Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Paramount has re-released the first season of 'Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan,' this time to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR video. The audio has also been 'downgraded' to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless encode; the previous Blu-ray featured a Dolby Atmos audio presentation. No new supplements are included; all that's here are a few deleted scenes spread over the two UHD discs. Note that this is a UHD only release; neither the 2019 Blu-ray discs nor a digital copy voucher are included.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Paramount brings Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One to the UHD format with a 2160p/HDR presentation which is of a very high quality. The biggest issue with the image is that various compression artifacts are apparent at any number of junctures throughout the show (look at the scene where Jack is lying in his bed, having flashbacks, in the 15-minute mark or ceiling titles at the 18:06 mark, both in the season's first episode). These are hardly image-busters, but they are present and it's hard not to notice them. What is front and center looks very good. Indeed, the level of overall clarity is hard to miss, and even without a direct comparison it's easy to tell that this is a higher resolution image than the Blu-ray; it's just so clean and sharp as to be unmistakably 4K. The image captures significant depth and serious detail to faces, for example, where every pore and hair is presented with fine-point intimacy that reaches well beyond the Blu-ray's limits. The picture is beautiful beyond the compression; it's tack-sharp corner to corner and across every element, extending beyond faces and moving to clothes, environments, objects, city streets, office furniture, and so on and so forth. This is a super crisp and super sharp image.

The HDR grading offer a significant boost for the image as well. Look at a stretch midway through episode one that begins with a posh outdoor party. Natural greens are bold and true and the various examples of gift wrap and attire delight with precision pop and saturation. The Coast Guard helicopter that picks up Jack Ryan presents with incredibly vibrant red coloring, just leaping off the screen with a commanding depth and accuracy that blows the old Blu-ray away. Saturation and accuracy are wonderful throughout the full run, including skin tones, which are far healthier and more accurate here. Black levels are wonderful for both overall depth and low light detail precision. Whites pop with impressive brilliance. Wow!

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Well, this is rather interesting, and this is certain to ruffle some feathers on the forum (but that's why the forum exists, right?). Rather than bring over the wonderful Dolby Atmos soundtrack from the season one Blu-ray, Paramount releases Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One to the UHD format with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's a curious decision, and one might venture a guess as to why (disc space limitations?), but the good news is that the 5.1 track is certainly not a dramatic reduction in terms of overall audio yield. Certainly, the track misses those object channels and the surround-back speakers, which do offer a much fuller sense of scale and immersion, but the good news is that the 5.1 listen is active and energized, pushing itself to the upper end limit of what 5.1 audio can offer. Bass is thunderous when called upon, surround extension is prominent, and clarity is terrific. Action and music are both standard bearers for these elements, and the track presents every audio cue in these primary arenas with striking command and prominence. Atmospheric elements are likewise well engaged, whether slight background elements inside the CIA offices or more prominent din in outdoor marketplaces; episode one offers examples of both. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized from its natural front-center home. Yes, the absence of the Dolby Atmos soundtrack is disappointing, but the 5.1 track is certainly capable of carrying the show's audio needs with as much clarity, immersion, and gusto as that configuration can offer.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This UHD release of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One contains the same paltry bonuses form the 2019 Blu-ray, which amounts to deleted scenes. Please click here for coverage. No Blu-ray or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Season One 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Reservations about the switch in audio aside, this is a very good UHD release. The video quality is first-rate beyond some pesky compression issues, and the 5.1 mix, while not the Atmos mix, is excellent in its own right. It's a shame supplements are so limited, but the core of this presentation is very impressive. Recommended.