‘Star Wars’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ make Disney+ worth it

The icing on the cake for Star Wars fans is the new 4K remaster on Disney+. The original and prequel trilogies haven’t been touched since their Blu-ray release in 2011, so this is a major new release for those films. There have been rumors that Disney was working on a 4K Blu-ray boxset for next year, and that seems even more likely now, since the core Star Wars films have all been upgraded for modern home theater formats.

So what does all this new tech actually accomplish? A New Hope looks sharper than ever in 4K, and the increased dynamic range of Dolby Vision really makes the image pop. Darth Vader’s inky black outfit and cape stood out even more from the all-white interior of the Rebel Alliance ship. And the desert sun of Tatooine looked even more searing than before. The new Dolby Atmos sound mix also made the Death Star raid sound richer and more expansive on my home theater. You certainly won’t mistake the remastered original trilogy for one of the newer Star Wars films, but the upgrades are welcome without ruining their integrity.

Let’s face it: Disney+ is going to be a must-have service for anyone with kids, given its breadth of classic movies and TV shows. Everyone else will need more compelling reasons to shell out $7 a month or $70 a year. So far, The Mandalorian and the remastered Star Wars films are the biggest draw yet.

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Presenter: Devindra Hardawar

Script: Devindra Hardawar

Script Editor: Terrence O’Brien

Editor: Kyle Maack

Producer/Camera: Michael Morris

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