Split 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Split 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

It's interesting to see Split (and Get Out, for that matter) release to UHD now when both films first debuted on Blu-ray only a few months ago, a time well beyond the 4K format's entry into the marketplace and when many new releases were being paired with a 2160p counterpart. Perhaps Universal wanted a better read on the market, but regardless of the decision-making process the UHD version is here now (which can only be a good sign), perhaps much to the chagrin of UHD-capable movie fans who settled for the Blu-ray only recently. But for those who have yet to own the film for home consumption or who love it enough to upgrade this soon, the question is how well it fares on the flashy new format. Read on...

Split 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Split was digitally photographed at 2.8K and finished at 2K. Yes, this 2160p/HDR-enhanced presentation is another 4K upscale that nevertheless offers a boost in color and clarity over the Blu-ray. Most immediately noticeable is how skin sees a marked increase in sharpness and complexity. Pores are deep, wrinkles very complex, and bumps and other imperfections so sharp that faces almost look artificial, enhanced beyond a natural state. Perhaps that's just a decade of Blu-ray watching speaking, but something looks just slightly off in terms of this presentation's facial textures. Otherwise, the increased detail is very welcome. Clothes see a healthy gain in complexity and stability. The wooden planks in the room where the girls are held captive, a little weathered and a lot scratched, reveal greater textural complexity, as do the rough stone walls that are so sharp they could cut a finger. City and natural environments enjoy a boost in detail and clarity as well. Colors are very well saturated, turning just a shade darker than the Blu-ray but offering a much fuller, richer, more nuanced presentation. "Hedwig" wears a yellow jacket that shows impressive pop yet also color depth. Those woods in the holding room offer a very deep, very accurate brown tone. Fallen leaves in various wooded exterior flashback scenes enjoy superb color saturation -- shades of yellow, orange and brown -- which offer a nice contrast to the punchy natural greens around them. Black levels don't push too pale and skin tones appear more or less true to whatever light and mood any given scene establishes. A fork on the bottom-left corner of a restaurant table in the film's very first shot shimmers along the blade, but such imperfections are very few and far between. Despite some reservations with skin textures, this UHD offers a good general increase in color and clarity over the Blu-ray.

Split 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In something of a surprise -- a mild shock, really -- Universal has chosen not to boost Split's UHD soundtrack to DTS:X (or Dolby Atmos, for that matter), opting to instead stay the course with the same DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that accompanied the Blu-ray. What makes the decision even more puzzling is that every other Universal UHD release coming out on the same day Split releases -- Get Out, Van Helsing, Dracula Untold, and The Purge trilogy -- have all received an upgrade to DTS:X. Regardless of why, the included 5.1 track is quite proficient; click here for a full review.

Split 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Split's UHD release contains no extras on the new disc but does carry over everything previously released by way of the bundled Blu-ray. A UV/iTunes digital copy code is included with purchase. Below is a listing of included extras; please click here for more detail.

• Alternate Ending
• Deleted Scenes
• The Making of Split
• The Many Faces of James McAvoy
• The Filmmaker's Eye: M. Night Shyamalan

Split 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Split more or less looks fine on UHD. It's so sharp that skin almost looks a bit overzealously enhanced, but the image on the whole offers a nice little uptick in overall clarity and definition. Colors enjoy a mild boost in richness. Curiously, Universal has not offered a soundtrack enhancement to Atmos or DTS:X, instead sticking with the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless presentation, itself quite good but the failure to offer a boosted track is a head-scratcher indeed. As expected, no new extras are included, and all carryover supplements may be found on the bundled Blu-ray. This one's a hard recommend to owners of the original Blu-ray based on a few factors, but for newcomers to the film (or repeat buyers with very deep pockets), there's no reason not to pick this up over the 1080p release.