Avatar 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Appearing similar to the Blu-ray, Avatar hasn't aged well in terms of pure visuals. The early digital effects and their artificial, smeary aesthetics weaken the UHD's prowess. Ringing and edge enhancement further mar the end result. Avatar's sharpness is unnaturally harsh, lacking the purest definition and limiting those otherwise gorgeous wide shots on Pandora.

Stephen Lang's intro around seven-minutes is generally a complete mess. Facial detail in close smears, and it's worse in medium/long shots; the smeary faces look blasted with DNR. Look at Worthington around 1:18:05 - it's DVD quality, if almost certainly a CG limitation of the time. The next scene with Stephen Lang is among the worst, static noise/grain and other artifacts included.

Were this anything other than Avatar the home theater community would take this to task. However, this is how Avatar looked in theaters and Blu-ray, a disappointing reality and accurate UHD. All that said, the full CG Na'vi look infinitely better, clearer, and cleaner than their human counterparts, if not faultless. The same sharpening-like effect is notable there too.

HDR breathes life into the contrast, whether that's human-made sources or the natural sun of Pandora. Black levels already looked spectacular and continue to do so here. Mid-tones don't change much in the jump to a format, more of a 2009 digital camera limitation more than this disc. The major gains stem from the color. Once out of the human facility (thick with blues), Pandora reveals its beauty. Lush greenery and incredible bio-luminescent effects justify this release almost on their own.

Audio

Bumped into Dolby Atmos, the already fantastic Blu-ray audio improves a step, although it's just a step, primarily from the overhead effects tracking ship engines and wildlife passing overhead. Exquisitely full surround and side channel use keeps Pandora living through sound alone.

Way of Water sports better low-end response, or at least beefier on a consistent basis. Avatar still brings superlative boom, especially when it comes to engines firing or explosions. When the giant tree goes down, so does the bass, crushingly powerful.