HDR Gaming

Does Sony TVs support Youtube HDR now?

I wasn't overly impressed by that Digital Foundry video though. They basically quote same price for the 65" X90 and ZD9, no mention of the X93 or the bigger X94 I can tell the 65" X90 definitely isn't +3000€ over here, you can get it for about 2000€. The whole video sounded mostly like a carbon copy of the recent HDTV-event with very little info or value added.

 

It's quite weird from them not still having that capability, but luckily there are good workarounds.

 

It's Google trying to bully companies to use & implement their VP9.2 video codec instead of using HEVC, the industry standard.
Most of the time HEVC decoding is implemented in HW directly because the cost of 4K video software decoding is prohibitive.

 

Sony don't support this, Google do.

 

From the latest Xbox preview build:

" Implemented updates to the 4k video pipeline for Netflix and key partners to support 4k VP9 video playback"

 

The 940e is almost as good and historically has been near half the price. It's my current recommendation for overall best TV.

I just had a look for ZD9 prices and struggled to find them. I suspect they are EOL. FWIW if you see the best US price being from 'Joe's AV' then ignore it, place is a scam.

Only big downside with the ZD9 (and to a lesser extent the 940) is the poor viewing angles, the grid backlight becomes very visible very quickly. Otherwise it's an amazing TV. I really wish I'd personally bought the 940d (at the time) instead of my Samsung.

 

I second with London Boy, minor bloom is visible occasionally but I really don't see any grid backlight, can you describe in which instances did you observe them?

 

Any idea when the fix for elevated Black update would get released to the public?

 

I think it hit the delta ring yesterday, or maybe the day before. Should be very soon.

 

Nice, thanks.

 

One of the best ways to track updates is to follow Brad Rossetti on twitter https://twitter.com/WorkWombatman

Joining the insider program is pretty valuable, I think. If you don't want to deal with bugs, you could join the delta or omega ring. There has been the odd time they've rolled out an update with some annoying issues with party chat etc. What Insider will allow you to do is log bugs from your console. If you hold down the guide button you get an additional option besides shutdown to "report a problem." Your bug reports can include screenshots and video of your actions, as well as a text description. I log quite a bit of stuff, and you'll get feedback if they take action on your bug report. I've only really seen that when a bug I log is probably unique to what everyone else has submitted.

 

I believe the MyTube beta app on Xbox is supporting 4k and HDR now, but have not tested it myself.

 

May as well get used to the idea of streaming media companies not using HEVC now.

There are enough devices that support HEVC in hardware that support probably won't dry up completely, but most of the big players in the industry are actively working to replace it with something less problematically patent-laden. Google just happens to be in a position to move more quickly and decisively.

 

Yes AV1 will be nice and will be actually supported by many players in the industry.
However VP9.2 is imho a stop-gap solution, it would be more pragmatic to keep supporting the current standard, HEVC, and upgrade to AV1 when support is ready.

 

It's counterproductive, though, to continue to support something you're trying to deprecate. Think how Flash is still a thing despite it's time having long since passed. If you want "bad" standards to go away you need to stop using them.

 

My understanding is that the switch to vp9 is mostly being driven because of bandwidth. Netflix needs it to deliver high quality content to mobile users who are bandwidth limited, and probably just for their own financial bottom line. They must spend a lot of money to distribute their video.

 

That's where our opinion differs. I don't think HEVC is a bad codec per se & diabolize it.
HEVC is supported today in HW in many appliances. Today, you don't have youtube HDR in iphones, a big market, and many TV, like LG.
Again, the pragmatic option was to keep supporting the current codec, which has a limited shelf life anyway. HEVC replaced H264 which itself replaced H262 aka MPEG-2.
Contrary to Flash, HEVC obsolescence is planned, it won't be competitive against the next generation video codec & industries have chosen at last to get rid of MPEG & go patentless with AV1
VP9 is an unecessary distraction from Google cutting users from content where they can support both

Isn't VP9 only used on mobiles and netflix 4K HDR content is HEVC + Dolby Vision ?