Recommended Settings and other useful stuff for AML S928X Players (HT PDF updated Feb 26)

Not sure what's going on there.

HLG is SDR compatible so there's no need to use VS10 but I just tested a BBC 4K25 HLG file (MediaInfo details the same as above) and it plays fine in SDR with VS10 and without.

The image is certainly not washed out and colours are correct in both cases.

This was using the built in SDR Rec.709 EDID.

Nothing odd about the signal either - it outputs at 4K25 so don't know why the JVC doesn't see that.

**edit**

The penny dropped - well, kind of...

HLG is backwards compatible with SDR but it uses BT.2020 colourimetry so that would explain the washed out colours if the Zidoo is outputting BT.2020 and the JVC is set to a Rec.709 picture mode.

But that would mean the EDID has to support BT.2020 - have you tried the built in Rec.709 EDID?

Might explain the no signal thing too.

 

I thought HLG was HDR for television?

 

Essentially, yes - It's an HDR system designed for broadcast as a joint venture between the BBC and NHK - and you've just reminded me of something - need to edit the above post

 

Ah OK, so we can read it with what settings on Zidoo?

 

It's in HDR settings:

 

I am using now using the BETA firmware and the built in EDID on the Z9X 8K for 4K rec709 and HLG looks properly tone mapped and VS10 is being used. Unfortunately I still cannot get it to output 4K25p either via frame matching or setting it manually, so it is set to 4K59.94p which is not ideal for PAL content. This is strange because 4K25p is still working just fine on my original Z9X. But still on the original Z9X the HLG image is washed out, it seems like incorrect gamma, no deep black, and with a slight yellow shift in greens too. I don't see a setting specifically for HLG like on the Z9X-8K.. only HDR10 HDR10+ and DV.

So now my main concern is getting 4K25P output working on the Z9X 8K.. any thoughts on what to try? Thanks Mark

 

Silly question, but you do have auto frame rate on don’t you?

 

I typically don't as I like to set it manually because the hdmi handshake times on JVC projectors drive me crazy.
But I have tried it both ways, either letting the Zidoo switch to 25hz upon starting playback, or manually setting it before myself. Black screen both times. Not blue saying no input, just black.

 

I've used JVC PJs for years so I know exactly what you mean, but you should always use auto frame rate otherwise you get a mess of dropped or repeated frames, although some people are more sensitive to it than others.

The way I get around it is use LLDV for all content, set UI frame rate to 23.976 Auto Frame Rate to Frame Rate Only.

That way, for 99% of content you'll never see an HDMI sync.

But yeah - can't see why your RS500 would give a black screen in those circumstances - When you mentioned 59.94Hz I wondered if you were maxing out the HDMI bandwidth and the chain couldn't take it - that would need to be running at either 8-bit RGB/444 or 12-bit 422 at 50-60fps though and I'm sure you wouldn't be doing that (unless you were feeding it LLDV in which case at 50-60Hz it's definitely at 17.8Gbps which if the HDMI chain was on the edge would produce the symptoms you describe.

But outputting 25fps at 4k, the worst it can possible be is 13.4Gbps if you happen to use 12-bit RGB/444 which again, you wouldn't do - more likely 10-bit RGB/444 (11.1Gbps) or 12-bit 422 at 8.9Gbps which is HDMI 1.4 speeds so a damp piece of string would do...

My cheat sheet for 4K HDMI modes for reference:

​

 

Does not seem to be an HDMI cord issue, my older Z9X has no problem and have been using the same cord. I just tried to set the zidoo to 4K60p and "Priority YUV 444 8BIT" and "Priority RGB 8BIT" and no problem with any playback there. It's only when outputting 25hz either from manually setting it or through enabling auto frame rate and starting PAL content. I can't seem to think of anything else to try.. if this is not a Zidoo Z9X 8K issue, perhaps mine is defective? Again, what's frustrating is this is working fine on my on original Z9X.

 

Thank you Mark for the settings, I had spotted it, but after numerous adjustments on the JVC, the image hardly suits me.......fortunately I had the 1080p HD version, which for once is much better in my eyes!

 

Yeah, HLG is an odd one - bit of a waste of time in my opinion. It looks good natively but unlike HDR10 and even DV Profile 4, the compatibility layer can look noticeably duller.

 

@Markswift2003
Question:

if we have a TV series divided into 4 bluray ISOs, how can we assign the number of discs instead of the number of episodes?

For now I assign episode 1 to disc 1, episode 2 to disc 2, etc...etc...

Is there a way to limit this problem?

 

No. What I have done in the past in assign the first ep of each disk to that disk so for example if disk one has four eps I would name in 'SeriesTitle.S01E01.iso. Then I would name disk 2 SeriesTitle.S01E05. It's not ideal but until Zidoo allow multiple ep naming of a single file it's the best I can do

 

I can't really help her - I don't use ISOs.

I also don't use TV series...

 

I own an LG OLED C8 and a Denon AVR X3500H and primarily watch 4K DV/HDR content (HEVC-compressed or remuxed MKV/MP4) on my Windows 10 laptop using HC-MPC with MADVR (output: RGB 4:4:4, 12-bit, full range). Recently, I switched to a Zidoo player connected via Denon (eARC to the LG C8) and have a few questions after exploring its settings.

My Initial Setup (out off the box ):

• HDR Content: Played flawlessly, including Dolby Vision (DV Profile 8.1) and HDR10 from MKV/MP4 files, as well as Blu-ray remuxes (e.g., Dune with Profile 7).
• Audio: No issues with lossless formats like DTS MA, TrueHD, DD+, DTS or Dolby surround 2.0/5.1 (ive a 6.1 setup, no atmos), atlhough i did expercienced some sync issues at the start of playing but these appeared to be resynced after a couple of seconds.

Settings Adjustments:

1. HDR Mode: changed to TV-Led DV (my LG C8 likely uses CMv2.9 since it’s from 2018, but i quess the tv should be the most optimized for DV tone mapping)).
2. VS10 Engine for SDR: Enabled but found it too contrast-heavy for some SDR content (eg Passengers 1080p SDR ) , but better for some other SDR content (so i toggle this on or of, A button on the remote for this would be welcome )
3. Output Priority: Set 4K 23-30Hz to YUV 4:2:2 12-bit and enabled frame rate matching with player-controlled upscaling.
4. AI Super Resolution: Enabled at “Mid,” which I enjoy for SDR content.

Questions:

1. TV-Led vs. LLDV:
   My understanding is that TV-Led DV sends the DV signal to the TV for tone mapping, whereas LLDV tone maps in the player. What happens when the TV receives the LLDV signal? Does it tone-map again or display as-is?
   
   
2. SDR to DV Conversion:
   In the HDR advanced menu, setting SDR playback to “DV” seems similar to enabling VS10 for SDR. Are both using the VS10 engine for SDR-to-DV conversion? I couldn’t see any difference, but clarification would help.
   
   
3. Output Format (YUV vs. RGB):
   
   • On Windows, I used RGB 12-bit (full range, 0-255) but adjusted black levels to high (in the tv, otherwise black levels are crushed). With Zidoo, I use YUV (is always limited range, 16-235, right?) and set black levels to low on the TV. black leels felt a bit darker with the zidoo so i tweaked this a bit with the tv settings
   • Does the Zidoo perform some chroma upscaling (for instance like MADVR?) If my MKV`s etc are YUV 4:2:0 10-bit, does Zidoo upscale them to YUV 4:4:4 12-bit when set as priority? How does it matter if you put YUV4:2:0 10/12 bit , 444 or 422 output setting here
   • What’s the purpose of RGB 8/10/12-bit settings? How does this affect DV playback, which already uses YUV 4:2:2 12-bit with RGB metadata (8 bit 1080p tunneling)? when would you use RGB?
4. AI Super Resolution & Picture Enhancements:
   
   • I like AI Super Resolution for sub-4K SDR content. Does this affect only sub-4K resolutions? I ve a super resolution setting on the LG as well but turned this of in favour of the zidoo ai SR, i actually put this at mid
   • What does the PQ AI feature do? Is it a form of chroma upscaling or something else? (i set it at low for now, but it is difficult to tell its effect when if not comparing side to side)
5. HDR10+ Content:
   
   
   • Since my LG C8 doesn’t support HDR10+, it defaults to HDR. My understanding is that the Dolby VS10 engine doesn’t process HDR10+ metadata, as HDR10+ is not a Dolby format. When using VS10 for HDR, I haven’t noticed a significant difference in handling HDR10+ content. The C8’s dynamic tone mapping (adjustable in picture settings for HDR content) works well, and I toggle it depending on ambient light. Perhaps the VS10 engine could handle tone mapping better, but I’m still experimenting. is there any reason i should use VS10 for HDR+ ?Any tips for optimizing SDR, HDR, and DV performance are welcome!
     
     For context, I’m still on firmware version 1.1.47 (I haven’t opted into beta updates). I lean toward the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy.

 

Bloody hell!!

1. In these players, TV Led sends an 8-bit RGB tunneled Dolby Vision signal but RPU is processed in the player. The TV Led passthrough modes allow the RPU to be processed in the TV.

No, the TV does not tone map again if LLDV is received.

2. If you set SDR to output DV it doesn't matter what the VS10 switch is set to - DV output always has to use VS10.

If you set SDR to output as SDR but enable VS10, you will get VS10 SDR not DV.

3. Yes, video is encoded 16-235 in 8-bit and 64-940 in 10-bit.

Chroma is upscaled but not like MadVR - there is no interpolation. The reason we want to used 4:2:0 is that's how the video is encoded, but HDMI spec doesn't allow that at 23~30Hz so we have to use either 4:2:2 or 4:4:4.

I'd recommend 10-bit 4:2:0 for 50~60Hz and 12-bit 4:2:2 for 23~30Hz

These settings do not affect DV - DV is always 8-bit RGB Tunneled for TV Led and 12-bit 4:2:2 for Player Led.

4. Yes, as far as I know AI-SR only upscales to 4K. PQ is a bunch of image enhancements and I believe only works up to 2K but I've yet to confirm. Personally I turn all that stuff off.

5. No - HDR10+ metadata is not processed in any way by VS10 so is irrelevant to LG TVs.

To be honest, others with LGs may chip in here, but personally I'd leace HDR on Auto as LGs are great at handling all formats natively. But that's not to say don't experiment - always do that!


So if you're on v1.1.47, in the answer to #1 you should ignore the information regarding TV Led Passthrough - that firmware only has TV Led and LLDV options and both process the RPU metadata in the player.

 

I just bought Z9X 8K.
When Playing Video including both HDR10+ and DV,
Is there any way Play HDR10+ prior to DV?

 

Yes, but it also means that the HDR10 layer in a DV file is played also.

HDR Settings
============

UI Display Mode > SDR

Dolby Vision Output Mode > LLDV

HDR Output Mode > Advanced

SDR Content Output Mode > SDR

HDR10 Content Output Mode > HDR10

HDR10+ Content Output Mode > HDR10+

HLG Content Output Mode > HLG

DV Content Output Mode > HDR

Dolby VS10 for SDR Content > No

Dolby VS10 for HDR10 Content > No

Dolby VS10 for HDR10+ Content > No

Dolby VS10 for HLG Content > No

Dolby VS10 for DV Content > No


The only way to play HDR10+ from a DV file but keep DV if the base layer is HDR10 is to remove the DV metadata with something like dovi_tool.