Hi all,
I got my Amazon Fire TV a few days ago, and have sideloaded XBMC for media playback. Although I was ideally looking to do that via USB, until there's a root method for the latest UK firmware, streaming will have to do, I guess.
However, the issue I am having is with playback quality. I do not know if this is down to XBMC/Kodi or AFTV, but videos are not as smooth and lovely as they are when played directly via my TV's USB port. Even my TV is not as good as my previous device, which was a Sony DVR. It had the MOST wonderful video playback, with beautiful colours, perfect balance and no noise. It failed, so I started using my TV's USB port. Video quality is not as good - it's slightly grainer, a bit overexposed.
I got Amazon Fire TV because I was expecting something better than what my almost 4 year old Samsung TV can do. All those extra bells and whistles are fine, but playback quality is THE most crucial thing for me. I am not an expert, and I do not know if Sony and Samsung have some state-of-the art upscaling, but I'm baffled that a quad-core device with a dedicated GPU is worse than both of them. Playback via XBMC is just a huge let-down.
Am I doing something wrong? Is it supposed to be like this? Am I expecting too much? Are there any settings I can try?
I'd love to hear what you all think!
Lisali said:
Hi all,
I got my Amazon Fire TV a few days ago, and have sideloaded XBMC for media playback. Although I was ideally looking to do that via USB, until there's a root method for the latest UK firmware, streaming will have to do, I guess.
However, the issue I am having is with playback quality. I do not know if this is down to XBMC/Kodi or AFTV, but videos are not as smooth and lovely as they are when played directly via my TV's USB port. Even my TV is not as good as my previous device, which was a Sony DVR. It had the MOST wonderful video playback, with beautiful colours, perfect balance and no noise. It failed, so I started using my TV's USB port. Video quality is not as good - it's slightly grainer, a bit overexposed.
I got Amazon Fire TV because I was expecting something better than what my almost 4 year old Samsung TV can do. All those extra bells and whistles are fine, but playback quality is THE most crucial thing for me. I am not an expert, and I do not know if Sony and Samsung have some state-of-the art upscaling, but I'm baffled that a quad-core device with a dedicated GPU is worse than both of them. Playback via XBMC is just a huge let-down.
Am I doing something wrong? Is it supposed to be like this? Am I expecting too much? Are there any settings I can try?
I'd love to hear what you all think!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having no idea what you are trying to play, what it's resolution is, what it's codec is, etc, makes it hard for anyone to say. My AFTV (rooted) with Kodi plays videos great. Everything is looking like it should, whether it's old doctor who episodes in divx, latest 720p TV releases, or 1080p movies. Previously I was watching stuff via a computer connected by a dvi- 15p vga connection. Both connections at 1080p on the TV.
And yes it is possible that your TV has a hardware upscaler that does a better job then software. If you usb tv thingy is connecting at a lower resolution then your AFTV then upscaler could play a factor. There is a post about how to change the resolution of what your AFTV connects at.
nyder said:
Having no idea what you are trying to play, what it's resolution is, what it's codec is, etc, makes it hard for anyone to say. My AFTV (rooted) with Kodi plays videos great. Everything is looking like it should, whether it's old doctor who episodes in divx, latest 720p TV releases, or 1080p movies. Previously I was watching stuff via a computer connected by a dvi- 15p vga connection. Both connections at 1080p on the TV.
And yes it is possible that your TV has a hardware upscaler that does a better job then software. If you usb tv thingy is connecting at a lower resolution then your AFTV then upscaler could play a factor. There is a post about how to change the resolution of what your AFTV connects at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi nyder,
Thanks so much for your response!
I play a variety of files, but mostly mp4 in SD and MKV in 720p. 720p an above looks OK - not as good as the TV's USB or Sony, but the biggest difference is with SD mp4 files. They look noticeably worse - oversaturated, overexposed, blocky, with artefacts.
Thanks for the tip about changing the AFTV resolution. I tried that, but it did not help. Hmm...What can I do now? Shall I try something else or look for another device?
Thank you!
Lisali said:
Hi nyder,
Thanks so much for your response!
I play a variety of files, but mostly mp4 in SD and MKV in 720p. 720p an above looks OK - not as good as the TV's USB or Sony, but the biggest difference is with SD mp4 files. They look noticeably worse - oversaturated, overexposed, blocky, with artefacts.
Thanks for the tip about changing the AFTV resolution. I tried that, but it did not help. Hmm...What can I do now? Shall I try something else or look for another device?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am new to UK fire tv but I have to say I have tried a few 1080p dd5.1 H264 and so far all looks very nice streaming localy
using xbmc-13.2-Gotham-armeabi-v7a kicked off from newest plex app
madusmacus said:
I am new to UK fire tv but I have to say I have tried a few 1080p dd5.1 H264 and so far all looks very nice streaming localy
using xbmc-13.2-Gotham-armeabi-v7a kicked off from newest plex app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you enjoying your device?
Yes - that seems to be the case. 1080p will look fine, but SD files look awful.
Lisali said:
How are you enjoying your device?
Yes - that seems to be the case. 1080p will look fine, but SD files look awful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Took me a few days to get past all the "you cant root this version" nonsense its OK now :¬)
I have firedtv and I used llama to make the old Plex app launch the new Plex app (sideloaded) and
I use air buddy to launch xbms as it detects its sideloaded and gives you a laod button :¬)
Its definatly a mark up from my old jailbroken ATV 2 - (RIP) - :¬)
Only bad thing its for me DD5.1 definatly does NOT WORK over HDMI (Netflix and amazon prime)
Fixed by buying optical cables - it its a real pain duplicating cables - grrr
XBMC of course works over either HDMI or OPTICAL
I am guessing this problem is UK version or a new firmware NERF they have done to ruin peoples life for a laugh and then buy optical cables from amazon :¬):¬):¬).
madusmacus said:
Took me a few days to get past all the "you cant root this version" nonsense its OK now :¬)
I have firedtv and I used llama to make the old Plex app launch the new Plex app (sideloaded) and
I use air buddy to launch xbms as it detects its sideloaded and gives you a laod button :¬)
Its definatly a mark up from my old jailbroken ATV 2 - (RIP) - :¬)
Only bad thing its for me DD5.1 definatly does NOT WORK over HDMI (Netflix and amazon prime)
Fixed by buying optical cables - it its a real pain duplicating cables - grrr
XBMC of course works over either HDMI or OPTICAL
I am guessing this problem is UK version or a new firmware NERF they have done to ruin peoples life for a laugh and then buy optical cables from amazon :¬):¬):¬).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to hear you're enjoying it. I really wanted to use it for USB playback. As the computer is in the same room, I do not want it being on all the time, so I'm a bit annoyed that it can't be rooted to allow for USB playback. I tried XBMC, but SD playback quality is just abysmal, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
I did not know that 5.1 does not work over HDMI - that's odd, I'll have to try that. Thanks for the heads up!
[/COLOR]
Lisali said:
Good to hear you're enjoying it. I really wanted to use it for USB playback. As the computer is in the same room, I do not want it being on all the time, so I'm a bit annoyed that it can't be rooted to allow for USB playback. I tried XBMC, but SD playback quality is just abysmal, so I'm not sure what to do at this point.
I did not know that 5.1 does not work over HDMI - that's odd, I'll have to try that. Thanks for the heads up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might want to try "MX Player"(free) for SD or PLEX (but that involves and external server)
I might just be it does not like my HDMI tv or AUDIO
I obviously can be done because XMBC works flawlessly
I am using Amazon HDMI cables too :¬)
:¬( lowest I have gone so far is 720
I was having issues with some of the services I was trying to use on my FTV. Playback would be jerky here and there. I went ahead and disabled mediacodec and everything plays nice and smooth now.
Maybe try that incase it changes the quality as well?
Hello Lisali
the same issue goes for me too.
I am rather disappointed with the picture quality of AFTV. In most of the time, I play 1080p net-downloaded movies and TV shows such as Band of brothers, Dark knight, and etc. The pictures are too blocky and grainy.
I thought it was some kind of limitation of the mobile chip(?) cause I tried MX player for playback which resulted in the same picture quality, but it seems not everybody are having the same issue.
I wonder what the problem is.
Amazon Fire TV intentionally downgrading video playback quality
wonhorang said:
Hello Lisali
the same issue goes for me too.
I am rather disappointed with the picture quality of AFTV. In most of the time, I play 1080p net-downloaded movies and TV shows such as Band of brothers, Dark knight, and etc. The pictures are too blocky and grainy.
I thought it was some kind of limitation of the mobile chip(?) cause I tried MX player for playback which resulted in the same picture quality, but it seems not everybody are having the same issue.
I wonder what the problem is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - I see, the MX player did not help?
After some thinking, I think this is intentional on Amazon's part. Here's why: The main point of Amazon Fire TV is to promote Amazon services - Prime, App Store, music. When you look at Amazon Prime, you get a lot of content for free, but mostly in SD. Want HD? Pay more. If Amazon started upscaling their SD content, there would be no reason for people to pay to watch HD stuff.
This is quite devious, I must say. SD content = crappy. HD content = better. Pay even more for HD, Amazon makes more money. Devious - yes. Honest and honourable - no.
I and some others use SPMC and it works a lot better than xbmc
Regards
dbaseii said:
I and some others use SPMC and it works a lot better than xbmc
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - thanks for the response. That sounds good, but how is it at upscaling SD content? If this is a hardware limitation in Amazon Fire TV box, it may not be much better than Kodi. I will give it a go, thanks!
Looking at system info in SPMC it does use all 4 processors.
Other people have used the Ouya version with success.
---------- Post added at 04:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 PM ----------
Any of you guys in the UK. Head over to Amazon Fire TV UK group on fb.
if it is so, how come there are guys who are satisfied with the playback quality?
from the reply, i see other guys satisfied with their amazon TV's razor sharp picture quality.
wonhorang said:
if it is so, how come there are guys who are satisfied with the playback quality?
from the reply, i see other guys satisfied with their amazon TV's razor sharp picture quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Lisali said:
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have gone through a few android boxes including the Minix Neo X8-H. I thought that was a great box. But tha AFTV is better. Handles even the most demanding skins and excellent picture quality. As I said in a previous post I'm using SPMC.
Lisali said:
Hi - I see, the MX player did not help?
After some thinking, I think this is intentional on Amazon's part. Here's why: The main point of Amazon Fire TV is to promote Amazon services - Prime, App Store, music. When you look at Amazon Prime, you get a lot of content for free, but mostly in SD. Want HD? Pay more. If Amazon started upscaling their SD content, there would be no reason for people to pay to watch HD stuff.
This is quite devious, I must say. SD content = crappy. HD content = better. Pay even more for HD, Amazon makes more money. Devious - yes. Honest and honourable - no.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you in the UK as well? I ask as you mention Amazon Prime content being in SD, I only watch HD with my prime membership and i dont pay any extra. Granted i don't even think about looking at anything that would be in SD but everything i am interested in is always available in HD.
My experience is that SD looks like crap on any HD TV no matter how you slice it. Upscaling helps but you can still see the difference very easily
nujackk said:
Are you in the UK as well? I ask as you mention Amazon Prime content being in SD, I only watch HD with my prime membership and i dont pay any extra. Granted i don't even think about looking at anything that would be in SD but everything i am interested in is always available in HD.
My experience is that SD looks like crap on any HD TV no matter how you slice it. Upscaling helps but you can still see the difference very easily
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi - yes, I'm in the UK. Some Prime content is in HD, but not all of it is. A lot of movies, especially older ones, are SD only. Some of them are included in prime as SD, but you have to pay extra for HD. I also watch a lot of my own content, which is not always in HD, and the box seems to degrade, instead of upscale those. It's just odd that my 5 year old TV's built-in USB playback function is so much better at this than Amazon Fire TV, which is a beast of a machine. When it comes to how much better it is, I'd say 20-30% for HD and 50-60% for SD content.
Lisali said:
They may be playing 1080p content, or are happy with the quality they get. I am not. Amazon Fire TV is NOT razor sharp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely false. I play US TV shows (typically downscaled HD broadcasts to SD or even 640 x 360) and full HD movies ([email protected]) and I see no real image quality difference compared to my Windows 8.1 HTPC also running XBMC. I usually disable any post-processing in XBMC, in the Windows video driver (if applicable) and on the TV itself.
The claim that Amazon is on purpose degrading the video is also BS IMHO.
Related
In most reviews and comparisons, the playback quality of Netflix on the Nook Tablet is stated as being considerably better than the Fire. Given that both share essentially the same screen and processing capability - what's driving the difference?
Is it just software related? If so, can the Netflix app from the Nook be installed on the Fire?
technikalkp said:
In most reviews and comparisons, the playback quality of Netflix on the Nook Tablet is stated as being considerably better than the Fire. Given that both share essentially the same screen and processing capability - what's driving the difference?
Is it just software related? If so, can the Netflix app from the Nook be installed on the Fire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be that the Fire Netflix app isn't streaming in HD, possibly intentionally done because it competes with Amazon's streaming.
Can this be fixed by sideloading another version of Netflix?
So far Netflix is only certifying devices for the HD version that have an OMAP4 processor (like the Kindle) and that have hardware security checks enabled (unlike the Kindle) for DRM and content protection. I am assuming the HD apk has some security checks that verify these DRM protections exist in order to run. I found this news article that confirms the problem here
B&N decided to make that tradeoff with their new Tablet model (since they don't have their own video service) but now they have left a huge dev community frustrated because the boot process is very securely locked down in it's signature checks, and custom kernels and custom ROMs will take a lot of work if they ever even work properly. I and many others would much rather have the flexibility than the HD video, but B&N is targeting the millions of customers who think the exact opposite of us
Thanks for the info. So as of now, to enable hd streaming amazon would have to lock down the device... I think I'll live with sd netfilx...
technikalkp said:
Thanks for the info. So as of now, to enable hd streaming amazon would have to lock down the device... I think I'll live with sd netfilx...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitley do too, though I'm sure they'll find a workaround in no time. I have Amazon Prime too, I can find a good bit of what I watch on Netflix (ie.Red Dwarf) on Amazon Prime Video, and it's included in the membership.
I was really underwhelmed with the quality of netflix on my fire. Artifact city, almost looked like I was viewing it over a mobile connection and not 15mbps cable internet. Compare that to amazon prime streaming and you can see the quality it's capable of.
matt314159 said:
I was really underwhelmed with the quality of netflix on my fire. Artifact city, almost looked like I was viewing it over a mobile connection and not 15mbps cable internet. Compare that to amazon prime streaming and you can see the quality it's capable of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's already been explained above. Netflix's HD is restricted to OMAP4 devices with hardware DRM enabled. Kindle Fire has the OMAP4, but does not implement the required DRM.
Since Amazon owns the device experience, they can choose whether to implement HD streaming on their own device.
Interestingly, I copied my Canadian Netflix APK file from my Samsung Galaxy S (Telus Fascinate) onto my Kindle Fire. After sideloading it I was able to watch Netflix in HD (At least it looks HD to me) without issues. And the Kindle runs the app flawlessly.
AluminumHaste said:
Interestingly, I copied my Canadian Netflix APK file from my Samsung Galaxy S (Telus Fascinate) onto my Kindle Fire. After sideloading it I was able to watch Netflix in HD (At least it looks HD to me) without issues. And the Kindle runs the app flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this app it runs well, but I'm not living in USA and I'm not able toregister a netflix user
Is there any possibilities to (register and) watch netflix video on Kindle Fire (reloaded 1.2H rom) from Hungary?
hm not that i know of
AluminumHaste said:
Interestingly, I copied my Canadian Netflix APK file from my Samsung Galaxy S (Telus Fascinate) onto my Kindle Fire. After sideloading it I was able to watch Netflix in HD (At least it looks HD to me) without issues. And the Kindle runs the app flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now if someone could pull the APK from an American source and it'd be cool to see.
Wouldn't work unless you were in the US. The only reason Netlfix was working for me in Canada is because of either my Canadian username or because my IP is owned by a Canadian ISP. Trying to use the US Netflix in Canada wouldn't work.
any update to this?
hello!
what resolution can I expect to get when connecting to an external display? Tegra 3 itself shouldn't have any problems with 1080p via MHL should it? But the question is if it will work. Maybe not with stock rom and sense but will it even be possible for a dev to make a rom further on where you can get anything else than mirroring at 720p?
this is the first phone that I think is powerful enough to replace my desktop computer (I don't do much more than internet and watching movies). But 720 doesn't give much work area.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/12/htc-media-link-hd-display-mirroring-box/
This article states "...the Media Link HD does 1080p over 802.11n to any HDMI-equipped TV, instead of just 720p, and promises to mirror games as well as videos, photos and music..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geCZhmB-f1s&feature=related
This youtube video shows it off from about 50s into the video.
Yea I saw that on engadget, and i've probably seen every hands on video on youtube, it's awesome! But I think the media link will be expensive and I'd rather use an MHL adapter for a desktop solution. I wonder how the media link will work for say browsing.
Nvidias own tegra 3 specs says 1920x1080 via hdmi, but on wikipedia it says up to 2560×1600, though not output specified.
ah ok sorry I miss understood
http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_phone.aspx?i=229814
Seems to be £80 for the Media Link and £28 for the cable so a fair difference but worth it imo not to have the wire across the room but then the cable is more portable...
I guess for browsing it will just mirror what's on the screen. Would be cool if you could use the phone as a track pad / keyboard, with the browser window on the TV...
2 more weeks and we should know more...
i've looked in the TF prime forum where someone asked the same question but with a prime instead of one x but noone could give a straight answer.
maybe that's something to contact nvidia for, making them provide a driver for devs that can bypass the device screen and only output to external with different resolution. I don't know how ICS really works but seeing it's for both phones and tablets now the scaling must work differently right? Acer made a demo tablet called iconia tab A700 and it has 1080.
I'll have to wait 6 weeks for mine.
I might get the media link for my tv later. The trackpad idea would be really cool, then you'd only need a bt keyboard. I think asus had a concept demo where you had a laptop dock and put the phone where a trackpad normally is. But I wonder if you'd notice the input lag compared to a normal track pad.
mertzi said:
Yea I saw that on engadget, and i've probably seen every hands on video on youtube, it's awesome! But I think the media link will be expensive and I'd rather use an MHL adapter for a desktop solution. I wonder how the media link will work for say browsing.
Nvidias own tegra 3 specs says 1920x1080 via hdmi, but on wikipedia it says up to 2560×1600, though not output specified.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats correct t3 is capable of outputting more than 1080p via hdmi, there was a video demonstration showing that
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
What features would be available over normal DLNA? Mirroring or anything like that? Or do we have to have the media link thing?
I currently use a jailbroken AppleTV 2 for 2 purposes - streaming media off my NAS device through XBMC, and watching Netflix. That is it.
Is XBMC for FireTV yet stable enough to replace my AppleTV? A jailbroken Apple TV 2 still goes for $150-$250 on eBay so I could even turn a profit if I switch to FireTV, plus I would have access to more apps.
Yes it is a complete replacement solution, also you get full 1080p
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app
martyxng said:
I currently use a jailbroken AppleTV 2 for 2 purposes - streaming media off my NAS device through XBMC, and watching Netflix. That is it.
Is XBMC for FireTV yet stable enough to replace my AppleTV? A jailbroken Apple TV 2 still goes for $150-$250 on eBay so I could even turn a profit if I switch to FireTV, plus I would have access to more apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. You might also want to look at a blu ray player - many of the smart players can read SMB or NFS shares and have Netflix and other stuff baked in, and then you get a movie and music transport for physical media, too. You do need to shop carefully for them - the codec support in some dvd players isn't great, and some are dlna-only.
The fireTV has pretty good codec support in XBMC, basically as good as the WDTV live plus box it replaces for me - the WD was solid but was never going to get Prime and I wanted the flexibility of having Prime as well.
yes, i sold my apple tv 2.
the atv2 is very low compared to Fire TV
I sold my Jailbroken ATV2 on eBay for about $225 about a month ago and got a FireTV instead. Loving it!
Yep, sold mine also. Realise the value of it now. Far superior. I'm running a heavy skin on XBMC (Aeon Nox 4.1.9) and it zips through everything, no crashes.
Cool. Thanks a lot guys! Looks like there is no reason for me not to sell my Apple TV at a PROFIT after several years, and get a brand new device for FREE! I just ordered a Fire TV.
Yes, I am selling mine having test the Fire TV for a few weeks.
Steve
I was super excited to finally get a 4K tv. But kodi and vlc run at 1080p. What's going on? It's set to auto 4K resolution.
jateshk said:
I was super excited to finally get a 4K tv. But kodi and vlc run at 1080p. What's going on? It's set to auto 4K resolution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only apps that amazon allows can run in 4k. It is what drove me to get a Shield TV, and I do NOT regret it at all!
I guess I'll be selling my 2 fire Tv. Looking at the minx box
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
jateshk said:
I guess I'll be selling my 2 fire Tv. Looking at the minx box
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm telling you, you will NOT go wrong with the Shield, especially if you like to game. The quality of the interface and video output in 4k is phenomenal and Nvidia has been doing excellent on the updates area.
OK let me think about it. Not sure i want to spend another $200-300. I just ordered this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NQCFXGA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
Will use it with my XPS 18
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-xp...lack/5942012.p?id=1219174624599&skuId=5942012
Any thoughts of using an actual PC for an HTPC experience in 4K??
arunningpir8 said:
Only apps that amazon allows can run in 4k. It is what drove me to get a Shield TV, and I do NOT regret it at all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure, this is a limitation that can be circumvented when rooted - it's IMHO only a question (of a
short period) of time - but of course one can't promise this.
And you're right - if one wants 4k on kodi immediately out of the box - shield tv isn't a bad idea - albeit more expensive.
I bought the Fire TV(2) Gaming bundle while it was on sale (first week of the new year) - Shield TV + Gamecontroller + Remote would have been at least twice the price...
Greetings
Medizinmann
Can anyone with a Samsung Tab S4 tablet confirm if Netflix and Amazon Video stream and download in HD?
The best way to check
1) Netflix - play the video called Test Patterns. After a few seconds, what is the resolution displayed in yellow text at the top?
2) Amazon Video - goto Settings, Stream & Download, Download Quality - then look at best, how much data does it use for 1 hour of video?
0.46GB of data and storage implies Standard Definition,
something like 1.82GB implies it streams in High Definition.
any help with this will be most appreciated.
I want to get an Android tablet that does both in HD, i can't believe the ipad and fire tablets are the only tablets that do both.
I'm hoping the Samsung tab S4 is the only android tablet that does. if so, i will buy one, but i'm not risking purchasing one only to find it doesn't do both in HD.
Thanks,
I tried both on my Tab S4 and my Note 9. The Tab S4 shows 1820x720 on Netflix and 0.46 on Prime. On the Note 9 I get no resolution shown in Netflix and 0.46 in Prime Video. Netflix lists the Tab S4 as being able to stream in HD and with HDR.
nrage23 said:
I tried both on my Tab S4 and my Note 9. The Tab S4 shows 1820x720 on Netflix and 0.46 on Prime. On the Note 9 I get no resolution shown in Netflix and 0.46 in Prime Video.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for this.
so it streams at 720p on netflix, not 1080p, but decent enough.
really disappointed to hear it doesn't support HD amazon video though.
as an FYI, the reason why you get no resolution shown in Netflix on your Note 9, the video is probably cropped due to the screen ratio of the Note 9.
if you zoom out, it will show you the resolution, almost certainly also at 1820x720
thanks for your response though.
i might just concede defeat and get a Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet.
I haven't noticed Netflix not being HD to be honest.
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 PM ----------
The main question is it hardware or have Netflix just not added support for our device yet
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
According to android police Netflix added HD/HDR support for the tab S4 and note 9 beginning of August
Reuben_skelz92 said:
I haven't noticed Netflix not being HD to be honest.
---------- Post added at 04:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:11 PM ----------
The main question is it hardware or have Netflix just not added support for our device yet
---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:14 PM ----------
According to android police Netflix added HD/HDR support for the tab S4 and note 9 beginning of August
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Netflix is hd on this tablet (capped at 720p).
Its amazon video that is still sd by the sounds of it.
samxool said:
Netflix is hd on this tablet (capped at 720p).
Its amazon video that is still sd by the sounds of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go into Netflix settings and select high quality for downloaded an episode is 1.1gb
I get 1.82GB per hour of video downloaded on best with Prime on my Tab S4, but only after I've started streaming something.
Before that, it is 0.46GB per hour.
I think that when you first start the app, it hasn't determined its capabilities.
For example, I was streaming Preacher this evening and when I paused it showed it was playing in 1080p. Heading into the quality settings at this point showed 1.86GB of data per hour on both streaming and downloads. If I kill and restart Prime, it's back to 0.46GB.
Regards,
Dave
Thanks dave, that's really interesting to hear. I might have to purchase this tablet after all!!
Can anyone replicate downloads of 1.82gb per hour like dave stated above?
Thanks
My S9+ does exactly the same too.
0.46GB per hour until I start a stream and then I get much higher quality options.
Regards,
Dave
samxool said:
Thanks dave, that's really interesting to hear. I might have to purchase this tablet after all!!
Can anyone replicate downloads of 1.82gb per hour like dave stated above?
Thanks
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Confirmed. With Netflix though I'm not impressed at all. Properly HDR certified devices do display 1080p HDR, Tab S4 doesn't do 1080p nor HDR even though it shows HDR badge.
I've restored my Tab S 8.4 to original firmware and that thing is playing 1080p on Netflix yet Tab S4 only 720p. That is ridiculous.
Too51oll said:
I've restored my Tab S 8.4 to original firmware and that thing is playing 1080p on Netflix yet Tab S4 only 720p. That is ridiculous.
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I agree. My 10 inch samsung tablet s1 does 1080p netflix ,so does my Lenovo yoga tab plus. Both confirmed with test patterns. why should a new tablet costing three times as much be capped at 720p?
The hacked for 1080p netflix apps probably offer a workaround but that just reinforces the stupidity.
Could it be that it is a trade off for having hdr, though surely a good smart TV delivers netflix with hdr and full hd or even 4k.
I will stick with what I already have, and with watching Amazon video in browser apps on desktop setting for 1080p
For those who say they can't see the hd difference, grab a 1080p hd download of something that is alsoon netflix then compare that local file in Plex or mx player on your device with what you see in the netflix app. The improvement is very noticeable to me, especially on faces closeups
smarttiel said:
I agree. My 10 inch samsung tablet s1 does 1080p netflix ,so does my Lenovo yoga tab plus. Both confirmed with test patterns. why should a new tablet costing three times as much be capped at 720p?
The hacked for 1080p netflix apps probably offer a workaround but that just reinforces the stupidity.
Could it be that it is a trade off for having hdr, though surely a good smart TV delivers netflix with hdr and full hd or even 4k.
I will stick with what I already have, and with watching Amazon video in browser apps on desktop setting for 1080p
For those who say they can't see the hd difference, grab a 1080p hd download of something that is alsoon netflix then compare that local file in Plex or mx player on your device with what you see in the netflix app. The improvement is very noticeable to me, especially on faces closeups
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if this is true I hope they update the app soon.
is there a way to check if the HDR is actually working?
on Amazon prime is very clear, but not that clear on Netflix
smarttiel said:
I agree. My 10 inch samsung tablet s1 does 1080p netflix ,so does my Lenovo yoga tab plus
Fyi to all. The bit rate for netflix full hd 1080p, as shown on screen using the test pattern videos, is I think 5.1 GBits, so 1.89 for same quality from Amazon seems low. But when watching Amazon video in tablet browser, there is a 1080p icon that appears at bottom left next to hd once the stream has gotten up to speed
I am almost sure that netflix download for later best rate is 720p, even on a device that will stream netflix at 1080p. The file sizes are below 1gb per hour on best rate, so unless that have really smart compression you get better quality by streaming. That may be checkable by using the windows 10 app from the windows store. As that also does download for later, but the app may not respond to the hot key tricks that force a speed,quality overlay in the browser
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I did a comparison yesterday with maniac. I downloaded the first 2 chapters in 1080p from the scene and compared them with the stream (HDR and 720p?).
I checked many parts of these two chapters, including some walls with small text advertisements etc.
Not only i could not see the 1080p better...in all cases the stream looked better and a bit sharper...
So or the stream is actually 1080p no matter what the pattern test says, or the stream is really good....
Looking at shows like godless (A personal favorite) ... the quality is so high, it looks so good sharp and bright, that honestly...I very much doubt that could look better.
Anyway, my observations only
hardpike said:
I did a comparison yesterday with maniac. I downloaded the first 2 chapters in 1080p from the scene and compared them with the stream (HDR and 720p?).
I checked many parts of these two chapters, including some walls with small text advertisements etc.
Not only i could not see the 1080p better...in all cases the stream looked better and a bit sharper...
So or the stream is actually 1080p no matter what the pattern test says, or the stream is really good....
Looking at shows like godless (A personal favorite) ... the quality is so high, it looks so good sharp and bright, that honestly...I very much doubt that could look better.
Anyway, my observations only
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netflix are very very good at optimising quality within any given bit rate and resolution. But I have compared 2 netflix streams on 10 inch tablets, of the same source. One at 720p on a fire hd10, one we 108op on a Samsung Tab s1. In that test the 1080p was superior.
Netflix Vs a scene release has more variables. What file size were your test files and if you download same from netflix what size is that
I guessed my real gripe is why do content providers and tablet manufacturers seemingly conspire to deny us the best possible bit rates. I know from using the hacked for l1 widevine netflix app that all my tablets can deliver a 1080p netflix stream by just havinf an app change a flag to make tablets appear as whitelisted for full hd. And I know from in browser tests that I can stream Amazon at 1080p but the Amazon app says non Amazon android gets sd only. Unless it is a Samsung S3. And not an s1, s2 or s4.
Thus my personal holy grail of an android tablet that runs both at 1080p out of the box via official apps remains unfulfilled. I am told that iPads can do it, so want no android solutions ?
I get full 1080p and HDR in Amazon with my tab S4...
hardpike said:
I get full 1080p and HDR in Amazon with my tab S4...
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That is Good to know, but you only get 720 from the official netflix app ?
I have my doubts but it seems so. Even if in my tests so far iI couln't see a better feed. I have checked against my tv (1080p) y galaxy s6 edge plus (test pattern says 1080p) the download from netflix (720p judging by the size of the file)
The downloaded from netflix 720p files (about 700mb for 45 min) looks much worse then the stream.
I cant see so far anything better than the tab s4 feed.
But i keep checking...
hardpike said:
I have my doubts but it seems so. Even if in my tests so far iI couln't see a better feed. I have checked against my tv (1080p) y galaxy s6 edge plus (test pattern says 1080p) the download from netflix (720p judging by the size of the file)
The downloaded from netflix 720p files (about 700mb for 45 min) looks much worse then the stream.
I cant see so far anything better than the tab s4 feed.
But i keep checking...
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It would be interesting to know what performance you get from a tweaked netflix app on the s4. I am not sure what links etc we can post here but I found one via Google quite easily
a search for netflix 1080p apk should do the trick.
The theory is just for the app to report that the device is a whitelisted one for 1080...