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

(Topic created on: 07-07-2019 04:10 PM)
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ewanstancarr
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So, of the nigh on 400 TVs supported in BBC iplayer for the Blue Planet II  HLG episodes none are from Samsung. Oh joy. 

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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.

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rozel
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Well just popped round to Currys and bought an Amazon fire TV Stick 4K.  First impressions (using wifi) are that the picture quality seems significantly better using the Roku.  Sharpness seems comparable but the vibrance of the picture doesn't seem as good.  No messing around switching the HDMI inputs though, which is a good thing - is this a Roku issue or what exactly?  I haven't yet toggled the HDMI inputs as the PQ doesn't seem washed out.  I have ordered an Amazon Ethernet adaptor, coming next week and I'll look again.  I think the specs of the Fire Stick are better than the Roku sound-wise particularly and it will be good to see what Netflix produces at some point.

 

One thing to note - whilst you can get an "impression" of the quality of your wifi, it doesn't give the same figurative readout that the Roku gives.  I am currently getting "Fair" or "Marginal" using the Fire Stick and bu**er me, when I checked the Roku, I was getting between 42 and 44mbps !!  That's the best I have ever achieved lol.   So it will be interesting to see what the Fire Stick delivers when connected to Ethernet.  I shall update middle of next week

 

Edit: -  (Saturday)  I guess the better Wifi with the Roku is down to it's cabling which acts as a quasi-ariel - the Fire Stick doesn't have this, so I expect the signal will be a lot better with the Ethernet adaptor.  I'll check the washed-out effect again too.

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rozel
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Further tinkering with the Roku (Display Settings) resulted in further quality improvement - Centre Court at Wimbledon has never looked so good.  In fact the quality was breathtaking.  Still getting 42/44mbps Wifi, which I believe resulted in an altered placement of the power cord - taken a photo so I can remember how it is placed lol!  Again I still have to toggle the HDMI inputs to clear the "washed-out" colours though.  Going to research a simple activity on my Harmony App to do this but I'm doubtful I will be successful as I only want to do this when viewing UHD.  Daft thing is is that it's not necessary to do this when watching Netflix - so this must be an iPlayer or Samsung thing. 

 

More to come later this week, once I've got the Fire TV Stick 4K Ethernet Adapter, but yesterday I got constant buffering using this stick.

 

Edit: -  Caught the wife watching a Netflix HDR film and colours were washed out - a quick toggle sorted and she said "how did you do that?, that's brilliant!" haha!  So it's clearly a Samsung thing and I bet when I check the fire stick, I will need to toggle it too!

blenky
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@rozel wrote:

Further tinkering with the Roku (Display Settings) resulted in further quality improvement - Centre Court at Wimbledon has never looked so good.  In fact the quality was breathtaking.  Still getting 42/44mbps Wifi, which I believe resulted in an altered placement of the power cord - taken a photo so I can remember how it is placed lol!  Again I still have to toggle the HDMI inputs to clear the "washed-out" colours though.  Going to research a simple activity on my Harmony App to do this but I'm doubtful I will be successful as I only want to do this when viewing UHD.  Daft thing is is that it's not necessary to do this when watching Netflix - so this must be an iPlayer or Samsung thing. 

 

More to come later this week, once I've got the Fire TV Stick 4K Ethernet Adapter, but yesterday I got constant buffering using this stick.

 

Edit: -  Caught the wife watching a Netflix HDR film and colours were washed out - a quick toggle sorted and she said "how did you do that?, that's brilliant!" haha!  So it's clearly a Samsung thing and I bet when I check the fire stick, I will need to toggle it too!


Is the Roku connected directly into the TV via OCB or via an AVR.  I used to have a Roku connected via an AVR and never had this issue.  

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rozel
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I used to have it connected into a spare "One Connect" HDMI port but I get better control using my Harmony Hub with it connected to my Yamaha Receiver.  However I still had to toggle the HDMI inputs.

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blenky
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@rozel wrote:

I used to have it connected into a spare "One Connect" HDMI port but I get better control using my Harmony Hub with it connected to my Yamaha Receiver.  However I still had to toggle the HDMI inputs.


So you get the wahsed out issue when it was connected to the OCB and the AVR?  Maybe is it is the TV then.

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Snoopzster
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I'm new to this thread so haven't read it properly.

 

I was under the impression the K series Samsung Tvs couldn't view iplayer HLG UHD broadcasts, but i am finding on my KS9000 i am able to view through the Virginmedia V6 iplayer app.

 

Are there any other ways to view HLG on iplayer or any firmware updates to my TV?

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blenky
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@Snoopzster wrote:

I'm new to this thread so haven't read it properly.

 

I was under the impression the K series Samsung Tvs couldn't view iplayer HLG UHD broadcasts, but i am finding on my KS9000 i am able to view through the Virginmedia V6 iplayer app.

 

Are there any other ways to view HLG on iplayer or any firmware updates to my TV?


Fairly recent firmware now enables HLG over HDMI - so hence getting HLG via the iplayer app on V6 box!

 

You can also get HLG over HDMI from the Roku Streaming Stick+ and the Amazon Firestick 4K.

 

See compatible list here https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/latest-news/wimbledon-2019-uhd

crashcris
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I'm a bit late for you as you've bought the fire stick, but there is an alternative that's ethernet wired, the NowTV 4k box. https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/digital-and-smart-tv/set-top-boxes/smart-box...

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rozel
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@crashcris wrote:

I'm a bit late for you as you've bought the fire stick, but there is an alternative that's ethernet wired, the NowTV 4k box. https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-home-entertainment/digital-and-smart-tv/set-top-boxes/smart-box...


Yes but 1.  It is not a Supported Device as detailed here: -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/latest-news/wimbledon-2019-uhd/    and 2.  Have you used one and can you confirm it produces BBC iPlayer content in UHD HDR-HLG ?

 

 

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crashcris
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I can confirm I do own one and it certainly has the 4K UHD Iplayer app. As for HLG HDR, I have a Samsung JS8000, so that model does not support HLG HDR, so I cannot confirm if the NowTV box can handle HLG, however I did ask the question on the Now TV community pages a while back, and a reply from a well known member replied "The smart box 4K supports both HDR 10 and HLG HDR". He might be lying, but I very much doubt it. I can confirm Netflix plays in UHD and HDR10.

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