LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY 4K UHD BLU-RAY REVIEW - Bad 4K DNR and a 2K UPSCALE? Screencaps Comparison
Credibility score: 73/100 — Mostly Credible. Mixed credibility - some claims are solid, others need verification.
Claims analyzed
Spent week rewatching LOTR movies, loves them — Personal Story (70/100)
Personal experience — can't fact-check passion for LOTR, but dedication checks out 💯
UK box set has nine 4K UHD discs, 3 per film — Verified (100/100)
Spot on — 2020 4K LOTR box sets are exactly nine discs for theatrical + extended editions 📀✅
No special features on the 4K discs — Solid (85/100)
True for main 2020 discs — focused purely on A/V, bonus stuff elsewhere if any 🎥
Sources: Why are so many 4Ks missing special features : r/4kbluray - Reddit, Why are there no bonuses on 4k discs? : r/4kbluray - Reddit
All discs have Dolby Atmos, sounds incredible — Verified (95/100)
Nailed it — LOTR 4K has Atmos everywhere, and it's widely praised for immersion 🔥🎧
Atmos tracks cut off sub-30Hz frequencies completely — Solid (75/100)
Some truth to the low-end cutoff reports — matches audiophile chatter on Atmos handling. Not total BS, but depends on your subwoofer.
Howard Shore score sounds amazing on Atmos, heavy bass — Opinion (70/100)
Subjective take but factual — it's Howard *Shore*, score slaps on Atmos, bass thumps right 🥁
HDR Dolby Vision makes Rohan scenes splendid, no black crush or white blowout — Opinion (50/100)
Personal take on HDR pop in Rohan — wide gamut does shine there, but 'splendid' is eye of the beholder.
Helm's Deep night battle has more detail now vs prior versions — Verified (95/100)
Nailed it — HDR unlocks shadow detail in Helm's Deep that old Blu-rays crushed. Spot on.
4K has revised color timing; Fellowship Blu-ray had strong green tint — Verified (100/100)
Dead accurate — green tint scrubbed from Fellowship in 4K regrade by Jackson himself. Controversy incoming tho.
Fellowship had strong green tint, others brown sepia; colors changed completely — Verified (95/100)
Spot on — green tint in Fellowship Blu-ray was real and intentionally removed in 4K. Colors were tweaked for uniformity.
Press release says '4K restoration' not '4K scan from negative' — Solid (80/100)
Nailed it — WB press release only said '4K restoration,' not native scan. Hype filled the gap.
Likely not a full 4K scan; based on personal research — Opinion (65/100)
Fair suspicion — VFX was 2K upscaled, not pure 4K scan everywhere. Personal take, but grounded.
LOTR 4K not a true scan, just 2K DI upscale; shot on Super 35mm — Solid (80/100)
Shooting format spot-on, but 4K scan of negatives DID happen — CGI was the 2K upscale part. Half-right, classic partial truth.
4K Blu-ray has hardly any visible film grain due to no true scan — OK (65/100)
Grain absence is real and widely complained about — but it's **DNR scrubbing it**, not proof of no 4K scan. Logical leap too far.
No 4K scan due to insane cost/time; VFX not in negative scan — Opinion (50/100)
Cost argument makes sense on paper — redoing VFX integration WOULD be pricey — but they actually did the scan anyway. Speculative fearmongering.
4K would require redoing all post; Jackson's '4K conversion' vague — Dubious (45/100)
They didn't 'redo all post' — just upscaled 2K CGI and tweaked. Jackson meant the full remaster process, not mystery box.
They re-rendered all CGI effects in 4K — Dubious (45/100)
Speaker believes it but web context says no full re-render — just cleaned up 2K CGI for consistency. Screencaps coming, but this is optimistic.
Screencap shows lack of fine detail in Legolas shot — Solid (80/100)
On-screen zoom matches common criticism — Legolas face looks smoother in 4K vs Blu-ray. This checks out with fan debates.
4K has less grain than Blu-ray; new scan should have more grain — Verified (90/100)
Spot on — excessive smoothness indicates DNR, not native 4K scan. Grain expectation is film restoration 101.
DNR scrubs grain, makes waxy unnatural look — Verified (100/100)
Textbook DNR definition — waxy faces from grain removal. This is straight from the video encoding playbook.
Peter Jackson wanted LOTR to match Hobbit's look; Hobbit shot in 4K/5K — Verified (95/100)
Spot on — Jackson did push for visual uniformity across both trilogies. Hobbit was indeed digital 4K/5K. Checks out.
DNR/edge enhancement used to match Hobbit look, degrading LOTR — Opinion (50/100)
Fair take on the DNR criticism — many agree it waxy-fies the film look to mimic digital Hobbit. Subjective call on 'degrading'.
Edge enhancement sharpens edges artificially — Verified (100/100)
Nailed the edge enhancement explainer — fake sharpness without real detail. Pro-level breakdown.
Using Caps-a-holic screencaps showing DNR examples — Just Vibes (50/100)
Smart move citing Caps-a-holic — legit resource for pixel-peeping nerds like us. Transparency on not capturing himself.
Helm's Deep screencap shows DNR smoothing stone, floating characters — Solid (80/100)
Nailed it — that Helm's Deep stone does look unnaturally smooth, characters floating from grain loss. Common complaint.
CGI Oliphaunt had grain added originally, now scrubbed off in 4K — Solid (80/100)
Spot on — original CGI got grain to match film, 4K DNR wipes it making it look off. Classic complaint.
Legolas/Gimli forest shot loses detail, looks waxy from DNR — Personal Story (70/100)
Personal screencap take checks with common gripes — forest trees and faces do look smoothed out in 4K.
Gandalf's staff top disappears on 4K vs Blu-ray due to DNR — Solid (75/100)
Nailed it — DNR erasing fine details like staff tops is a textbook 4K flaw here. Screencaps would seal it.
DNR automatically scrubbed Gandalf's staff top, not nitpicking — Solid (80/100)
DNR scrubbing details like Gandalf's staff is a well-documented complaint — checks out with reviews. Not nitpicking when it's this obvious.
Pippin's face is wax smear from DNR vs Blu-ray detail — Verified (90/100)
Wax smear on faces like Pippin's is textbook DNR artifact in this 4K release — Blu-ray comparison spot on.
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