Comment by DarkCrusader2
5 days ago
Does DolbyVision or HDR10+ content work in this setup? My understanding is that they won't. I also got a lot of stuttering issue with 1080p x265 content last time I tried hooking up the Pi with my TV.
I would love to get Kodi working with HDR10+ on my Samsung TV without buying those expensive android boxes (which are very expensive and difficult to obtain in my region anyway).
> Does DolbyVision or HDR10+ content work in this setup?
I don't know what these things are but I just plug the hdmi cable to my laptop and use a wireless keyboard+trackpad combo[1] as a remote. Never understood the need for a "TV" interface or TV box. I tried Kodi and its alternatives years ago but never found them to be faster to load the apps and browse for content than loading the netflix/prime/hbo web pages in a tab or freetube in a dedicated window, switching tabs or virtual desktops is usually faster than switching apps on one of these interfaces, same for browsing on your filesystem for local content or run a music app.
But what do I know, I am a simple person who likes simple solutions.
[1]the microsoft one that look nearly the same as a Logitech K400. Not sure if it is still sold.
Both of those are HDR standards. If you're using g a good OLED or even mini LED with enough zones, it makes a pretty big difference in the visuals. The support for both are usually locked down unless you're using a compatible device.
I mean: I can be very happy just plugging my laptop into the TV and using mplayer from the command line. That works great for me.
But sometimes, other people (often referred to as "family" and/or "friends") come by and hang out. A TV-centric interface driven by a simple remote is more familiar and easier for them to understand.
(And frankly, I don't want anyone but me futzing around with my laptop at all, ever.)
My wife is not super tech savy but has no problem plugging an hdmi cable and learned the function key to switch monitors modes. "friends" somehow never asked for it as there is no visible screen in my living room and those spending some nights on the couch usually bring their own laptop or phone and whatch whatever they want anyway.
Having said that we are not the typical household with TV turned on 12h a day. We have a screenless kitchen+dinning space separated from the living room. I know it is less popular these days but we prefer it that way, especially when cooking stuff with powerful smell, and it allows us to enjoy having a meal and having a conversation without distraction. Cooking/eating alone we might individually decide to watch something on our phone/tablet/laptop but the unwritten rule is to turn it off when it becomes a family moment. In the living room we are using a video projector instead of a TV so deciding to watch a movie or a TV show is more an active decision to gather together, bring something to eat and drink, turn off the light and watch a specific thing we all agreed on. I might be the only one occasionally turning it on in the evening to play a video game, mostly in the winter when days are short. While we ocasionally have a binge watching couple of days this is a rare occurence and turning on the video projector is typically not even a weekly event. For instance this month I think we only turned it on twice. We never really have moments when someone is alone zapping randomly through channels.
I don't really understand how some people can get bored enough to decide to sit in front of a screen and watch "random" stuff when I barely have time for all my hobbies. For instance when I am watching sports it is usually on replay while I am doing house chores so it is usually on a tablet or laptop in whichever room I happen to be. I will never decide to put aside a hobby or sport I can enjoy myself and watch other people — regardless if they are professional and better at said sport — do it and enjoy it themselves instead of me. I know I used to do that when I was a teenager but this is now a foreign concept to me.
YMMV, it works and in our case bring us a better quality of life: better sleep/rest, more time for conversation with my daughters, more active and enjoyable sexual life with my current partner than with previous ones who were glued to a TV every evening, more time for hobbies and gratification of making stuff ourselves.
I hit the same stuttering with 1080p x265 on a Pi 4 and it turned out to be software decoding; once hardware HEVC decode was actually enabled in Kodi it played 1080p smoothly, though 10 bit content was hit or miss. HDR10+ is the harder wall: Kodi on Linux basically drops the dynamic metadata and passes plain HDR10, so your Samsung just applies static tone mapping and you lose the peak brightness tricks. If most of your library is HDR10+ rips, a used Shield may still cost less than fighting this despite the price. Curious what your source files are, because remuxes that keep the HDR10 base layer look fine, it is only the dynamic metadata you lose.
I have a mid range samsung (that I bought without much research due to some circumstances) on which HDR does not look good at all, way too dark, but HDR10+ is just amazing.
So right now I am using Jellyfin with HDR10+ web-dls (when I can find them) and blu-ray remuxes for old stuff. But Jellyfin triggers transcodes for vobsub and FLAC/DTS audio which I am trying to avoid if possible. Kodi on my older Sony Android direct played anything I threw at it flawlessly for years. So the only option I found was finding or importing a decent android box, which is a bit difficult and expensive in my region.