Hello,
I've just bought an LG C8 65" 4K OLED. I'd like to know what it would take to show Netflix, etc in 4K with HDR.
I have a dedicated Windows 7 HTPC I've been using a long time. It's gone through minor changes, I no longer use the original Ceton tuners, now I've got two SiliconDust HDHomeRun tuners. Other than that, I try to modify it as little as possible in the hope it just keeps on working trouble-free.
Motherboard - Gigabyte EP43-UD3L
CPU - Intel Core 2 DUO E6600
Memory - 4 gigs DDR2
Video - Nvidia Geforce GT 710
HDMI Cable - BJC Series-F2 28 AWG Belden Bonded-Pair from BlueJeans cable circa August 2008. This was the best Belden cable I could get ahold of at the time. Might need an upgrade?
What will I need to replace or modify in order to display 4K content from my HTPC to the 4K TV?
Your help is greatly appreciated.
W7 4K - what do I need?
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Mountain
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W7 4K - what do I need?
Last edited by Mountain on Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jachin99
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If you want to view Netflix, Amazon, etc. in 4k then your best bet is probably to use the TV's built in apps. If you want to show WMC in 4k then you should look into Modern Media UI here https://windows10mediacenter.com/modernmedia/ui. There is a thread from another use that is probably a few threads down from this one that might explain how to get 4k WMC. They also just picked up an OLED.
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Mountain
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Thanks. Looks like MMUI will address some minor things. Like removing resolution warning, and making black colors look better on OLED, etc.
Using the builtin TV app is an undesirable outcome, and will be the last resort fallback position. The family is used to using the Harmony to turn on the TV and know how to get everything from there. Its not desirable to use the HTPC for some things and the TV builtin menu for other things.
With the HTPC, I'm more worried about HDCP compatibility, how to get the right resolution and refresh rate, etc. Will I need a different video card? Anything special I need to do to get Nvidia drivers to show 4K resolution?
Will I have issues with my CPU not being Kaby Lake?
TV arrives sometime this week.
Using the builtin TV app is an undesirable outcome, and will be the last resort fallback position. The family is used to using the Harmony to turn on the TV and know how to get everything from there. Its not desirable to use the HTPC for some things and the TV builtin menu for other things.
With the HTPC, I'm more worried about HDCP compatibility, how to get the right resolution and refresh rate, etc. Will I need a different video card? Anything special I need to do to get Nvidia drivers to show 4K resolution?
Will I have issues with my CPU not being Kaby Lake?
TV arrives sometime this week.
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jachin99
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The TV might upconvert everything to 4k anyway. I have hooked up WMC to one 4k TV for a family member, and I set WMC to 1080p. I would also use HDMI 1.4 for WMC vs HDMI 2.0 if your looking to keep things simple. What do you currently use to view netflix? I think you will have a drastic PQ improvement moving to OLED regardless of what you set the resolution at. If I ever move to newer displays I don't think I'll try too hard to extend the resolution up to 4k. I'm kind of in the camp where I don't believe i will really see a difference. How far back are you sitting from the TV?
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Mountain
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TV arrived today.
The Geforece GT 710 is capable of 3840x2160 at 60Hz and it set it there on its own. However, it kept crashing at that resolution. I brought it back down to 1080 resolution and I've ordered a Geforce 1050ti with Amazon Prime Now (will arrive tomorrow). We'll see if I can run higher resolution without it crashing.
Currently we use Netflix via Firefox browser on the HTPC (HD resolution).
Just to see how the TV worked out, I used the builtin Netflix app, upgraded my Netflix sub to UHD, and tried one of the movies they stream in 4K. I can definitely tell a difference between that and an HD movie. It looks amazing. The downside is I have to use the sound from the TV rather than through my surround sound receiver. So if I want to use Netflix, I'll have to run optical audio out from the TV to the AVR and change the input on the AVR from the HTPC to the TV. Just more fidgiting with the Harmony and a new "Activity" for the wife to learn. So, thats the fallback plan B. But I'm going to see if I can go down the path of getting UHD through the PC to the TV. Hopefully I don't need to update motherboard, processor, RAM.
Thanks
The Geforece GT 710 is capable of 3840x2160 at 60Hz and it set it there on its own. However, it kept crashing at that resolution. I brought it back down to 1080 resolution and I've ordered a Geforce 1050ti with Amazon Prime Now (will arrive tomorrow). We'll see if I can run higher resolution without it crashing.
Currently we use Netflix via Firefox browser on the HTPC (HD resolution).
Just to see how the TV worked out, I used the builtin Netflix app, upgraded my Netflix sub to UHD, and tried one of the movies they stream in 4K. I can definitely tell a difference between that and an HD movie. It looks amazing. The downside is I have to use the sound from the TV rather than through my surround sound receiver. So if I want to use Netflix, I'll have to run optical audio out from the TV to the AVR and change the input on the AVR from the HTPC to the TV. Just more fidgiting with the Harmony and a new "Activity" for the wife to learn. So, thats the fallback plan B. But I'm going to see if I can go down the path of getting UHD through the PC to the TV. Hopefully I don't need to update motherboard, processor, RAM.
Thanks
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dkm
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Not related to WMC, but does your TV and Receiver both support ARC (Audio Return Channel)? That would allow you to maintain audio from internal TV apps using the same HDMI cable that connects between your TV and Receiver now.
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Mountain
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I'm unsure if they support ARC, but won't help in my case.
Receiver is a Denon avr3312ci and predates 4K.
https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometh ... /avr3312ci
Honestly, I always found it better to not run picture through my receiver. Its just more circuitry, processing, and updscaling that can get in the way. Obviously, if you're short on inputs, or you want source switching to be as easy as it can be, sending everything through your receiver is preferred. Instead, I opt to send my video directly from source to display, and only route my sound through the receiver. Because I have the Harmony Hub remote, it's still one button press to get everything set to the right inputs. It passes WAF with flying colors.
So, in my case, HDMI runs directly from HTPC, Playstation, and receiver (for internet radio), to three inputs on the TV. Then I run digital optical cables from HTPC and Playstation to the receiver.
Whats new, is that as per my previous post, yesterday I ran a digital optical cable from the output on my TV into an unused input on the receiver. So now when I use the apps built into the TV, it'll output sound to the receiver. It was simple enough to do, its just not something I previously had in my setup.
So now my Harmony Remote has four major activities:
Watch TV (HTPC)
Watch TV (native apps)
Playstation
Internet Radio Zone 2
I still haven't installed my Geforce 1050TI and tried for 4K from Netflix on the HTPC to the TV through. By the time I get home from work, all my wife's silly shows are recording all night. So I can't take down the HTPC for maintenance.
Receiver is a Denon avr3312ci and predates 4K.
https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometh ... /avr3312ci
Honestly, I always found it better to not run picture through my receiver. Its just more circuitry, processing, and updscaling that can get in the way. Obviously, if you're short on inputs, or you want source switching to be as easy as it can be, sending everything through your receiver is preferred. Instead, I opt to send my video directly from source to display, and only route my sound through the receiver. Because I have the Harmony Hub remote, it's still one button press to get everything set to the right inputs. It passes WAF with flying colors.
So, in my case, HDMI runs directly from HTPC, Playstation, and receiver (for internet radio), to three inputs on the TV. Then I run digital optical cables from HTPC and Playstation to the receiver.
Whats new, is that as per my previous post, yesterday I ran a digital optical cable from the output on my TV into an unused input on the receiver. So now when I use the apps built into the TV, it'll output sound to the receiver. It was simple enough to do, its just not something I previously had in my setup.
So now my Harmony Remote has four major activities:
Watch TV (HTPC)
Watch TV (native apps)
Playstation
Internet Radio Zone 2
I still haven't installed my Geforce 1050TI and tried for 4K from Netflix on the HTPC to the TV through. By the time I get home from work, all my wife's silly shows are recording all night. So I can't take down the HTPC for maintenance.
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Mountain
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2018 2:21 am
- Location:
-
HTPC Specs:
I'm unsure if they support ARC, but won't help in my case.
Receiver is a Denon avr3312ci and predates 4K.
https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometh ... /avr3312ci
Honestly, I always found it better to not run picture through my receiver. Its just more circuitry, processing, and updscaling that can get in the way. Obviously, if you're short on inputs, or you want source switching to be as easy as it can be, sending everything through your receiver is preferred. Instead, I opt to send my video directly from source to display, and only route my sound through the receiver. Because I have the Harmony Hub remote, it's still one button press to get everything set to the right inputs. It passes WAF with flying colors.
So, in my case, HDMI runs directly from HTPC, Playstation, and receiver (for internet radio), to three inputs on the TV. Then I run digital optical cables from HTPC and Playstation to the receiver.
Whats new, is that as per my previous post, yesterday I ran a digital optical cable from the output on my TV into an unused input on the receiver. So now when I use the apps built into the TV, it'll output sound to the receiver. It was simple enough to do, its just not something I previously had in my setup.
So now my Harmony Remote has four major activities:
Watch TV (HTPC)
Watch TV (native apps)
Playstation
Internet Radio Zone 2
I still haven't installed my Geforce 1050TI and tried for 4K from Netflix on the HTPC to the TV through. By the time I get home from work, all my wife's silly shows are recording all night. So I can't take down the HTPC for maintenance.
Receiver is a Denon avr3312ci and predates 4K.
https://usa.denon.com/us/product/hometh ... /avr3312ci
Honestly, I always found it better to not run picture through my receiver. Its just more circuitry, processing, and updscaling that can get in the way. Obviously, if you're short on inputs, or you want source switching to be as easy as it can be, sending everything through your receiver is preferred. Instead, I opt to send my video directly from source to display, and only route my sound through the receiver. Because I have the Harmony Hub remote, it's still one button press to get everything set to the right inputs. It passes WAF with flying colors.
So, in my case, HDMI runs directly from HTPC, Playstation, and receiver (for internet radio), to three inputs on the TV. Then I run digital optical cables from HTPC and Playstation to the receiver.
Whats new, is that as per my previous post, yesterday I ran a digital optical cable from the output on my TV into an unused input on the receiver. So now when I use the apps built into the TV, it'll output sound to the receiver. It was simple enough to do, its just not something I previously had in my setup.
So now my Harmony Remote has four major activities:
Watch TV (HTPC)
Watch TV (native apps)
Playstation
Internet Radio Zone 2
I still haven't installed my Geforce 1050TI and tried for 4K from Netflix on the HTPC to the TV through. By the time I get home from work, all my wife's silly shows are recording all night. So I can't take down the HTPC for maintenance.
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dkm
- Posts: 41
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HTPC Specs:
Both Monitor Out HDMI connections on that amp support ARC. Depending on the TV model, it'll either send Stereo, PCM, or Bitstream audio back via HDMI to the amp.
Personally, I hear the difference between untouched bitstream audio over HDMI and compressed audio over optical. But I get your point about Video Signal quality. Even with my Harmony, I've found that the smaller number of problems I encounter keeping everything in sync by running through my amp is worth any potential (and un-noticeable to me) degradation of digital picture quality from my own amp. Tho my amp does video passthrough and not upscale...
Personally, I hear the difference between untouched bitstream audio over HDMI and compressed audio over optical. But I get your point about Video Signal quality. Even with my Harmony, I've found that the smaller number of problems I encounter keeping everything in sync by running through my amp is worth any potential (and un-noticeable to me) degradation of digital picture quality from my own amp. Tho my amp does video passthrough and not upscale...
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joelkirzner
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I'll chime in on my setup since it's somewhat similar.
I have a LG E8 65" OLED connected to a Dell Alienware Alpha R1 running Windows 7. The Alpha has a dedicated Nvidia Geforce 810M graphics card, which is capable of 4K @ 60hz over HDMI 1.4 using some slight trickery. It has to do with using 4:2:0 subsampling instead of the normal 4:4:4, which isn't an issue for TV, blu-rays, and other content I'm using the HTPC for; otherwise, you can not watch 4k @ 60hz via HDMI 1.4 because of the bandwidth limitation. 30hz is unacceptable, so this small PC has worked like a champ. I actually have two other OLEDs in my house connected to Alphas for additional HTPCs.
I have two silicondust HD Homerun Primes with Verizon FIOS cablecards and the picture quality is great. There are some registry tweaks you need to make for WMC to operate correctly at 4K. One of the main ones was adjusting the pixel width to 3839 instead of 3840 to avoid a strange white vertical line randomly appearing on the right hand side of the the WMC application. There's other threads discussing that issue if you encounter it. Also, there's a warning that WMC spits outs sometimes about the resolution being too high. There are tweaks to turn that off.
I agree with the other poster that you should just use LG's built in WebOS to stream Netflix, Amazon Video, etc., primarily because your PC can not take advantage of HDR, Dolby Vision and other formats.
The LG WebOS combined with the magic remote really make the navigation and streaming process a pleasure. I'm now only using my HTPC to watch and record live TV, and to watch my blu-ray collection. Even YouTube looks better through the LG WebOS, although I'm experiencing some lip sync issues with that particular app on the E8 model.
I have my Harmony Hub set for two activities: HTPC and Smart TV. The HTPC has an optical line direct to the receiver for audio and HDMI to the LG for video, while the LG has a HDMI to the Receiver. For me, this is the best setup as I didn't want to run the HDMI from the HTPC to the receiver for the same reasons that the original poster mentioned... eventhough my my receiver is capable of 4K 60hz passthrough, there's just too much processing and potential for problems going from a windows PC. Plus, I encountered lip sync issues when using HTPC-->HDMI-->Receiver-->TV
Let me know if you need additional help with your setup. I have three HTPCs running Windows 7 connected to 4K OLEDs and things are running smooth.
I have a LG E8 65" OLED connected to a Dell Alienware Alpha R1 running Windows 7. The Alpha has a dedicated Nvidia Geforce 810M graphics card, which is capable of 4K @ 60hz over HDMI 1.4 using some slight trickery. It has to do with using 4:2:0 subsampling instead of the normal 4:4:4, which isn't an issue for TV, blu-rays, and other content I'm using the HTPC for; otherwise, you can not watch 4k @ 60hz via HDMI 1.4 because of the bandwidth limitation. 30hz is unacceptable, so this small PC has worked like a champ. I actually have two other OLEDs in my house connected to Alphas for additional HTPCs.
I have two silicondust HD Homerun Primes with Verizon FIOS cablecards and the picture quality is great. There are some registry tweaks you need to make for WMC to operate correctly at 4K. One of the main ones was adjusting the pixel width to 3839 instead of 3840 to avoid a strange white vertical line randomly appearing on the right hand side of the the WMC application. There's other threads discussing that issue if you encounter it. Also, there's a warning that WMC spits outs sometimes about the resolution being too high. There are tweaks to turn that off.
I agree with the other poster that you should just use LG's built in WebOS to stream Netflix, Amazon Video, etc., primarily because your PC can not take advantage of HDR, Dolby Vision and other formats.
The LG WebOS combined with the magic remote really make the navigation and streaming process a pleasure. I'm now only using my HTPC to watch and record live TV, and to watch my blu-ray collection. Even YouTube looks better through the LG WebOS, although I'm experiencing some lip sync issues with that particular app on the E8 model.
I have my Harmony Hub set for two activities: HTPC and Smart TV. The HTPC has an optical line direct to the receiver for audio and HDMI to the LG for video, while the LG has a HDMI to the Receiver. For me, this is the best setup as I didn't want to run the HDMI from the HTPC to the receiver for the same reasons that the original poster mentioned... eventhough my my receiver is capable of 4K 60hz passthrough, there's just too much processing and potential for problems going from a windows PC. Plus, I encountered lip sync issues when using HTPC-->HDMI-->Receiver-->TV
Let me know if you need additional help with your setup. I have three HTPCs running Windows 7 connected to 4K OLEDs and things are running smooth.