FAQ Regarding 4K & HDR

thewoe

#RestoreTheSnyderVerse
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Dec 10, 2012
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United Kingdom
Hey guys, i noticed on alot of fourms people getting confused and lost regarding 4K, HDR etc so i thought id create a quick and simple FAQ in the simplest terms to help people out as all the terms that get thrown around can be a tad confusing.

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What does HDR Stand for?: High Dynamic Range

What is HDR?: An image's dynamic range is the contrast between its brightest whites and darkest blacks, and HDR images boast a much greater and more life like constrast and detail than regular images.

Example of HDR:
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Check out this video from Techmoan for deeper info on 4K and HDR:



Do i need new HDMI leads to view 4K and HDR? No, as long as your current cables are high speed cables you do not need to run out and buy new £100 leads. There is also no difference between a £5 lead and a £100 lead, they both do exactly the same job as long as they state high speed which 99% of them do nowadays, don't be fooled by people telling you otherwise.

How can i watch HDR 4K Content?: In order to watch 4K HDR content (i.e UHD Bluray) you must have a TV which is HDR enabled with HDMI 2.0a, most if not all 2016 tv's will come with HDR natively with some various 2015 models having it patched in via a software update. For Non HDR 4K Bluray content you will need HDMI 2.0 at least which most if not all 2015+ Tv's came with as standard.

Can i watch 4K bluray on a non HDR tv?: Yes you can, Your UHD player will detect that your TV is not HDR compatible and will down convert the HDR Meta data to a SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) signal instead of a HDR (High Dynamic Range) signal, you will still have all the benefits of 4K UHD Bluray just minus the added definition of HDR.

Can i watch UHD Bluray on my current 4K Upscaler bluray player?: No you cant, i see alot of people on amazon giving UHD blurays 1 stars because it wont play on their 4K upscale bluray player, those players were designed just to bridge the gap between 1080p and 4K as there was no content available in 4K in 2013, 2014, The only thing those type's of players do is upscale your current Bluray discs to 4K nothing else, Most 4K tv's from 2014 onwards do this already. The UHD bluray players that are available right now are the Samsung UBD-K8500 and the Panasonic DMP-UB900EBK, Xbox One S and other brands are planning to release their players in 2017.

Can i/Will i be able to watch UHD Bluray using my PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 or Xbox One Launch model?: Same as above No you cant unfortunately and will not be able to with the current hardware as these require the actual UHD optical drive and will not be able to be patched in later (even though some people say its possible, its not), But the new revised Xbox One S does have UHD HDR Bluray support and soon will support Dolby Atmos audio also.

Will 3D be available in 4K?: Although possible, 4K 3D is not apart of the offical UHD Bluray standard so at this point in time nothing will be released in 4K 3D, the closest you will get is your 3D 1080p Blurays upscaled to 4K automatically when viewing on your tv.

Will my new UHD Bluray player be able to play normal Bluray, 3D and DVD discs?: This is completley dependant on the manufacturer, the Panasonic DMP-UB900EBK does play Them as does the Samsung UBD-K8500 and i should imagine most future players will too, the good thing is before purchasing it will state if it does or not on most sites.

Is UHD Bluray the only way i can watch 4K and 4K HDR Content?: Amazon Prime currently support some shows in HDR and 4K, Netflix support 4K also for some shows with HDR & possibly Dolby Vision to possibly follow later.

What requirements does my TV and sound system need to play UHD 4K HDR Bluray?: Your TV and your sound system needs to be HDCP 2.2 compliant, if its not you will not be able to play UHD bluray in 4K resolution it will only be downscaled to standard 1080p. If your sound system/Sound bar is purely run through optical and not HDMI ARC you will be fine. In order to play HDR UHD bluray you will need HDMI 2.0a with any HDMI High speed cable.

What is HDCP 2.2 and what does it do?: HDCP 2.2 is a technology designed to prevent illegal copying of 4K Ultra HD content. Every link in your video chain must support HDCP 2.2 — your TV, video source, and any component the video signal passes through. If one does not, you won't see a 4K picture. HDMI 2.0 is also required for TVs and components to be able to pass 4K video. But you can't assume that every device that has HDMI 2.0 will also support HDCP 2.2.

What is Dolby Vision?: (Taken from a CES Document from Dolby)
Dolby Vision mastered content and technology in the TV enables each pixel to take advantage of HDR and wide colour gamut content, making every pixel better. It adds new perspective, brighter highights, wider contrast and shading and overall vibrancy to the screen.
It will compliment all resolutions, including HD, 4K, 8K and beyond.
Display mapping technologies in the TV take advantage of the TV's hardware capabilities so consumers get the best possible image.
Again, you'll need a Dolby Vision-compatible display to take advantage of this new tech. So far Philips, Hisense, Toshiba and TCL have said they will produce Dolby Vision TVs, with streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and VUDU hoping to distribute Dolby Vision movies and TV shows once they are available. More on Dolby Vision later.

I Hope this thread helps anyone who is confused, if you have any other questions let me know and ill answer them if i can and ill add them to this post to help out others.
 
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Thanks for putting this together.

I've started looking into 4K and found some of it confusing so this helps!
 
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The only tv's that support Dolby vision at the moment are certain LG tv's, no UHD Bluray is mastered in Dolby vision yet either so its premature to address Dolby vision at this time.
Do you think Dolby vision will stick around? I don't really know much about it, except that you need some hardware changes for it...
 
Do you think Dolby vision will stick around? I don't really know much about it, except that you need some hardware changes for it...
I'm guessing Dolby Vision and HDR 10 will both stick around. I believe that all Ultra HD Blu-Ray's have to be HDR 10 compatible so even if a Ultra HD release has Dolby vision it will stick work with non Dolby Vision TV's. As thewoe said there aren't very many Dolby Vision TVs out there, most of the 4K TV's available now and last year didn't even have HDR. If I'm not mistaken the big advantage of DV is that it converts HDR to SDR correctly so even if your TV isn't HDR capable It will show a more accurate picture. That and the brightness Is higher. I believe it maxes out at 4,000 nits which is much higher than is really needed, is that correct @thewoe.
 
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I'm guessing Dolby Vision and HDR 10 will both stick around. I believe that all Ultra HD Blu-Ray's have to be HDR 10 compatible so even if a Ultra HD release has Dolby vision it will stick work with non Dolby Vision TV's. As thewoe said there aren't very many Dolby Vision TVs out there, most of the 4K TV's available now and last year didn't even have HDR. If I'm not mistaken the big advantage of DV is that it converts HDR to SDR correctly so even if your TV isn't HDR capable It will show a more accurate picture. That and the brightness Is higher. I believe it maxes out at 4,000 nits which is much higher than is really needed, is that correct @thewoe.

Correct :)

Do you think Dolby vision will stick around? I don't really know much about it, except that you need some hardware changes for it...

I personaly think Dolby Vision will be the furutre of TV. Its just still Early days.
 
Also people don't know HDR is capable of being put in normal blu-rays. They are keeping ti a 4k exclusive at the moment but blu-ray playback can be enhanced by the same technology. It won't give you any sharper pictures but it will give you that extra range of colour and contrast.
 
I'm guessing Dolby Vision and HDR 10 will both stick around. I believe that all Ultra HD Blu-Ray's have to be HDR 10 compatible so even if a Ultra HD release has Dolby vision it will stick work with non Dolby Vision TV's. As thewoe said there aren't very many Dolby Vision TVs out there, most of the 4K TV's available now and last year didn't even have HDR. If I'm not mistaken the big advantage of DV is that it converts HDR to SDR correctly so even if your TV isn't HDR capable It will show a more accurate picture. That and the brightness Is higher. I believe it maxes out at 4,000 nits which is much higher than is really needed, is that correct @thewoe.
True, but the reverse is not true right? So if one day companies decide just stick to HDR 10 then DVision will be obsolete. I don't know how much extra work is required to make a movie compatible with DVision, but if it is a lot of work and money then I can see some companies not wanting to support it.

I personaly think Dolby Vision will be the furutre of TV. Its just still Early days.
Yes, I guess it is still too early. But I see some major upcoming blockbusters are supporting it; ie - captain america, x-men, independence day, star trek, wonder woman, etc. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out.
I'm actually hoping to skip 4K completely and go straight to 8K since movies are being filmed in 8K already. We shall see if DVision is still here by that time. :p

Also people don't know HDR is capable of being put in normal blu-rays. They are keeping ti a 4k exclusive at the moment but blu-ray playback can be enhanced by the same technology. It won't give you any sharper pictures but it will give you that extra range of colour and contrast.
Really? But I suppose no company will do that since I'm sure they wanna shove 4K down our throats. For monetary reasons and to advance technology.
 
True, but the reverse is not true right? So if one day companies decide just stick to HDR 10 then DVision will be obsolete. I don't know how much extra work is required to make a movie compatible with DVision, but if it is a lot of work and money then I can see some companies not wanting to support it.


Yes, I guess it is still too early. But I see some major upcoming blockbusters are supporting it; ie - captain america, x-men, independence day, star trek, wonder woman, etc. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out.
I'm actually hoping to skip 4K completely and go straight to 8K since movies are being filmed in 8K already. We shall see if DVision is still here by that time. :p


Really? But I suppose no company will do that since I'm sure they wanna shove 4K down our throats. For monetary reasons and to advance technology.
That is true, it seems that HDR 10 a the standard at the moment so if DV wasn't successful then it would become obsolete. I'm not sure how much extra work is involved, it depends how quick the compatible players and TV's are releases. I don't know how DV is compared to HDR 10, it's supposed to be better but no one really knows exactly how much it is.
Yes HDR can be used on anything, I'm pretty sure they will keep it for 4K though as its another selling point. Whilst not everyone will get the benefit of the extra resolution they will see the HDR. I know Netflix is thinking about streaming 1080P shows in HDR in the future though.
 
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