Oblivion (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)
Oblivion is one of those extra special theatrical experiences that I’ll never forget in life. I owe it all to Aaron Neuwirth. The year was 2013 and my significant other and I had just moved down to Austin, TX from Cleveland, OH. This was before Cleveland was a championship town. We were both lost down here like deer in headlights. A learning opportunity put me in the close vicinity of staff writer Aaron Neuwirth for a week. He took me in that Sunday evening for Game of Thrones and even bought a roast beef sub to keep my stomach occupied. The very next day is when the magic happened. I forget what we had planned to do, but Aaron texted me and said do you want to see Oblivion. Back then I wasn’t much of a Tom Cruise fan, but I do like a good science fiction feature. Plus I was in posh California. Why would I say no? So I accepted his invitation. Surely it wasn’t just so he could justify riding in the carpool lane the entire way there. I’m kidding! Ha ha.
Film 
So there I was, again like a deer in the headlights, sitting in this huge IMAX theater with Aaron Neuwirth and some of his reviewer friends. You got to remember folks. I’m a poor boy from Cleveland, OH. We don’t have nice things like this over there, and neither do we in Austin, TX either. However, I digress. Let’s get back to the story here. I did not expect much. I just wanted to be entertained and enjoy California. I wish I was rich enough to live out there. That’s why I believe in reincarnation. I hope and pray one day I can come back a rich Californian. Shoot! I’m getting off topic again. Sorry! The lights eventually dimmed and the feature started to play. From some of the very first sequences and images, my jaw hung dropped. My world was instantly rocked.
When the feature ended and the lights finally came back up I was speechless. I wanted more of what I just saw and heard. I eventually did get more IMAX screenings of Oblivion under my belt once back down in Austin, but I’m getting ahead of myself. After the screening Aaron introduced me to the mighty Scott Mendelson of Forbes. It was a quick meeting as I was still mind blown and very much speechless over what I had just witnessed on the gigantic IMAX screen. Only later did I find out somehow Scott escaped Ohio once too. He was luckier than me though. He made it to where I so badly want to be one day. We were talking about Oblivion, right? Ha ha.
I vividly remember that car ride home from the theater back to my hotel room too that night. I brought up the score in this film with Aaron. That coupled with the breathtaking scenery and action painted the Mona Lisa for me in terms of a near perfect science fiction picture. I’m not naive or forgetful. I know Oblivion heavily borrowed from other great sci-fi films, but it’s the gorgeous way this was flawlessly executed in my opinion that made me instantly fall head over heels for it. Aaron might have been generous in his 3.5 scoring of it over here, but to me Oblivion went on to become my most favorite film of 2013 as proudly ranked here.
Expecting nothing more than a shallow, pointless sci-fi trip in IMAX I was instantly transported to a world in Oblivion that I immediately cared about. It is both visually stunning and beautiful despite the depictions of our Earth nearly destroyed and being harvested for all remaining resources. The cinematography is literally out of this world (pun very much intended). I hadn’t been that impressed since the prior year’s Prometheus. Then there’s the heart tugging love story (actually stories) going on with one hell of a clever twist (albeit borrowed from other films) as to how things really don’t appear as they seem to most parties involved. Many complain that the plot may be a bit too shallow, contain too few action sequences to sustain its inflated run time and that the film borrows heavily from every other sci-fi adventures that have come before. Yes I am talking about you Moon. However, that’s just it. Wake up and smell the coffee, people! There are no original ideas anymore. Everything is a retelling or a trial to accomplish something bigger and better. It’s how you tell the story and deliver it that matters nowadays.
Let’s talk familiarity and borrowing first. The plot devices Oblivion director Joseph Kosinski borrows from in science fiction movies of the past are of all the “right kind” in my opinion. So I know I’m kind of in the minority here with my love of this Tom Crusie/Morgan Freeman sci-fi action vehicle, but I’m proud to stand up and defend the title that has meant so much to me in 2013 and now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. I have taken in Oblivion three times in IMAX and countless spins on the Blu-ray format. Each and every time I watch Oblivion I still get goosebumps. I can’t help but have a total geek orgasm with each viewing. From the kick-a$$ M83 score to the breathtaking visuals, I just lose myself entirely in the world of Oblivion every time. The biggest kicker was the fact that I’m not even a huge Tom Cruise fan, but the gorgeous cinematography and rapturous sci-fi story complete with decent acting makes me completely forget all about the fact that he’s in it. Since then, I have let go of my resentment of Tom Cruise and have actually become quite the fan of his from the Mission Impossible features all the way back to The Firm.
Then there’s that pool scene up in the heavens. Wow! The beautiful siren Andrea Riseborough is stunningly radiant as she basks in the glow of the gorgeous Blu-ray blue hues in the water. She seductively lures Tom’s fully clothed character into the pool with that accompanying M83 score in full tow. That scene alone forces me to change my pants each and every time. In my opinion it has to be one of the sexiest scenes ever caught on film. Ingredients such as attraction, chemistry, visuals and the sound are all perfectly mixed in just that one sensual scene. Is Oblivion and I still an effective team? Hell yeah, we are! Did you notice I really haven’t even talked about the action or story yet? Ha ha.
The action within Oblivion is further enhanced by the riveting score throughout. Sure, there are many slow parts in this, but make no mistake about it. When the action kicks in, it will thrill you. There’s no denying that this is the best Oblivion ever looked and sounded in the home front, but to truly experience the fantastical ride that Oblivion provides you must have seen it in IMAX back in 2013. Despite my love for the 4K Ultra HD format, I can’t short sell that aspect of the experience.
So what’s it all about? You’re asking all the right questions today. Oblivion is obviously a sci-fi romp, but for me there’s more to it. It’s also part mystery and part romance. There’s a coming of age finding out who you really are aspect to it all, but in the core of the story, like any good one has, there’s the love interest angle too. You think it’s fairly obvious the way things start out, but as Moon showed us back in the day nothing is what it really seems. There’s also the whole fight to save the Earth from the aliens story too. Essentially there’s a lot going on, a borrowed twist from other films, and what I feel is a pretty satisfying conclusion to it all as a great standalone science fiction outing. I can’t ask for anything more, but sometimes my tastes are very basic and simple. Other times, I can be a bit complex and dramatic. I always welcome the first situation whenever possible in life.
I know I’m definitely on the “minority report” here with this title, but Oblivion is one of my all-time favorites. I did ten cartwheels in the front yard when Universal announced it several months ago as one of their first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray title offerings. I couldn’t be more happier about their selection here. That’s where you all come in. I’m sure you’re sick of reading all my vernacular masturbation over this probably mediocre title in your opinion. You’re just here because you want to get the 4-1-1 on the 4K audio and video presentations of the film. Am I right? Of course I am! I know my readership very well and that’s why without further ado I present to you Oblivion‘s 4K A/V vitals that you’re all here for.
Video
The below video score and relative comments are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Oblivion with HDR-10. If you’re interested in the grading of the 1080p presentation of the film on the included Blu-ray here, please refer to our previous Blu-ray review of Oblivion.
- Encoding: HEVC / H.265
- Resolution: 4K (2160p)
- Layers: BD-66
- Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
- Clarity/Detail: Oblivion is going to be an odd one to judge here. It’s not because its terrible looking. Quite the contrary folks. It’s because of its dystopian bleakness that is of filmmakers intent, but at the same time I never seen a more natural looking 4K Blu-ray presentation. I’ll skip the color conversation until down later, but if there’s any softness to be nitpicked here it’s of intent. I say that only because I know there will be others like me exclaiming where’s the razor blade sharpness. This one is all about the HDR. To me, personally, it kind of looks a wee bit filtered or not as sharp as the Blu-ray 1080p counterpart. That’s the only reason why I am giving this a 4.5 score as I wasn’t wowed like I expected to be. Things do get sharp here from the pores and stubble on Tom’s face to the set environment inhabiting his onscreen cabin, but don’t expect a Sicario or Martian UHD-like presentation. I feel stupid saying this, but this presentation kind of took me back to a 1977 Star Wars feel to the cinematic look of things here. I guess the only nitpick would be since this is rumored to be from a 2K master is that some of the explosions look a bit fake. However, that’s not to detract for how organic and pure things do look here.
- Depth: Depth of field is pretty much found everywhere you look here from the expansive landscapes and backdrops to the sterile interiors and rich set details. Some of my favorite moments take place outside in nature near Jack’s secret cabin.
- Black Levels: Black levels are another tough one to grade here due to the white light employed and the level of shadows in interiors. What I mean by the latter is your so accustomed to deep, inky blacks in the Blu-ray presentations we watch nowadays that it’s weird to see a feature where the black levels are so layered. Some examples of what I am speaking of can be found in the underground library where the Scavengers are hunting Jack, the nighttime candlelight scenes between Jack and Victoria and even Jacks’ interrogation scene.
- Color Reproduction: This is dystopia folks! Colors don’t pop! They are sterile, natural and sometimes cold. This presentation faithfully reproduces this not to mention some gorgeous blue skies to die for. I already mentioned it up above, but this is one of the most natural looking 4K presentations I have seen thus far.
- Flesh Tones: Skin tones are spot on natural and authentic looking throughout. I have no complaints here whatsoever. Every freckle is faithfully rendered.
- Noise/Artifacts: Sure there’s a thin hint of grain, but nothing obnoxious or anything that will ever make you take notice and say yuck over. This one is perfect in so many ways if you’re into natural beauty.
Audio
Like I mentioned up above in the video section, the below audio score and judging comments are based solely upon my viewing of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation of Oblivion. If you’re interested in the grading of the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound presentation on the included Blu-ray here, please refer to our previous Blu-ray review of Oblivion. Thankfully, this time out on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format Oblivion gets an upgrade. The 4K Ultra HD disc comes with a bombastic Dolby Atmos surround track to boot. Hell yeah!
- Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
- Dynamics: Oblivion has always been one these atmospheric tracks that I can eat for dinner every night. Everything just sounds right about it from the quietest of human whispers and birds gently tweeting to the loud obnoxious sound of a drone taking off or a TET being blown to smithereens. The overall volume of the surround track itself seemed a tad lower than say my experience with Man of Steel over here, but make no mistake as things are in check within this presentation. No sound, no matter how big or small, gets shafted here. If you ask me, it’s kind of brilliant. You just need to turn this one up a wee bit more volume-wise than what you usually listen to your other 4K titles at.
- Height: When we’re talking height due to the employment of the Atmos equipped track, noticeable moments include both drones and the Bubbleship takeoffs and landings, rain hitting the ship and even the imaginary roar of the crowd in Jack’s football memory.
- Low Frequency Extension: The LFE channel is both powerful and monstrous here due to the impressive action sequences and the roar, many takeoffs and landings of the Bubbleship and drones. The aggressive gun fights and explosions keep you engaged in the action and your living room thumping.
- Surround Sound Presentation: The surround sound leaves you completely immersed in this presentation because of the impressive prioritization of everything going on here. Examples of things that stand out to me here include that M83 score, wind, Bubbleships and drones flying by and even water dripping in the cave, which turned out to be a library of sorts where the “alien” Scavengers plan their attack on our hero, astronaut Jack Harper.
- Dialogue Reproduction: The dialogue is clear, intelligible and prioritized throughout. What I loved about this one is I could intelligibly hear even the quietest of whispers leaving me never missing a thing.
Extras 
Oblivion on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases as a 2-disc Universal set. You get the film in 4K on the Ultra HD Blu-ray with optional feature commentary and on the regular Blu-ray you get the 1080p presentation of the feature plus all the same bonus features from the 2013 release. In addition to the two Blu-ray discs you also get a Digital HD redeemable code good for the film in both UltraViolet and iTunes. It has been reported that redeeming the Digital HD code for either Flixster or VUDU unlocks the UHD streaming version of it. That’s a win! The one thing I found weird was that they dropped their famous swish looking disc menus on this UHD disc. I did not preview Lucy yet to see what her menu looks like. In the meantime, let’s take a quick, closer look at everything you’ll find here supplemental-wise on the 1080p Blu-ray disc.
- Audio Commentary – Director Joseph Kosinski and actor Tom Cruise discuss the production of the movie from start to finish. This commentary is worth listening to and gives a small insight into some of the director’s decisions employed in the making of the film.
- Promise of a New World – Here we have a well done five part making of documentary, lasting over 45 minutes which touches upon the sets, Cruise’s “bubbleship,” the stunts, a look at the great visual effects, and finally the music. The five parts in this documentary are titles as such below:
- Promise of a New World: The Making of Oblivion – Destiny – This one includes the development of the story, Iceland shoots and all the practical sets.
- Promise of a New World: The Making of Oblivion – Voyage – This one is all about the “bubbleship,” the making of, inspiration and design of it all.
- Promise of a New World: The Making of Oblivion – Combat – This one takes a closer look at the stunt work and action sequences.
- Promise of a New World: The Making of Oblivion – Illusion – This one gives us a closer look at those exceptional special effects.
- Promise of a New World: The Making of Oblivion – Harmony – This one, if you couldn’t tell by the name alone, is all about the riveting music.
- Deleted Scenes – Here you will find four deleted/alternate scenes including,”Bubbleship Flyby,” “Stadium: Original Opening,” “Medkit” and “The Archives.”
- Isolated M83 Score – Here you will find the isolated score from the film presented in 24-bit/96kHz Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. I don’t know how you feel about it, but as a fan of the film’s score this is pretty cool in my opinion.
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Take a look at this beautiful slipcover on Universal’s first catalog 4K Blu-ray release.
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Check out these rounded corners on this slipcover. It definitely won’t be getting any shelf wear.
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Here’s where all the magic happens on the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc.
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Summary
Oblivion is obviously one of those 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray upgrades that makes sense for the fans only. There are a lot of people out there, including my reviewer peers, who find Oblivion to be your average run of the mill sci-fi romp. It has too many “borrowed” moments for them. However, diehard freaks like me do exist and believe me when I exclaim to you that we’re beyond excited that Universal selected Oblivion as not only one of their first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog titles, but among their first UHD releases too. August 9th marks a historic day for Universal as they usher in their first 3 offerings onto the new format: Oblivion, Lucy and The Lone Survivor. The Blu-ray already had a reference audio/video presentation so you better believe the 4K Ultra HD nearly doubles down on that refinement (a couple exceptions are noted in the A/V parts up above). It also delivers the latest audio format (Dolby Atmos) to rocket you out of your chairs and into this science fiction adventure. It’s a worthy upgrade for me because I am biased in my love for this movie, but ask yourself this. If you’re not a fan of the film, what will the 4K UHD version do to win you over? All others, hit up that order link down below and bring home Oblivion on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray today! It just makes sense to do it!
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DISCLAIMER: This 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray review was judged and graded using the following 4K certified A/V gear found here. Make sure to check out all out 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews archived here.
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Order & Fly Away With
Universal’s OBLIVION
on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Today!
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Brian White
Owner/Writer/Reviewer/Editor, Dreamer, Producer, Agent of Love, Film Lover, Writer of Screenplays and a Devoted Apostle to all things Ford Mustangs (the real ones with V8's!). Some of my favorite films include FIGHT CLUB, MOULIN ROUGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, STAR WARS alongside television shows such as SEINFELD, 24, SANFORD & SON and even the often loathed in the geek community BIG BANG THEORY. Outside of my three lives I live I also enjoy spending time with my girlfriend and our three girls (of the furry kind).
I noticed the 4k version was oddly soft compared to its Blu-ray counterpart. I seems as if DNR was heavily applied. The difference between the Blu-ray and UHD is night and day. The Blu-ray is sharper and brighter, while the 4k version in HDR is muddy and blurry. Should I exchange my copy? I’m happier with my old Blu-ray so far.
I also have the almost exact same setup. Sony x930c, Samsung UHD, and Onkyo nr838. Player connected directly to the TV. HDMI Audio to receiver.
That sounds like a winner, Jeffrey! I heard such good things about the 930c that when it came time to buy in 2016 here I knew I wanted the newer model of that one. People complain about the 3D, but I don’t have any qualms with it. Enjoying this set immensely! I do love the dual HDMI outs on the Samsung player.
I did make mention in my review of this. Yes, it is NOT razor sharp like let’s say Sicario or The Martian on 4K. I did a lot of research on this too prior to posting the review and I understand the big thing here is the HDR, more natural colors, etc. I am not sure this is because it’s sourced from a 2K presentation, but other than a few establishing, effects shots here I did not see any serious signs of DNR saying like a Predator-like release. I kind of think of it this way too. Remember how great DVDs looked on our 480 sets and then we put it on a 1080p display and sharpness was gone. Well I guess same thing can apply here with the 2K transfer. I’ll keep a close eye on other’s comments to see what others say, but I do agree with you. I was expecting a much sharper presentation. Looking forward to watching Lucy this week!
Your review is very accurate and appreciate that. I love Oblivion and have watched it at least 20 times ha. I was just expecting to be blown away like my first 4k Mad Max. But alas, I see where the direction is going with Dolby Atmos and HDR. Which I can highly appreciate both. Since it’s not a true 4k source or higher, I can completely understand from a technical standpoint.
I hear exactly what you are saying believe me. I was expecting to be blown away too. I know many people complain about the fire and effects in Mad Max on UHD, but I find that one to be incredible looking despite the effects. Yes, I also agree. It seems everyone is so pro on having a wider color palette even at the expense of colors no longer popping vividly as a result and of course there’s the object oriented audio formats now. They are even purposely not putting them on Blu, but only on UHD. Truth be told though it doesn’t add a whole lot. Any good 5.1 system will still do a bang up job IMO. The sad thing about these universal titles is they are not supplying review copies of these catalog releases, but I felt it was very important to at least get an Oblivion one up ASAP because of my love of this film despite the naysayers. Please tell all your friends about this review. I appreciate the support! I heard Lucy looks like a million bucks. Will be checking that out tomorrow night!!!
PS Just wondering did you have the same experience as I did with the overall volume of the surround track lower tha your other 4K UHD titles? Just wondering if I’m crazy or now. It was still a great sound field experience despite it all.
Yes definitely. I had to turn up the volume. I normally listen at 40 (Onkyo) but I had to crank up to 51 on the Dolby Atmos mix. The sound was adequately pushed to my height channels perfectly fine. But the odd thing is, when I switched to Dolby Surround instead of Dolby Atmos direct, the sound stage was normal again. The output display was showing Atmos but through the receiver’s Dolby surround option instead of atmos direct. If that makes any sense. But when the Atmos mix takes over, especially when the drones start talking, I have to turn the volume back down. Again referring to Mad Max, I can comfortably leave the volume at 43 and watch the entire movie with the baby sleeping upstairs.
I am glad to hear you concur about the volume thing. Kind of disappointing, but it is what it is! With the baby sleeping upstairs! IMPRESSIVE! That is odd about your audio dilemma. I’m curious because I have a Denon and you have an Onkyo. Are you saying that when you switched to Dolby Surround on the receiver it was still showing up as Dolby Atmos, but just not playing out of the height channels? I did not turn my volume up on this one last night, but definitely in my next viewing I know to do so. I thought the menu on the UHD disc was very lazy compared to their phenomenal standard ones on Universal’s Blu-ray releases.
Well you can switch to different encoders such as Neo:6, Direct, etc. The player automagically sends out atmos to the receiver. A click is heard and the magic begins. However because of the volume issue, I tried switching to Dolby Surround which is an emulated Atmos for non-atmos content, and the audio container (atmos) was maintained playing out of all channels, but the volume was back to normal.
The overall presentation of the UHD disc seems rushed. The scene tiles are sharp and crisp and everything else on screen is blurry (to my eyes). Compared to every other UHD disc I’ve owned, this one has let me down the most; from a technological standpoint. Atmos to my ears makes a huge spatial difference in the soundstage and the main reason Oblivion will stay in my UHD collection. Unfortunately I prefer the crisp Blu-ray version over the HDR UHD version. But hearing the Atmos soundtrack last night just blew my mind.
That’s interesting. I know what you mean as I own an older Onkyo receiver too. I’ll have to play with that on my Denon AVR to see if it normalizes the volume or not. Disappointing about all this as Oblivion has been one of my most anticipated catalog titles on the new UHD format. Even that nighttime pool scene was a tad on the soft side for me. Argh! Thanks for your kind words and candid conversation today. Appreciate it very much!!!
No thank you! Thank you for such a good conversation about home theater!
I have found a ‘fix’ for Oblivion’s fuzziness.
Since we both have Sonys;
1. Turn Dynamic Range to Limited under the TV setting for the appropriate input
2. Use the Reality Creation for fineness and noise to adjust sharpness; I set mine to 70 vs Auto
3. I turned backlight down to 47 or so to make up for the limited dynamic range
Let me tell you what… the picture is much lighter while maintaining HDR and sharpened but not overdone.
Results are astounding.
I am very happy now!!!!! I do not know about other TVs though.
Just thought you would like to know! 🙂
Very much love the personalization of this review – a great read Brian!
Thanks Jeffrey! I will look into that. I would be curious to see how that affects the black levels too.
Thank you for the compliment Jason! This was very personal because for some crazy reason I’m so passionate about this film. It’s all Aaron’s fault!
Thank you Jeffrey! I’ll have to try that. I’d be curious to see what that does with the black levels as they weren’t always the deepest on this one IMO. Thanks Jason for the compliment! I guess this review is so personal because for some crazy reason I’m so passionate about this feature. It’s all Aaron’s fault!
Just an update. The Dynamic Range HDMI setting has no affect on the Oblivion UHD picture. I am assuming because of HDR.
Did you happen to try the reality creation setting yet?
Brian, I also have a Sony 4k (x850d) and am curious what you think about switching to limited. Let us know if you tried that and what you thought.
Ha ha. I did read Jeffrey’s comment about doing this tweak for Limited, etc. She’s like you’re going to do that for one film? It’s just sad because Oblivion was supposed to be stellar. But I dunno. The Blu-ray was a winner, and this should be too IMO. This is the ONLY 4K title I have had this issue with. I will say this, I watched Universal’s first new 4K title, Huntsman: Winter War and sadly the audio needs turned up in that one too. I need to put in one of my former discs to get my ears calibrated again at normal listening volume. I wonder what my experience with Lucy will be. My girlfriend wants me to buy Lone Survivor, but I’m scared after my last two go-arounds with Universal 4K.
Speaking of lone survivor, I really hope they consider releasing a UHD version of 13 Hours. That movie on blu ray just upscaled on a 4k tv looked amazing.
I tried the limited thing and flipped it back and forth a few times. It definitely changes it… But I’m not sure if it’s better or worse. I don’t have a great eye for subtle changes unless they are side by side.
Channing…you’re the second person to tell me how awesome 13 Hours looks upscaled.
I agree it would be pretty. I wasn’t a huge fan of it, but can imagine the A/V presentation would be bombastic.
Even if they brought Pain and Gain to 4K. That would be eye popping razor sharp!
I find it weird Universal’s choices for the catalog titles they brought to 4K first and their first “new” release being something all the critics bashed, Winter’s War. Oh well…there’s always Warcraft next month in 4K right? 🙂
I know they are being Jason Bourne to 4K Blu too, but due to the way it’s shot I really can’t imagine it looking great. It did have really awesome car chases.
But damn you Channing! Ever since last night now you have me thinking about the 75″ version of my TV! Sony is also coming out with two new models this year that top even that. The only reason I went with the 930 over 850 was for 3D which I didn’t have (it’s not as bad as all the critics of it say) and the local dimming. Otherwise I had my eyes on the 850 ever since they announced it. The 75″ of that is down to 3k now.
Very nice review Brian, but when the Blu-Ray version upscaled is so much sharper than the native UHD one, I can’t help but think that something went wrong during the conversion process. Imagine the movie with the Blu-Ray’s sharpness (not demanding more) and HDR and you would have a reference title … It’s still early days for the format, but studios like Universal should know that when one makes the jump to UHD, one of the main selling points is more resolution, and most definitely not less than the previous format for the same title, regardless of HDR.
I completely agree with you! This should have been a slam dunk and I’d be lying to you if I said it wasn’t my most anticipated 4K release of the year. So disheartening, but Lucy on the other hand looked and sounds like a million bucks. Thanks for your comment!
I also agree with the other comments on here. Oblivion in 4K should’ve been easily one of the best titles for the format out of the gate, considering it was shot with the Sony CineAlta F65 which in my opinion is a solid camera with very natural color reproduction. I never expected the color palette in Oblivion to “pop” like most 4K titles, though it does feel a bit muddy. Regardless of the 2K intermediate used, it’s hard to recommend this to someone who wants to jump to UHD. There are some moments where the 4K does shine better than its blu-ray counterpart, but its here and there.
Couldn’t agree more. I personally know someone who did not buy a TV in Best Buy because they were demoing this disc on it. This was my most anticipated title on the format too. Sad!