2020-12-21, 02:19 AM
Was talking about this with @LucasGodzilla recently. Interested to hear your thoughts as well.
Firstly, to set the mood, let me present this: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=468...&i=16&go=1
This hideous monstrosity is luckily not representative of the general look of the 4K, but it is generally not very impressive in terms of image quality in my opinion. Just click on any other frame in that comparison.
Criterion 1: Sharpness / Image Quality
Some seem to be a very slight improvement in improvement at best, or about the same at worst:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=525...0&i=5&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=438...0&i=3&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=650...0&i=9&go=1
Others (I presume VFX shots) seem to look pretty much exactly the same:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=314...0&i=6&go=1
In others you can painfully see the DNR and EE (?) or whatever processing that was applied, and the UHD ends up looking markedly worse than the Blu Ray:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=662...&i=13&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=503...0&i=7&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=215...&i=14&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=489...0&i=2&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=449...0&i=8&go=1
Interestingly, despite the DNR, a bit of grain seems visible. And weirdly, it doesn't seem as sharp as you'd expect from an actual 4K OCN Scan. I honestly have my doubts that this was an actual rescan, but I could be wrong.
Criterion 2: HDR
I watched a part on my HDR-capable display via madVR passthrough via MPC-HC. The display correctly switched to HDR mode.
Now, some parts really do seem to profit from the HDR. But others ... I don't have pictures to demonstrate this, but for example in the intro sequence with the battle between the alliance against Sauron and his Orcs, it's obviously a VFX sequence and it looks like they just took the highlights and made them superbright, resulting in a weird look where the helmets (with shiny reflections) are ultra bright, and the rest of the image looks kinda muddy grey in contrast. Very weird unnatural look in my opinion.
Criterion 3: Grading
Plus: No more green tint.
Contra:
They tried too hard to give it a new look, specifically it looks like they went for a kind of bleach bypass look with lowered saturation but stronger contrast. Personally I think it works for the grimmer or battle scenes, but looks totally out of place with innocuous scenes like in the Shire or at Rivendell. It also is done in a weird way where, while there are solid blacks, there seems to be a quick transition from strong blacks to what seems like more lower mid-tones. Like the gamma was boosted too much and as a result there are no nice solid dark areas in places like in the Shire.
For example look at the bushes here: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=489...0&i=2&go=1
In the old grading there is a kind of natural transition from the shadows in the bushes to the brighter areas. In the new one, there is black, and then immediately it jumps up to midtone-ish. It looks very garish/aggressive to my eyes.
Relating to the desaturated look and the Shire, look at the same image with the bushes. Notice how all the greens look ugly and desaturated, not like actual foliage. This isn't some kind of horror-y creepy scene, it's a happy scene, the greens should be lush and deep. Now, I know I'm only linking the caps-a-holic that's tonemapped, but it does actually look like this to me on a HDR display too, that is in fact where I noticed it first. I thought something was set up wrong on my display, wrong gamma or something, but my display doesn't actually offer gamma settings in HDR mode and reviews say that my display's HDR mode is pretty accurate, so I doubt that's the issue.
Overall not a fan of this at all.
Criterion 4: The sound
This is what truly kills it for me, in a negative sense. The remix sounds absolutely atrocious to my ears. The LFE is so f***king loud I had to turn it (my subwoofer) down to half the normal loudness and it still sounds overwhelming and out of place. And it tends to go from nothing to extreme bass swooshes and then back to nothing. There is no natural harmony to it at all, it sounds like all the sounds were just layered but no attention was paid to making it work in the mix. I find it impossible to watch the movie like this. Also, if I put the volume up to something that helps me understand dialogue, the LFE becomes so incredibly loud at times I'm afraid my neighbors would call the police. I get that LFE can get loud in action scenes, but this is just over the top and doesn't harmonize with the mix in any way.
Conclusion
Overall I'm rather disappointed with this remaster. The HDR aspect (no clipped highlights!) aside, I see very little that redeems it. I'd like to conclude my scathing review with once again linking this screenshot comparison without further comment: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=468...&i=16&go=1
Firstly, to set the mood, let me present this: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=468...&i=16&go=1
This hideous monstrosity is luckily not representative of the general look of the 4K, but it is generally not very impressive in terms of image quality in my opinion. Just click on any other frame in that comparison.
Criterion 1: Sharpness / Image Quality
Some seem to be a very slight improvement in improvement at best, or about the same at worst:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=525...0&i=5&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=438...0&i=3&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=650...0&i=9&go=1
Others (I presume VFX shots) seem to look pretty much exactly the same:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=314...0&i=6&go=1
In others you can painfully see the DNR and EE (?) or whatever processing that was applied, and the UHD ends up looking markedly worse than the Blu Ray:
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=662...&i=13&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=503...0&i=7&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=215...&i=14&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=489...0&i=2&go=1
https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=449...0&i=8&go=1
Interestingly, despite the DNR, a bit of grain seems visible. And weirdly, it doesn't seem as sharp as you'd expect from an actual 4K OCN Scan. I honestly have my doubts that this was an actual rescan, but I could be wrong.
Criterion 2: HDR
I watched a part on my HDR-capable display via madVR passthrough via MPC-HC. The display correctly switched to HDR mode.
Now, some parts really do seem to profit from the HDR. But others ... I don't have pictures to demonstrate this, but for example in the intro sequence with the battle between the alliance against Sauron and his Orcs, it's obviously a VFX sequence and it looks like they just took the highlights and made them superbright, resulting in a weird look where the helmets (with shiny reflections) are ultra bright, and the rest of the image looks kinda muddy grey in contrast. Very weird unnatural look in my opinion.
Criterion 3: Grading
Plus: No more green tint.
Contra:
They tried too hard to give it a new look, specifically it looks like they went for a kind of bleach bypass look with lowered saturation but stronger contrast. Personally I think it works for the grimmer or battle scenes, but looks totally out of place with innocuous scenes like in the Shire or at Rivendell. It also is done in a weird way where, while there are solid blacks, there seems to be a quick transition from strong blacks to what seems like more lower mid-tones. Like the gamma was boosted too much and as a result there are no nice solid dark areas in places like in the Shire.
For example look at the bushes here: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=489...0&i=2&go=1
In the old grading there is a kind of natural transition from the shadows in the bushes to the brighter areas. In the new one, there is black, and then immediately it jumps up to midtone-ish. It looks very garish/aggressive to my eyes.
Relating to the desaturated look and the Shire, look at the same image with the bushes. Notice how all the greens look ugly and desaturated, not like actual foliage. This isn't some kind of horror-y creepy scene, it's a happy scene, the greens should be lush and deep. Now, I know I'm only linking the caps-a-holic that's tonemapped, but it does actually look like this to me on a HDR display too, that is in fact where I noticed it first. I thought something was set up wrong on my display, wrong gamma or something, but my display doesn't actually offer gamma settings in HDR mode and reviews say that my display's HDR mode is pretty accurate, so I doubt that's the issue.
Overall not a fan of this at all.
Criterion 4: The sound
This is what truly kills it for me, in a negative sense. The remix sounds absolutely atrocious to my ears. The LFE is so f***king loud I had to turn it (my subwoofer) down to half the normal loudness and it still sounds overwhelming and out of place. And it tends to go from nothing to extreme bass swooshes and then back to nothing. There is no natural harmony to it at all, it sounds like all the sounds were just layered but no attention was paid to making it work in the mix. I find it impossible to watch the movie like this. Also, if I put the volume up to something that helps me understand dialogue, the LFE becomes so incredibly loud at times I'm afraid my neighbors would call the police. I get that LFE can get loud in action scenes, but this is just over the top and doesn't harmonize with the mix in any way.
Conclusion
Overall I'm rather disappointed with this remaster. The HDR aspect (no clipped highlights!) aside, I see very little that redeems it. I'd like to conclude my scathing review with once again linking this screenshot comparison without further comment: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?a=1&x=468...&i=16&go=1
