Poor 4k quality on Stream box

[issueepic]

Hi all,

Anyone notice that picture quality on all channels including UHD channels is noticeably worse on 4K TVs when HDMI mode is set to 4k? Even the menus look much softer with a distinct lack of sharpness. 

When I switch HDMI mode in the Stream box to 1080p menus look sharper as does the image quality of all channels. 

I am thinking my 4K TV is going a better job of upscaling to 4k than the Stream box is but just wondering if anyone else has a similar experience on their end? 

Thanks 

[Gareth_L]

Hello Issuepic.

Thanks for your post and welcome back to our community.

It's a very good question you have asked when the stream box shows sharper images when set to 1080p over 4K.

Can I just check if this happens when the picture resolution is set to automatic?

Also have you tried try connecting the cable to a different port on the TV? 

If possible try using a different cable?

Gareth_L

[issueepic]

Hi Gareth,

Yes, this happens if I set the picture resolution at 4K or automatic. I've tried a different HDMI port and cable but issue persists.

I'll likely be switching to Sky when my contract ends in a few months as Virgin weren't offering me great deals when I contacted them via WhatsApp a few months ago, so I'll likely get Sky Stream if I do end up moving to Sky unless a get a great deal from Virgin. 

[Ilyas_Y]

Thanks for the reply @issueepic 

Have you tried to reach out to our retentions team to see what they can offer in terms of a renewal? We'd hate to see you leave. 😢
In terms of the quality of the pixels - may I ask if you've reached out to our customer services team to see if any issues have been identified with the box?

Has the settings for the TV been upscaled so that it supports 4K? Let us know. 🧾

Kind regards,
Ilyas.

[issueepic]

Hi @Ilyas_Y,

I am currently in contact with Retentions but they aren't currently able to match what Sky is offering me here.

I think it is just the upscaling provided by the Stream box isn't as good as the built in upscale on my TV which is why I am noticing a difference. I'll just keep the Stream box set to 1080p and let the TV upscale to 4k until I join Sky in a few months.  

[issueepic]

Retentions could only offer me £121.25 per month for what Sky is offering above, actually less because Sky offer Netflix included with entertainment package as well. I've always been disappointed with Virgins approach to retentions with them not offering a good deal to keep customers coming up to the end of their contract.

I get the same "wait until 1 month to get the best deals" message. I am out of contract in around 2-3 months, not sure why Virgin can't just offer me a better deal now and get me tied into another 18 month contract.

I guess the recent Ofcom publishing of complaints having Virgin as the lowest scoring provider with most complaints isn't a surprise with how their retentions team deal with existing customers. At least when I join Sky, I'll hopefully get better customer service when it comes to retentions.

[David_Bn]

You're most welcome to come back to us to discuss a new deal when your contract is set to expire if you wish to do so @issueepic.

When a customer is within the last 30 days of their contract, and offers us their notice for cancellation, this puts the customer in a very strong negotiating position and will likely provide the possibility of better offers from out Retentions team, as we close in on the disconnection date set.

Thanks,

David_Bn

[EAB2021]

Do it! 

Virgin is cheaper for a reason - I tried it for two days and can't bear it. Compared to Sky Stream the picture is very poor and the functionality ten years out of date. 

[EAB2021]

Hi @issuepic

Sky Stream HD picture is better than the uhd service, which is too colour saturated in my opinion. Save your £4!

And are you with EE? You can do much better than £24 for TNT sports - I get my phone data plan and tnt sports (via the discovery plus app as opposed to simply selecting the channel from the tv guide, but it has all the interactive timeline, watch from start, pause and rewind etc) for £18.20pm. 

[unisoft]

Let the TV do the upscaling not the box. Even on Sky Stream. Whilst that won't fix specific colour saturation issues on specific channels, it makes other channels look better (unless the tv has a terrible deinterlacer/upscale chip). The SD and HD channels on VM Stream are superior in quality to Sky Stream (NOTE: I did not include 4K). I had both platforms until a couple of weeks ago. For a start, all channels are encoded properly on VM Stream platform and not simple 1080p25 from a 1080i source like some on Sky Stream.