Z9X 8K/Z30 PRO/Z3000 PRO/UHD8000 First Impressions

Cheers Mark.
Will probably pick up an Eversolo a8 for music. So just looking for a decent movie front end.

 

Did that VC-1 stuttering issue ever get resolved? I noticed it for the first time just today while playing a BD rip of The American.

 

There was a choppy playback bug in VC-1 that was fixed in v1.0.88
There was a problem with artifacting in VC-1 that was fixed in v1.1.42
There was a frame repeat issue with VC-1 that was fixed in v1.1.47

 

I just picked up a Z3000 to replace my Z1000 and I'm having a weird issue. I tried enabling VS10 for SDR>DV and I'm getting dropped frames/judder. I tried multiple 1080p files and a 4K HDR (w/ VS10 enabled). As soon as I disable VS10 and set Color to "Auto" the issue is completely resolved. I have Match Frame Rate + Resolution enabled and I see the projector switching. And like I said, as soon as I set it to "Auto" it plays perfectly. Is this a known issue or something I need to change in settings?

Otherwise, the Z3000 is awesome. Definitely improved PQ and much more noticeable improvement to the audio. Snappy interface and significantly faster poster wall. Thanks!

 

"As soon as I disable VS10 and set Color to "Auto" the issue is completely resolved" - I assume you mean set HDR to Auto?

Definitely can't replicate this.

In the cinema I have everything set to output in LLDV, so SDR, HDR and DV content all gets converted and I've never had that problem.

Just tried my test unit and set as below, played 1080p SDR content and no problems.

Code:

HDR:

UI Display Mode > SDR

Dolby Vision Output Mode > LLDV

HDR Output Mode > Advanced

SDR Content Output Mode > DV

HDR10 Content Output Mode > HDR10

HDR10+ Content Output Mode > HDR10+

HLG Content Output Mode > HLG

DV Content Output Mode > DV

Dolby VS10 for SDR Content > Yes

Dolby VS10 for HDR10 Content > No

Dolby VS10 for HDR10+ Content > No

Dolby VS10 for HLG Content > No

Dolby VS10 for DV Content > No


Auto Frame Rate

Local Playback > Match frame rate and resolution

 

Yes, correct. HDR is auto. I have the exact same settings as you indicated about and still get frame drop/judder. It’s been on multiple movies, mostly 1080p SDR. But I saw it on one 4K DV file with VS10 enabled for DV content. As soon as I revert to Auto the frame dropping goes away. Same files, nothing changed other than Auto HDR.

 

So in all cases, this is when the output is DV, both at 1080p and 2160p but not when the output is SDR.

What's the display and are you using LLDV or TV Led and if TV Led, what are the passthrough settings?

 

Only if the VS10 for DV is output as DV under Advanced settings. If I’m on Auto, SDR, HDR and DV all play fine.
Display is a JVC RS2000 with an HDFury and using LLDV.

 

That doesn't make sense - VS10 for DV Content is either yes or no, but unless you're converting DV to something else, this setting is irrelevant.

So now I'm not really sure what you're doing.

 

Everything under "Dolby VS10 for...." was set to "Yes".
My settings were as follows:
HDR Output Mode > Advanced

SDR Content Output Mode > DV

HDR10 Content Output Mode > HDR10

HDR10+ Content Output Mode > HDR10+

HLG Content Output Mode > HLG

DV Content Output Mode > DV

Dolby VS10 for SDR Content > Yes

Dolby VS10 for HDR10 Content > Yes

Dolby VS10 for HDR10+ Content > Yes

Dolby VS10 for HLG Content > Yes

Dolby VS10 for DV Content > Yes

Any content, when "Doby VS10 for...." is checked as "YES" stutters/drops frames. I set everything to YES except SDR and only SDR drops frames. If I turn HDR to Auto, everything plays perfectly.


Auto Frame Rate

Local Playback > Match frame rate and resolution

 

So the first thing to note is that if you send HDR, HDR10+ and HLG natively, generally you don't really want to use VS10 because that processes HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG as VS10 HDR. Unless of course that's on purpose.

You don't need to tick VS10 for DV Content either because if DV is output as DV, that setting is ignored since VS10 has to be used for DV playback by definition.

But try this and tell me what happens if you play 2K SDR content and 4K DV content.

Code:

HDR Output Mode > Advanced

SDR Content Output Mode > DV

HDR10 Content Output Mode > HDR10

HDR10+ Content Output Mode > HDR10+

HLG Content Output Mode > HLG

DV Content Output Mode > DV

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

 

Pretty sure that was the settings I used when I first tried it and was still getting the stutter/judder but I'll doublecheck later. Appreciate all the insight. I was confused by the "Dolby VS10 for DV" as well. Didn't fully understand why it was included as an option.

Total side note....any idea if/when they are going to bring back the 21:9 support for the UI? As a scope screen user, that's sorely missing from this new device (which otherwise is fantastic).

 

VS10 for DV is important if you want to output DV as SDR or HDR and want to choose whether to use VS10 or not. And unlike competitors, it means that the HDR10+ layer of SV Profile 7 can be used.

Scope support was returned in the last firmware.

 

Gotcha.
I’m not seeing Scope as an option. It says I’m fully updated. Am I missing something?

 

You need to tick "receive the beta version".

1.1.38 is way old!!

 

Is beta stable enough for use? I’m always hesitant with beta updates (not specific to Zidoo)

 

Yes - the nature of these boxes is that they are always in beta - there is never really a "release" version.

There are private betas that we test in the background so once they get to public beta they are as stable as any other release.

 

Awesome! Good to know and thanks for all the help Mark.

Besides scope support, any other noteworthy highlights I should be on the lookout for or enable etc?(especially since it seems I'm grossly outdated lol)

 

Changelog is here:

http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?thr...n-for-z9x-8k-z30-pro-z3000-pro-uhd8000.99338/

And you should see a copy when you update.

 

Is the z9x 8k much of an improvement over the standard z9x not pro? Regarding picture quality and other features? Thanks