Uncharted 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Noisy digital imagery is the source for this 2K material, playing out on the messier side and keeping the encode working overtime. That doesn't help much as Uncharted usually fills with chroma errors. Stiff, solid, and bright color furthers the issue. Whether it's walls or flesh tones, the digital-ness persists, and unusually heavy for a major studio production. A little ringing doesn't help either.

Bringing the gloss for a high dollar production is the Dolby Vision job, pounding out the highlights and brightness. When light and dark clash, it's visual spectacle, using the full width afforded to this format, even if black levels tens to fall on the lighter side by design. Note this doesn't help hide the often sloppy composites, but that's no fault from the disc.

Detail can thrive, but infrequently. The noise buries quite a bit, yet even when in exterior light and clarity stays high, fidelity doesn't hit a particularly notable peak. Facial texture stays moderate with average medium and/or wide shots (aside from brief city aerials). Some of that falls on the CG extensions keeping resolution restrained.

Audio

When given the chance, Uncharted's booming low-end stretches deep, pouring out power and depth. Whether it's a dance club or ancient machinery coming to life, the subwoofer extensions can swallow a room. Oddly though, it's on the reserved side, choosing to hold off until the moment is right, and staying lean the rest of the way. Gunshots and punches bring limited weight in comparison, but pick up by a major late second act action scene.

Surrounds pick up alongside the action, fairly mundane otherwise even where offered ambient potential. Things like rushing water will fill the overheads, giving Uncharted a capable sonic space to play with. The finale involves dueling helicopters that see purpose in Atmos effects, if inconsistently. There's enough accuracy, but it's not the type of mix to keep on a shelf to demo short of the last (and lengthy) action sequence.