I know LinkPi users are watching this thread and awaiting info on black levels. But in case anyone else wanted to join the fun, there is a single, new LinkPi back in Amazon stock that delivers from US (not slow boat from China). Don’t forget 5% coupon!
WayPonDEV Link Pi ENC1-V3 4K NDI HDMI Encoder Decoder, Support SRT/RTMP/RTSP/HTTP/ONVIF/HLS Transmission, 1080P HD Video Encoder for YouTube Facebook Twitch Live Broadcasting https://a.co/d/cmJev9g
I will see if I can test some scenarios this weekend. I will compare my LinkPi ENC1 vs the ENC5 I received, both with the onboard HDMi and USB capture.
Yes this is the one I have.
Now I have a firestick 4K, not the max, just in case it is happening on this version only..
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, brilliant 4K streaming quality, TV and smart home controls, free and live TV Amazon.com
The iphone x video into the linkpi HDMI is superb, except for the hanging issue…
I don't currently have a Fire TV stick to test with, but will use my Chromecast 4k to grab some samples. To test, I will just grab screen shoots from the video below if you want to compare. I'll use both my LinkPi devices, my original JTech and USB 3.0 capture device for comparisons.
Test Video
Okay, got some time to do some testing today. I'm happy to share all the screenshots I took, but I will cut to the chase. My testing showed the same raised black levels on my LinkPi ENC1 others are seeing. Good news is I found out why and have a suggestion to correct.
Encoders/Capture Devices Tested:
LinkPi ENC1 V3
LinkPi ENC5 V2
JTECH ENCH4A
Windows USB3.0 Capture Device
Streaming Devices Tested:
Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
DirecTV "Osprey" Android Streaming
Results:
Each encoding and streaming device combo showed pictures with different levels of detail but nearly the same color and contrast. That is until I plugged the CC into the LinkPi ENC1 V3. The picture looked a little washed out.
On my ENC5 V2, the Chromecast looked fine, and the Osprey Box also looked great on the ENC1 V3. After looking at all of my samples, I started to notice even the Chromecast home screen was a bit washed out on the ENC1. I thought for a second, then my Windows Media Center/HTPC experience kicked in:
I jumped into the Chromecast display settings. By default the Chromecast was set to color format RGB 8bit, but no option for full or limited (that I found). I decided to try YCbCr 4:4:4 8 bit. The difference was noticeable.
Capture from CCwGTV 4K on LinkPi ENC1 V3
RGB 8 bit
YCbCr 4:4:4 8 bit
So, it seems with certain devices on the ENC1, RGB Color Format is not the best choice. Not sure why yet, but will continue to tinker.
For all of you FireTV Stick / ENC1 users, try changing your Color Format. Turn off Auto and HDR and give YCbCr output a try and let the LinkPi do the conversion to RGB.
Happy Streaming!
I provided more detail in a separate post, but will give you a direct reply. Go into your Fire TV and change Color Format from RGB to YCbCr. Let me know if your colors look better on your ENC1.
Fantastic , excellent amazing testing and very much appreciated from all.
I will absolutely give this a try this weekend and report back with my results.
More Examples of LinkPi ENC1 with Chromecast which pointed me toward Color Format being the likely cause of washed out color and black levels. The difference is quite noticeable when you view the picture on the forum and arrow advanced between screen shots.
RGB
YCbCr 4:4:4
YCbCr up to 12 bit on a Firestick was great! Amazing difference. Watched football just as a test....couldn't tell any visual differneces between OTA and ADBTuner.
That is great to hear. Looking back, my time with LinkPi has been with the DirecTV boxes. Their default setting for SDR must be LinkPi friendly.
Could someone explain to me what the benefits of a LinkPi over any other HDMI encoder?
I see some people are quiet excited about them and don’t wanna miss out if there is some benefit I’m missing 
My setup is using tmm1’s code (not the community altered) and changing via IR terminal commands - incase that effect use any use case.
I realize I may be cluttering the HDMI for Channels post, so I'm going to create a new one to share LinkPi Encoder talks.
Framing all the details into an original post dedicated to LinkPi is taking some time, so I will give you some quick answers.
I stumbled upon LinkPi systems after spending (too much) time reading about HDMI encoders. Of the options on the market, almost all share similar hardware and firmware. They are based around a Hikvision framework which started in 2016/2017 as a solution for security camera DVRs. The LinkPi devices have a custom interface, regular updates and root access to Linux, but were based around the same Hikvision platform as the other encoders. Performance was about the same.
In late Summer 2023, LinkPi added major platform revision. The spec bump made it interesting enough for me to try one. I ordered the updated ENC1 V3 in early November. I liked it so much I ordered a five port ENC5 V2 and have been using both for a few weeks.
For the price they are fantastic. The ENC1 V3 was on sale Black Friday for $104 on Amazon. Many in this thread jumped in an ordered one and we have been comparing notes ever since. My posts today were to help resolve a color space challenge some were getting with their ENC1 devices.
The only reservation I have is one of long term reliability. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, they seem well built and I don't plan to return any of my purchases. If you are one that is comforted by warranty and established brands, LinkPi may feel risky.
At the current $125-ish price for an ENC1 V3 on Amazon, I recommend people pick one up to play with. With NAND market expected to skyrocket next year, I can only image many of these devices to get more expensive in the next few months.
Source?
Been watching trends and keeping up with the deal chats on Reddit. Some links for reference:
I’m not saying anyone should panic buy SSDs or memory, but if you are looking to buy soon, pricing right now is still near the bottom. Next year increases probably won’t hurt so much on 1TB NVMe drives, but if you want to say upgrade your PS5 with a big, quality 4TB drive, sooner is better.
I will be keeping an eye on used, high endurance enterprise flash on eBay. The recent low price on new, consumer retail drives pushed them down to excellent pricing. One of my servers, dedicated to Channels, is built around NVMe, including recordings. Overkill? Yeah, but latency is amazing.
New LinkPi firmware: 20231229
Classic version: Fixed the problem that when switching the layout of the specified input source, there is a probability that the input source switch is invalid.
Standard Edition: Fixed the page loading abnormality problem caused by the integrated communication page not being bound to the broadcasting software.
Standard Edition: Fixed the problem that after setting LPH, the setting becomes invalid after switching versions.
Standard version: Added one-click hdmi output function to the decoding setting page
Remove redundant return values from LPH setting watermark interface
Network management function optimization
Can confirm as well. Video washed and rinsed, now have deep blacks. Excellent find!
I’ve been able to use this with some success, but my Firestick keeps losing the ABD connection. Sometimes it will go a week or so, and then sometimes drop every few hours. If I reboot, everything a good. I’ve searched everywhere and can’t seem to figure out why this happens. Any suggestions?
You are probably using wireless .. and what generation is your FireStick ?
