New 4k tv but been unable to see it's full potential.

[onemoretimex]

As they say always try before you buy... unfortunately i didn't and left it too long to return.

I bought a Philips 40 inch 4k tv and have been unable to see it do any 4k... i'm not looking to view everything i watch in 4k just to see what it looks like every now and then.

Reason i can not watch 4k.

The TV itself does not have any HEVC decoding, so fails to play any 4k video files that i put onto a usb stick and plug into it.

The smart tv apps like netflix have 4k streaming content, but i do not have a fast enough internet connection to get any higher than 1080p and where i live it will be this way for a long time... 8mbps max.

My pc is hooked up to the tv which i use as a pc monitor, but my graphics card doesn't go full 4k i think it sits somewhere between 2k and 4k ( 2560x1600) and i wouldnt go above 1080p as it can only do 30hz because the tv itself does not have 2.0 hdmi so the mouse lags badly.

So i can't think how i can play 4k content on this tv without going and buying more hardware....

can't stream 4k as internet connection isn't nearly good enough.
can't watch 4k using pc to decode and watch on tv as gfx card isnt 4k and no hdmi 2.0
can't watch 4k content off of usb stick as the tv doesnt support everything in 4k i put on it.

any ideas guys cheers ?

 

[jackal575]

I have a Philips 4k tv too but it's a 43" and has HDMI 2.0 which is connected to a HTPC. It's a <Philips 43PUT4900 43 Inch 4K Ultra HD>

Which model do you have? I'm surprised it doesn't have HDMI 2.0 support..

You can buy a small android streaming box - they are very cost effective - I would get one with HDMI 2.0

Steer clear of Amazon Fire TV sticks, they're.. a little crappy

 

[getochkn]

Even without 2.0 support, you can still do 4k@30fps over hdmi 1.4

 

[onemoretimex]

this is the tv and the comments people mention is limitations.

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1407312544

My pc is running windows 10, i have dual graphics amd radeon 8570d and hd6670.

in control catalyst it shows 1080p as maximum selectable resolution, same with the desktop right click properties.

is 2560x1600 4k ? as that is the maximum output of my graphics card on each... not sure if having them in dual mode would mean it could go higher but each cards maximum is 2560x1600

i think i managed to get the output to go higher a while back using some patch... but at 30hz the mouse lag was awful.

 

[getochkn]

Yes you need to patch the 6670 to use 4K. and yes 30hz is bad for windows usage and slow, so you've hit the limit of what it can do. The best resolution usually on a 4K TV besides 4K is 1080p because it's easy to scale up, 4x the number of pixels for each pixel, done. Every other resolution is going to have weird scaling issues.

 

[onemoretimex]

so with the setup i have there would be no point in forcing the 2560x1600 as it will be in 30hz ?
What about only applying 2560x1600 when watching a video in vlc then going back to 1080p for normal browsing etc.. ?

Also this upscaling what does it actually do ? does it make a 4k video look close to 4k when played on 1080p resolution as long as the tv itself is 4k and how would i go about it.

One last question... as my tv doesnt have the hevc decoding capability, when i have a 4k file that is hevc... can i convert it to a file format my tv can play off of usb without losing quality ? will it still be 4k.

As i tried using a convertor converting it to a file format that was selectable for philips uhd and when i played it looked pixelated and more like 480p even though it was the suggested format to select.

 

[onemoretimex]

another thing i tried but failed i think was the dual hdmi.... my 6670 has both hdmi and dp outputs....

i plugged the hdmi output into my tv hdmi1 and then ran the display port output into hdmi 2 ( using dp to hdmi lead) and was hoping that would work to get 60hz but all that i got was the the chance to use amd eye infinity... which is two displays side by side... and not really what i think i was trying to do.

 

[onemoretimex]

just an update i patched the 6670 and for some strange reason i now have my resolution set to 3840 x 2160 with 30hz but i am not getting any lag with mouse or typing ???

the last time i tried this it was awful.... i haven't been able to play a hevc file yet....

with vlc it freezes and is like a slideshow and with windows 10 video player its just a black screen no sound.

but i do have the 4k resolution set on my pc right now in 30hz with no lag at all... or very little.

is the fact i have both my hdmi and display port plugged into the tv at the same time helping somehow even though it is still 30hz ?

happy and very confused lol

 

[getochkn]

why do you have both plugged in?

and no hevc support only means the tv can't do it. IF your PC can decode it, than it can play it fine. the TV itself can't play direct HEVC format like from netflix 4k app or from a usb stick or whatever if it's a smart tv, but if the PC decodes it, than it can. EG, my android box decodes HEVC for me, since my TV doesn't do it either, mines just a dumb 4k TV, no smarts.

 

[onemoretimex]

i had plugged both in to try and get dual hdmi mode so i could get 60hz as i had read that was possible...

what i have done is put it back to 1080p and in CCC enable gpu upscaling.. and installed a hevc codec called ninite.

and when i play the 4k video file in MPC i looked at the stats and it reported the video resolution being 4k and i can see a difference so i will stick with the gpu upscaling as it looks practically the same in 1080p as when i was playing with the desktop resolution set to 3840 x 2160

cheers guys