topic Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU in TV

Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 14:15:00 GMT

It is worst on the in-built Disney+ app (the Star Wars movies + The Mandalorian scenes are so dark you almost cannot see anything, as well as Marvel's Black Panther!). It is also noticable on Amazon Prime for shows such as Hunters in 4K mode. When you select the non-4K version of Hunters the picture is lovely and bright!. Also occurs on the Apple TV app, again very dark for 4K HDR films but lovely and bright for the ones only available in HD. Luckily my Netflix subscription is only HD so that picture is not affected and is great. All these issues are with the in-built apps as I bought this TV so I wouldn't require an external streaming box.

In the absence of it actually working correctly, is there a simple menu option to disable HDR?

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Luke29 — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 11:44:24 GMT

I have the exact same issue. Please keep me updated.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Mikeraw — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 17:11:09 GMT

Yep, i also have the same issue.

Recently purchased the TV and noticed after watching a few films on Disney. The picture is too dark, even with the curtains closed it still does not make a diffeance. Some of the scenes in the films are unwatchable.

I've played around with the settings and unfortunatley i can't seem to change anything to improve the quality.

Hopefully Samsung can point us in the right direction

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 21:31:57 GMT

Had a long online chat with a support engineer and shared this screen shot from Disney+ (4K HDR10)Disney+ 4K HDR10...and compared it to the same scene in HD from my Plex server.

Plex HD

There was plenty of suggestions like tweaking the gamma and dark shadow settings but nothing that would get the 4K picture anything like the HD one.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 22:48:06 GMT

@AndrewL I see you commented on a similar issue so here is my post where I even took some photos of the dark screen compared to what it should be. My issue is currently escalated within support but any thoughts?

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 14:58:30 GMT

As the support team seem baffled by this, I have resorted to the less than satisfactory workaround by buying a Fire TV Stick HD (as opposed to a 4K one). By using the streaming apps on this HD only external device, this will avoid the current 4K HDR issues. Luckily there isn't much advantage to 4K on a 43 inch screen and the HD picture still looks great. A lesson learned on my part....

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Luke29 — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 15:23:29 GMT

I've done the exact same thing. There is no work around, there are no better picture settings. HDR ruins the TV picture quality.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 15:37:44 GMT

@Luke29 "Luckily" the Fire TV Stick is currently half price on Amazon and it also solves the annoying bug that the Samsung Disney+ app had where you couldn't go into the submenus (Star Wars, Pixar, etc). To be honest it is overall a lot more responsive than the TV and the remote is a lot better. Not bad for £20. Going to "un-smart" the TV....

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Stelaith — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 15:27:28 GMT

Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction concerning this matter, I have tweaked your solution slightly and changed device resolution on my 4k stick to 2160p this has sorted out the problems I was having. Picture bob on now!!

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:44:40 GMT

Upgraded to firmware 1302 and it’s certainly improved the 4K HDR picture from Disney+ (see above). Had to update via USB as it wasn’t available directly from the TV.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:50:20 GMT

Upgraded to firmware 1302 and it’s certainly improved the 4K HDR picture from Disney+ (see above). Had to update via USB as it wasn’t available directly from the TV.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Variantfrog — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 22:18:22 GMT

Is there any information from Samsung about the update 1302.5?

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 08:05:13 GMT

Couldn’t find any obvious Release Notes with it. The menu system seems a bit faster also.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

ijuk999 — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:19:43 GMT

@scchipli - I'm afraid this is an ongoing issue with Samsung TVs (although other brands are also affected). have a look at this thread from the US https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/4k-8k-and-Other-TVs/TURN-HDR-OFF/td-p/1232488

I've read that there might be a firmware update coming in europe to address this, although Samsung are staying pretty quiet on the topic.

To date there is no option to manually turn HDR off. Just hope that Samsung start to actually use feedback from these forums. Far better source of troubleshooting info than their R&D team

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

scchipli — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 07:40:18 GMT

ijuk999 Firmware update available in the UK and fixed the issue for me. 4K HDR content is now fine from the inbuilt TV apps for Disney+, Prime and Apple TV.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Dunk27 — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 09:51:31 GMT

I have a Samsung ue65ru8000uxxu with the 1361 software that was released in July 2020 and was experiencing the same HDR issues - very dark with very muted colours but only noticeable when watching Ozark on Netflix and Greyhound on the AppleTV app.

Anyway, after playing with the settings (after watching parts on my Roku 4k stick in non-HDR mode on the same TV which showed how good it could look) I changed the picture to Dynamic from Natural, the Contrast enhancement to high, set the backlight to the max 50, and increased the brightness. That has made a massive difference and make those 2 watchable - changing to Dynamic made the biggest impact. Most HDR on Netflix was fine before, so must be some different type of HDR in Ozark that made it so dark.

I wish Samsung will add the option to turn off HDR support as I much prefer the picture from the Roku in non-HDR 4K, but one of the reasons to get the TV was so that everything was in one place and I could have 1 remote control for everything!

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Evertonskidog — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 08:52:39 GMT

My tv shows 1302 but is still VERY dark on hdr.
Is 1302.5 different to 1302 that’s on the tv? Not sure if the tv just doesn’t show the decimal point

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Hydrad — Sat, 19 Sep 2020 18:26:38 GMT

It is not Samsung. I have noticed this for a LOT of 4K reissues of existing films. I have purchased quite a few 4k disks for movies that I really like and already own Blu ray versions. About 90% of the time, the movie looks much better in 1080p than in 4k. The scenes are way too dark and you loose a lot of detail. There are also color problems that are most apparent when you compare flesh tones in the 4K vs the Blu Ray. I see this on three different TV's from different manufacturers and on my computer monitor using Leawo to play the disk. You can get it to look close to the Blu Ray version by adjusting the brightness, contrast, and gamma, but each movie will require different settings, so you are going to have to go through this procedure for each and every movie you watch. Newer movies, ie within the last three years, do not seem to have this problem. And some older movies that were transferred to 4K correctly, don't seem to have this problem either. Its a problem in the transfer to 4K, not a TV problem. I've stopped buying 4K versions of older movies. Its just a waste of money. . Buy the Blu ray 1080p versions, you will have a much better movie experience.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

Dbertie58 — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 06:39:09 GMT

Please can you post the link to the 1302 firmware.

Re: Dark scenes so dark they're unwatchable in HDR mode on UE43TU7000KXXU

MissGiGi777 — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 20:15:00 GMT

All I did was change the 'Contrast Enhancer' setting to High & this fixed the darkness issue for me.