Those peons, like me, who run films via projection, have been viewing 4k discs with HDR, trying to decode said High Dynamic Range in our minds-eye, since the system really started working properly over the past year, or so.
If you know what you’re looking at, you can tell when it’s supposed to be there, it just doesn’t pop.
I’ve personally gone through a few 4k players, beginning with the horrific Samsung toy, with the remote sized for the fingers of a six year-old girl.
Then the first of the Panasonics, which was a step up, followed by the Oppo Swan Song model.
But finally, for the first time, via the new Panasonic 9000, which I received today courtesy of Value Electronics – not a comp incidentally, as they can sell every unit they receive – I’m seeing properly decoded HDR, even with a limitation of nits – and everything looks superb.
I expected a nice incremental uptick, but for those who may be interested, the difference between the standard imagery and the 9000, which does proper tone mapping, is Night & Day.
I no longer feel like a second class citizen.
I’ll leave it to others to test this unit with OLED panels, which should also appear better, but I wouldn’t expect the major difference as seen in projection.
I would highly suggest that anyone who takes their film viewing seriously, and is running a 4k projector, to grab one ASAP.
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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