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4k movie not playing in 4K on the apple tv app

Hi
I bought the Harry Potter Complete Collection the other day on the Apple TV app on my TV, where all movies in that collection are to be played in 4k HDR (all movies have the small 4k HDR badge)
When I play one of the movies, I do not feel that the image is displayed in 4K, but rather just in HD.
I tried to see the difference by switching to SD restriction, then watching a bit of the movie, and then switching back with the restriction off again. I can see a difference, but it is so minimal that I am not convinced that the film is shown in 4k.

I have other movies in the app which are shown in 4k HDR without any problems, but with the Harry Potter movies, the picture still seems smeared and undetailed

Is there a method to check if the movies are actually in 4K as it says, or if there is something you can do in the app, so I can be sure that 4K content will be shown in 4K

My TV is a Samsung QN90A 2021 that I have calibrated


Posted on Jun 26, 2022 11:45 PM

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Posted on Jun 27, 2022 1:47 AM

I bought the Harry Potter Complete Collection the other day on the Apple TV app on my TV, where all movies in that collection are to be played in 4k HDR (all movies have the small 4k HDR badge). When I play one of the movies, I do not feel that the image is displayed in 4K, but rather just in HD.

The first two movies in this series were shot on film (analog), with a 4K digital intermediate and final 4K release. These should look significantly sharper than HD. The last six movies were shot on film, with 2K digital intermediate, then upscaled (more common than you’d think). C’est la vie. The supplying studio (WB) doesn’t have anything better. See movie review sites and YouTube reviews [1] on this subject.


Is there a method to check if the movies are actually in 4K as it says, or if there is something you can do in the app, so I can be sure that 4K content will be shown in 4K. My TV is a Samsung QN90A 2021.

Some TVs used to have built-in tools that show stream information. The current OS for your TV may or may not have that available. Search the Samsung forums for more details.

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1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Jun 27, 2022 1:47 AM in response to Matthias9123

I bought the Harry Potter Complete Collection the other day on the Apple TV app on my TV, where all movies in that collection are to be played in 4k HDR (all movies have the small 4k HDR badge). When I play one of the movies, I do not feel that the image is displayed in 4K, but rather just in HD.

The first two movies in this series were shot on film (analog), with a 4K digital intermediate and final 4K release. These should look significantly sharper than HD. The last six movies were shot on film, with 2K digital intermediate, then upscaled (more common than you’d think). C’est la vie. The supplying studio (WB) doesn’t have anything better. See movie review sites and YouTube reviews [1] on this subject.


Is there a method to check if the movies are actually in 4K as it says, or if there is something you can do in the app, so I can be sure that 4K content will be shown in 4K. My TV is a Samsung QN90A 2021.

Some TVs used to have built-in tools that show stream information. The current OS for your TV may or may not have that available. Search the Samsung forums for more details.

4k movie not playing in 4K on the apple tv app

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