It appears that the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit 4K upgrades are available to those whose purchased the iTunes versions in HD!
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Lord of the Rings in 4K HDR
- Thread starter TheDailyApple
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Well that's nice then. I saw some side by side comparisons of the new 4K HDR versions to the previous HD version and they look fantastic. Can't wait to watch it again.
Odd my versions in the UK are showing as 4k with the exception of Hobbit: Unexpected Journey, and LOTR: Return of the King still showing as HD only in my library. If I go to the store it shows a buy button on them. Maybe it'll catch up but been like this all day.
Both of those were recently relisted, I’m sure they’ll still upgrade but maybe a little of wait before it happens.
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They do, they’re all being made 4K.
Currently in the UK fellowship and two towers are 4K, and all the Hobbit EE’s are 4K.
Hopefully we'll finally get them in 4k blu ray. My gear is still all FHD, what's the point of upgrading if one of my favorite movies (trilogy) is stuck at FHD? 
BTW, are they good? The blu ray release was a bit meh.
(I'm talking about LOTR obviously, no sane person would call the hobbit trilogy "a favorite")
BTW, are they good? The blu ray release was a bit meh.
(I'm talking about LOTR obviously, no sane person would call the hobbit trilogy "a favorite")
Curious, as I have not purchased a movie from iTunes for a long long time - if one buys from iTunes such as these offerings, do they also show up under MoviesAnywhere or Vudu or Google movies or Amazon Prime? That is buy here and watch on their sites. I know it works the other way around. Any takers? I would like to give iTunes a try again and these look like great starts.
I might have to go an check mine, too!
PS: Loving the avatar! A shame we're playing awfully at the moment. Time for Arteta to turn things around, especially on Sunday!?!
I bought the extended versions of the hobbit and the LotR and it’s all 4K except for RotK. If it’s not showing up as 4K for you, try signing out and back in of iTunes to force it to refresh.
The problem is I inadvertently bought the SD version of the extended trilogy several years ago. It looks like I will have to purchase the 4K versions.
Anything bought through iTunes has to be watched through the Apple TV app (which is available for most platforms). I prefer buying movies from iTunes because of Apple’s insistence that 4K HDR movies be free upgrades to those who purchased HD versions.
If you can, wait for them to go on sale. Every so often the extended trilogy bundle goes on sale for $24.99. I was able to get both the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogies for that price each.
I own all the movies in BluRay and digital format and sadly haven't watched in quite some time. I do not own a 4k TV only a 1080p TV.
I had the BD set when it first came out and returned it. I was not happy with the picture quality. It was bad in many places. Hopefully, the 4K will be much better.I own all the movies in BluRay and digital format and sadly haven't watched in quite some time. I do not own a 4k TV only a 1080p TV.
Come to think of it, I also returned it. I only have the physical copies of the 3 Hobbit movies.
The 4k UHD set was released today for LOTR and Hobbit.Hopefully we'll finally get them in 4k blu ray. My gear is still all FHD, what's the point of upgrading if one of my favorite movies (trilogy) is stuck at FHD?
BTW, are they good? The blu ray release was a bit meh.
(I'm talking about LOTR obviously, no sane person would call the hobbit trilogy "a favorite")
If I play the movies from inside my “Library” they say HD but if I play from the iTunes Store page they say 4K (with the exception of Return of the King which is still HD). I think I’ll wait until next week and if it hasn’t resolved I’ll call them and ask what’s up. Always watch these movies over Christmas and would be nice to have the 4K versions.
I loved the trilogies when they originally came out, seen the movies a few times. I've had an early copy of the discs for a little while but just can't get myself to rewatch. I thought around christmas, but I'm just not in the mood. Maybe christmas next year. I think I've never lost so much interest in a movie which I enjoyed before.
Was searching for a review for the 4k versions and came across this thread. I bought the original extended trilogy a couple of years back. Can confirm that it’s a free 4k upgrade for those who bought the HD version. Except for ROTK. That is still in standard HD for me.
Also I just want to add that I’m actually running Apple TV from my PS4 slim on a standard 1080p SHARP TV. A very basic HD TV. But the picture quality is really really good. Colours are a lot more vibrant. Images are really sharp and satisfying. Audio has definitely been remixed and refined. There’s a lot more depth and dynamics. Very consistent mixing quality. The biggest difference I noticed is that colours no longer looks dull and washed out. Even though I’m streaming the movie, the quality is ridiculously good. Watching over 2 hours of FOTR and I’ve not come across any compression artifacts even during the dark scenes. Apple’s streaming quality is really by far the best of all the competition out there.
EDIT: ROTK is streaming on 4k HDR now.
Also I just want to add that I’m actually running Apple TV from my PS4 slim on a standard 1080p SHARP TV. A very basic HD TV. But the picture quality is really really good. Colours are a lot more vibrant. Images are really sharp and satisfying. Audio has definitely been remixed and refined. There’s a lot more depth and dynamics. Very consistent mixing quality. The biggest difference I noticed is that colours no longer looks dull and washed out. Even though I’m streaming the movie, the quality is ridiculously good. Watching over 2 hours of FOTR and I’ve not come across any compression artifacts even during the dark scenes. Apple’s streaming quality is really by far the best of all the competition out there.
EDIT: ROTK is streaming on 4k HDR now.
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I loved the trilogies when they originally came out, seen the movies a few times. I've had an early copy of the discs for a little while but just can't get myself to rewatch. I thought around christmas, but I'm just not in the mood. Maybe christmas next year. I think I've never lost so much interest in a movie which I enjoyed before.
It is a bit of a commitment to watch the 12 hours or so. At least thats what always puts me off rewatching, it isn't a trilogy, it is one huge movie.
Yes because it was relisted back in September so it had a store ID that matches the US listing.