Dolby Vision is too dim compared to other players

Discussion in 'HDD 8K Media player(AML S928X)' started by Creator44, Aug 22, 2024.

  1. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    I was under the impression that Dolby Vision was too dim compared to my other players so I compared Aquaman 2 between my Nvidia Shield, Dune Pro One 8K, Z9X Pro and Z9X 8K and it's now clear to me that something is wrong with the brightness level of Dolby Vision on the Z9X 8K.

    I don't know if it's the DV layers not being processed correctly but on Aquaman 2 when they arrive in the forest I can clearly see the clouds highlights are dimmer than on any of my other players. I can see it in all the highlights in fact in that movie at different places.

    I don't know how the Zidoo team will be able to see this but it needs to be fixed, the point of HDR and DV is to have great highlights and brightness.

    In fact I’m pretty sure I see that too on antman quantumania which is just a DV profile 5 single layer. That dim image might apply to all video formats. I will test more.

    I noticed that there is no HDMI range option (full vs limited)? Is it possible the Z9X 8K is sending Full (0-255) and it should be sending Limited (16-xxx)?

    If I can help to make them see it I am ready to help.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2024
    Chirita Laurentiu likes this.
  2. Xiro

    Xiro Member

    It would be nice to be able to opt for that option if
     
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  3. enry184

    enry184 Active Member

    I noticed this on my UHD3000 as well. With the same video settings, the same movie on Netflix on the Zidoo was noticeably darker. So I had to change the video settings on the TV to make it more or less the same. As you say, this only happens with movies in Dolby Vision. In HDR it's perfect.
     
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  4. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    Changing the TV settings is probably messing up the picture in other areas. Also, I don’t know how you adjust the TV as my brightness and contrast are already at 100 in Dolby Vision mode.

    The problem is with the player.
     
  5. Chirita Laurentiu

    Chirita Laurentiu New Member


    We should post this to Z9X 8K/Z30 PRO/Z3000 PRO/UHD8000 First Impressions thread for more views.
     
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  6. nhtdm

    nhtdm Member

    I have Dune HD Pro One 8K Plus has the same problem as Zidoo, DV is dim, yellowish and HDR10 is fine. It has to do something with color temperature warm to cool and more brightness to fix this problem.
    I have The R_volution PlayerOne 8K it has cool and bright DV, HDR10 . It is the best player of the Amlogic S928X-K/J media processor
     
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  7. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    I will post it there but I was thinking a separate thread for this important issue would make more exposure and not less.
     
  8. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    Bizarre for me the Dune looks fine but has other problems.
     
  9. Kenjamin0523

    Kenjamin0523 New Member

    I have the same experiment when play video that support DV. It’s too dim when comparing to other android tv boxes
     
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  10. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    Yes and it's the only player box out of 5 box I own and test right now that is dim like that so something's wrong in the way they process the DV highlights/RPU. I asked @Markswift2003 if he can open a bug with Zidoo so they can look at that.

    HDR does not seem to be affected indeed, only DV but I have most of my movies in DV nowadays and DV looks better on my TV, brighter highlights, except for this player that is.
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2024
  11. nhtdm

    nhtdm Member

    Go Setup/Video
    HDR and Dolby Vision Settings
    @How to output menu -->change to DV
    After a reboot you have a dim and little bit yellowish DV menu screen
    (If you menu screen in HDR10 mode, the color is normal bright)
     
  12. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    I will try. Does the yellowish affect the playback of the DV movies too though or just the menu of the Dune?
     
  13. giangi76

    giangi76 Active Member

    Just for you to know and not confuse the devs that may be reading, what you describe has nothing to do with brightness level. Brightness level controls black level and not the highlights... for that you you need to use contrast.
    I haven't had time to do real testing till now, but from what I'm seeing I actually think that DV processing on these new Amlogic Zidoos is more accurate than ever. (better than the one on my Z9X, for example). I don't know how Dune, nor Z9X Pro process DV, but the Nvidia Shield is definitely NOT a reference for DV processing (the bugs are very well known).
    If you really think that "the point of HDR and DV is to have great highlights and brightness"... well, I'm afraid you've got a wrong idea about HDR and how it can be used by creators and colorists. Also comparing a same content in HDR10 vs DV can be wrong, because the differences can be absolutely intentional... and this is because HDR10 has static metadata vs DV having dynamic metadata and this means the colorists can trim, change contrast, change color tone-maping scene by scene with DV (this means that a dimmer look on DV can be intentional and not wrong).
    To be sure, I will be doing some testings (with test pasterns and trusted demos I know very well) and compare (also using my Panasonic BD 4K player). I will let you know the results and also share them with @Markswift2003. We need to be sure these new players can be accurate and shouldn't have doubts on the argument: I agree! ;)

    I also would like the option to select between HDMI range back (as on previous Zidoos), but I really don't think this is the case (but will check ;))
     
  14. JCW

    JCW New Member

    Can it be related to LLDV settings? The New Z9X 8K does not have the option to change between "Player Led Dolby Vision" and "TV Led Dolby Vision"
     
  15. Markswift2003

    Markswift2003 Well-Known Member SUPER Administrator Beta test group Contributor

    Of course it does.
     
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  16. nhtdm

    nhtdm Member

    Menu or movies anything DV, VS10, LLDV setting "Player Led Dolby Vision" and "TV Led Dolby Vision" are same yellowish like color temperature set to warm
     
  17. blenky

    blenky Well-Known Member

    I'm not seeing any of this on my LG G4. I'm doing some testing myself but so far DV looks perfectly fine however used. Changing UI between DV, HDR and SDR does not highlight any issues. All look as I would expect. No dimming or yellow tinge. I have a UHD DV movie on disk and d/l that I will try though.
     
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  18. giangi76

    giangi76 Active Member

    As promised, I've spent all the morning testing and comparing. As I had already noticed just watching, the new Amlogic Zidoos (I have a Z9X 8K with the latest FW available) do a much better DV processing and this is because they have a better RPU and levels support (thank you @Markswift2003 for pointing me in that direction) and there's no HDMI range error (it is set correctly at limited - 64-940 at 10 bit).
    If you see some "dimmer" DV content, it's because the RPU of those content is now processed correctly and it does a better job than other players (way better than my previous Z9X in this domain)... that's all!

    If you want to check how DV RPU works and compare between players (you will be surprised, trust me), here's the link to a set of very good test patterns you can download:
    https://mega.nz/folder/gzg13Qab#soC9MNAhOOfsjn-2Yvjfow
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2024
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  19. blenky

    blenky Well-Known Member

    I compared a DV d/l of Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets with the UHD bluray I have. I froze at same scene and took pictures - see attached. TBH I can't tell the difference. Looks fine to me. I'll let you guess which one is the Zidoo and which is the bluray!
     

    Attached Files:

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  20. Creator44

    Creator44 Active Member

    Thank you giangi, I appreciate your efforts. I always preferred DV on my Sony tv because it was presenting brighter highlights and image than HDR10 and I do know the basics of static vs dynamic metadata but am not really the test patterns kinda guy so thank you for these tests.

    I just prefer the innacurrate look I guess just like I am not watching SDR at super dim 100 nits.

    Which Panasonic BD player are you using and what were the differences between the z9x 8k and the panasonic? Is the Panasonic accurate on DV processing? I have one that I could plug back and compare but it needs to be a movie without FEL of course since the Z9X 8K won’t handle the FEL like the Panasonic.
     

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