Is the term "4k mastered" a new marketing gimmick for 4k tv owners?

[yoda313]

I've seen this for Ghostbusters. They've got a new bluray edition that says "4k mastered". Of course a bluray isn't 4k.

I do understand the importance of starting with a high quality source. I know some of the early bluray releases were just really upconverted dvds essentially and not done as well as they should have.

However is this just more smoke and mirrors to get people to rebuy the same movie again and again?

Or is this a bluray version of those superbit dvds that eeked out as much bitrate as they could on the platform they used?

Otherwise to me it just seems like marketing bull.

So whats the real story for a bluray that states its "4k mastered"?

--- Please note I don't even have a 3dtv so 4k is quite a few years down the road for me, if ever if it becomes a passing fad like 3dtv sort of is now.

Edit - here's the edition I"m talking about at amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ghostbusters-Mastered-Single-Disc-Blu-ray-Digital/dp/B00BPA2PBG/...s=ghostbusters

Edit 2 - and whats this expanded color stuff? Is that more trickery?
Expanded color requires xvYCC-compatible TV and Blu-ray player

[smrpix]

4k mastering is completely legitimate for theatrical projection as it can retain almost all the information in a 35mm negative. It's unlikely to make a noticeable difference at home on any but the most high-end systems for a few years.

[budwzr]

I'm sure they went back to the original film to do the upscale so it probably looks pretty good. The more spatial resolution, the deeper the color, and finer the shading and edge detail.

[jagabo]

Edit 2 - and whats this expanded color stuff? Is that more trickery?
Expanded color requires xvYCC-compatible TV and Blu-ray player

Normal YUV video requires the U and V (color) channels to range between 16 and 240. xvYCC allows them to range from 0 to 255. Those extra values allow the encoding of a wider gamut of colors.

[yoda313]

Thanks everyone.

I guess there is SOME value in this then. Though I am skeptical.

Than again I haven't even seen a 4k tv demo in a store yet.