Could somebody explain what all of this technology is doing to the film?
Each official home release of LOTR (Theatrical/Extended Cut) had issues and was far from perfect. The DVD was just soft, the Theatrical Bluray and 4k-Bluray/Remastered Bluray suffered from DNR. The Extended Bluray from 2011 had black crush and a green tint (especially the first movie). This new 4k Dremaster is based on the Extended Bluray because it is the most detailed and sharpest of them all. To get rid of the green tint DrDre decided to regrade the whole movie using reference camera negatives (35mm) which were delivered to cinemas back in the day.
Here are the main features of the “Extended Edition - 4k Dremaster”:
- New Color-Grading (you have never seen this before on any home release)
- no green tint
- more nuanced and neutral than the DVD/Theatrical Bluray
- more exiting than the 4k-Bluray/Remastered Bluray
- No DNR => Grain is still intact, which gives the movie a nice cinematic look
- No Edge Enhancement => looks more natural
- 4k-Upscale to make the movie more detailed and sharper
You really have to see and compare it to the other releases. I can say that this 4k Dremastered is the best this movie has ever looked.