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iPlayer UHD not working

lucasjohnston
Tuning in

Background: I've got a Philips 55OLED803 which, despite fully supporting HLG, does not support UHD with the native BBC iPlayer tv app. I also have a NVDIA Shield and Apple TV 4K, but of course neither of those support UHD iPlayer either 🙄 I used to use a 4K Fire Stick until they suspended that last year (see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/features/uhd-amazon-fire), and have since been begrudgingly without iPlayer UHD content.

I got a V6 box earlier this year and recently found out I should have access to UHD iPlayer content through it (woo!) but it's not working.

I can get HDR content through Netflix and the Virgin UHD channel, so I know the problem is specific to the V6 iPlayer app. I've played around with picture settings (currently I have all enabled, right up to 2160p passthrough), tried enabling iPlayer beta, even reset the entire box but am still getting no joy. It's quite frustrating. No UHD playback or even tag on the title.

Really want to get this working before the Doctor Who UHD simulcast via iPlayer on New Year's Eve! 
I'm also on Ultimate Oomph and might get upgraded to V360 this week (which would solve things 🤞) but don't want to rely on that.

Specs below:
iPlayer Application Version: 17.11.2.0
iPlayer Bigscreen Version: 4.5.2
iPlayer Framework Version: 11.2.0
iPlayer Device: TIVO STB 2016 LF UHD
iPlayer Colour Depth: 24 bits-per-pixel
iPlayer Screen & Layout Resolutions: 1280x720
V6 Video Output Format: All (up to 2160p pass-through)
V6 Platform: DCX960
V6 Hardware Version: 2048.0
V6 Software Version: 20.10.1.RC21
V6 HDMI Status: HDCP 2.2 enabled

40 REPLIES 40

BenMcr
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

@happyrobot wrote:

 

As long as your tv and hdmi slots are HDCP 2.2 and HDR 10 capable, the iplayer app should work. There is an issue with the virgin v6 box or the iplayer app. I assume the former. Hopefully virgin see this and help fix it. 


I'm pretty sure that for the iPlayer app on the V6 to offer UHD content it has to be aware that the TV supports 4K, HDCP 2.2 and can output properly in the 'wide' colour space. If one of those isn't detected then you won't get UHD listed. This detection is internal to the iPlayer app.

If I remember what we went through with the World Cup a few years back, this can be tricky as some 4K TVs can deal with an HDR input but are missing proper wide colour support, so wouldn't then trigger the UHD listings in the iPlayer app.

BT Sport Ultimate and the Virgin UHD channel are in SDR only, so don't need all of the above. Netflix may also be more forgiving of the wide colour option than the iPlayer app is, but does (along with other content sources) also do the HDCP 2.2 detection when the V6 is set to 4K.

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I work for Virgin Media - but all opinions posted here are my own

Fair enough, that wouldn't explain why the iplayer app detects the correct format from a Playstation 4 Pro on the same TV and not from the v6 box. This implies there is an issue with the v6 box or iplayer app for the v6 box.

My TV definitely supports wide colour gamut. And OP's OLED is 100% capable. 

BenMcr
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

It seems the iPlayer app on the PS4 is not actually outputting in HDR:
https://www.avforums.com/threads/apple-tv-vs-ps4-pro-streaming-quality.2310395/

BBC iPlayer
Apple TV looks better than the PS4 Pro on both live TV and VOD.
PS4 Pro has some UHD content such His Dark Materials and Dracula which is not present on the Apple TV. UHD content on the PS4 Pro plays back in 4k without HDR.

So if that's the case then it's different to the V6 iPlayer app version. I would guess this is because the Playstation 4 Pro doesn't seem to support HLG, but only HDR10.

**********************************
I work for Virgin Media - but all opinions posted here are my own

Let's assume that is the case (I cannot test as I sold my PS4 PRO).

If the app has been developed to not display UHD content if HDR is not supported, it still doesn't explain why UHD/HDR is not playing via the v6 box, when the TV supports all protocols. The BBC list of compatible TVs is irrelevant in this particular scenario. 

 

BenMcr
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

Agreed, which is why it's key to have everything on the right input and both the V6 and TV settings updated, as the iPlayer app on the V6 is very strict as to when it'll offer UHD.

And as this related HDCP 2.2 issue shows, it can be as simple as having to reboot everything once making sure it's all set correctly between the TV and V6 box - https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Virgin-Media-TiVo-service/Can-t-view-Amazon-Itvhub-All4/m-p/450...

**********************************
I work for Virgin Media - but all opinions posted here are my own

What is incorrect?   The V6 here does do UHD and HLG. The TV reports it is doing HLG !!!


@happyrobot wrote:

Again, sorry, but this is incorrect information 

 

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1.2Gb/100Mb in Oxford (area 31) using SH5


@ozsat wrote:

What is incorrect?   The V6 here does do UHD and HLG. The TV reports it is doing HLG !!!


@happyrobot wrote:

Again, sorry, but this is incorrect information 

 


This is incorrect:

As HDR is working from the device I suspect something is missing in the signal from the tv back to the iPlayer app.

There is no evidence to suggest it is the TVs signal that is the problem vs the V6 box having the issue. Both mine and OPs TV have the sufficient requirements. All other devices/apps which claim to support 4K/HDR according to their documentation work as they should. It is only the iPlayer app on the V6 box specifically which does not.

BenMcr
Very Insightful Person
Very Insightful Person

What model is your Sony TV?

**********************************
I work for Virgin Media - but all opinions posted here are my own

KD X9305C and OP's is Philips OLED803. Neither are a supported device for iPlayer for the native apps.

The BBC app does not use HDR like Netflix and Amazon. It uses HLG.

The BBC app checks it is connected to a compatible device otherwise it does not enable HLG.

I take it you are not even seeing the HLG tests in iPlayer?

Did you see this message on the BBC website? "December 2020: We're aware that UHD content isn't working on some Sony TVs. We're looking into this and we'll update this page with any updates."

 


@happyrobot wrote:

@ozsat wrote:

What is incorrect?   The V6 here does do UHD and HLG. The TV reports it is doing HLG !!!


@happyrobot wrote:

Again, sorry, but this is incorrect information 

 


This is incorrect:

As HDR is working from the device I suspect something is missing in the signal from the tv back to the iPlayer app.

There is no evidence to suggest it is the TVs signal that is the problem vs the V6 box having the issue. Both mine and OPs TV have the sufficient requirements. All other devices/apps which claim to support 4K/HDR according to their documentation work as they should. It is only the iPlayer app on the V6 box specifically which does not.


 

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1.2Gb/100Mb in Oxford (area 31) using SH5