Samsung 4K UHD Blu-ray Player UBD-K8500

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by movielover1069

I just found this online which could explain why I'm having such a problem with the HDR mode setting on my Sony XBR55X850C TV:

The Sony 850C series of televisions are HDR-10 compatible meaning they can interpret the video metadata specific to that format and present an approximate version of it using a wider color gamut (ie. billions of colors). However, due to physical hardware limitations, 850C televisions cannot present the full brightness and contrast of true HDR. This is why they are promoted as being "HDR compatible" and not considered true "HDR-capable".

I'm surprised that other owners of this particular TV haven't run into the same problem.

Neither are 90% of the sets out there, it's this janky player plus people using standard settings on a tv

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by movielover1069

Bruce, what makes the Oppo so good? I've never owned one.

Just have more options with it. Like adjusting subtitle postion or viewing bitrate info if I want. Also the TV is a better upscaler than the Sammy player and the Sammy automatically upscales 1080p content unless I set the output to 1080p (and I don't to do that because I also play UHDs in it). Another thing is that I use analog outs on the Oppo and the Sammy doesn't have them. And then there's the crappy remote...

[beeliii]

Will this player upscale blu rays any better than a tv? Trying to justify a buy right now.

[HD Goofnut]

Is this Samsung player still the only UHD player on the market? If so, where are the rest?

[bruceames]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Is this Samsung player still the only UHD player on the market? If so, where are the rest?

So far it's the only one. Panasonic is coming out with one in a month or so, followed by Phillips. Oppo says they'll be coming out with a UHD player this fall and that's the one I'm waiting for. I'm happy with the Samsung player so far, but hopefully the Oppo will feature an option to turn HDR off and have fairly accurate SDR at the same time (yeah, I know that's a lot to ask).

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

Just have more options with it. Like adjusting subtitle postion or viewing bitrate info if I want. Also the TV is a better upscaler than the Sammy player and the Sammy automatically upscales 1080p content unless I set the output to 1080p (and I don't to do that because I also play UHDs in it). Another thing is that I use analog outs on the Oppo and the Sammy doesn't have them. And then there's the crappy remote...

The Panny will have all that, even the subtitle shift if the pre-MediaTek models are any indication.

[Malibu13]

Originally Posted by beeliii

Will this player upscale blu rays any better than a tv? Trying to justify a buy right now.

There have been reports both ways. You'd have to decide for yourself depending on your display.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

So far it's the only one. Panasonic is coming out with one in a month or so, followed by Phillips. Oppo says they'll be coming out with a UHD player this fall and that's the one I'm waiting for. I'm happy with the Samsung player so far, but hopefully the Oppo will feature an option to turn HDR off and have fairly accurate SDR at the same time (yeah, I know that's a lot to ask).

I think I will wait as well. I am probably going to purchase a 4K monitor in the next few months, but I have no interest in a Samsung given their horrible track record with BD players. I was looking for an external UHD drive like I have for BD, but I see none are made as of yet.

[djhitman303]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I was looking for an external UHD drive like I have for BD, but I see none are made as of yet.

Which UHD Drive and software do you recommend. I'm looking to put all my Blu-ray's in a single location

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I think I will wait as well. I am probably going to purchase a 4K monitor in the next few months, but I have no interest in a Samsung given their horrible track record with BD players. I was looking for an external UHD drive like I have for BD, but I see none are made as of yet.

There are drives but no software

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

There are drives but no software

Why wouldn't something like PowerDVD play UHDs? It would just be a simple firmware update.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Why wouldn't something like PowerDVD play UHDs? It would just be a simple firmware update.

Nothing to say it wouldn't but so far it doesn't

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Why wouldn't something like PowerDVD play UHDs? It would just be a simple firmware update.

Probably the same reason a dvd player can't be firmwared to play blu rays.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by ray0414

Probably the same reason a dvd player can't be firmwared to play blu rays.

What are you talking about? PowerDVD plays every optical disc format available including BD and 3D BD. The only one lacking is UHD.

[bruceames]

Due to the extra security requirements of UHD BD, it might be a while before we see UHD BD software. For starters, the PC monitor (or a TV, if it's connected to that) will need to have an HDMI 2.0 that's HDCP 2.2 compliant.

AFAIK, you still can't stream Netflix 4K via PC, even though it's been available for over 18 months via TV apps. Don't know about Amazon, but if you could, they'd require the HDCP 2.2 as well.

[ray0414]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

What are you talking about? PowerDVD plays every optical disc format available including BD and 3D BD. The only one lacking is UHD.

I was talking about regular dvd players.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by ray0414

I was talking about regular dvd players.

I was talking about PowerDVD from the start, which has always been online based.

[movielover1069]

I'm still getting a better picture with the TV Picture Mode set on Custom than on HDR. The problem is that when I put a 4K movie in, the K8500 automatically switches the Picture Mode to HDR and there's no way to change it back. I don't understand why there's no On/Off option for this because the pq is not as good on HDR. The only time that it will stay on Custom is when I play a regular Blu-ray and then the picture is amazing. The upscaling is incredible for Blu-rays!! So frustrating that the 4K version doesn't look as good. It would if only I could get it to stay on Custom.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by movielover1069

I'm still getting a better picture with the TV Picture Mode set on Custom than on HDR. The problem is that when I put a 4K movie in, the K8500 automatically switches the Picture Mode to HDR and there's no way to change it back. I don't understand why there's no On/Off option for this because the pq is not as good on HDR. The only time that it will stay on Custom is when I play a regular Blu-ray and then the picture is amazing. The upscaling is incredible for Blu-rays!! So frustrating that the 4K version doesn't look as good. It would if only I could get it to stay on Custom.

If 10 bit HDR doesn't look as good as 8 bit SDR Blu-ray then something is seriously wrong in some or most of your video chain.

There are also a few titles that were encoded wrong or at different levels compared to others because the studios are still working on firm mastering standards.

[movielover1069]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

If 10 bit HDR doesn't look as good as 8 bit SDR Blu-ray then something is seriously wrong in some or most of your video chain.

There are also a few titles that were encoded wrong or at different levels compared to others because the studios are still working on firm mastering standards.

I don't know what to tell you. I have everything set correctly and have even had live chats with both Sony and Samsung and have done everything they instructed me to do and I still can't get as good a picture on the HDR mode.
I know it doesn't make any sense and I've spent weeks trying to get this figured out. The only conclusion that I can come up with is that maybe I got a defective K8500. I'm extremely frustrated.