Terrible picture quality after switching to a new Xi6 4k cable box

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@markDouglas wrote:

Terrible Picture when switching to a new Xi6 4k cable box.  same issue as the link below.  Why is the picture so bad and washed out in 4k.  The picture totally improves to the exelent picture I used to get with my old box when I downgrade to 1080 picture quality..

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/X1/Xi6-color-is-horrible/td-p/3219105

 

What do I do or can I improve the picture.  The 4k picture is totally unacceptable.  I have the issue with both wifi and CAT5 cable attached.  no differance.

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when you change device you will need to set up the HDMI port for that device. brightness, sharpness, settings, gamma, etc.  the set top box for cable and local channels may look better if you set the box normally to 720p and let your tV upscale and change to 4k when using 4k apps or special event programming in 4k. 

why would I want to UP SCALE from 720 when i can supposedly get a 4k signal.  makes no sense.

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@markDouglas wrote:

why would I want to UP SCALE from 720 when i can supposedly get a 4k signal.  makes no sense.

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Pretty much all xfinity TV content is delivered as 720p.  So the choice is whether the little box or your expensive TV does the upscaling.  Your TV might be better at it.

However, if you want to watch 4k Netflix/Amazon/YouTube content from the xg1v4 apps you have to have the output set to 4k -  it won't switch by itself.   Your TV might have native apps though, leaving on-demand movies and the very rare 4k sports event as the only times you really need the 4k setting.

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@markDouglas wrote:

If its deliverd at 720p how can they advetise it as 4k.  Also when they need much mre in the way of 4k content.  they have the band width!  using the apps like Prime and youtube in 4k also looks washed out on the xi6 box set you 4k UHD.  backing it down to 1080p brings back the picture to much better quality.  Viewing 4k content on my main XG1v4 cable box looks great on both my 4k tv's.  i tried them both.  I think as of right now the addition of the Xi6 box to my 2nd 4k tv is a waste of time.

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Broadcast TV is broadcast TV - that's just what you get.  The local networks might be 1080 but nobody broadcasts 4k yet.  There is a small amount of sports programming in 4k that is regularly updated here: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/uhd-4k-faqs

I don't have an Xi6 but since you are the only one that has mentioned a quality difference between it and the xg1v4 I suspect it is really some issue with your setup or the particular TV connection.  You may be forcing the TV to HDR when the input is not.    The X1 YouTube app does not send HDR even if the content says it is HDR.   Amazon's 'The Man in the High Castle' is  good series for high quality scenery in 4k HDR.

I am NOT the only one that has brought this up!  I have seen atlest 4 others with the exact same issue!  The Xi6 box does have issues in 4k UHD setting.  Even the streamin in 4k and broadcast 4k conten is very washed out!!  Do a search in the forums for Xi6 picture issues or terrible picture and you can see other have the same problems.  As I have said in my previos posts I have even gon so far as to hook the tv on my Xi6 box to the xg1v4 box in the other room and move the boxes/swap them room to room and have the same results.  The Xi6 box has a problem with 4k signal.  It fine in 1080p.  My LG OLED has the exact same issue an my newer Vizio.  Bab picture quality.  If you do get an Xi6 I would like to see what your results are.  ALSO 4K CONTENT IS 4K CONTENT.  It has little to near nothing to do with the quality of the broadcast 720p or 1080p content I am getting.  There is a bug in the box.

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@lesmikesell wrote:

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@markDouglas wrote:

If its deliverd at 720p how can they advetise it as 4k.  Also when they need much mre in the way of 4k content.  they have the band width!  using the apps like Prime and youtube in 4k also looks washed out on the xi6 box set you 4k UHD.  backing it down to 1080p brings back the picture to much better quality.  Viewing 4k content on my main XG1v4 cable box looks great on both my 4k tv's.  i tried them both.  I think as of right now the addition of the Xi6 box to my 2nd 4k tv is a waste of time.

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Broadcast TV is broadcast TV - that's just what you get.  The local networks might be 1080 but nobody broadcasts 4k yet.  There is a small amount of sports programming in 4k that is regularly updated here: https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/uhd-4k-faqs

 

I don't have an Xi6 but since you are the only one that has mentioned a quality difference between it and the xg1v4 I suspect it is really some issue with your setup or the particular TV connection.  You may be forcing the TV to HDR when the input is not.    The X1 YouTube app does not send HDR even if the content says it is HDR.   Amazon's 'The Man in the High Castle' is  good series for high quality scenery in 4k HDR.

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@markDouglas wrote:

I am NOT the only one that has brought this up!  I have seen atlest 4 others with the exact same issue! 

But there must be many thousands of them out there.  And a few such complaints.

 

 ALSO 4K CONTENT IS 4K CONTENT.  It has little to near nothing to do with the quality of the broadcast 720p or 1080p content I am getting.  There is a bug in the box

 

Actually some 4K content will have 10-bit HDR color, some won't, and the output of the box will switch. There are a few 4K on-demand movies, and the Amazon video and Netflix apps have some content with HDR. The X1 YouTube app does not send HDR even if the content says it has it.

No, you are NOT the only one, and anyone telling you to just adjust your TV doesn't have a clue... and it has nothing to do with resoultion, but color and saturation (forget that "let your TV upscale from a 720p signal nonsense... it's unrelated and won't help). As is widely reported across various internet forums, both the XG1V4 and the Xi6 ("Flex") box are not ouputting color correctly when set to UHD/4K output. It's like they are attempting to output an HDR signal when none exists, so everything looks pale and "off" compared to a lower setting. And yes, reverting back to 1080 or lower helps, since that resolution is not trying to also do HDR (but then you have to manually change back to 4K or something stupid whenever 4K content from Netflix or Amazon is on, so this is a totaly impractical workaround). 

For reference, I've test all this using both a Flex box and a Roku to watch Xfinity content, so I'm able to cross-compare using the Stream app on my 4K-capable Roku box vs. the Flex running X1. What I can tell you is the picture quality was much different (i.e., better) on the Roku on the exact, same channels at a 4K resolution output... it's not even a question. Unfortunately, the Stream app is hamstrung, with no abilit to pause live TV, slower data/guide/picture loading, etc. So, that makes using the Roku alone not ideal.

I'm not sure they're doing, but Comcast needs to get this video output issue fixed. You can't be charging for a box that's not working properly.

An update...   

I discovered that if I went into an app (Amazon) that had true, 4K HDR content, watched that content, and then came back to the main Amazon menu, the picture was even worse. So, I manually switched my projector into SDR mode. And THEN, if I came back out to the main X1 menu, the colors looked normal (I could literally see it make the switch).

I think I've seen similar problems mentioned with LG displays where turning off the 'deep color' setting made a difference.  Maybe it is expecting 12-bit Dolby HDR instead of standard.   In any case most displays recognize the difference.

Note that if you are viewing YouTube you might see a real difference on a different device - the X1 boxes do not handle HDR from YouTube even on the content that has it.

Its the box!!  not my setup.

Why do you need a 4k box if there isn’t any 4k broadcast from Comcast ? Wouldn’t a good tv do as good an upscale job? What about using a 4k firestick for Netflix and apps and bypass the cable box ?

Year old thread but it is not Comcast that doe not provide 4k broadcast it is the networks. There are some Sport events that they do and some in apps so it is up to you.

Thanks dcfox, Since I basically would receive no 4k content watching comcast, do you think a quality tv like the LG 65CX would do a better job upscaling than the comcast box? All my 4k viewing would be streaming and bypassing the comcast box. Right now I have a 4 year old Samsung 65 7150 which is excellent but IM always looking for better. Will sports look better being upscaled than what IM seeing now? I know this is an old thread, just trying to decide it upgrading tv's is worth it