Ignite TV Picture Quality 4k30 v 4k60

[Nas88]

I’ve had invite tv for a while and haven’t been able to figure out what the issue is.

I’ve got a Sony x900F tv from approximately 4 to 5 years ago. I’ve set the video settings on the ignite box to the best and on certain content (noticeable on channels like HGTV or Food) I get a wobbly image. It looks like jello if that makes sense. But only on certain parts that are usually stationary objects like a wall.

I’ve looked it up again today and tried 4K30 as a possible solution and surprisingly it removes the jello wobble. Can anyone explain why that might be the solution? And is there any downside if I switch it to the 4k30?

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[RogersZia]

Good morning @Nas88!

Glad to hear 4K30 setting has resolved the issue for you! While I am not familiar with this, I will a couple of our Resident Experts for their insights. @57 @-G- are you able to assist with this? 

RogersZia

[LordDrakkon]

It's due tonframe insertion. Broadcast TV and most film and TV content is made at 24FPS and 30FPS. Add in the massive amounts of compression thanks to cable bandwidth limitations that TV's also have to try and compensate for and you don't get anythingnclose to even a 4k true quality experience through any cable provider in Canada. If you live close enough to the border, ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and ATSC 1.0 broadcasts will look way better due to not being compressed.

[-G-]

@Nas88 It's really hard to say what's going on here.  I have not seen that particular problem on my 4K Samsung TV but I have certainly seen (minor nit-picky) issues with 4K video output on the Ignite set-top boxes, particularly when watching HD content.

Keep in mind that networks such as the Food Network and HGTV originate as 1080i signals.  That's a 1st-gen HD signal.  The programs themselves were probably shot with either 1080p Full HD or 4K cameras, recorded, transcoded, compressed to a lower bitrate, interlaced, then transmitted.  When Rogers receives the signal, the encoders in the back-end need to then de-interlace the signal, encode it at a very high bitrate for processing, transcode that stream into multiple resolutions, at multiple bitrates to match the capabilities of different TVs and devices, then streamed.  If the Video Output Resolution on your set-top box is set to 2160p60, it will need to upconvert the video stream to 4K.  Motion interpolation presents challenges.  Furthermore, if you have some form of motion compensation active on your TV, that can also introduce additional distortion and artifacts.

I actually find that when watching HD channels, my picture quality is better if set the Video Output Resolution on my STB to 1080p60 and let my 4K TV perform the upconversion.

Another problem is that deinterlacing a signal is VERY compute intensive, but IPTV providers need to make the encoding pipeline run as fast as possible so as to minimize the delay when streaming live programming.  As a result, they can't encode signals at the highest possible quality.  Normally, it's not much of a problem... but some content can look awful, particularly when the camera pans.  On HGTV, watch when the camera pans across a room when doing the reveal after a renovation; on CTV Sci-Fi, look at what happens when the camera pans with a star field in the background -- you get REALLY annoying judder.

If you are experiencing picture quality issues, you may need to adjust some of the advanced video processing settings on your TV.  You may find that changing the Video Output Resolution on the Ignite set-top box can make a significant difference.  Then there are some problems that, unfortunately, we just need to live with.