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So I’ve run into quite a weird problem. I have a 4K TV that I am streaming to via the Plex App on a Roku Premiere. I am not transcoding, rather it is Direct Playing the 4K content but I am still getting washed out color on all my 4K titles. The Plex App is set to play at Original Quality.
I know that washed out color is a product of trying to transcode 4K -> 1080P but its not transcoding at all.
Any thoughts?
What’s the exact model of the TV?
And just to be triple-sure, can you post a screenshot of the “Now Playing” section from the Server Settings / Dashboard (via the webclient) during playback?
Quite possibly. Do you have an alternate audio stream for that movie?
Unfortunately no. Any other way to test/troubleshoot?
That Roku Premiere may be the issue… I know what the specs say but something is off. Can you post a screenshot of the “Get Info” for that movie?
After clicking on Get Info, you’ll see something like this, that’s the screenshot I’m looking for:
Having recently purchased a 4K TV, without knowing much about it, I think I might know the problem.
So I got a Samsung smart TV a couple of months ago; I can’t think of the model number off the top of my head. I started watching 4K content and was amazed at the picture quality and the vividness of the colors in videos I was watching on YouTube. Of course, I started adding 4K movies to my Plex library, again, without understanding the nuances of 4K content.
I learned that some 4K videos are SDR, while others are HDR. HDR content uses a particular color space that not all 4K TVs can display properly. My own particular issue was a combination of a misunderstanding of HDR versus SDR media, and the limitations of my own TV. My Samsung does not have a feature called “local dimming”, which very basically means that the entire screen will dim and brighten depending on the image being displayed, leading to a sometimes dim picture. Once I settled on SDR content, I am completely happy with color saturation on the TV.
I don’t know about your TV, but I can tell from your screenshot that the file you’re trying to play is 4K and HDR. As a test, I would suggest using a 4K SDR version of the same movie, and see if there’s a difference in the color as displayed on the TV.
Here’s that same movie from my own collection, but SDR:
The Color Primaries information shows “bt709” - I have no idea what that means, but your file shows “bt2020” in that same field; these values correlate with the difference between SDR and HDR content in my own anecdotal experience. A simpler way to determine if your file is SDR versus HDR is right on the main page for the media. Here’s that same file again, this time the data comeing right from the main info page for the movie:
Notice the Video info: 4K HEVC Main 10
Now here’s a different movie, but this one is HDR:
Both files are 10-bit, but one is distinctly labeled HDR. Like I said, try testing with a file you know for sure is SDR and see if there’s a difference in color saturation on your display. Seems like the quickest way to start troubleshooting.
Well what do you know…
First and foremost, killer explanation man! Looks like this is my issue as well. Played a movie with the “bt709” Color Space and viola! Much better color saturation!
I had no idea there was a difference in color range within 4K. But alas, Im very limited when it comes to my knowledge of 4K content.
Thank you again, man! Guess it’s time to buy a new TV or settle on SDR content for now.
Cheers!
I accepted those explanations until last weekend when I installed VLC player on my nVidia Shield and… lo and behold, all 4K movies play in glorious colors with no flickers or jumps and with sound passthrou without a glitch. All this over local network (!) without attaching the storage to the device.
Someone at PLEX labs need to do some more research.
Interesting. So just so I know I’m clear on what you’re saying:
Do I have that right? Because if that’s the case, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not using a Roku (I’m using the Plex app on my Samsung TV) but I still have the muted colors issue. Your testing could indicate it’s either a Roku or a Plex client issue; since I’m not using a Roku, this might narrow it down to just a Plex client issue. Are there any devs watching this thread who can chime in on this?
I can say this, none of my 4K videos (HEVC Main 10 HDR) look washed out on my Apple TV 4K or Samsung using Plex.
@tycho1974: it would seem that @jacobdekel is comparing the playback of VLC on the nVidia Shield to the playback of Plex on the nVidia Shield. On the latter he appears to experience issues with flickers/jumps and audio passthrough. I don’t see him mentioning washed out colors however.
And without knowing more about the video details, it’s hard to draw any real conclusions.
this tv is 4k, but does not appear to support HDR.
https://www.google.com/search?q=WD50UT4490
in other words, anything with the bt2020 or ‘hdr’ in the title or metadata will have washed colors.
yes, its either time for a new tv, or hold off on collecting the 4k content.
this has nothing to do with this thread, the OP tv is an old 1st gen 4k without HDR.
what he see is the same thing as 4k hdr being transcoded to 1080 (the HDR does not get converted to SDR).
as far as whatever problem you have with the shield, is off topic on this thread, go start your own thread and provide all the details including plex versions, shield model, the details of the file your trying to play, what tv and receiver/sound bar, and pms logs.
I think someone else needs to do more research.
Maybe this will help @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you
No exactly but quite. I don’t have a Roku.
You have files hosted on a NAS or computer on your local network
Correct.
You have both a Roku and a Shield device connected to your TV
Just a Shield.
When streaming a 4K HDR file on the Roku/Plex client, colors are muted and unsaturated
As said - I don’t have a Roku, but a Shield with a plex player. But yes. colors are washed out.
When accessing the same file from VLC player over the network - the movie looks more then OK. It looks great.
So if the answer I am getting is that I need to do more research (which I already did), I prefer to watch movies thru VLC, despite its flaky interface.
I have a similar TV.
Thanks for the advise, but I think I will simply watch movies thru VLC since obviously no one here has a solution.
OK, if you have an SDR tv, then I don’t know why you are trying to watch HDR movies on it (you do not gain anything by it).
No one has a solution, because
a) plex doesn’t currently do any color conversion of HDR to SDR (although some clients have some experimental color correction), and
b) because you have not provided any real details, screenshots, or logs, in a dedicated thread, as requested, so it can only be assumed that a) is the core issue.
plex is not VLC, they may be ‘media players’ but the are built for different purposes. VLC is a stand alone application, it does not rely on client/server model, and it has it’s own built in routines to be more flexible.
plex uses lightweight clients with less flexibility and relies on the server to convert any incompatible media to be compatible with the device.
Would either of the Heavy-Duty Player Apps (PMP/New Plex Player) help?
If not, Bummer - If so, that would have to be better than VLC.
I think he is using a shield connected to an 4k SDR tv, so the pmp/newplexplayer wouldn’t apply, unless he wanted to watch on a PC.
I haven’t heard of anyone using a shield connected to SDR tv, in fact this thread is the first I can remember of anyone using a 4k SDR tv at all, which is kind of surprising, in hind sight, I might have expected this to come up sooner and more often (ie watching 4k HDR on a 4k SDR tv).
Hi,
I am having this issue too. I just picked up a BenQ w2700 (hT3350) yesterday, as well as a Chromecast Ultra. This is my first 4K device.
Netflix, Youtube, other streaming services all look good, however the HDR 10bit encodes I have downloaded to test the projector are washed out. Upon checking, these encodes are infact bt2020. I am somewhat uneducated on HDR and color spaces. Should I be able to expect this to play in HDR? My projector is HDR compatible. I notice there are also 10bit SDR encodes available too. I’ll download one to test. I assume that would probably be bt709. But, as the name suggests, I wouldn’t be getting a HDR image on that, yes?
