The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 4K Blu-ray Review & Comments

Simon Crust

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Thanks for the review.

While I'm sure that the picture and sound are exemplary, the fact is that the extras are missing. It isn't as though they couldn't be included and there was nothing preventing the pre-existing extras being included. They were omitted to give reason for potentially having to yet again buy these titles towards the end of next year when there will be a 20th anniversary package released that will include the extras.

Yeah, give it 9, but I'd suggest giving it 10 doesn't account for the absence of the extras, extras that are in existence and could have been included within this release. I'm assuming the review relates to this particular release and the associated package and not simply the film? How will the 20th anniversary release be rated relative to this if it does include the extras? Why has this release been awarded a 10? Even the packaging you get is questionable. The info on the rear (pasted onto the box) is already strarting to peel away from the box on the copy I received.

Looks as though I'll have to retain the Blu-ray definitive boxset within my collection if I want to access the extras without having to buy the same titles yet again. Why was there a 4K UHD release this year when the anniversary isn't until next year?
 
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I couldn’t give a toss about extras personally for this release (I have them from previous releases) This is all about AV.
Man I just watched this and I could cry. What an amazing job they have done. It’s utterly superb and fully justified my investment in AV. The picture quality blew me away and the sound 😱😱😱 10/10 for me all over.
I spent £100 on this trilogy (previously bought it on DVD and Blu as well) and I must say I would of paid £200 for this. What a job they have done. Hands down the best I’ve seen and heard in this format and I have over 150 UHDs.
Bravo.
 
The bass is incredible

tenor.gif


Yet another Atmos remix cut off at the 30Hz knees :rolleyes:

MZ6dXiI.jpg


Here it is compared to the Blu-Ray. The LFE data was there before, so where'd it go? :confused:

Qlm81lo.jpg
 
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I’ve watched the iTunes version today, absolutely stunning I can only think the discs are incredible, the bass on the Balrog scene and the Frodo eye of Sauron is like an earthquake
 
tenor.gif


Yet another Atmos remix cut off at the 30Hz knees :rolleyes:

MZ6dXiI.jpg


Here it is compared to the Blu-Ray. The LFE data was there before, so where'd it go? :confused:

Qlm81lo.jpg

No idea what the graphs mean but I watched FOTR on blu 2 nights ago and watched the 4K today and the sound for me was hugely improved on the 4K.
And I’ve got an atmos setup
 
There's been a tendency for the newer releases with an Atmos soundtrack to not have the same dynamic range as you would have experienced previously with the non 3D object based incarnation of the same soundtrack. This has been more notable on tltles originating from the Disney stable, but is now becoming a more common occurrence on most new releases irrespective of their originator. It is suggested that this is to appease those who've not got a dedicated home theatre setup that could readily cope with and portray such dynamic range, basically you are getting a lesser soundtrack to make life easier for those portraying the audio via their TV's own speakers or for those using less acompliahed soundbars.

The mix you get is being purposefully dumbed down as to not annoy those who've not a setup that can portray it correctly.
 
I don’t care what those graphs show, makes my room rumble from my svs pb12 plus 2. Only tested the balrog scene and was incredible. Awesome review!
 
I don’t care what those graphs show, makes my room rumble from my svs pb12 plus 2. Only tested the balrog scene and was incredible. Awesome review!

It does however annoy a lot of home theatre enthusiasts, including this board's own editorial team (those with dedicated home theatre and or AV receiver setups). Not sure who really benefits from the soundtrack not being portrayed with the same dynamic range as it was originally mixed with, expecially if you've spent the money you have on a setup that is able to portray said dynamic range? It is being done to make TV speakers sound better. I've not used the speakers onboard a TV since the mid nineties. Most TVs wouldn't be portraying a 3D Atmos soundtrack correctly anyway.
 
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Good graphs.
Great graphs.
View attachment 1414373
Top line is peak and bottom line is average bass throughout the movie (combined from all channels, not just LFE)

The Blu-Ray had bass down to 5Hz, the 4K Atmos mix has filtered out basically everything below 30Hz
It's an unfortunate trend we've been seeing in 4K re-releases. It's as if Dolby's Atmos mixing suite has some hard 30Hz filters enabled by default that a lot of people (especially Disney) leave in place, removing bass information that was in previous releases

Don't get me wrong, 30Hz is great, hits hard, great rumbly effect, but it's not the same as 20Hz and below (aka ULF, Ultra-Low Frequencies)
 
Best place to check the bass is the very first scene in Fellowship of the ring, the shockwave from Sauron being killed.
Need to dig my blu-ray out and compare
 
It does however annoy a lot of home theatre enthusiasts, including this board's own editorial team (those with dedicated home theatre and or AV receiver setups). Not sure who really benefits from the soundtrack not being portrayed with the same dynamic range as it was originally mixed with, expecially if you've spent the money you have on a setup that is able to portray said dynamic range? It is being done to make TV speakers sound better. I've not used the speakers onboard a TV since the mid nineties. Most TVs wouldn't be portraying a 3D Atmos soundtrack correctly anyway.
I’ve spent a lot of money on my setup (see sig) and when I say the bass is amazing, it’s just that. Amazing
 
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I'm not quite sure I would call this a review, more like a fan overview but I suppose a film like this can bring the fanboy out in all of us :)

I have never spent this much money for any film series. But Peter Jackson is the only director I know to have a 3D film trilogy over 6 discs, 2 discs each around 50gb per film. So I very much trust that he will do this justice. Plus Amazon have honoured their price promise and I saved the princely some of 1 penny. Happy Days!
Yet another Atmos remix cut off at the 30Hz knees :rolleyes:
Here it is compared to the Blu-Ray. The LFE data was there before, so where'd it go? :confused:

Qlm81lo.jpg
Someone has requested the BEQ mix so I might delay watching these until that is available.
 
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I’ve spent a of money on my setup (see sig) and when I say the bass is amazing, it’s just that. Amazing


But not as originally intended if the dynamic range has indeed been clipped. The graphs do sugggest that this is the case relative to the Atmos encoded soundtrack? Does this improve the audio and if not then why has it been done?
 
Hi Simon. Thanks for the review. This is probably a daft question but why have you reviewed the trilogy on a Panasonic DMP-UB400? I have the same player and having just bought the Sony XH950 I am thinking I need to get a UHD player with Dolby Vision to get the best out of these films and other UHD discs that have Dolby Vision. If that's not the case I am happy to save a few hundred quid and keep a player I am happy with.
 
Hi Simon. Thanks for the review. This is probably a daft question but why have you reviewed the trilogy on a Panasonic DMP-UB400? I have the same player and having just bought the Sony XH950 I am thinking I need to get a UHD player with Dolby Vision to get the best out of these films and other UHD discs that have Dolby Vision. If that's not the case I am happy to save a few hundred quid and keep a player I am happy with.
Wait, it's in Dolby Vision as well? Sorry but Hot Dang!
 
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Hi Simon. Thanks for the review. This is probably a daft question but why have you reviewed the trilogy on a Panasonic DMP-UB400? I have the same player and having just bought the Sony XH950 I am thinking I need to get a UHD player with Dolby Vision to get the best out of these films and other UHD discs that have Dolby Vision. If that's not the case I am happy to save a few hundred quid and keep a player I am happy with.

You'd need a player that includes Dolby Vision dynamic HDR support if wanting to access the dynamic Dolby Vision HDR some (most) titles include. You'd still however get static HDR10 relative to such titles if using an older player that is devoid of support for Dolby Vision. Is the Dynamic HDR better than the static variant? Yes, bit you'd have to scrutinise the content in order to differentiate the improvements and it isn't a night and day difference. The clue is in the fact that Dolby Vision ios dynamic so it can be adjusted on a frame by frame basis whilst the staic HDR10 variant is basically the same throughout the film.

I'd not suggest it imperative that you replace an older player just to get Dolby Vision, but it is a bonus if you can access this as opposed to being limited to the static HDR10 variant.
 
Has the CGI been updated? I thought it was beginning to show it's age on the Blu-ray's, so a bit concerned how it looks in 4k
 
Dolby vision advantage is apparently negligible so wouldn’t get hung up on it
 
You'd need a player that includes Dolby Vision dynamic HDR support if wanting to access the dynamic Dolby Vision HDR some (most) titles include. You'd still however get static HDR10 relative to such titles if using an older player that is devoid of support for Dolby Vision. Is the Dynamic HDR better than the static variant? Yes, bit you'd have to scrutinise the content in order to differentiate the improvements and it isn't a night and day difference. The clue is in the fact that Dolby Vision ios dynamic so it can be adjusted on a frame by frame basis whilst the staic HDR10 variant is basically the same throughout the film.

I'd not suggest it imperative that you replace an older player just to get Dolby Vision, but it is a bonus if you can access this as opposed to being limited to the static HDR10 variant.
Thank you for the response. Very useful
 

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