4k movies what special?

Of course it's clear that the resolution is a lot better and something like that but I mean does it make any format technically special? I would like to see him on my (about 5 years old) laptop and would be stupid if that does not work

Well without a 4K monitor / TV brings you nothing. And 4k streams have a much worse bit rate than e.g. 4K Blu Rays. But 4K Blu Rays top are also the sound format e.g. Dolby Atmos that comes uncompressed with the disc is extremely good. But you will not benefit if you have no facility to do so.

It is quite possible that it will work, except that if the laptop does not support 4K you will only be able to see the whole thing at full HD, if you are unlucky and want to play a movie on a UHD disc then it can be your laptop maybe even has difficulty reading the codec of the disc has.

For 4K films to be really special, it also requires a corresponding technical equipment and this includes a 4K TV, a UHD player and possibly decent boxes for the sound, so a private home theater system. Because the technical equipment of the user gives the UHD Blu-ray only the opportunity to play their maximum quality. That's why I find it imbecilic to play UHD Blu-rays or 4K content on a much too small laptop, because the purpose behind the product was ultimately similar to the Blu-ray Cineasten at home to allow an even better home theater experience and that works with a computer or laptop that in the end can't really play the quality difference between Full HD and 4K, if he does not even support the latter, just not.

The biggest problem of most people and this is of course already a social disadvantage, is that this all 4K discs or other 4K content demonize, since the quality of the Blu-ray would hardly be better, but in the end also have not got the technical equipment to to be able to judge these technically, because the extended color gamut and the sharpness difference itself as well as the more genuine colors and the better contrast are only with the right high end device still clearly visible and reach thereby only their actual quality.

With technical regards

Of course it's clear that the resolution is a lot better and something like that but I mean does it make any format technically special?

Yes, a new video compression is being used - HEVC / H.265 - which your computer can't decode with hardware support (FullHD has used the predecessor AVC / H.264 max.).

That is, the film would have to be decoded purely by software technology, and your laptop is certainly too slow for that - at least with the usual 4K data rates.

Only relatively new Intel processors from Kaby Lake (Intel Core 7th Generation from 2016) have a HEVC decoder built in.

So apart from the fact that you could barely reproduce the resolution anyway, and definitely not HDR - the real advantage of UHD.

Your computer will not be able to play movies from an external USB UHD drive, nor will it be certified for 4K streams (such as Netflix).

Conclusion:

I would like to see him on my (about 5 years old) laptop and would be stupid if that does not work

Will not go.

Anyway, my 4K-enabled hardware (Lenovo Convertible and Samsung Tablet) are premium products from last year.