Contributor
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107 Messages
Xi6 box question/issue (DVR related)
I recently bought a new 4k TV (LG G4 77") and with it , I obtained a 4k box from Xfinity.
As this TV supports Dolby Vision and the Xi6 box is the only one in Xfinity's lineup that supports it, I have a Xi6 box connected to it - directly to it, no receiver or anything in between, and using the highest grade certifies HDMI cable out there. (eliminating THAT as any source of my issue)
I have a wired 4k /DVR box connected to another TV in the house.
A couple of weeks ago, XfinityFrank provided concise answers I had regarding this Xi6 box, one of which was that ALL recordings played on this box are from the cloud (as opposed to off the recording on the in-home DVR) - the could of HD boxed I have in my place generally access the recording from the DVR.
Mr. XfinityFrank assured me that this was as intended, perfectly normal, and not to worry.
What I have come to notice is that upon playing back recordings via "the cloud" whenever there is any type of moderate top fast motion, I see a "rainbow halo effect" as if there is lag and any sharp image becomes a blur of color on its edges.
To be clear, this NEVER happens with live TV on the Xi6 box., this NEVER happens when I am playing a UHD or Blu-ray disc, it does not happen when i am utilizing the apps within the Xi6 box. It does NOT happen when I hooked up an antenna and was watching over the air content.
The ONLY time I see this (and it's quite noticeable) is when accessing these DVR recording (that "as intended") - are from the cloud.
I did find one was to mitigate (but not totally eliminate) this, and what was to change the resolution output from 4k60, down to 4k30 -maybe the cloud recordings don't like being upscaled and played back at 4K60
Less frames per second = less rainbow schmear perhaps?
I am hoping to hear from others that may notice this phenomenon, in their sets, or perhaps an Xfinity expert can chime in and explain what's going on there. Maybe there is a solution, or perhaps something to pass along to the tech people.
Any and all assistance is appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration.
XfinityThomasC
Official Employee
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1.8K Messages
5 months ago
Hello, @westwayneguy88888
Are you using the X1 setting "Prefer Best Available Resolution" which should auto-select the best resolution? Were you receiving any error messages when these rainbow halo effects occur?
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westwayneguy88888
Contributor
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107 Messages
5 months ago
ok, further testing done and I think I have a more refined answer/theory
Xfinity Thomas said above: "Cloud recordings are optimized for playback on mobile devices and are recorded at a lower video resolution." I do not believe that to be accurate, but is on the right path.
The resolution is recorded at whatever the incoming signal resolution is. in most cases it is 720P. The "playback resolution" is what we select in our menu. For the Xi6 the choices are 720P, 1080i, 1080P, 4K@30 frames/second and 4K@60 frames/second.
I also posted on a few other sites I visit, such as an Facebook Xfinity group, and received some feedback there as well. I am convinced that the BITRATE for cloud based recordings is too low. Low bitrate doesn't affect the "resolution" but does affect the overall quality of the video. Too low of a bitrate creates artifacts such as macro blocking, mosquito/edge noise, and other type of schmearing during motion.
I am also surmising that the cloud recordings are 30 frames per second based on the following:
I recorded an episode of Law and Order SVU, there is a scene where a couple of ladies walk and you can clearly see the edge of their hair getting all 'rainbowy' (sorry for the weird word) when the box is set at the highest resolution setting (4k @ 60 frames per second) . I changed the box resolution output to each of 720p/1080i/1080P, and it STILL exhibited that rainbow effect. These are all LOWER resolutions than the original 4k setting, so it is NOT a resolution issue. These are also all 60 frames per second settings.
When I set the box to the 4k@30 frames/second, the effect disappears. My theory, that one or both of these are happening
1) Cloud based recordings are in 30FPS and when played back using a 60 frames/second mode on a BIG screen (77") the box has to add extra frames in and this causes issues.
2) the bit rate is so low that artifacts appears during motion.
To re-iterate what I posted originally above, this situation only occurs during DVR playback, my TV set is perfectly fine with every other source, and also fine during live tv via X1.
While inconvenient, my solution would be to change my settings to the 30 frames when watching anything off the DVR, and return back to 60 frames afterwards (it does provide a smoother picture at 60 over 30 when watching stuff like hockey playoffs). In addition, cloud recordings used to ONLY be 2.0 stereo sound, now they are 5.1 surround.
2.0 sound with my 4K set and Dolby Atmos setup would be a non-starter. so I am good with this trade-off (for now)
I had a wired 4k box for this tv set; but having 2 DVR's in the house was causing recording and playback issues for weeks before I called out a tech and he suggested i use the Xi6 for this tv set.
I could always put my WIRED box at this location where all the recordings would be from the DVR itself and not the cloud, but I would lose Dolby vision on the apps, and who knows how the Xi6 box would look on my smaller, less grandiose tv, and whether it is in a location I can run an ethernet or get a good Wi-Fi signal.
I think I have it figured out, but want to hear from other users, or other Xfinity experts to confirm or refute my statements i made in this post.
I took this time to make this long post so it can be a source of knowledge for others in the future that encounter similar issues.
Thank you
(edited)
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westwayneguy88888
Contributor
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107 Messages
5 months ago
@XfinityFrank
I was able to go to my set and have the following to report
1) I do have the Xfinity stream app on the tv, and it DOES produce the same effect during that scene, I even looked at that stream app settings and changed the best resolution to off..... did not make a difference. BOTH settings produced that effect, and at the same level as through the Xi6 box.
2) Then I thought, I have peacock, and that show would be on there, and this is where it becomes interesting: When watching the same scene via the peacock app on the tv; The effect was ONLY there if you knew exactly where to look, meaning, under normal circumstances it's not there. AKA it's not noticeable and (to me) would be acceptable.
Let me know and that you for your assistance so far
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westwayneguy88888
Contributor
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107 Messages
5 months ago
Final follow-up to report:
I got around to swapping my boxes and hooking them up to my TV:
To recap, on live tv everything is great, but on my Xi6, using (cloud) recording, there are terrible compression artifacts on playback. This was on an NBC show (law and order: SVU). I went to the peacock app, and when playing that same episode back, there were no artifacts. In addition, the artifacts are present in every resolution setting EXCEPT the 4k30 resolution.
I noticed the following over the weekend using the same episode as before
Using my 4k wired box, accessing the actual (not cloud) DVR recording - surprisingly, the exact same issues are present as with the cloud recording, as before only the 4k30 setting mitigated this.
Hooking up one of my HD boxes also exhibited the same compression artifacts. This was true with accessing either the DVR recording OR the cloud recording (accessed the cloud recording by unplugging my DVR in the house).
I contacted some experts regarding my LG TV to learn if there were motion or clarity settings I could tweak. All of their suggestions had zero impact on the issue.
In the name of assisting others that run into this issue in the future:
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