Sky HDR

[Rhonny]

@j+David

When watching HDR content on your TV via Chromecast, are you going into Menu / Setup / HDMI HDR Setting, and selecting On? 

[j+David]

Funny you say that but this setting is greyed out although I can still watch 4k ultra in sports when available on SkyQ

[stmichael]

So I took delivery today of my new Sky Q HDR V3 box and have upgraded the firmware to Q130. I've got it connected to a Samsung 55" Q90T QLED and a Samsung Q70T Soundbar. My initial thoughts are that it is a huge upgrade over my V1 box and even though I resent the cost of upgrading the box it's absolutely worth the £50 charge IMHO.

Everything I've watched thus far the picture quality is a definite upgrade.  I switched over to Ch 401 to check out the Bournemouth v Notts Forest game in UHD and the picture now looks like it's in 4K whereas with the V1 box it just looked like a slightly better HD and never really wowed me.

Everything now is much more crisp and detailed. The only real negative of my Samsung Q90T TV is that it displays a little bit too much DSE for my liking. It's not that it's bad it's that it's not as good as you would hope to see in a TV that was priced at £2k when released. In reality you only really see it when watching sports and when there's a mass of grass for example. I'm not sure how but with the V3 box the DSE  seems better too. I'm guessing the improved sharper image and picture processing has somehow made it less noticeable?

Anyway I'm one happy bunny right now. No sound droputs either.................. yet!! 😉

[Rhonny]

@j+David

That would explain why your HDR looks poor, it's because you're not actually viewing in HDR.

When you say it's greyed out - on your TV, you need to be playing HDR content I believe in order to access that setting. Try looking at that setting while playing something in HDR and see if you can switch it on then. (Are you definitely watching HDR content on your Chromecast? Don't confuse UHD/4k with HDR.) 

Can you watch Sky's HDR content? Their Football is in UHD, not HDR. Try downloading Gangs of Lemur, which is HDR content and see if that works on your TV. Again, you'll need to turn that TV setting On while you watch. (You need the HDR capable Sky Q box of course to view this, not the early v1 box. And to compound matters, your TV needs to accept HLG which is the type of HDR that Sky uses and I don't know that your TV does...)

[Woody11]

Hi there

Do the Sky HDR programmes e.g Gangs of Lemur show a HDR icon or logo in the programme sypnosis on screen?

I can see HDR listed on Netflix and HDR10 on Disney but nothing on the Sky programs.

Am I looking for something that isn't there?

Sorry if it is a daft question.

Cheers

[Dazzasky]

No they don't @Woody11 however I believe a new HDR icon will be coming soon. 

[Garry+Redknap]

Is there going to be a new "this program may include sound dropouts" icon too.  £50 to upgrade your box to something worse.

[Mr+morling]

Yes sound drop out football in Atmos

[tarbat]

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@j+David wrote:

It's the Chromecast ultra with Panasonic TV 49fx700 series

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According to SPECS, that TV only has a maximum luminance of 420 NITS, so not really going to give an adequate HDR picture.

In real-world use, maximum luminance is even less, so you're better off sticking to SDR. Quote from https://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1526620692

It gets worse if you try to feed the TV with HDR video that has emerged as the true next-generation of video over the last couple of years. The challenge with HDR video is that it sets very high requirements for display hardware whereas it is relatively easy to support in software. Most 2018 TVs, including FX700, claim support for various HDR formats but as we have said many times in the past, HDR is simply not possible with edge-lit LCD panels.

The simple truth is that FX700 is no HDR TV. When fed with HDR video, it maxes out its backlight (and thus power consumption), which ruins the already very poor black levels (base black rises to 0.44 nits) and makes most scenes look very blown out. While some very bright scenes can get a slight boost, dark scenes and most scenes with mixed elements of color typically look worse in HDR than in SDR. Panasonic has made a number of HDR settings available in the menu but alas there is nothing that you can do to make HDR look even remotely good. It also supports HDR10+ but it is honestly pointless to start examining the advantages of the format here. The graph to the right shows you how FX700 manages luminance in HDR mode. It peaks at a little less than 400 but also notice that lots of compromises were made, mainly due to the IPS panel’s limitations.

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[j+David]

So in other words I've been misled grrrrrr!! And it's pointless upgrading to SkyQ ver 3 although I have Chromecast ultra where does that leave me now

[tarbat]

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@j+David wrote:

So in other words I've been misled grrrrrr!! And it's pointless upgrading to SkyQ ver 3 although I have Chromecast ultra where does that leave me now

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Mislead by whom? Unfortunately many older TVs simple don't have enough peak luminance or contrast to make HDR worthwhile. Look for the "Ultra HD Premium" branding for TVs that can give a worthwhile HDR experience.

[j+David]

I'd doubt I'll be updating my TV for a longtime as this one is goin on 2 and half years old now and no money spare so hopefully Chromecast ultra will help all being well. I did read the review thanks for the link and it was recommended a streaming device plugged in was better than what Panasonic were offering, that's how I read it right or wrong.

[Piesarus]

@j+David  The PQ can only be as good as the panel is capable of producing, so even attaching an all singing and dancing streaming device can't increase the NITS value of the panel. 

[Chodley]

Might get a slightly better PQ than the internal app but yeah - you have a fundamental limitation. I had a 2017 edge lit LCD (Samsung KS8000) which went much brighter than 400nits though so I'm not sure it's an inherent issue with that technology. Albeit OLEDs are way better thanks to the genuine blacks.

[j+David]

I must say despite picture limitations the sound is better decoded coming from Chromecast ultra to my denon avrx1000 than SkyQ ver1 to Denon