@Supersayainpikmin]

Blu-Ray is definetly the best bang for your buck. It's hardly anymore expensive than DVD's and the 4k equipment can get pretty pricey.

[@DrakonR]

I have a 50" 4k QLED TV, a 48" LG C1 OLED, and an 85" Sony X95K miniLED. On my smaller screens, it's very difficult (if at all) to notice the difference between 1080p blu ray and 4k. My 85" makes it much easier to notice the fine details, especially in faces and backgrounds. The one selling feature for UHD discs is the atmos / 7.1 audio tracks. Blu ray is typically great and you can't go wrong especially at that price. UHD discs should be purchased for favorites and if you have an atmos system at home. Even then, you have to be careful buying the UHD discs, some are not worth the upgrade due to poor transfers. I also only really suggest UHD discs if they come with good blu ray versions as well in order to justify the upgrade cost. For the vast majority of people, blu ray is excellent. Only enthusiasts should consider UHD due to the extra homework that is required. On a side note, for those of us who like to rip a digital version, UHD is considerably larger than blu ray and you need A LOT of HDD space to accommodate UHD.

[@DannyBoy9685]

Great video, very informative! Regardless of the medium, I really hope physical media sticks around for a long time

[@eugeneflynn7435]

Learned a lot. Thanks very much. New sub.

[@gina4008]

Good suggestions! Not all 4K's are equal though. I have the blu Ray of the movie "Oblivion" with Tom Cruise which was originally produced in DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround. Because I LOVE this movie, I recently purchased the Ultra 4K Atmos version. The 4K version is awful. The 4K video looks like a DVD and the audio sounds muffled. I typically don't experience this problem with other 4K upgraded movies. I read that movies produced before 2011-2013 are usually hard to re-format into 4K, but this was released well after those dates, so no excuses for this bad quality.. I totally agree with you that you should have the right TV and sound equipment to enjoy 4K and bluray, otherwise you won't get that immersive experience.

[@sbccave4015]

There are blu rays with atmos tracks on them...

[@bartonlynch]

From DVD to Blu-ray? YES!!! 1000% huge difference. From BD to UHD-BD (4K)? No, save for only natively captured movies in digital 4K from the past decade. Anything captured from 35mm film does not benefit any improvement beyond BD, even and especially with all the digital scrubbing, artificial enhancing and upscaling for UHD.

[@MrAlexgaara]

35 mm film has a digital resolution equivalent to approximately 5.6K so these films would benefit the most from the 4k transfer.

[@agpablo2885]

I beg to humbly disagree with that statement. I have a lot of movies in all three formats (over 2500), and in my opinion, it's NOT the newer movies shot with digital cameras that look best in 4K UHD. That honor, by far, goes to properly-restored classics such as Vertigo (1958), My Fair Lady (1964), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Elephant Man (1980), The Wizard of Oz (1939), The Shining (1980), Guess Who is Coming to Dinner (1967), Spartacus (1960), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) etc. In my opinion, all of these movies in their restored glory and in 4K look WAY better than any newer movie, including recent hits like Oppenheimer and Top Gun Maverick. The colors and and the 3D-like vibrancy in 4K that only celluloid can deliver pop out of the screen in a way that newer movies shot with a digital camera can't even approach. As @MrAlexgaara just mentioned, the resolution of celluloid is actually HIGHER than 4K.

[@hanswildorf5124]

Anyone who’s done any work with 35mm film photography knows how insanely detailed a well exposed shot can be. Films with big budgets back in the day had entire teams and roles assigned to lighting and exposure. The best and sharpest lenses. Jaws is a perfect showcase of this - the detail they extracted from the rescan is just incredible

[@atharvaparihar951]

DVD Was Good For SD CRT Tvs(Specialy in big Flat screen CRTs 27-32inch with 576×768p which is exactly the resolution DVDs. DVD looks good in CRT Tvs not in HD LCDs and plasma

[@cloudtx]

Very informative video, thank you! I've been collecting 4ks mainly for the upgraded resolution and the HDR colors, those look really good in my TV. But there are a couple of movies here and there where the difference between 4k and Blu-ray isn't that big. The best thing you can do is look for reviews for every movie you wanna buy.

[@Justadrie44]

I can make the the colors on a 1080p HD Tv look similar to the HDR 4K just with resolution brightness and saturation

[@kromerhesse]

…great vid!!! Thanks for the information

[@HomeCinemaEnthusiast]

There are a lot of Blu Ray transfers that are bad and definitely need a 4k transfer 👍👍👍👍

[@iknowwhatyoudidlastsummer4k]

I watch movies in vivid mode HDR there's is big differences between 4k and regular blu-ray ...4k is the way to go and makes old movies look brand new.

[@agpablo2885]

I almost agree with your assessment of old classics looking brand new in 4K. I would go one step further and say that they often look BETTER than brand new if they have been properly restored. But, as we all probably know, not all 4K movies are created equal, and the same goes for regular blu rays. I have plenty of DVDs even (especially from the Criterion Collection) that look superior to many blu rays. A lot of it has to do with transfer and resoration quality.

[@savagemathorror4671]

Blu-ray is definitely my go to format. I own almost a thousand films and less then 50 are 4K… to me 4K is overkill most of the times, revealing too much. There’s a few rare exceptions where 4K absolutely blew my mind like the latest release of ‘Apocalypse Now: Final Cut’ but generally speaking I’m going with the Blu-ray release.

[@Supersayainpikmin]

One benefit of 4k which isn't really due to the format itself, but some movies got fairly poor Blu-Ray releases that thankfully got a sort of "second chance" on 4k. The Green Mile got a pretty bad (IMO) Blu-Ray release, but the 4k is excellent. That said, the reverse is also true, like the 4k release of Iron Man being way worse than the Blu-Ray version.

[@994pt4]

no dvd for me blu ray OK for most 4K for favorites

[@agpablo2885]

I still have a large number (1800+) of DVDs, which I'm gradually replacing with blurays and 4K. I agree with you, bluray is good enough for a lot of movies, but 4K is a must for the best of the best movies, especially well-restored classics.

[@kingeatking]

You don't need a 100 inch tv to get the best out of 4K!!!

[@educatetube]

It depends on how far you are from the screen. If you are sitting close to the screen, the 50-70 inch screen is perfect. In that case you just need a 1080p tv or projector. Why bother getting 4k blu ray except for the hdr and super quality sound? Again, it depends on how you set up your home theatre. For 4k blu ray discs, you need a large 4k tv or projector to appreciate the movie image quality vs 1080p display.

[@agpablo2885]

@@educatetube But HDR is a total game-changer in terms of picture quality for many movies, especially well-restored classics in color. Because of this, I think 4K is justified in many cases regardless of how far you sit from the screen. I have a 65" OLED TV, and I sit about 8-10 ft from the screen. I have been very pleasantly surprised by the results when I've upgraded many blurays to 4K (e.g. Spartacus, which looked great in bluray but jaw-droppingly gorgeous in 4K with HDR).

[@hairyrope1912]

I am now educated

[@daptekar]

What an annoying concept! I’ll stick to regular Blu-ray!

[@williamk7517]

I have to say the blu rays of charmed are terrible!!!!! The original dvds and res on my phone that's new looks better!!!!! Had the blu ray of season 2.....just no it was overly clear and not as good as the original dvds and I have season 7 the original and my new phone brings out the quality really well and crisp and clear!!!!! I also have the 1080 of valentine 2001 and I had the dvd one!!!!....the dvd one of valentine was def better quality!!!!! The blu rays nice bit i felt like I'm watching the dvd version!!!!!! Alotta blu rays just look too fake its like a homemade movie!!!!! And some effects look terrible!!!!....now the grudge 2 which I have in high def is pretty good still tho the dvds looked way better you can play them on the right screen and they look way better then blu ray!!!! I have blu rays but they're not all that great!!!!!!!!! Have alotta dvds that aren't on blu ray angel the series i do and it's perfect in dvd format!!!!!! Not all blu rays are good charmeds blu rays suck the originals are alot better!!!!!

[@Scifi4life]

4k is a scam.

[@educatetube]

Yes, it's hard to tell between 1080p and 4k resolution, unless you can project at least 120" on a projector screen and sitting between 8-12 feet away. Most people don't care as it is the content and sound of the movie that is the most important.