WHAT TO WATCH ON YOUR OLED
So, you’ve just treated yourself to a new TV, now you need some 4K HDR content to really highlight the difference between that and your old set
Now you’re the proud owner of a new 4K OLED TV, the next question is: what to watch on it? We’ve put together a selection of great films and TV shows – in 4K and HDR on Blu-ray discs and streaming – to show off OLED’S pitch-blacks, glowing contrast and rich, subtle colours to their fullest.
Planet Earth II
BBC’S Planet Earth II is the current gold standard for 4K and HDR. Not only is every episode full of fascinating stories of amazing wildlife, the thistle-sharp definition and stunning colours are a credit to the videographer’s camera work and also to the 4K Blu-ray disc format.
The Galapagos’ volcanic landscape in the Islands episode and the skylines in the Cities episode are perhaps the pinnacles of the HDR experience: the luminescent lava and Toronto city lights punching out from the plunging blacks of the ash-covered rock and the night sky look lush on an OLED screen.
It’s also the surfaces of smaller things that help to make Planet Earth II so immersive – from flowers disturbed by a bird’s flapping wings to the snow specs on a bobcat’s fur coat, all are brought to our attention by the exceptional picture.
And who can forget the tense racer snakes versus baby iguana chase scene: it’s nail-biting stuff that will leave your mouth agape in awe and wonder.
Stranger Things 2
If you haven’t seen this love-letter-tothe-1980s TV show about a group of kids, a small town, a government conspiracy about multi-dimensional aliens and psychic children – where have you been? The second series of Stranger Things is available to stream in 4K and HDR on Netflix, and has never looked better.
Here’s where your OLED TV’S ability to pick out detail within black depths is put to the test. Will’s nightmare visions of an apocalyptic future have a looming sense of dread, the Demogorgon-infested tunnels underneath the town feel terrifying, and the flecks of ash peppered across the Upside Down look spooky and ethereal in equal measure.
The title sequence alone – neon-red letters on a black screen - looks exciting enough on a good OLED.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
At no point when watching the pristine 4K HDR release of Blade Runner does it feel like it was made over 35 years ago. The phenomenal opening scene is perfect fodder for OLED: vibrant plumes of fire and pinpricks of light piercing through the vast dystopian Los Angeles landscape. The neo-noir film looks richer and more expressive than ever, making you appreciate the production design and aesthetics even more.
The recent sequel, Blade Runner 2049, also makes a stunning 4K disc – it’s a cleaner, slicker image with sumptuous aesthetics - but the original film remains an astonishing visual success.
Logan
Going against the grain of dark, cool-toned superhero films, Logan is an unflinchingly violent and bleak, but surprisingly colourful film. The bright scenes will show how well your OLED TV handles contrast, especially when the action cuts to gloomier shots inside the car. Night scenes are beautiful and lush, despite the dusty bodywork on Logan’s limo and the dirt, scars, and blood clinging to the main cast. While Mad Max: Fury Road remains the top viewing choice for dusty and barren vistas with strong, stylised contrast, Logan offers a more naturalistic tone full of hidden depths.
Thor: Ragnarok
While much of the film’s entertainment comes from the whimsical script, a great deal is owed to the bright and colourful cinematic palette. From Jeff Goldblum’s gold robes and metallic blue makeup to the battle-hardened gladiator arena, it’s an absolute delight for your eyes.
Next-level contrast notably enhances the viewing, especially as white-hot lightning sparks from Thor in the final battle. The gaudy garbage planet Sakaar is where all the fun happens, though. Packed with colours that never look overblown, just wonderfully dense and rendered, it’s a surprisingly realistic feel for a fantasy space comedy.
“Planet Earth II’S thistle-sharp definition and stunning colours are a credit to the camera work – and also the 4K Blu-ray disc format”
Blue Planet II
Sci-fi films – especially those with epic spaceship battles with lasers – naturally look amazing on an OLED telly. But glow-in-the-dark fish in the inky depths of the deep sea have the same effect. Actually, it’s even more impressive, because everything you see in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II nature documentary is real. Stunning coral reefs, bright and colourful fish, animals that change colour, alien-like creatures that look creepy and fascinating at the same time – all look fantastic in sharp, clear and vibrant 4K HDR.
Space may be the final frontier, but the big blue ocean and its many hidden depths are made for OLED viewing.
Star Trek: Discovery
For glittering stars and dusty swirls of galaxies glowing against the backdrop of velvety black space, watch the latest Star
Trek prequel series on Netflix. It’s not a 4K stream, but is HDR, which at least gives the incredible display of colours a chance to shine.
Some of the space scenes are just beautiful, with an interesting mix of colours – greens, purples, pinks, bronzes – thrown in together to bring the show’s visual style to life.
It’s a shame Discovery isn’t shot in 4K, as those colours and the ship’s interiors deserve to be seen in higher resolution – but it’s still worth watching.
American Gods
Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s road-trip novel about gods old and new, American
Gods is a visual feast. Dark scenes, daylight scenes, sleazy neon scenes – each episode is a mix of ideas, themes and effects which use every colour palette available.
With the vast and diverse cast, you’ll need your OLED to handle texture, tone and detail skilfully. You can only get the 4K picture when streaming on Amazon Prime Video (the Blu-ray release is HD only), but we’re disappointed it’s not in HDR too. Whether it’s the cool and unfriendly metal interior of Technical Boy’s limo or the bubbling, pastel shades of Easter’s garden party, the picture bursts with colour and depth. Let’s hope future series will use HDR – it should be even more sumptuous.
Paddington 2
It’s not hard to be won over by this charming and inventive film that will tickle children and adults alike.
The film looks beautiful. Infused with a warm, golden-yellow tone that makes every house, garden and street corner look inviting, it feels like stepping into the pages of a lovingly crafted children’s pop-up book. Radiant greens, deep blues, sunflower yellows and lush reds all come together on the screen. Paddington’s fur looks so intricately detailed we want to reach out and touch him.
We’ve no doubt the film’s deep, glossy blacks and rich, varied hues will look gorgeous on an OLED screen.
Life Of Pi
We’ve been using Life of Pi to test Full HD and 3D picture quality for years, so it’s no real surprise it looks spectacular in its upscaled 4K and HDR form. The upconversion and retouch process has been done with utmost care, and adds to the extraordinary realism of the CGI.
The resolution pulls everything that much more into focus – the HDR blanket ups the richness of lush green fields, the vibrancy of the market stalls and golden hues of sunset reflected on an endless silky ocean. It’s not just an onslaught of colour and contrast but a considered one too, adding more shades of pink to flamingo feathers and realistic glisten to hippos’ wet backs. An engaging picture, and a great test of your TV’S skills.
Murder On The Orient Express
Kenneth Branagh is no David Suchet, we don’t spend much time with the superb cast, and the story isn’t the whodunnit Agatha Christie penned it to be, but the film excels in picture quality. This is a native 4K disc (it was shot on 65mm and scanned in 8K), which gives every chance for the opulent, slick production to shine. It looks resplendent in 4K HDR, with velvety textures and gorgeous lighting springing the period costumes and settings to life. The delicate shading and depth of the image are stunning.
Not the most gripping film, but the picture performance is quite beautiful.
Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection
All eight Harry Potter films in 4K HDR? For certain generations of adults, teens and children, this is the ultimate boxset.
Hogwarts has never looked more magical or inviting, as you get to see more special effects and set designs of the wizarding world. Colours pop with a vivacity not seen in the original DVD or Blu-ray releases. The later films’ sombre tones benefit more from HDR in darker scenes, but the entire venture is so wonderfully realised it feels like you’re watching the films for the first time.