Confused on how to play my 2160P files using kodi - set U9 to 4K or keep at 1080?

Paraprop

Member
Hey guys!

I have a few hard drives full of 50+ gig 2160 Atmos movies. Each time i want to watch one should i actually go into the U9 settings and change the picture from 1080p to 4K/60 (and go into color and change it to 4:2:2)? It only takes seconds, but curious if thats the best way if my TV is so good at upscaling.

I have a Sony 65A1E which has some of the best upscaling in any TV and one of the reasons i bought it (it was $7,000.00 Canadian last year). I assume i should let the TV do the upscaling and just leave Minix at 1080p at all times, or should i actually manually change it to 4K myself (and back to 1080p when watching 1080p files).

I'm a little confused on what to do!
 
I'm a little confused on what to do!
Setting the Minix to only output 1080p you will never get the full benefit of your TV being able to handle 4K.
Let the TV do the upscaling for 1080p output, let the Minix send true 4K to the TV - change output on the Minix as and when required.
Your comment re the quality of the upscaling is true, the Sony (we have a 65" x90f) has some of the best processors around and I think the Minix would really not be in the same realm, even though they are very good products.
 
Setting the Minix to only output 1080p you will never get the full benefit of your TV being able to handle 4K.
Let the TV do the upscaling for 1080p output, let the Minix send true 4K to the TV - change output on the Minix as and when required.
Your comment re the quality of the upscaling is true, the Sony (we have a 65" x90f) has some of the best processors around and I think the Minix would really not be in the same realm, even though they are very good products.

Ohhh i think i understand and really appreciate the response.

-If i have a 2160 movie - i set the Minix to 4K/60 and change the color to 4:2:2.
-If i watch a 1080P, just leave the Minix at 1080p. Do our TV's upscale automatically? I watched a 1080p movie last night from Minix and when i hit "display" on my TV - it showed 1080p as the source (would it now show the upscale 3860?).

2nd question: Since our TV's do such a good job at upscaling to 4K - is there any point of having all these huge 2160p files? Should i just get 1080p files going forward at half the size, or do the 2160p files actually look better?
 
Ohhh i think i understand and really appreciate the response.

-If i have a 2160 movie - i set the Minix to 4K/60 and change the color to 4:2:2.
-If i watch a 1080P, just leave the Minix at 1080p. Do our TV's upscale automatically? I watched a 1080p movie last night from Minix and when i hit "display" on my TV - it showed 1080p as the source (would it now show the upscale 3860?).

2nd question: Since our TV's do such a good job at upscaling to 4K - is there any point of having all these huge 2160p files? Should i just get 1080p files going forward at half the size, or do the 2160p files actually look better?

1st Question
-If i have a 2160 movie - i set the Minix to 4K/60 and change the color to 4:2:2. YES
-If i watch a 1080P, just leave the Minix at 1080p. YES
-Do our TV's upscale automatically? YES, if the input is less than true 4K
-I watched a 1080p movie last night from Minix and when i hit "display" on my TV - it showed 1080p as the source (would it now show the upscale 3860?). NO, the TV will show what is being input, so 1080p or 2160p

2nd question
Since our TV's do such a good job at upscaling to 4K - is there any point of having all these huge 2160p files? YES, they are true 4K
Should i just get 1080p files going forward at half the size, or do the 2160p files actually look better? If recorded as 1080p then use that or if recorded as 4K then use that as they will have better definition
 
Hey guys!

I have a few hard drives full of 50+ gig 2160 Atmos movies. Each time i want to watch one should i actually go into the U9 settings and change the picture from 1080p to 4K/60 (and go into color and change it to 4:2:2)? It only takes seconds, but curious if thats the best way if my TV is so good at upscaling.

I have a Sony 65A1E which has some of the best upscaling in any TV and one of the reasons i bought it (it was $7,000.00 Canadian last year). I assume i should let the TV do the upscaling and just leave Minix at 1080p at all times, or should i actually manually change it to 4K myself (and back to 1080p when watching 1080p files).

I'm a little confused on what to do!

No need to over do it.

EDITED:
The Minix settings for screen res only affect the interface of the launcher and the apps. It can not down sample or upscale any video content. So, as long as you set an HD setting (720p or over) in Settings, the content sent to the TV will be played at the rate that it was originally produced. A 4k file will be read as a 4k file in a 4k TV and a 1080p will be read as 1080p (sure your 4k TV will upscale it to 4k, no doubt about it, by adding virtual dots to it, and that is why a pure 4k file is better).

Should you choose 480p in the Minix settings, a different phenomenon will occur as the Minix changes the shape and size of the picture (not the video dots) as it doesn't fit in an HD screen.


If I were you, I would leave the U9-H settings at 4k/60 (if your eyes can handle the small mouse arrow) and stop messing around with the Minix settings as you don't need to.
 
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No need to over do it.

The Minix settings for screen res only affect the interface of the launcher and the apps. It can not down sample or upscale any video content. So, as long as you set an HD setting (720p or over) in Settings, the content sent to the TV will be played at the rate that it was originally produced. A 4k file will be read as a 4k file in a 4k TV and a 1080p will be read as 1080p (sure your 4k TV will upscale it to 4k, no doubt about it, by adding virtual dots to it, and that is why a pure 4k file is better).

Should you choose 480p in the Minix settings, a different phenomenon will occur as the Minix changes the shape and size of the picture (not the video dots) as it doesn't fit in an HD screen.

So if I were you, I would leave the U9-H settings at 4k/60 (if your eyes can handle the small mouse arrow) and stop messing around with the Minix settings as you don't need to.

Wait, what lol? Changing the resolution in Minix each time is not for movies - its only the interface? EVERY movie i go in and change it haha
 
Wait, what lol? Changing the resolution in Minix each time is not for movies - its only the interface? EVERY movie i go in and change it haha

No, you were correct lol.

Example 1 - If I leave my U9-H set to 1080 in MINIX's settings & play any 4K movie, my 4K TV will obviously only receive the movie as 1080. (Yes the TV will apply 4K upscaling but it's not receiving an actual 4K signal from the source.)

Example 2 - Set the U9-H to 4K@60 & play the same movie, the TV correctly receives & displays the movie from the source as intended in its full 4K glory :).

As with many, my TV has an info button/banner to verify the source resolution, FPS & details such as HDR where applicable, etc., etc.

As yet, Kodi/Android doesn't have the capability to apply resolution self adaptation, only FPS.

My TV also does a pretty good job of upscaling 1080 to 4K (as does my 4K AVR for that matter but I let the TV handle the upscaling as a rule it does the better job). Having said that lol, I've been getting lazy recently & frequently just left the U9-H set to 4K@60 lol ;). Obviously the U9-H/Kodi is then handling the 1080 -> 4K upscaling but it also does a decent job too.

Do some comparisons, see what you think.

For 3D, also have to drop the U9-H itself back down to 1080 for obvious reasons ;)!!

Whichever you prefer at the end of the day :)!!
 
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Wait, what lol? Changing the resolution in Minix each time is not for movies - its only the interface? EVERY movie i go in and change it haha

Try this. Set your Minix box to 720/60 and watch how your launcher and apps get the texts and pics all blurred even if your TV (as mine) is upscaling it to 4k. Because the interface is really reduced to 720p and the TV set will fill the extra dots.

Now, you would get the same effect in a 4k movie, if it would be sent to the TV at 720p when you play it with the 720p set selected in the box.
Yet... And in spite of what your TV tells you... Well, you try it and let us know.

In still images however, I have to admit a slight difference.

LOL

Also tried with several players, so Kodi doesn't have to be taken into equation. VLC, MX Player, you name it.
My TV also reports the content to be 720p, except it apparently isn't exactly so, or is it? 720p content (as far as I can tell) is clearly less defined and fairly poor quality in large screens from 2 metres apart, far from the result of this test. Remember how the interface was blurred.

I am not lazy about changing my settings. I just don't have such good eyes to drop down the Minix settings from 4k/60 to 1080p and see any difference in a video as it can be seen in the interface and apps. Especially in what concerns 1080p files when I get the Minix box set to 4k/60.

Anyway, should you decide to change the Minix box resolution according to the media, you'll have to also adjust the Screen Position the first time you use each of the resolutions as the zoom level to fit all the image in the screen also changes, the box will memorize each zoom level for each resolution for next time.


PS: I am sorry if I misguided you. I actually came to this post several times before deciding to leave an opinion, as I knew perfectionists would want it perfect beyond what the human eye can reach, I really don't think that level of perfectionism is worth the hassle, but maybe my eyes are just too old. :confused:

Anyway I have to thank @ArcticWolf for making me doubt of my convictions, as his comment and great knowledge took me to have a better look over this subject. ;)
 
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Try this. Set your Minix box to 720/60 and watch how your launcher and apps get the texts and pics all blurred even if your TV (as mine) is upscaling it to 4k. Because the interface is really reduced to 720p and the TV set will fill the extra dots.

Now, you would get the same effect in a 4k movie, if it would be sent to the TV at 720p when you play it with the 720p set selected in the box.
Yet... And in spite of what your TV tells you... Well, you try it and let us know.

In still images however, I have to admit a slight difference.

LOL

Also tried with several players, so Kodi doesn't have to be taken into equation. VLC, MX Player, you name it.
My TV also reports the content to be 720p, except it apparently isn't exactly so, or is it? 720p content (as far as I can tell) is clearly less defined and fairly poor quality in large screens from 2 metres apart, far from the result of this test. Remember how the interface was blurred.

I am not lazy about changing my settings. I just don't have such good eyes to drop down the Minix settings from 4k/60 to 1080p and see any difference in a video as it can be seen in the interface and apps. Especially in what concerns 1080p files when I get the Minix box set to 4k/60.

Anyway, should you decide to change the Minix box resolution according to the media, you'll have to also adjust the Screen Position the first time you use each of the resolutions as the zoom level to fit all the image in the screen also changes, the box will memorize each zoom level for each resolution for next time.


PS: I am sorry if I misguided you. I actually came to this post several times before deciding to leave an opinion, as I knew perfectionists would want it perfect beyond what the human eye can reach, I really don't think that level of perfectionism is worth the hassle, but maybe my eyes are just too old. :confused:

Anyway I have to thank @ArcticWolf for making me doubt of my convictions, as his comment and great knowledge took me to have a better look over this subject. ;)

LOL, my input was purely for the examples to help @Paraprop understand the differences between using either methodology & other very basic info :).

Doubt which of your convictions mate lol :)? (As already said, whichever option the end user themselves prefer :).)

1st Question
-If i have a 2160 movie - i set the Minix to 4K/60 and change the color to 4:2:2. YES
-If i watch a 1080P, just leave the Minix at 1080p. YES
-Do our TV's upscale automatically? YES, if the input is less than true 4K
-I watched a 1080p movie last night from Minix and when i hit "display" on my TV - it showed 1080p as the source (would it now show the upscale 3860?). NO, the TV will show what is being input, so 1080p or 2160p

2nd question
Since our TV's do such a good job at upscaling to 4K - is there any point of having all these huge 2160p files? YES, they are true 4K
Should i just get 1080p files going forward at half the size, or do the 2160p files actually look better? If recorded as 1080p then use that or if recorded as 4K then use that as they will have better definition

Ultimately, everything @exitguy had already said in the above post covers the basic requirements, information & process for successfully viewing true 4K content sourced from the U9-H :).
 
Is the setting for color to 4:2:2 only available in the U9's menu ? I don't see this setting option in my U1.
In any case the most important thing is to set the Display resolution to 4k2k @60 in the Minix Settings>Display. The Kodi player can play 4k content and even 4k HDR in the U9, it's just the Kodi's GUI resolution maxs out at 1920x1080p @60hz. To test if your Kodi player is playing 4k content, you simply have to the press "O" on the keyboard and Kodi will display the resolution it is playing at. If the content being played is less than 3840x2160 @60 your TV will upconvert it to 4k. Of course is it better if the source content is true 4k this way your TV will not upconvert the content by inducing fillers and artifacts to the source.
 
Is the setting for color to 4:2:2 only available in the U9's menu ? I don't see this setting option in my U1.
In any case the most important thing is to set the Display resolution to 4k2k @60 in the Minix Settings>Display. The Kodi player can play 4k content and even 4k HDR in the U9, it's just the Kodi's GUI resolution maxs out at 1920x1080p @60hz. To test if your Kodi player is playing 4k content, you simply have to the press "O" on the keyboard and Kodi will display the resolution it is playing at. If the content being played is less than 3840x2160 @60 your TV will upconvert it to 4k. Of course is it better if the source content is true 4k this way your TV will not upconvert the content by inducing fillers and artifacts to the source.

Can't comment on the availability of the different YCbCr colour space settings with the U1 as I only have the U9 available. (@CybeRider has both devices, hopefully he can verify that one for you :).) The U9-H has the following additional colour settings if it's any help to you :)....

4:2:0 8 bit
4:2:0 10 bit
4:2:2 8 bit
4:2:2 10 bit
4:4:4 8 bit
4:4:4 10 bit
-
RGB 8 bit
RGB 10 bit

Otherwise, you are absolutely correct with all of your comments, but will just add some additional info as clarification purely to help avoid any confusion for others reading the thread/subject in the future who may be uncertain, etc. :).

Again as an example as it's just easier to follow....

If they play a 4K movie in Kodi & press the button for Kodi's codec information (O), the video stream information they get is what Kodi itself is actually outputting as the source, i.e. "3840 x 2160". It doesn't tell users what their TV/monitor/projector itself is actually displaying. As you've said, THE most important thing for others to remember is to set their U9-H back to 4K@60 before playing any 4K media or they'll be scratching their heads why Kodi says it's outputting 2160p but their TV is still only receiving it as & outputting it at 1080p!! (Too easy to forget at times lol ;).).

(The TV's info banner will always be useful to double check for those that are continually switching between 1080 & 4K2K from the display resolution settings on the U9-H ;). It's also handy for confirming the TV is correctly outputting HDR although that should be fairly obvious with any decent HDR TV too lol :). Some AVR's also have a useful info screen for verifying currently playing audio & visual stats as well.)

Hopefully we've got these new MINIX devices to look forward to soon as well mate :):):).

Enjoy ;).
 
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