4K Files played on 2K display?

[mrpoopybut]

2K(1080p) displays downscale 4K files to native resolution, but as 4K files have a much higher bitrate, does that mean the files look better than a 1080p file. Did that make sense?

[OddBa11]

That's to be expected as there is more data to push for the higher resolution.

So you can't just compare "quality" based on the resolution or the bitrate. It largely depends on the source and how it was mastered.

Not all content of the same resolution is even the same bitrate. And assuming a quality source you most likely can't tell the difference.

[RTechnik]

Originally Posted by mrpoopybut

2K(1080p) displays downscale 4K files to native resolution

The display does not do that, the player does. The quality of the downscale is based on the rendering method used in the player among other parameters. You can end up with worse quality if the rendering does bad job downscaling or the CPU/GPU/HW decoder is slow enough.

[SynchroDub]

Originally Posted by mrpoopybut

2K(1080p) displays downscale 4K files to native resolution, but as 4K files have a much higher bitrate, does that mean the files look better than a 1080p file. Did that make sense?

Technically, yes.
If you watch a 4K Blu-Ray movie on a 1080p display, you will notice that when HDR gets automatically rendered in SDR, the image is definitely much more vivid and detailed than the original compressed 1080p counterpart.
So, in a sense, 4K is definitely superior, even when watched on a standard HD display/TV.
But, the only problem that you might face is that if you don't have a faster CPU or your video card doesn't support HEVC decoding, you will end up with lots of freezes and CPU usage that gets over the 90% threshold.
So, if you want to have a smoother experience when watching 4K HEVC encoded videos or Blu-Ray rips, I highly recommend converting everything to plain MPEG-4 H.264 AVC.
As long as you keep the resolution settings untouched, there is very little loss of quality.

[carolina73]

It is going to adjust the bitrate anyways as it converts it to 2K.