Ultra HD

[Kingman]

14 hours ago, Chindie said:

Worth nothing that one of Hisense's flagship models has a bizarre lean to the screen if you use the stand. It may not bother you but dependant on your set up at home worth bearing in mind.

Im sure i posted a review on here last year for that Hisense XT910 but can't find it.

[Kingman]

On 20 June 2016 at 13:48, Demitri_C said:

I am abit annoyed mate, i bloody got a call form them and the idiot from sky said my contract expires on 30th july so i have to wait until 30th june before i can cancel. knowing my luck they will cancel it 1st july 

Update pal, as of Sun 26/6/16 

My 60% off sky package was due to end next month so I spoke to retentions via live chat on Friday and the best they could offer for my package was 25% meaning a increase from the £47 I was paying to £72. I declined the offer and proceeded with cancellation. Today I noticed a 35% discount on the sky app and spoke to someone on live chat who then also confirmed the best they could offer was 25%. 

During the France v Ireland match I logged onto MySky and saw a 50% offer. I went straight through to the dedicated live chat team for this offer under the 'Can I use this offer on a different bundle?'. I managed to get 50% off my TV bundle for 12 months, 35% off HD for 12 months, 35% off multi room for 9 months, £50 credit and no rolling contract so I will be paying £48 (£1 increase on what I have paid for the last year) for the family bundle with Movies & Sports, 2 Sky HD boxes, multiscreen and HD pack on both boxes. 

https://www.avforums.com/threads/cancelling-sky-bluff-gone-wrong.1180017/page-89#post-23802589 

[limpid]

Please take the sky contract chat no another thread. Thanks

[Kingman]

BBC readies for UHD/HDR transmissions

The BBC is stockpiling suitable programming in preparation for the start of a dedicated 4K/UHD channel.

The Corporation, as part of its relationship with commercial arm BBC Worldwide, has been producing 4K programming for many years. This content usually comes from the BBC’s Natural History Unit in Bristol and mainly comprises quite stunning factual programming shot in – at least – 4K and High Dynamic Range.

It is understood that the dedicated channel will go on air about a year from now and starting with long-form coverage of the 2017 Wimbledon Tennis Championships. The BBC – usually with help from Sony – has trialled 4K at the All England Club since 2013. Last year, Wimbledon’s Number 1 Court saw tests and closed-circuit transmissions of 8K managed by Japan’s NHK public broadcaster.

NHK is already working with the BBC on its jointly-developed Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) technology which is backward compatible with today’s normal Standard Dynamic Range displays.

The BBC has also tested 4K workflow processes since 2014, as well as various data compression technologies, in readiness for transmission to begin. It captured some of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in 4K, for example.

At one stage it was thought that 4K transmissions might have been announced for 2016 broadcasts, but have not materialised.

Last week, GfK issued statistics which showed that by the end of 2017 some 5 million British homes would have bought 4K sets.

Viewers can already watch 4K/UHD programming, on services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as on UHD Blu-ray devices. 

http://advanced-television.com/2016/06/27/bbc-readies-for-uhdhdr-transmissions/ 

[Chindie]

Currys have dropped the price on the LG 950s. Still very expensive but compared to this years models an absolute bargain if you win the panel lottery and/or don't notice any issues, and can live without Dolby Vision.

[Demitri_C]

On 7/2/2016 at 18:25, Chindie said:

Currys have dropped the price on the LG 950s. Still very expensive but compared to this years models an absolute bargain if you win the panel lottery and/or don't notice any issues, and can live without Dolby Vision.

i have had my samsung tv for always 3 years now and people have always told me its one of the clearest tvs they have seen for normal HD. I think its clear enough to last me years. seen 4k its good but i dont think the price reflects paying for it although i can see they have dropped the price significantly. wouldnt pay more than £1000 for a TV personally

[Kingman]

On 5 July 2016 at 09:05, Demitri_C said:

i have had my samsung tv for always 3 years now and people have always told me its one of the clearest tvs they have seen for normal HD. I think its clear enough to last me years. seen 4k its good but i dont think the price reflects paying for it although i can see they have dropped the price significantly. wouldnt pay more than £1000 for a TV personally

One of the main reason prices have dropped is because standards were not ratified so early adopters as in most cases with most new tech got hit in the pocket, Most sets effectively were UHD ready but not Full UHD capabilities, pretty much as when HD came on the market and sets were HD Ready,

Most sets prior 2016 still won't even be full HDR, they may have a low grade HDR but not full HDR10 or Dolby Vision. The Blu-ray HDR standard is ratified however specs for live HDR have still not been delivered for ratification, so we could see another twist yet. 

If anybody is only interest in Full UHD/4K main things you need to ensure you're set has are as follows.

Ultra HD Premium label 

Now the UHD Alliance, a consortium of TV manufacturers, broadcasters and film producers, have ganged together to create a new thing – Ultra HD Premium. It's a logo program that defines what technical standards a TV must meet to deliver a 'premium' 4K experience, Confusing as that seems the intention is sound enough. If a TV has this logo then – within reason – it's a cut above TVs that don't have it. 

But, as with any new tech jargon, it's open to abuse and that's what the Ultra HD Premium logo aims to prevent. By defining a set of standards for what TV manufacturers can call an 'HDR TV', everyone can be clear what they're getting is the real thing or not. 

In short: if a TV has the Ultra HD Premium logo then it will support HDR content. The logo will also appear on Blu-ray discs to certify the film or TV show has been produced to the standard.

10 Bit Pannel

A colour depth of 8-bit means that there are 256 shades per a primary colour which equates to a total of 16.78 million different colours. That might seem like a lot but just increasing the colour depth to 10-bit means 1,024 shades of each primary colour and a total of 1.07 billion colours

HDCP 2.2 Support 

You will nee this to play 4k content on such devices at BT UHD, Sky Q & New Xbox Playstaions etc, The latest iteration of HDCP is version 2.2, which is being rolled out to new 4K devices such as Ultra HD Blu-ray to ensure that 4K content is copy protected. The adoption of HDCP 2.2 has been ongoing for some time and the majority of TVs have the latest version on at least one HDMI input. However it's important that you make sure your new TV supports HDCP 2.2 because if it doesn't it wouldn't be able to receive content from devices that use copy protection.
 

HDR Support 

HDR10 - This is an open platform version of HDR that has been adopted by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. Under the specifications for 4K UHD Blu-ray HDR will use a 10-bit video depth and up to the Rec.2020 colour space. It also uses the SMPTE 2084 EOTF (Electro-Optical Transfer Function, which is the new name for gamma) and SMPTE 2086 metadata for delivering the extended dynamic range, which is mastered using a peak brightness of 1000 Nits. This version of HDR has been adopted by Twentieth Century Fox for the 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays that they announced recently and it is also being used by both Amazon Instant and Netflix to deliver HDR content.

Dolby Vision - This is a competing version of HDR that was developed by Dolby Labs, who have been an active proponent for extended dynamic range for years. Dolby Vision is also included in the specifications for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and uses a 12-bit master with a colour space that can go up to Rec.2020. It also uses the SMPTE 2084 EOTF and and a peak brightness that could theoretically go as high as 10,000 Nits. However current Dolby professional monitors can ‘only’ go as high as 4,000 Nits and use the DCI colour space. Dolby have taken a different approach when it comes to delivery with a 10-bit base layer and a 2-bit enhancement layer that can deliver increased colour volumes up to 10,000 Nits. Dolby also have a single layer 10-bit solution that is aimed at broadcast and OTT applications. To date both Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures have adopted Dolby Vision as their preferred method of extending dynamic range.

HDMI 2.0a Inputs

UHD Blu-ray includes support for HDR and that requires additional metadata. For this metadata to be sent via HDMI you will need version 2.0a which was released in 2015. That means if you want your new Ultra HD TV to be able to take full advantage of all the upcoming 4K sources you need to make sure it uses HDMI 2.0a inputs. As is often the case, manufacturers don't always make it clear exactly which type of HDMI input they are using on their TVs

HEVC Decoding 

4k streaming mainly, i.e. Netflix and Amazon use HEVC encoding, which is another reason why you want to make sure your TV can decode that particular codec. Assuming that you have a fast enough broadband connection, Amazon and Netflix are currently your best bet for native 4K content, so make sure your new TV supports the 4K version of both streaming services. Whilst Amazon and Netflix have been grabbing a lot of the headlines recently, don't forget that YouTube also offers 4K content, although to take advantage of that you'll need to make sure your TV can also decode the VP9 codec as well. 

VP9 codecs 

As above really if you want to watch Native 4k Youtube the set will need VP9 Codecs, YouTube also offers upscaled 4K content, although to take advantage of the Native content you'll need to make sure your TV can also decode the VP9 codecs.  

Have Fun 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Kingman

[meme]

Everything is always better when you add 'Ultra' to the start of it.

[PieFacE]

So I've purchased the Hisense 65M7000 after getting a little tired of waiting for the LG prices to drop enough. 

HDR is apparently coming in a firmware update in September, but many on AVforums are dubious if they will deliver or not. If they do not, it will be going back. 

[limpid]

1 hour ago, PieFacE said:

So I've purchased the Hisense 65M7000 after getting a little tired of waiting for the LG prices to drop enough. 

HDR is apparently coming in a firmware update in September, but many on AVforums are dubious if they will deliver or not. If they do not, it will be going back. 

Which retailer agreed to that? I might do the same.

[PieFacE]

On the John Lewis website here it states the following for HDR.

http://www.johnlewis.com/hisense-65m7000-4k-uled-hdr-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-65-with-freeview-hd-ultra-slim-design/p2895579?sku=236113378&s_afcid=af_73258&awc=1203_1470483426_0dba8ccf46613a6cde83072cfa478eb2

"Brilliant 10-Bit HDR
Hisense have delivered top-shelf HDR with a staggering 10-bit colour depth. This means that there are over a billion individual colours to deepen your view and show shades you’ve never seen in home entertainment before. Usually, studios are forced to dilute the colour of their shows and films to fit on our TVs. Now, HDR screens like this can channel content from studio-to-living room with the same precision and utterly otherworldly hues."

That certainly gives the impression that HDR is a feature of this TV. Surely false advertising if they don't get it working? 

 

[limpid]

Yes, that seems pretty clear. Considering it's John Lewis you're probably on solid ground. This doesn't say that it's coming soon though, it says it ships with HDR. Legally they can say that you didn't report the missing feature in a timely manner (although next month seems reasonable). It might be worth explicitly asking their customer services. They might just remove the HDR bit from the web site though.

[PieFacE]

2 minutes ago, limpid said:

Yes, that seems pretty clear. Considering it's John Lewis you're probably on solid ground. This doesn't say that it's coming soon though, it says it ships with HDR. Legally they can say that you didn't report the missing feature in a timely manner (although next month seems reasonable). It might be worth explicitly asking their customer services. They might just remove the HDR bit from the web site though.

Nice one. If the update in September doesn't fix it I'll raise a case with JL stating that HDR isn't available on the set. Probably worth taking a screen shot of that page too in case they do remove the HDR description. Good thinking

[PieFacE]

Well, decided to send my Hisense TV back, for 2 reasons...

a) It's too big for my new house

b ) It's got loads of niggling little issues which over time just got really frustrating. Picture quality is absolutely stunning, the OS, not so much. In fact, the OS and a few other issues are just an absolute pain in the arse.

 

I managed to get JL to swap it out for a UE55KS8000 Samsung TV, and within 10 minutes of using I could see how much TV's have changed over the past 5 years. It's no longer just about the picture quality, the OS on it is incredible, really wasn't expecting it.

It comes with a Smart Remote, which is really minimal, but it's amazing. Controls my AMP, Sky Q box, Xbox, TV (obviously), all within about 10 minutes of setting it up. It's a better than my Logitech Harmony remote, and that cost £150. 

 

Very impressed with the TV.

[Kingman]

Ive had its older sibling for the last 2 years the H8500 and its been faultless. The scaler chip in the panel dose a much better job than the Sky Q box for non UHD programmes so i set the Q box to 1080i and let the panel do the graft. 

Gonna give another 12 months till HDR Standard are finally ratified then get a 65" model. 

 

Edited October 29, 2016 by Kingman

[Kingman]

BBC Will Show World Cup Football Matches Live In 4K HDR - But There's A Catch 

 

Here's a link to the BBC's list of devices (pretty much exclusively iPlayer apps built into fairly recent TVs) that will be able to support the 4K World Cup streams discussed in the original story below.]

Following weeks of speculation/wishful thinking by technology journalists and football fans across the UK, the BBC has finally officially announced that it is going to be showing matches from the World Cup football tournament live in 4K UHD. 

In fact, the BBC is going to be showing all 29 of its BBC One games in not just 4K, but also high dynamic range (HDR), using the broadcast-friendly HLG HDR format. So viewers with compatible TVs can expect to see the BBC’s games appearing with a wider brightness range and richer colours, as well as four times HD levels of detail. 

 

So far, so good. Where things start to get a bit complicated is in the way the 4K HDR games are going to be distributed. The BBC doesn’t have enough bandwidth to air the games via its terrestrial broadcast platform. And its platform neutrality rules have apparently prevented it from being able to distribute the games over cable or satellite, even though evidence on social media suggests that Sky was willing to provide carriage of the BBC’s 4K broadcasts (at no charge to the BBC) for distribution to its UHD subscribers.

What’s left, then, is the BBC iPlayer: the BBC’s on-demand video streaming service. The UHD streams will be available from the BBC iPlayer home screen as soon as the programme covering a match starts, and will stay visible until the trial for that game is… full. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnarcher/2018/05/30/bbc-confirms-it-will-show-world-cup-football-matches-live-in-4k-hdr-but-theres-a-catch/amp/?__twitter_impression=true 

[Kingman]

Ahh bugger, Not that I am likely to watch it now as my set will not do Hybrid Log Gamma (BBC's & Japan's NHK version of HDR)

Anyhow, Heres a list of compatible TV's that do HLG... 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/latest-news/live-uhd 

[Troglodyte]

Mmm, gimme some of that sexy 4K World Cup action.

(Which, as a result of my insistence  to the Mrs that I watch it, will probably be the only action I get for the duration of the tournament.)

[Chindie]

Watching the Egypt Uruguay game on the BBC's UHD trial service thing and it's absurdly good looking. It's like I've got a portal into the stadium in the corner of the room. Best looking televised match I've ever seen.

HDR combined to 4k on a good screen is just **** incredible when you have the right content to show it off.

[jim]

On 15/06/2018 at 13:19, Chindie said:

Watching the Egypt Uruguay game on the BBC's UHD trial service thing and it's absurdly good looking. It's like I've got a portal into the stadium in the corner of the room. Best looking televised match I've ever seen.

HDR combined to 4k on a good screen is just **** incredible when you have the right content to show it off.

I concur, blows SKY’s UHD offering out of the water. Fingers crossed the beeb makes this the new standard.