HDMI for Channels

Playground Hardware
#1388

Another datapoint with the firestick and washed out black levels.

I have a usb capture device connected to the Link Pi for experimentation. I used that interface for my firestick 4k for a different test this morning. I immediately noticed excellent black levels - actually night and day difference compared to the HDMI input.

as @spammedeeper pointed out, at 1080p the frame rate via USB capture can only hit 50 frames per second due to the usb 2 limitation. At 720p Ive observed 60fps

However, watching percy jackson on disney is much more enjoyable not having the washed out blacks, even at 1080p @50 fps or on my 55” panasonic plasma at 720p at 60fps.

Its night an day difference in the black levels.

I think I will also poke link pi customersupport and ask them about this. Id love to see the firestick on the HDMI input in the long run, with deep blacks and not washed out video.

Ive also observed no hangs with the firestick on the HDMI input. it just goes to sleep as expected. My LinkPi hanging issues seem only to be related only to the iphone and lightning to HDMI configuration.

Very interested if you hear back from Link Pi on this washed out video on the HDMI input.

Im slowly building up my system towards using either adbt tuner or home assistant or both, but want a rock solid capture device.

Ive got till the end of January (amazons return window) to decide lol

#1389

FYI, I sent a test clip to support a few days ago. Will post info on response. ABDTuner has been perfect except for slightly washed video. I agree on Amazon return. I kept the boxes just in case. :grinning:

2 Likes
#1390

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

#1391

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.

#1392

Yes this is the one I have.

#1393

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…

#1394

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

#1395

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:

RGB Full vs Limited

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

cc4k-rgb
cc4k-rgb1920×1013 175 KB

YCbCr 4:4:4 8 bit

cc4k - YCbCr 444
cc4k - YCbCr 4441920×1013 190 KB

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!

4 Likes
LinkPi encoder family
LinkPi encoder family
#1396

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.

3 Likes
#1397

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.

1 Like
#1398

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

cc4k-lp_enc1 RGB
cc4k-lp_enc1 RGB1920×1013 77.1 KB

YCbCr 4:4:4

cc4k-lp_enc1 - YCbCr 444
cc4k-lp_enc1 - YCbCr 4441920×1013 81.5 KB

#1399

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.

2 Likes
#1400

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.

1 Like
#1401

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 :joy:

My setup is using tmm1’s code (not the community altered) and changing via IR terminal commands - incase that effect use any use case.

2 Likes
#1402

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.

#1403

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.

2 Likes
ADBTuner: A "channel tuning" application for networked Google TV / Android TV devices
#1404

Source?

#1405

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.

#1406

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

2 Likes
#1407

Can confirm as well. Video washed and rinsed, now have deep blacks. Excellent find!

1 Like