iPlayer HLG/UHD HDR on Samsung’s J and K Series TVs

[ewanstancarr]

So, of the nigh on 400 TVs supported in BBC iplayer for the Blue Planet II  HLG episodes none are from Samsung. Oh joy. 

...

Moderator edit: Original thread title was "Blue Planet 2 HLG - No Samsung". With the OP's permission, the title was changed on 12/03/2018 to accurately reflect the dominant theme of the thread as it has progressed. If the reader would like to know more about the HLG format, please check out the BBC's page and FAQ's on it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/projects/high-dynamic-range Thank you, AntS.

[mrtickle]

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@barrybrown wrote:

The most likey next HLG experience may well be the world cup from russia every match will be streamed in  UHD HDR ,1080 and sdr to all national broadcasters ,who then chose which format to broadcast in.

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Indeed yes, this had a lot of publicity: All 2018 World Cup matches to be shot in 4K HDR

It's also my understanding that the Winter Olympics will be available in HDR as well.

The Opening Ceremony is on Friday 9th February, so not long to wait and then find out that we can't see it 😕 (after all, we have a big fat total of zero broadcasters who are actually broadcasting in HDR in the UK. Catch-up services are different to live broadcasts.

Potential story (it's in what Hi-Fi): 

https://www.whathifi.com/news/2018-winter-olympics-to-be-made-available-in-4k-hdr

"The option to broadcast in 4K HDR has been picked up by NBC in the United States. The Games, which start on February 9th and end on the 25th, and will be broadcast in the UK by the BBC. Whether or not iPlayer will carry 4K images is yet to be confirmed."

This means

1. NBC in America will actually broadcast in 4K HDR.

2. The BBC will broadcast something (probably only 1080i SDR *).

3. There might be something on the iPlayer, so those waiting for the next "trial" might not have long to wait.

* However, my KS7000 has a sateliite tuner and Samsung keep telling us they've enabled HLG over real proper broadcasting, so you never know...

[ManiacBart]

Just wanted to say I tweeted John Archer (Writer for What Hi-Fi, Forbes etc.) following up on an earlier tweet asking him to raise the HLG issue with Samsung as follows:

Me:

"Hi John presume it was all head in the sand over at @SamsungUK re: hlg for ks7000 & ks8000? Fair to say people on samsung & avforums feel miss-sold!"

Response:

"Certainly not had an answer yet, despite multiple requests before CES, at CES, and since. Will keep on them."

I'll let you know if I hear anything more.

[daleski75]

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@ManiacBart wrote:

Just wanted to say I tweeted John Archer (Writer for What Hi-Fi, Forbes etc.) following up on an earlier tweet asking him to raise the HLG issue with Samsung as follows:

Me:

@"Hi John presume it was all head in the sand over at @SamsungUK re: hlg for ks7000 & ks8000? Fair to say people on samsung & avforums feel miss-sold!"

Response:

"Certainly not had an answer yet, despite multiple requests before CES, at CES, and since. Will keep on them."

I'll let you know if I hear anything more.

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All we can do is to keep up the pressure as much as we can, either for refunds or to get these features adding in and excellent work btw.

I sent a message to the guy who does reviews for avforums when he was at CES but never heard anything back.

[hdmi]

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@mrtickle wrote:

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@paul1111 wrote:

Also might be usefull to post that on the samsung refund thread and AV Forums ks8000/9000 thread.

Paul

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Since you mention it, this may be of interest.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-lcd-flat-panel-displays/2387466-official-samsung-ks8000-ks8500-own...

QUOTE:

HDR10+ SUPPORT:

One of the executives from the NJ office called me last night to discuss several issues, including The Wall and the specifications of the 2018 lineup which will be made public at the pre-launch event in March. I asked him about South Korea's response to the uproar over the HDR10+ update promised for the 2016 TVs, and he agrees that it was/is being handled poorly by the corporate headquarters. The promises and statements in PR pieces are routinely made by individuals with little actual input from the R&D and software engineering teams; this invariably results in overstatements and unrealistic timelines being published. He does not foresee much change to this scenario as this is a global problem for the company, and changes to policy are difficult to achieve on such a large scale. So far, all I have heard from the R&D team is that the system architecture on the 2016 sets is so different from that on the 2017 sets that the promised firmware update may just not work. No one so far, however, has actually said it will NOT happen.

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(bold = my emphasis)

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HDR10+ was confirmed over streaming for 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSwMLXnmxOU&t=526 (time stamp 8 mins 25 seconds)

http://www.samsung.com/global/tv/news/samsung-and-amazon-video-deliver-next-generation-hdr-video-exp...

[daleski75]

On whathifi forums now with zero response from anyone.

https://www.whathifi.com/forum/tvs-and-projectors/samsung-tv-and-bbc-4k-iplayer

[ewanstancarr]

I think it's fantastic that everyone is keeping the flames up on this one. Samsung has treated customers appallingly and  it's day will come. Hopefully the word will spread and eventually reach a wider population.. especially on the broader issue of their dire customer service

[daleski75]

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@ewanstancarr wrote:

I think it's fantastic that everyone is keeping the flames up on this one. Samsung has treated customers appallingly and  it's day will come. Hopefully the word will spread and eventually reach a wider population.. especially on the broader issue of their dire customer service

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Sadly I think we are in the minority.

[daleski75]

Response from a chap on behalf of the CEO

Dear Mr ********,

Thank you for your email addressed for the attention of our Chief Executive Officer, Seb**** *****. As part if the Customer Support Team, your correspondence has been passed to me to investigate and respond.

I am sorry to hear that your Samsung TV was advertised as having the Smart Things function when this has not been provided by the manufacturer. I can appreciate how disappointing this must be.

Before we can look at offering you a solution to your complaint, please could you send us a copy of the email you have received from Samsung stating that the function will now not be made available. 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

********

[mrtickle]

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@hdmi wrote:

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@mrtickle wrote:

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@paul1111 wrote:

Also might be usefull to post that on the samsung refund thread and AV Forums ks8000/9000 thread.

Paul

---

Since you mention it, this may be of interest.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-lcd-flat-panel-displays/2387466-official-samsung-ks8000-ks8500-own...

QUOTE:

HDR10+ SUPPORT:

One of the executives from the NJ office called me last night to discuss several issues, including The Wall and the specifications of the 2018 lineup which will be made public at the pre-launch event in March. I asked him about South Korea's response to the uproar over the HDR10+ update promised for the 2016 TVs, and he agrees that it was/is being handled poorly by the corporate headquarters. The promises and statements in PR pieces are routinely made by individuals with little actual input from the R&D and software engineering teams; this invariably results in overstatements and unrealistic timelines being published. He does not foresee much change to this scenario as this is a global problem for the company, and changes to policy are difficult to achieve on such a large scale. So far, all I have heard from the R&D team is that the system architecture on the 2016 sets is so different from that on the 2017 sets that the promised firmware update may just not work. No one so far, however, has actually said it will NOT happen.

---

(bold = my emphasis)

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HDR10+ was confirmed over streaming for 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSwMLXnmxOU&t=526 (time stamp 8 mins 25 seconds)

http://www.samsung.com/global/tv/news/samsung-and-amazon-video-deliver-next-generation-hdr-video-exp...

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I'm afraid you have misconstrued the text I quoted.

Those links are the promises that were and I quote "routinely made by individuals with little actual input from the R&D and software engineering teams".

They are also the promises that all of us here have been using, and should certainly continue to use, when talking to Samsung to keep up the pressure. I've posted them myself.

We all know what they promised and that they (the management) promised it. That wasn't the point of my post. 

They promised it without checking what was and was not possible first with the R&D team. To which we, owners here, say "tough!".

But, what is actually possible to do in the end will determine the outcome, if the R&D team are allowed to continue their attempts to get it to work. The last two sentences of my quote are the most important.

[paul1277]

This from KS refund

Response from a chap on behalf of the CEO

Dear Mr ********,

Thank you for your email addressed for the attention of our Chief Executive Officer, Seb**** *****. As part if the Customer Support Team, your correspondence has been passed to me to investigate and respond.

I am sorry to hear that your Samsung TV was advertised as having the Smart Things function when this has not been provided by the manufacturer. I can appreciate how disappointing this must be.

Before we can look at offering you a solution to your complaint, please could you send us a copy of the email you have received from Samsung stating that the function will now not be made available. 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

********

Just ask them when they will be supplying the Smart Connect as advertised. Also the reply from Samsung UK. Again just time wasting and trying to male it as difficult as possible.

Paul.

Gave them the proof now so it's now wait and see for what they come back with, I very much doubt I will get what I want but hey you never know!

They are just trying their luck. JL has agreed to replace and they are following the same regs, I think Curry's are concerned if they refund one it will open the floodgates, that is why they will put as many obstacles in the way. It's a case of wears who down first. By them always asking for something else it stops any legal action until they have exhausted their  all their avenues, and probably they are waiting on Samsung. 

It was interesting Curry's response on facebook messenger when I asked about the smart connect they replied with this,

Currys PC World Hi A****,

I understand your frustration!!

I understand that a decision was made recently by Samsung not to introduce the smart things dongle, which would have offered the potential to control various aspects of your home through the television.

Have you considered using a Samsung Smarthub as an alternative resolution?

https://www.currys.co.uk/.../samsung-smartthings-hub...

Richard

So with this they are saying they understand Samsung are not supplying the Smart Connec, which asks why are they asking you for evidence and why do they not also ask Samsung???????

Thing is you need to connect the TV to the smart thing and that was what the connected was for. I did ask and now they will not answer my questions. I also showed them the email from Samsung UK, so they do know and it's just time wasting. If they thought they had a good case to refuse they would have said so long ago.

You will get there trust me.

Paul