Dano911

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Hi all, I was wondering if I could get some explanations/help on this.

When playing certain 4K HDR movies (disc), I see a disturbing 'static' on almost anything that's a bright white. It essentially looks like digital snow, but appearing on white objects only (or occasionally other very bright colours). I'm fairly certain it's not simply film grain as it looks quite different and isn't over the whole picture. I've also seen reviews on YouTube for these 4K movies and they don't appear to have the same issue, so I think it's either my TV or maybe the player.

I have a Panasonic 43HX940 TV and Panasonic UB450 4K player. I've tried using two different 4K HDMI cables, but it makes no difference.

I've also tried playing with image sharpness, noise reduction etc. but it doesn't go away. Significantly reducing contrast helps a little bit, but that spoils the HDR effect for me.

Again, it just seems to be some 4K HDR movies that are having this problem (Alien, Gremlins, and parts of the Matrix). I'm not having any issue with regular HD content on Netflix etc.

Any ideas? Thanks.
 
pictures of the issue?

It's very hard to capture it on my camera phone, but look at the 'N' from the Alien opening title sequence and parts of Ripley's shirt. This static dances around aggressively and is distinct from the grain on the rest of the picture.

DSC_0172.JPG
DSC_0177.JPG
 
that doesn't look good (apart from the close up of Sigourney :) )
 
All those UHD discs are regular HDR (HDR10)

Your TV, while it may say it does HDR and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision it's unfortunately not up to the spec required to show any of them properly.

It's an IPS panel which isn't ideal as it has less contrast than a VA panel and murkier blacks but designed to give wider viewing angles than the VA type panels.
It's Edge Lit but you need Full Array Local Dimming on an LCD for good HDR and I can't find anything about the backlight brightness but I'd be surprised if it's above halfway towards the 1000 nits you need ideally for HDR.

Panasonics seem to tonemap better with Dolby Vision titles, although you're still not getting HDR.

In short, you'd really be better sticking to 1080p Bluray for that TV, I'm sure those still look excellent on it.
At only 43" you're not getting the benefit of 4K from a resolution unless you're a couple of feet from the screen (couple as in 2 feet) and as your TV isn't really HDR-capable you're getting no benefit from that.
 
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All those UHD discs are regular HDR (HDR10)

Your TV, while it may say it does HDR and HDR10+ and Dolby Vision it's unfortunately not up to the spec required to show any of them properly.

It's an IPS panel which isn't ideal as it has less contrast than a VA panel and murkier blacks but designed to give wider viewing angles than the VA type panels.
It's Edge Lit but you need Full Array Local Dimming on an LCD for good HDR and I can't find anything about the backlight brightness but I'd be surprised if it's above halfway towards the 1000 nits you need ideally for HDR.

Panasonics seem to tonemap better with Dolby Vision titles, although you're still not getting HDR.

In short, you'd really be better sticking to 1080p Bluray for that TV, I'm sure those still look excellent on it.
At only 43" you're not getting the benefit of 4K from a resolution unless you're a couple of feet from the screen (couple as in 2 feet) and as your TV isn't really HDR-capable you're getting no benefit from that.

Other HDR titles look fine on this TV, and it's able to get very bright depending on the settings I use. However, I don't see how it being IPS would explain what is causing the static.
 
The fact it's only UHD titles that are giving you the issues points to the fact it's the TV and UHD.

As I said, unfortunately, your TV just isn't up to the required spec and you'd be better avoiding it.
You're getting little benefit, if any, from it.

Your overall TV gets bright, that's not the point, it's supposed to be small areas or individual pixels giving you contrast and your TV can't do that as it has no local dimming and poor black uniformity as it's an IPS panel.
 
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