Xfinity 4k - XG1v4 Cable Box Availability

I have received my XG1v4 4K box and have performed some testing to compare the video quality I get from multiple display resolution settings. Following are my findings:

1. If I select one of the 4K settings, the XG1v4 outputs 4K to the TV at all times, regardless of the original content resolution. In other words, the cable box is upscaling everything to 4K regardless of the content... Even for regular 1080p station broadcasts. I know this because my projector has an information screen which shows the resolution of the input it is receiving.
2. If I select the 1080p or 1080i display setting, the video I receive is significantly better... Better contrast and better clarity. This is because I have the XG1v4 installed in my Home Theater and it is connected to a high-end 4K projector which does an amazing job of 4K upscaling of 1080p content to my 145" screen. In this case, it certainly does a far better job of 4K upscaling than the XG1v4 box does.
3. If I select one of the 4K settings, Netflix doesn't show the UHD content. Even the Netflix content which should be UHD (like House of Cards, Stranger Things, and etc) shows up as HD 5.1 rather than UHD. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
4. If I select one of the 4K settings, I'm still not seeing any 4K Olympics options in the Olympics On Demand. I don't know if this content has shown up yet so it may not be there for anybody at this point. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
5. As a side item, I was surprised by the fact that all of my DVR recordings showed up on the new unit. Before I replaced my previous DVR, I did the "SYNC" option in the settings. When I installed the new 4K box, all of my recordings are accessible. I assume that everything was synced in the cloud and that is what made this possible.

Based on these findings, until there is native 4K content, it appears that I am better off leaving the display setting at 1080p60 so that my projector can do the upscaling of the 1080p content. I was really hoping that it would output the original resolution for everything... 1080p for 1080p content and 4K for 4K content. This is a huge disappointment as I was looking forward to using this box for broadcast 4K.

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wrote:

I have received my XG1v4 4K box and have performed some testing to compare the video quality I get from multiple display resolution settings. Following are my findings:

 

1. If I select one of the 4K settings, the XG1v4 outputs 4K to the TV at all times, regardless of the original content resolution. In other words, the cable box is upscaling everything to 4K regardless of the content... Even for regular 1080p station broadcasts. I know this because my projector has an information screen which shows the resolution of the input it is receiving.
2. If I select the 1080p or 1080i display setting, the video I receive is significantly better... Better contrast and better clarity. This is because I have the XG1v4 installed in my Home Theater and it is connected to a high-end 4K projector which does an amazing job of 4K upscaling of 1080p content to my 145" screen. In this case, it certainly does a far better job of 4K upscaling than the XG1v4 box does.
3. If I select one of the 4K settings, Netflix doesn't show the UHD content. Even the Netflix content which should be UHD (like House of Cards, Stranger Things, and etc) shows up as HD 5.1 rather than UHD. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
4. If I select one of the 4K settings, I'm still not seeing any 4K Olympics options in the Olympics On Demand. I don't know if this content has shown up yet so it may not be there for anybody at this point. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
5. As a side item, I was surprised by the fact that all of my DVR recordings showed up on the new unit. Before I replaced my previous DVR, I did the "SYNC" option in the settings. When I installed the new 4K box, all of my recordings are accessible. I assume that everything was synced in the cloud and that is what made this possible.

Based on these findings, until there is native 4K content, it appears that I am better off leaving the display setting at 1080p60 so that my projector can do the upscaling of the 1080p content. I was really hoping that it would output the original resolution for everything... 1080p for 1080p content and 4K for 4K content. This is a huge disappointment as I was looking forward to using this box for broadcast 4K.

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Now that I have viewed the Olympics in native 4K resolution, I have one more comment to add to my previous comments:

1. Although my projector is a high end Sony projector (VPL-VW1100ES), it was "pre HDR" so it doesn't support HDR. If my testing is any indication, it appears that the XG1v4 does a very bad job of supporting non-HDR 4K displays. In my case, the 4K Olympics Opening Ceremony is extremely washed out on my projector, which is typically very bright and crisp on 4K content. The same HD version of Opening Ceremony viewed with the 1080p60 setting then upscaled to 4K by my projector is much more crisp and has much better contrast.

The net here is that it appears that, if you don't have a HDR capable 4K TV or Projector, your results may not be what you are expecting. Hopefully others who have non-HDR setups can do their own testing and either confirm or dispute my findings. I hope that there might be future firmware updates to the unit which will do a better job of supporting SDR.

The good news is thatk, even though the 4K part isn't working that well for me, it seems to be a little snappier than the previous DVR so I certainly haven't taken a step backwards... Just not as much of a step forward as I was hoping for.

hbwone:

I understand now that you are reading the signal from the 4K DVR box.

With my Samsung TV I would have expected the 4K box to show the channel resolution that was either "recorded" or passed through the box to the television. Example: a football game on FOX channel would be (720 x 480) / 60p, a football game on CBS or NBC would be (1920 x 1080) / 60i. Almost all of use would never watch a show down in the channel 100 range since they are only SD (4:3 screen) in only 480p. I don't have the 4K DVR or X1 series cable-box so I cannot test it.

But it is quite possible that the DVR blocks the original channel signal (i.e. ... (720 x 480) / 60i ) passing through since it actually recorded a short period and viewed on time delay. That might leave you seeing the signal you set the DVR up to record in.

By the way; everyone should realize the best signal you will ever see is the original broadcast. A recorded program can be degraded some by the quality of the equipment recording it. The same said with futher possible degrading at replay time.

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wrote:

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wrote:

I have received my XG1v4 4K box and have performed some testing to compare the video quality I get from multiple display resolution settings. Following are my findings:

 

1. If I select one of the 4K settings, the XG1v4 outputs 4K to the TV at all times, regardless of the original content resolution. In other words, the cable box is upscaling everything to 4K regardless of the content... Even for regular 1080p station broadcasts. I know this because my projector has an information screen which shows the resolution of the input it is receiving.
2. If I select the 1080p or 1080i display setting, the video I receive is significantly better... Better contrast and better clarity. This is because I have the XG1v4 installed in my Home Theater and it is connected to a high-end 4K projector which does an amazing job of 4K upscaling of 1080p content to my 145" screen. In this case, it certainly does a far better job of 4K upscaling than the XG1v4 box does.
3. If I select one of the 4K settings, Netflix doesn't show the UHD content. Even the Netflix content which should be UHD (like House of Cards, Stranger Things, and etc) shows up as HD 5.1 rather than UHD. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
4. If I select one of the 4K settings, I'm still not seeing any 4K Olympics options in the Olympics On Demand. I don't know if this content has shown up yet so it may not be there for anybody at this point. I also tried unplugging the power after selecting the 4K display option in order to reset the XG1v4 box. That didn't help.
5. As a side item, I was surprised by the fact that all of my DVR recordings showed up on the new unit. Before I replaced my previous DVR, I did the "SYNC" option in the settings. When I installed the new 4K box, all of my recordings are accessible. I assume that everything was synced in the cloud and that is what made this possible.

Based on these findings, until there is native 4K content, it appears that I am better off leaving the display setting at 1080p60 so that my projector can do the upscaling of the 1080p content. I was really hoping that it would output the original resolution for everything... 1080p for 1080p content and 4K for 4K content. This is a huge disappointment as I was looking forward to using this box for broadcast 4K.

---

Now that I have viewed the Olympics in native 4K resolution, I have one more comment to add to my previous comments:

 

1. Although my projector is a high end Sony projector (VPL-VW1100ES), it was "pre HDR" so it doesn't support HDR. If my testing is any indication, it appears that the XG1v4 does a very bad job of supporting non-HDR 4K displays. In my case, the 4K Olympics Opening Ceremony is extremely washed out on my projector, which is typically very bright and crisp on 4K content. The same HD version of Opening Ceremony viewed with the 1080p60 setting then upscaled to 4K by my projector is much more crisp and has much better contrast.

The net here is that it appears that, if you don't have a HDR capable 4K TV or Projector, your results may not be what you are expecting. Hopefully others who have non-HDR setups can do their own testing and either confirm or dispute my findings. I hope that there might be future firmware updates to the unit which will do a better job of supporting SDR.

 

The good news is thatk, even though the 4K part isn't working that well for me, it seems to be a little snappier than the previous DVR so I certainly haven't taken a step backwards... Just not as much of a step forward as I was hoping for.

 

 

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I was wondering about this with my LG 4k OLED. I have the xg1v4 set to 4k output but was thinking about setting it to 1080p or 1080i and seeing if the tv does a better job upscaling.

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wrote:

Has anybody seen any Olympics 4K content On Demand yet? I have my Xg1v4 set with a 4K display setting but I'm not yet seeting any 4K Olympics On Demand listings. I'm also not seeing any UHD options in Netflix either, although I get Netflix 4K on both my Sony X800 4K Bluray as well as my Roku 4. Both of them show a UHD section which doesn't show up on the XG1v4 box.

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When I said "show me 4k" into the voice search I got 4k Olympics and my LG OLED had the "HDR" popup come up in the corner which shows it's receiving an HDR signal.

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wrote:

hbwone:

 

I understand now that you are reading the signal from the 4K DVR box.

 

With my Samsung TV I would have expected the 4K box to show the channel resolution that was either "recorded" or passed through the box to the television. Example: a football game on FOX channel would be (720 x 480) / 60p, a football game on CBS or NBC would be (1920 x 1080) / 60i. Almost all of use would never watch a show down in the channel 100 range since they are only SD (4:3 screen) in only 480p. I don't have the 4K DVR or X1 series cable-box so I cannot test it.

 

But it is quite possible that the DVR blocks the original channel signal (i.e. ... (720 x 480) / 60i ) passing through since it actually recorded a short period and viewed on time delay. That might leave you seeing the signal you set the DVR up to record in.

 

By the way; everyone should realize the best signal you will ever see is the original broadcast. A recorded program can be degraded some by the quality of the equipment recording it. The same said with futher possible degrading at replay time.

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As I previously reported, in my case, the XG1v4 is passing all signals at the resolution you set up in the display resolution choices. If I choose 4K for that resolution, then the signal being sent to my Projector is a 4K signal regardless of what the resolution of the original content was. The original video quality is "upscaled" to 4K so the quality of what you see will vary greatly depending on the original resolution of the content.

Posting so I can PM @ComcastElla

Same thing happened to me.  I called Comcast and they told me they have the new box at a location about 25 minutes distant.  I drove there and they do not have them and have not recently.  It will come by mail, but I wasted 2 hours and a gallon of gas due to incorrect information provided by the call center.

I've noticed some of the Olympic 4k programming looks washed out and too bright on my Samsung 4k TV.  Other Olympic programs look decent but not as good as they should be.  Netflix and Youtube look awesome in 4k so it has to be the way Comcast renders the Olympic programming for on-demand viewing. 

@RJG1 - We don't apply these charges manually, the billing system applies them automatically. When you get a new box, you technically have 2 boxes on the account until you return the old box. As soon as you return the box, the system will prorate the charge.