Olympics 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, and Atmos

Hello BIslander. That is a great question and I can not wait for the Olympics! Here is some information for you:

With X1, you’ll get live coverage of the Olympic Games in 4K UHD. Coverage is available in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos immersive sound on select TV Boxes (Xi6 and XiOne).

• This includes a 24/7 4K channel in the X1 Guide, beginning July 24 and running until August 11, 2024:
  • Channel 1351 (USA 4K):  24/7 access to the National stream if you have an Xfinity TV package that includes USA network. You can view your channel lineup at xfinity.com/support/local-channel-lineup to confirm. Enhanced 4K will be available on XG1v4 (low latency feed) and Hi-Fi on Xi6 (30 Mbps and low latency). You must have both SD and HD channels to auto-tune from SD.
• Coverage includes:
  • Team USA focused events.
  • Men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball, track and field and more sports.
    
    

To find the Games in 4K UHD, you can:

• Say “Olympics” into your Xfinity Voice Remote to go to the Olympics Destination on X1. From there, go to the Watch live now on network TV row and choose a tile.
• Say “4K” into your Xfinity Voice Remote to go to the 4K Destination.
• Press the xfinity button on your remote, then press the down arrow to see Olympics options to watch.

@XfinityWilliam Thanks.  That's the Info from the 4K support page that I mentioned in my initial post.  I am trying to find out if (A) the NBC broadcast coverage in daytime and prime will be available in 4K, (B) if coverage on cable channels other than USA will be in 4K, and (C) will HDR and Atmos be supported on the XG1v4 DVR.

Again, I contacted NBC Sports and they said I need to get those questions answered by my provider - Xfinity.

@XfinityEva 

Thanks.  Guess you're saying we won't know what's available in 4K, HDR, and Atmos on Comcast until the games begin.  Surprising.  Disappointing, too.

Not sure what you mean here: "Channels are the ones that provide that content to us so updates on channels like the one above will be released as more information is received."  Is Channels a department at Xfinity?

Hi there, @BIslander I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. I believe what my colleague was referring to was that the Networks are the ones that provide the content to us, which we have no control of.-Richard

did you expect anything proactive from here other than the already known press release? - no 'inside information' available here, that's for sure

I do appreciate your efforts to keep this thread updated.

I worked for NBC stations until I retired a few years ago.  So, I checked with the last one and TEGNA, their corporate owner, said no 4K for broadcast coverage this time around.  I suppose that might just be TEGNA stations.  But, given the complete lack of information about anything except USA, it seems likely that we'll only get 4K on that one channel.  Lots of soccer and basketball, some volleyball (both kinds), along with prelims/heats for swimming and track.  All good, just not the main events or the opening ceremony.      

@BIslander​ 

I am genuinely interested to see if Peacock has much in 4k

None, according to Phillip Swann, the @tvanswerman, who says he confirmed that with a source at NBC.

https://tvanswerman.com/2024/07/10/nbc-confirms-2024-paris-olympics-will-be-in-4k/

@BIslander​ 

thank you for the links;  

for me, even more important than the "4K" is whether there is HDR or not, have your heard or seen anything about that?

Yes on HDR.  They also say Atmos, but we'll see on that. 

@BIslander​ 

I'm sure they are scrambling to find a press release, - and it will look as such in the formatting of their response.

Would be great to actually get an "inside scoop" from this forum every once in a while.

I, for one, really appreciate your follow up and persistence on this matter. It is also something i am interested in.

did not know the stream can be DV....hmmmmm

Not familiar with Stream as I rarely use it, and then only on my phone.   But, the release seems to say Enhanced 4K will be available on Stream and, maybe, only there.  Since we're unlikely to get anything more here, will probably have to wait until Wednesday when soccer starts on USA network.

UPDATE:  Ch 1350 is live on Stream on my Roku Ultra in 4K Dolby Vision.  No audio, so no way to know about Atmos yet.  Guess I'll be able to compare picture quality between Stream DV and cablecast HDR.

I'll have to see if I have the stream app on any of my 4k sets

Their news releases say Enhanced is a combination of three things - DV, Atmos, and a higher bitrate. 

DVR says it's recording the 4K program, but it doesn't play.   Error says there's a problem with playback. 

Opening USA4K program is HDR Atmos on XG1v4.  Looks great.  The first hour is a studio show, so can't tell much about audio.

Xfinity Stream via Fire Cube 3 says it's Dolby Vision, but colors don't pop like the DVR HDR video.  And the audio is only stereo.  Same with Stream on Roku Ultra. Flat video and stereo audio.

Argentina-Morocco soccer in Atmos on X1 DVR.  Very front stage heavy, very little sound in surrounds or heights. 

What X1 box do you have? 

@BIslander​   he uses cablecard.... he's screwed :(

@BIslander​ did you watch any of the 4K yesterday?.... i tuned into the soccer game and the Atmos effects were underwhelming

Yes, underwhelming.  The first match with Argentina barely had anything in the surrounds, let alone the heights.  Later events were better, but only halfway decent surround at best.  I have yet to hear good Atmos from any sporting events like baseball and football.   Most of them seem to use software to produce heights content rather than mics in the venues.  OBS is doing mics and NBC is adding its own in some places.  Doing mics should be better, but not so far. 

my 1st 4K tv was a 43" samsung t7000 - and i noticed the same thing as you, when anything was in 4k, it went so dark

then i upgraded my flagship screen to a LG G3 and it was amazingly eye popping, and i knew it would be.... but it also got me thinking, whats wrong with my samsung, and upon further research, it's simply a crappy 4K set, which i have since upgraded to a sony.

you should look up the rting site, the give all the measurements ..... ill look up your set and DM you 

That sounds like a settings issue on your TV.  You may need to make adjustments for the HDR output of your X1 box.  It's bright and colorful on my LG OLEDs.

As for the dim guide, that's what always happens when watching an HDR source since the guide is SDR.  And the 4K channel integration is less than ideal so pressing guide when watching a 4K channel dumps you back to the top of the SD list.  Xfinity rarely has actual 4K channels.  4K is usually an ip input that can only be accessed using the voice remote to find 4K programs.

@BIslander​ 

what setting is in the X1 box what would affect HDR (or Dolby vision)?

you are correct though, getting a HDR (or DV) signal will often times trip the tv into a different picture mode and these needed to be set correctly

for me 

I have 6 different picture modes, each with different settings

SDR day/night

HDR day/night

Dolby vision day night

haven't gotten around to any game mode settings yet

Checking my options the Peacock native TV App on my Hisense TV offers the best and brightest picture. I suppose I can watch replays there also. But when you purchase a TV like this and supposedly have the option to utilize the HDR option it would be nice if it worked.

Now that I've adjusted my TV Settings this might only be used for replays. I don't think I can DVR a 4K broadcast. And it would fill up the DVR/Cloud pretty fast. 

Is anyone other than @Jimdish07 seeing channels 1351 and 1352 as 4k? It was my understanding that the only 4k channel is 1350 - USA4k. 1403 is not a 4k channel...at least not for Xfinity, Oakland. I am looking at it right now and it is just plain old 720p.

Also, if you have the means, have a look at the channel tuning settings for virtual channels 1351 and 1352 and let me know what the frequency and program id...any info beyond the virtual channel number would be helpful.

Thanks @dave006 for checking it out and reporting back.

I finally received a useful answer about an hour ago from Xfinity after 6 days and a couple dozen communications. They have confirmed that the pop-up channels 1351 and 1352 are both IP-Only and therefore I am SOL. The rep who sold me my setup lied through his teeth...and every rep I've spoken with for the past six days has been clueless.

Yep.  Loving the events in 4K so far on USA4K ch 1350.  Soccer, rugby, and handball.  Coverage on the two Paris Extra channels starts Saturday. 

@grumpyxone​  one day you will realize that is the norm and have a different mindset - skepticism is a good thing

@omendoza7​ 

What device would you watch USA 4K for the Olympics and what Xfinity Modem do you currently have?

Dave

Apple TV 4K and have S33 modem

Hey there, omendoza7, thanks for reaching out through Xfinity Forums regarding your account.  We would be happy to see what options we have available to help you with adding channels to watch the Olympics. You can also sign up for our Peacock service which is the official hub for all things Olympics and a great way to watch! 

To send a "Direct Message" to Xfinity Support:
Click "Sign In" if necessary
Click the "Direct Messaging" icon or  https://forums.xfinity.com/direct-messaging
Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon
The "To:" line prompts you to "Type the name of a person". Instead, type "Xfinity Support" there
- As you are typing a drop-down list appears. Select "Xfinity Support" from that list
- An "Xfinity Support" graphic replaces the "To:" line
Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window
Press Enter to send it.

@user_vtra0x 

Correct on XG1v4 not doing Dolby Vision, just HDR10.  But, after seeing some of the DV on Xfinity Stream, I find HDR brighter and more colorful.  Remember, NBC is sending HDR and Xfinity is layering Dolby Vision itself.

On Atmos, the XG1v4 supports it just fine.  Haven't heard any good Atmos so far from the Olympics, though.