Sky Q UHD HDR

[lowB]

Hi.

SkyQ box. I tried downloading S3 Ep1 of Cobra on Sky Max, in UHD HDR. Dark scenes are not being handled correctly (any part of the screen that is not relatively bright gets smeared into a dark blue smudge, like when watching an old SD TV program). I downloaded the UHD only format version and this looks absolutely fine. Any ideas? SkyQ box set to 2160p/10bit. My TV is 10 bit Samsung QE55Q90, and the Input Signal Plus has been turned on in the External Device Manager section of the TV settings. Thanks for reading.

[nigea99]

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@lowB wrote:

Hi.

SkyQ box. I tried downloading S3 Ep1 of Cobra on Sky Max, in UHD HDR. Dark scenes are not being handled correctly (any part of the screen that is not relatively bright gets smeared into a dark blue smudge, like when watching an old SD TV program). I downloaded the UHD only format version and this looks absolutely fine. Any ideas? SkyQ box set to 2160p/10bit. My TV is 10 bit Samsung QE55Q90, and the Input Signal Plus has been turned on in the External Device Manager section of the TV settings. Thanks for reading.

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I think some  Samsung TVs may have a problem with SKY's HLG/HDR for dark scenes.

This cropped up last year when House of the Dragon came out which had very dark scenes. 

I can't remember if there were any tweaks suggested for Samsung Tv owners - might be worth trying a search in case the discussions have not been archived  (edit : may also be worth searching elsewhere as well)

[MightyQuinn]

Hi @lowB   Just checking HDMI cable is high speed, and under 3m in length.

[lowB]

Further info for my query.

Signal path is SkyQ box to AV amp to TV.

However, I find Blu Ray UHD/HDR Discs all work fine. (BDPlayer through AV amp to TV).

Also find the dark smearing on both Netflix and Amazon Prime content (viewing via the SkyQ Apps page)....BUT both are fine when streaming them from my Apple TV (4K) direct to the TV (through AV amp)

Suspect it's the SkyQ box side of things. Thanks

[lowB]

Yes & yes. Thanks

[oldfella]

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@lowB wrote:

Further info for my query.

Signal path is SkyQ box to AV amp to TV.

However, I find Blu Ray UHD/HDR Discs all work fine. (BDPlayer through AV amp to TV).

Also find the dark smearing on both Netflix and Amazon Prime content (viewing via the SkyQ Apps page)....BUT both are fine when streaming them from my Apple TV (4K) direct to the TV (through AV amp)

Suspect it's the SkyQ box side of things. Thanks

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Hi @lowB 

Suggest you try Sky Q direct to TV and then TV HDMI Arc to Amp Arc.

[Oompaloompa]

Sky acknowledged there was a problem with their (HLG) HDR offering about 12 months ago and reported that they were working closely with Samsung on finding a fix. They cautioned that there were no gurantees on timescale but promised that said fix would follow in due course.

Obviously, the problem remains and in typical Sky fashion they remain silent on the issue. I'm afraid all you can do with the various setting available to you in your tv is tinker with them so you get the best picture you can for your personal viewing. There is no solution at the moment. As for watching any other platform such as Netflix, it's better watching via your TV app where you will likely enjoy HDR10 or HDR10+, which are unaffected by the issue.

I should have added that I have exactly the same circumstances with the same tv, I had tried anything and everything until Sky confirmed the issue 12 months ago.

[Chodley · Accepted solution]

Those orher sources are not HLG so that doesn't point the finger at the sky box. I knew you were going to say you have a Samsung. 

I think iirc this explains it and had a suggestion on settings

https://youtu.be/D83SXcguwBU?si=mI1wVC6wbP9-cv8u

[lowB]

Interesting YouTube link. Explains a lot about my issues. Thanks for posting. 

[cuke]

My Samsung is fine, a Q90R, nice and bright with HLG and so are other Samsung tv's. As for HOD, that series, along with GOT, is discredited as being poor on many manufacturers tv's as the video states.

There is no issue with Samsung TV's in general and any HLG, be it Sky or from the BBC's iplayer, try the tv app version and see if there is any difference.

However some have reported that the brightness of HLG broadcasts is lower with some qd-oled Samsungs from 2022 to 2023, yet others have stated making minor changes to their picture settings, or even changing out the SkyQ box for another, have resolved the issue.

So it isn't clear what the issue is and without knowing if a tv has been correctly setup for HLG broadcasts it is wrong just to come out with any sweeping, and incorrect, statements that all Samsung tv's cannot deal with HLG.

As too whether Samsung are aware of any issue and are working on a fix, I'd like to see an actual statement from them. I frequent many tv forums, from AVS, to AVforums and Samsungs own community support, but have yet to see anything from official Samsung sources.

Before jumping to rash conclusions it needs to be established that firstly it isn't the the tv panel type, IPS being particularly poor at HDR peak brightness, secondly the source, and thirdly, it isn't the tv  settings as what might work for DV, HDR10 or HDR10+, isn't necessarily correct also for HLG.

[Chodley]

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@cuke wrote:

My Samsung is fine, a Q90R, nice and bright with HLG and so are other Samsung tv's. As for HOD, that series, along with GOT, is discredited as being poor on many manufacturers tv's as the video states.

There is no issue with Samsung TV's in general and any HLG, be it Sky or from the BBC's iplayer, try the tv app version and see if there is any difference.

However some have reported that the brightness of HLG broadcasts is lower with some qd-oled Samsungs from 2022 to 2023, yet others have stated making minor changes to their picture settings, or even changing out the SkyQ box for another, have resolved the issue.

So it isn't clear what the issue is and without knowing if a tv has been correctly setup for HLG broadcasts it is wrong just to come out with any sweeping, and incorrect, statements that all Samsung tv's cannot deal with HLG.

As too whether Samsung are aware of any issue and are working on a fix, I'd like to see an actual statement from them. I frequent many tv forums, from AVS, to AVforums and Samsungs own community support, but have yet to see anything from official Samsung sources.

Before jumping to rash conclusions it needs to be established that firstly it isn't the the tv panel type, IPS being particularly poor at HDR peak brightness, secondly the source, and thirdly, it isn't the tv  settings as what might work for DV, HDR10 or HDR10+, isn't necessarily correct also for HLG.

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Don't know if this was aimed at me but I did not intend to imply all samsungs had an issue with HLG at very low levels. But some do and my Panasonic OLED doesn't. Not to say it was easy to see what was going on in that episode of HotD.

[WolsnaRetep]

Switch it to 8-bit. You will see the difference. 

[Chodley]

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@WolsnaRetep wrote:

Switch it to 8-bit. You will see the difference. 

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and lose HDR?

[Robbo0410]

It's the same on my Hisense, much better in 8 bit with HDR off, unfortunately it doesn't work well with some TV's through the Sky Q box.... just watch 4K content with HDR on your TV apps it's much better, UHD is still great even without HDR