On today ’s You Asked : Can you give up the Apple TV 4 K from upscaling — and should you ? Why is HLG the program standard for HDR and how did some folks get the Super Bowl in Dolby Vision or HDR10 ? Do secret 3D tv be ? And why do benighted scenes tend to look pixelated ?
Stop the upscaling – or not?
Michael Sabin writes : I have a novel TCL QM851 and utilize an Apple video as the primary cyclosis twist . I experience you always commend let your TV perform all the upscaling , but I ca n’t find a way to do this with Apple idiot box . If I set the resolution to 4 atomic number 19 , it seems like everything gets upconverted to 4K. Do you know of a way to allow Apple tv set pass through the aboriginal resolving power of the content ?
It ’s dead on target : I ’m always saying “ Let the telly do theupscaling . ” However , you ’ve discovered for yourself that the Apple TV 4 K scales everything to the solution selected in the “ formatting ” section of the Video and Audio mount menu . The Apple TV 4 K does earmark the box to spend along the signal with its original SDR , HDR , or Dolby Vision active ambit format , and it will let you keep the original frame rate , but the resolution of the signaling will always be upconverted to whatever is go under in the formatting section of the options menu .
Fortunately theApple television 4 kB ’s built - in upscaler is fairly good . However , if you need your TV to handle the upscaling of any non-4 K native content , you either need to utilize the TV ’s work up - in apps or a unlike kind of cyclosis box . I would not advocate endeavor to thin the Apple TV 4 K ’s video outturn result to match what you believe the resolve of the contentedness may be — because it ’s in all likelihood doing some kind of processing no matter what .
If you ’re inquire if your TV is noticeably just at upscaling what you watch a spate , try an A / B compare between that cognitive content as dally through the Apple TV 4 K versus the TV ’s construct - in app . Keep in mind , though , that a draw of the content we learn is upscaled by the table service pour it . Make indisputable that the content you practice for comparison is coming over as 480 , 720 , or 1080p . Also remember that the lower the resolution of the content , the harder the upscaling chore . You ’re less likely to note as much difference in 1080p message upscaled to 4 super C as an older 480p or low resolution TV show .
Another thing that make me less concerned about the Apple TV 4 kibibyte and upscaling : That conversion from a lower declaration to a higher resolution is part of the processing needed to make a beautiful picture . The video ’s processor will still seek to clean up the image and get disembarrass of macroblocking , for model .
If you escape the test , let us know the results . My guess is that the Apple TV 4 KB is likely doing a good enough line of work .
Format future of live broadcasts?
Bradley writes : I ’ve been register a lot about the different HDR formats , and I ’m peculiarly interested in Hybrid Log - Gamma ( HLG ) , specially since it ’s being used by major broadcasters like Fox for unrecorded sports . I realise that HLG was specifically developed to handle live boob tube programme and is backward - compatible with SDR displays , which makes it a practical pick for broadcast . However , I ’m rum : Do you think HLG will stay the primary HDR format for live TV programme move forth ? Or do you call up other formats , like HDR10 orDolby Vision , might finally take over as broadcasting technology evolves , especially with new monetary standard like ATSC 3.0 ? to boot , do you know if any other web are planning to adopt HLG for their broadcasts in the nigh future , or is Fox presently leading the way in this attentiveness ?
This is a fun question to serve follow theSuper Bowl , which was face in HDR on local over - the - air programme line , as well as through streaming table service like Tubi , Fubo , and YouTube TV , and by cable and satellite networks . TheATSC 3.0 — or NextGen idiot box — station for my local Fox affiliate delivered the game in Dolby Vision . Comcast also delivered the game in Dolby Visionto its eligible customers . Meanwhile , YouTube TV and Tubi give birth it in HDR10 . The conversion to Dolby Vision or HDR10 was handled by the individual provider because the game was delivered by Fox in HLG .
The BBC and Japan ’s NHK carbon monoxide - developed HLG — or Hybrid Log Gamma — specifically for resilient broadcast . The job with HDR format likeDolby VisionandHDR10is the metadata . Generating the metadata needed for those formats on the fly was once a technically unsufferable job , but manifestly we have cleared that vault since it was convince to at least some grade by single providers . However the challenge persist : The metadata engage up bandwidth that some providers ca n’t adapt .
The other outlet is that broadcaster postulate to be able to post out one sign that everyone can apply . Not everyone can use an HDR - only signal . The beauty of HLG is in the name . The darker one-half of the signaling — dark to mid - tones — stick to a standard da Gamma curved shape , exchangeable to the one used in SDR . The brighter one-half of the signal — the highlights — follows a logarithmic curve , which better preserves highlight detail in HDR . The darker- to medium - bright areas of the signal are static , which convert just fine for SDR , while the shiny orbit apply a logarithmic gamma curve that can be used by HDR TVs .
For the foreseeable future , I suppose live broadcasts will stick with HLG . Individual provider can decide if they require to promote that for their streams , cable delivery , or ATSC 3.0 broadcasts — just like it was done for Super Bowl LIX .
Do secret 3D TVs exist?
Steve R. writes : I own a LG 65UF8500 - UB that I bought newfangled in 2016 and it still operate and looks great . I would make out to get a novel TV with all the new feature , but the chief reason I have n’t is because , as far as I have intercourse , there are no other 3D capable television set on the market . I still use the 3D function every now and then with my own and my friend ’s 3D Blu - ray collection . As I observe , my LG still look corking , but I ’m distressed that it wo n’t last a whole lot longer since it ’s 9 yr previous . Are there any video that can expose 3D movies that I do n’t know about ? Will my television last a estimable while longer ?
First , it ’s great that your TV is still hanging on after nine twelvemonth . Even back in 2015 , the lifespan expectancy of a TV was decreasing , so the fact that you ’ve had nine years out of yours is passably good . I candidly do n’t love how much long your TV will continue to go , but when it renounce , it will likely be unexpected and sudden . The adept things to do are acknowledge that you amaze a great run out of this TV and be ready to replace it when it dies .
I ’m sorry to report that there are no 3D TVs being made aright now , and I do n’t cogitate at - abode 3-D is coming back . When we get 3D amusement at family , it will likely take the shape of personal entertainment — like 3D voguish glasses orVR goggles .
As much as you may lack the 3D aspect of your TV , I think you ’ll be thrilled enough with all the other ingredient of picture calibre in an upgrade . goggle box have occur a prospicient direction since 2016 .
Perplexing pixelation
Steven from England writes : I ’ve been enjoy my 50 ” Sony Bravia X75WL , which is a becoming enough entry stage model in the UK . One country I ’ve been having issues with : dark scenes and pixelation . Whenever I ’m watching a programme in SDR , I always find a large amount of pixelation in low - get off scenes , whether it ’s in the background knowledge or even on people ’s clothing and hair . Daytime prospect ? No hint of it at all , and the colours are amazing , but as soon as the light dim , that pixelation rears its despicable head . I note it with streaming and airy ground services like Sky TV whether it ’s in Standard or High definition . The only time it does n’t look is HDR or Dolby Vision , especially in show you would expect , likeShogunthat has numerous low - lit scenes . Is this a problem with the video and something that can be determine with setting , or is it the source ( Netflix / Sky etc ) and I ’m worrying about a problem that ca n’t be fixed ?
This issue , which I reckon many folk music experience , is because of a compounding of your TV ’s central processor capableness and the limited video signal data coming from the streaming inspection and repair or broadcaster . Another way of putting it : The sign has been highly contract to save up bandwidth and that lack of selective information can result in what you call pixelization and we also call macroblocking .
It ’s possible to see macroblocking in well - lit scenery as well . It ’s just more plebeian in darker areas of the video because you ’re hoping to see detail in an area that the compression algorithm view as unimportant . There ’s enough info in the signal to suggest something is there , but not enough for a low - quality TV processor to make horse sense of .
Fancier television receiver with more advanced processors tend to be better at address this form of place . More sophisticated processing is needed only a small share of the sentence , but when you ask it , you really need it . This is one of the better argumentation in favor of buying a more exchange premium TV , I think . The more content creators sheer toward darker , moodier scenes , the more this issue run to raise its ugly headland .
I think a more modern telecasting central processor — which you’re able to now get from mid - range goggle box — would help , but the flat nature of the content will always make this an issue that down up from time to prison term .
