PQ Comparisons from Reel Life & Real Life

[akurej]

A small experiment to compare the picture quality of HiMedia Q10 Pro (1080p and upscale to 2160p) with Pioneer Blu-ray Player BDP-450 (1080p) and actual picture from internet. (The picture is captured from a Blu-Ray video).

[onyxx1995]

The Last one....

[Robertjan88]

Is it just me or is the upscale quality of the Q10 Pro horrible???!

The 1080p looks way better and more detailed. How is this possible??

[usul]

To make a fair comparison.
Must make sure that :

1 -  tv settings are same for 1080p and 4k input. Most tvs will have different video settings depending on input rez.
2 -  pioneer has video enhance modes,  I would turn them off to do a fair comparison.

If all the above are already done, then wow,  4k upscale does look not so good..

Btw,  what was himedia video enhance settings set to.
I usually keep off all DNR  and leave master setting to optimal.. AUTO.

[akurej]

I have once again checked all the settings and kept same for all videos, including same frame for capture.
No enhancements, only default video settings.

[Djinn]

It seems there is a contrast difference between last two samples. Upscaling on the second sample is poor and I think HiMedia should implement a better interpolation algorithm, it lacks a lot of definition, you barely see pores and wrinkles. Also keep in mind you cannot compare that Internet photo with these 2 samples: original photo resolution could not be equal to snapshots res., so details would not be the same, environment is not the same and light conditions are different. Even the make up of this actor (he's Victor Garber, I've used Google Image Search to find out his name) could not be the same.

On the other hand, the BDP-450 sample looks like more contrasty than HiMedia's. The question is not what image is more contrasty, but what image is more natural. The HiMedia sample is more natural for me (is more similar to the Internet photo). If you watch carefully the BDP-450 sample, you'll realize that pores and wrinkles look like a bit exaggerated, whereas both features seem more restrained (natural) on the HiMedia sample. All in all, contrast on the BDP-450 sample is excessive. Maybe sharpness is also higher than HiMedia's, because edges on the BDP-450 sample are sharper, but those on the HiMedia sample are softer.

Increase contrast and sharpness on the HiMedia and make again this comparison.

[Djinn]

Futeko admin: Which interpolation algorithm is used on Q5/Q10 Pro? I think HiMedia should implement a better interpolation algorithm for upscaling. Almost all details are lost comparing the upscaled picture with the 1080p picture. Even better, Q5/Q10 should allow the user to select among several algorithms to pick one close to his/her taste. Please consider this in your wishlist for HiMedia.

Thanks

[Mount81]

The one troublesome difference I've spotted out, is that the "lights" look much stronger and somewhat overloaded on the 1080p Himedia picture, compared to the Blu-Ray player, and it also covers and overlaps some of the details as well. For this I would say that the Blu-Ray picture is more detailed and natural.

[akurej]

Here's Q10 Pro 4K upscale with higher sharpness.
Sorry I don't know how the contrast keep changing....no video/ picture settings have been changed...maybe camera issue?

[Mount81]

Here's Q10 Pro 4K upscale with higher sharpness.
Sorry I don't know how the contrast keep changing....no video/ picture settings have been changed...maybe camera issue?

Oh, I didn't realize that youre shooting it with a camera. (Or am I mussunderstood something?!) That would explain the lightning strenght difference I've complained about.

We would need some HDMI raw capture pictures instead, for more accurate comparison... (I hope I didn't write any hotchpotch, never done that such a thing myself...)

[akurej]

I am using a Nikon camera (on a tripod with timer for consistency) to click from TV screen.
You are right, a screen capture is ideal. But I have no idea how to achieve that.

[Djinn]

akurej: Could you make the upscaling test again but this time using KODI internal player? KODI allows the user to select among several video scaling methods. See THIS. Maybe it's desireable a new feature request to have a new menu with options to select video scaling methods in HiMedia native player. There is no a 'perfect' scaling method, the user has to pick one close to its taste.

Thank you

[usul]

Here's Q10 Pro 4K upscale with higher sharpness.
Sorry I don't know how the contrast keep changing....no video/ picture settings have been changed...maybe camera issue?

.
You say you add sharpness.
Was this in tv or himedia player settings?

I usually keep himedia player sharpness at 50 for all video formats..
Was the 1080p and and 4k upscale using same himedia settings for test prior?

Thanks..

[akurej]

You say you add sharpness.
Was this in tv or himedia player settings?

TV sharpness increased from 60 to 90

I usually keep himedia player sharpness at 50 for all video formats..
Was the 1080p and and 4k upscale using same himedia settings for test prior?

I could never change any PQ settings on Himedia because when I try to change it says "Is not operational, because current HDR mode is not SDR"
But it shows  display mode: standard (All at 50)
Imprex Engine "on" (All medium, 50 etc.)

[usul]

You say you add sharpness.
Was this in tv or himedia player settings?

TV sharpness increased from 60 to 90

I usually keep himedia player sharpness at 50 for all video formats..
Was the 1080p and and 4k upscale using same himedia settings for test prior?

I could never change any PQ settings on Himedia because when I try to change it says "Is not operational, because current HDR mode is not SDR"
But it shows  display mode: standard (All at 50)
Imprex Engine "on" (All medium, 50 etc.)

Thanks,  and thanks for testing..