How to I tell if UHD/4K/HDR when playing built in apps, and Amazon Fire Cube?

[Johnash]

I have a Samsung QLED (QE49Q60RATXXC). I am totally confused as to whether I'm watching UHD or not! I know I should be able to tell from the content but I can't! 

I have found no way of checking if I'm watching on the inbuilt Amazon Prime app. How can I tell?

When playing from my Amazon Fire Cube, at the bottom of the screen it says "HD HDR" as the video starts, but if I press "Info" on my Samsung remote it says "UHD" etc and the HDR Plus option is there to select in settings, which is selected.

If I play "UHD" videos from YouTube the 'Input Signal Plus' setting is greyed out. 

The more I research this, the more confused I get. Oh, I did read the other way to test if you're watching from an external source in UHD was to look at the input from the smart menu and it would show "HDR". This never appears. 

I appreciate any help that can be offered to clear my confusion on this matter.  

[AndrewL]

@Johnash: For streaming apps such as Amazon Prime, Youtube etc the format of the content will be displayed in the description, however for some apps I think you are required to be signed up to a certain package in order to view it in UHD. Similarly, this also applies to the capabilities of any external devices you have connected to the TV. Please be aware that Input Signal Plus only applies to external devices connected via HDMI, which is why the option is greyed out while using the YouTube app. 

[Johnash]

Thanks for the tips, Andrew. I have a few more questions which I'll post later. I need to do a few more "tests" but I do feel I'm not seeing a true 4K UHD HDR picture.

[IronGumby]

Oddly/unfortunately, Amazon Prime Video has kept their UHD content separate from HD (or even SD.  One time I bought a digital movie purchase years back and somehow bought the SD version because I had to search for the separately listed HD one before I realized!).  So instead of just pushing you the best quality you can stream, you have to search for the 4K or UHD version of the content you want to watch.

For YouTube, you have to check the quality each time you stream a video, by going up and checking/selecting if it's 4K or not.  Often times mine defaults to 1440p based on internet service bandwidth, but I can watch 4K if I choose it and let it buffer.

[Johnash]

Yes, I search for 4k videos on Amazon Prime. And it states "UHD" at the top but when it starts playing it says "HD HDR", bottom left. I have a good Internet speed (40mbs+). If I press "info" on the Samsung remote it tells me the connection is UHD etc but I'm sure its not playing in UHD. 

On Youtube I choose 4k videos but, when I check the Samsung settings, Input Signal Plus is greyed out, indicating it's not 4k/HDR. 

Both of the above apply to playing from my Fire TV Cube. When I play using the native apps, there is no way of checking what's going on as the Info button does nothing. 

Buying a UHD TV and a powerful Fire TV device, would, I thought, lead to a simple life full of watching better TV pictures. That is far from the case.

[IronGumby]

Well, like AndrewL said, the native apps will gray out the Input Signal Plus, because it is only an HDMI input setting (idk why anyone would ever want to turn this OFF, but I digress...).

Idk the answer, but I have TV on the small side like you (ok, normal side, haha), and found this chart helpful from rtings.com where you to notice the difference in 4K vs HD, you must sit close enough to the TV (or have a bigger one)!  I didn't know this prior to buying (maybe I would've gotten a 55" or 60"), but you must sit <6.5' away for a 49-50"!

https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-size/size-to-distance-relationship 

BTW i don't use the native apps as I have a Roku and didn't want adds on my TV too so mine's not even hooked up to wifi

[Johnash]

I've got a bit further. I changed my Wi-Fi connection, having tried connecting my Fire Cube via Ethernet and a Powerline adapter. That connection was slow because of the terrible wiring in the house so I reverted to Wi-Fi but this time connected via the 5G Wi-Fi signal. Tried a UHD movie and this time it showed "UHD HDR" when I pressed Down on the Fire Cube remote. So it was not playing before in UHD as it thought the Wi-Fi was not fast enough (though we have a pretty fast Internet connection as stated before). At least now I know what I'm aiming for and can try and improve the Wi-Fi signal or look at other options if "UHD" doesn't show as a matter of course.

My TV still doesn't see the YouTube app on the Cube as providing an HDR connection so will give up on that and use the native app. 

Thanks for all the advice. If I make any earthshattering discoveries, I promise to post them here!