Any news on Sky HDR presentation?

MahaRaja

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Hi Guys,

To be honest there is nothing new or exciting in Sky TV world, for me to upgrade my trusted HD TV to a spanking new 4K HDR TV set, as 4K is not a big a jump, without HDR

The BBC showed during Football WC as to what HDR could do, but SKY and BT have not yet implemented HDR, and it's boringly business as usual with these broadcasters. If both of them have HDR content and in one platform, in Sky Q box, then I would upgrade now, the money is in the bank!

I might have to delay my purchase until 2020, when Sky and BT might, just might introduce HDR.
 
Sky still say HDR is due some time this year. No news yet whether BT Sport UHD will be available via Sky or not.
It's likely that BT Sport via Apple TV (and some smart TVs) may get HDR, but they'll need to release a new YouView box before it'll be available in HDR on that platform .
 
Not sure if you have Q already? I agree that HDR (probably HLG) will be the cherry on top but for me the step up to Q 2TB is totally worth it as you get UHD movies and sport, DD+ (with Atmos in movies), Netflix and with a 4K TV the Sky Q box does a very good job of up-scaling HD and even decent with SD (BBC1).
 
I’m beginning to wonder if this will ever arrive.
 
Reliable insider on Sky forum says should launch in time for next football season.
 
One possible issue could be that the Sky Q boxes are HDMI 1.4. As far as I can tell from reading up on the topic, HDMI 2.0b is needed for HDR if they use HLG. Also 1.4 only does 4K @ 24 or 30 fps, 2.0 is needed for 50 or 60 fps. AFAIK even the Q v2 is 1.4.
 
One possible issue could be that the Sky Q boxes are HDMI 1.4. As far as I can tell from reading up on the topic, HDMI 2.0b is needed for HDR if they use HLG. Also 1.4 only does 4K @ 24 or 30 fps, 2.0 is needed for 50 or 60 fps. AFAIK even the Q v2 is 1.4.
That is incorrect Sky Sports UHD is already 50 fps.
 
That is incorrect Sky Sports UHD is already 50 fps.
Good point, that makes it interesting as it does not gel with the info on hardware spec @ skyepginfo.co.uk
 
I have a feeling Sky would start from 2020 new Prem League season, can't see Sky starting from this year. HDR is a bit more complicated than just ramping up the resolution from HD to 4K, hence Sky I think is experimenting a lot.

There is no news from BT Sport about HDR, hope they start from next year as well AND available on Sky Q box, rather than have another BT set top box beside Sky Q box in your AV rack.
 
Good point, that makes it interesting as it does not gel with the info on hardware spec @ skyepginfo.co.uk
The initial firmware on the boxes only supported HDMI 1.4, but the 2TB boxes have since been updated to 2.0 .

The guy who runs skyepginfo seems to be less active on the Sky forums now - I think real life has gotten in the way a bit.
 
Sky Italia have had all sorts of problems with HLG. In particular the colour red which shows as orange.
I believe these problems should be fixed before the roll out so as not to give us something else to moan about.
I had an Hisense TV that had shot colours with orange reds in particular and it is very annoying. If Sky are going to use HLG I for one would rather it works straight out the blocks.:thumbsup:
 
Sky Italia have had all sorts of problems with HLG. In particular the colour red which shows as orange.

That's probably just Italians watching F1 and wondering what has happened to the colour of the Ferraris.

I'm not sure how much trouble they can really have with their encoding - either they are outputting the right signals, or they aren't. How it actually looks on any given display is subject to the implementation and settings on that TV - and it's not Sky's job to try and second guess that. All they need is an AV preference setting to disable HDR whilst keeping 4K output.

Even setting aside TV broadcasts, Sky made a big thing about integrating Netflix, but they are missing quite a bit by not having HDR/Dolby Vision output.
 
Reliable insider on Sky forum says should launch in time for next football season.
Maybe he posts in the preseason transfer threads in the footy section too :laugh:;)
 
The initial firmware on the boxes only supported HDMI 1.4, but the 2TB boxes have since been updated to 2.0 .

The guy who runs skyepginfo seems to be less active on the Sky forums now - I think real life has gotten in the way a bit.

Yes software but the hardware surely needs to be updated also maybe there is a new box due out as it seems awhile since launch of the sub versions

Can see sky charging then for HDR content and updated box exchange
 
Yes software but the hardware surely needs to be updated also maybe there is a new box due out as it seems awhile since launch of the sub versions

Can see sky charging then for HDR content and updated box exchange
Italian boxes use the same hardware and they already have HDR...
 
Italian boxes use the same hardware and they already have HDR...

So are they full fat connections in the box just dummed down to 1.4 in firmware and then recently upgraded again? Or is it not true HDR but a bit of trickery?
 
So are they full fat connections in the box just dummed down to 1.4 in firmware and then recently upgraded again? Or is it not true HDR but a bit of trickery?
When the 2TB boxes first launched in 2016, they had HDMI 1.4 firmware, but that was updated to HDMI 2.0 when they first launched UHD.

The Italian boxes support HLG HDR (and possibly others, but they're using HLG for live content). Their F1 coverage is SDR converted to HDR before transmission but there are genuine HLG HDR broadcasts of other content.
 
I accept that HDR is not that easy to implement, but it seems strange that Netflix have had HDR for at least 12 months, also Apple TV. Why would it take so much longer for Sky? The other thing that occurs to me is Sky's use of compression. Most of the opinions I've read suggest that Sky compress content a lot more than Netflix. My eyes confirm to me that this is correct and I'm certain that Sky PQ has got significantly worse over the past 5 years or so. My worry is if Sky continue to broadcast at relatively low bitrates, then this may adversely affect the PQ for HDR. It will be interesting to compare Netflix HDR and Sky HDR (when it arrives), at the moment it's Netflix 4K HDR against Sky 4K SDR, so it's not like for like.
 
I accept that HDR is not that easy to implement, but it seems strange that Netflix have had HDR for at least 12 months, also Apple TV. Why would it take so much longer for Sky? The other thing that occurs to me is Sky's use of compression. Most of the opinions I've read suggest that Sky compress content a lot more than Netflix. My eyes confirm to me that this is correct and I'm certain that Sky PQ has got significantly worse over the past 5 years or so. My worry is if Sky continue to broadcast at relatively low bitrates, then this may adversely affect the PQ for HDR. It will be interesting to compare Netflix HDR and Sky HDR (when it arrives), at the moment it's Netflix 4K HDR against Sky 4K SDR, so it's not like for like.
It won’t be like for like when Sky launch HDR either. Netflix HDR means Dolby Vision for most. Sky will be HLG or HDR10 I imagine.
I did an experiment with the opening scenes of Mindhunter season 1 episode 1 from Netflix the other day. By plugging my Amazon Firestick 4K into my AVR which doesn’t support Dolby Vision I was able to force it into HDR10.
Compared to the Dolby Vision version through the TVs app, the HDR10 version revealed much more shadow detail and, surprisingly, much more picture noise. That picture noise was completely hidden in the DV version due in no small part to the black crush going on in Dolby Vision. Sky’s implementation will likely reveal that noise which won’t go down well.
Pure coincidence, but I’m watching the 4K version of City on a Hill on Sky at the moment and initially had it set to 2.2 gamma. There was a surprising amount of picture noise. Switching to 2.4 gamma completely hides it from a sensible viewing distance.
I think Netflix generally looks better too, but I also think it’s closer than we might think. The big issue as far as Sky are concerned is that their service would buy multiple Netflix subscriptions, so they rightly get criticised for a sub standard experience on a premium priced service.
 
It won’t be like for like when Sky launch HDR either. Netflix HDR means Dolby Vision for most. Sky will be HLG or HDR10 I imagine.
I did an experiment with the opening scenes of Mindhunter season 1 episode 1 from Netflix the other day. By plugging my Amazon Firestick 4K into my AVR which doesn’t support Dolby Vision I was able to force it into HDR10.
Compared to the Dolby Vision version through the TVs app, the HDR10 version revealed much more shadow detail and, surprisingly, much more picture noise. That picture noise was completely hidden in the DV version due in no small part to the black crush going on in Dolby Vision. Sky’s implementation will likely reveal that noise which won’t go down well.
Pure coincidence, but I’m watching the 4K version of City on a Hill on Sky at the moment and initially had it set to 2.2 gamma. There was a surprising amount of picture noise. Switching to 2.4 gamma completely hides it from a sensible viewing distance.
I think Netflix generally looks better too, but I also think it’s closer than we might think. The big issue as far as Sky are concerned is that their service would buy multiple Netflix subscriptions, so they rightly get criticised for a sub standard experience on a premium priced service.

The thing about Sky, which often gets overlooked, as well as receiving income from the many thousands of subscriptions, they also receive advertising revenue. It doesn't seem right that subscribers paying for a supposedly premium service, have to put up with the many commercial breaks.
 
There are suggestions on the Sky Q forum that the V1 boxes may not be capable of HDR. It seems that may also be the case with the BT TV boxes, hence you can only get BT Sport Ultimate (HDR content) via their App. Looks like a costly and time consuming issue for both Sky and BT to replace existing boxes.
 
Just a little 'news' (sort of rumour).

I spoke to a Sky employee a few weeks back, and he said he was beta testing a new box. He was unable to confirm, but strongly hinted, that it was HDR, and when I asked if this would be a limited version, or full Dolby Vision etc., he said he didn't think I'd be disappointed.

The same answer when asked in the number of minis would be increased.

Take it with a pinch of salt, but there you go. I pass on to you that which I received.
 
Just a little 'news' (sort of rumour).

I spoke to a Sky employee a few weeks back, and he said he was beta testing a new box. He was unable to confirm, but strongly hinted, that it was HDR, and when I asked if this would be a limited version, or full Dolby Vision etc., he said he didn't think I'd be disappointed.

The same answer when asked in the number of minis would be increased.

Take it with a pinch of salt, but there you go. I pass on to you that which I received.

So, it's looking like a new box will be required to get HDR then. I wonder if Sky will charge for the replacement.
 
So, it's looking like a new box will be required to get HDR then. I wonder if Sky will charge for the replacement.
If they do it will be an installation charge, maybe an additional sub as well??
I’m thinking that anything more than £0.00 is going to be too much. Even a free replacement box is unwanted hassle to be honest. Free for self installation might convince me.
 

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