Humax Aura 4K BBC iPlayer menu looks very cloudy/hazy compared my Roku stick?

[Member 7823]

Humax Aura 4K BBC iPlayer menu looks very cloudy/hazy compared my Roku stick?

 

[Steppy]

Crystal clear on mine

 

[Member 7823]

Have you got 4k TV?
after switching between aura and Roku, the Auro has a very clear video fault. Even my wife can see it

 

[Member 7823]

Bizarrely I switched Aura down from 4 k to 1080 and the picture is clearer

 

[MikeSh]

Between iPlayer app, Aura and TV I'd say one is getting the (up)scaling wrong.
Is it worth chasing down if the actual programme content is good?
(Bearing in mind all these things get updated at random intervals, so there'll be another fix/bug along shortly.)

 

[Member 7823]

Well I'm comparing Roku 4k stick with aura inputs side by side on the same page and the aura definitely has a video fault. It's just more noticeable in iPlayer home page which is quite simply "blurred" on a 58 4k screen, tried all the video settings but nothing cures it until I set it at 1080p hi Def, then the image is clear, but still not even close to Roku upscaled 4k image. Suprised I've not heard of this before buying it.

 

[MikeSh]

I don't have a Roku but I've done a 3-way comparison of iPlayer Home using the app in the TV (Sony 65" 4k), and in the Aura and our Freesat box (new one, not Humax) both with 4k HDMI connections.
The Aura and TV versions look identical. Not pin sharp, but not really blurred either. OTOH the Freesat is noticeably less sharp and is oddly duller in that the whites are more cream than the Aura or TV. Strange.
(Edit: Just had a dig in the TV settings and the picture settings are a bit different for the two HDMI inputs, so that explains the different colouring, and possibly the sharpness. Need to do more on that and retest.)

So there's nothing wrong with our Aura AFAIK.

 

[MikeSh]

Further to the above, I've just been through the picture settings on the TV and equalised all the colour, brightness, sharpening, motion, etc, for inbuilt and inputs, and repeated the iPlayer tests.
Can't see any difference between the TV and two HDMI inputs now.

 

[Member 7823]

Well a couple of tests myself show that the TV itself defaults to HDR 4K, for Roku stick the picture defaults to HDR 4K, the Auro defaults to std definition and only upscales when processing a 4k source. Which explains everything. This is even more bizarre because the Auro picture is set to output 4k and not the default "Auto"
Anyone else realise this??
I would upload the photos but the forum say they're too big and it can't be bothered to reduce them

 

[MikeSh]

the Auro picture is set to output 4k and not the default "Auto"

So have you tried setting it back to the default?
Was auto causing a problem that made you change it from default?

 

[Member 7823]

Well auto isn't going to make it output in 4k.
Net result is Aura doesn't upscale!?

 

[MikeSh]

Well auto isn't going to make it output in 4k.

And you know this because you override the default settings, probably without understanding what effects that might have, and won't try putting them back to see if that fixes your problem?

Seriously, why do British men always know better than ... anyone else?

 

[Member 7823]

I know that setting the box output to 4k means the box "should" output in 4k, apologies for figuring that out but im happy if you don't follow this thread.

 

[Rodders53]

Most decent quality TVs make a better job of upscaling content than the cheaper upscaler in devices.

Most would choose to take the native resolution of a source (SD/HD/4k) from a box and let the TV do the better job.

One needs to go through the obvious things to eliminate an simpler issue:

• switch away from the Aura hdmi input and back (in case it is a handshake issue)
• try all the 'scaling options' and repeat
• try changing options and going standby / on
• try different hdmi cable / inputs
• try the hard mains power reboot
• even a factory reset as a fairly last resort

But if your Aura is playing silly devils with the display 'setting' and what it actually outputs a call to Humax Customer Support would seen in order? It may be a software bug, or an intended way of working, or it may, indeed have a fault.

 

[MikeSh]

I know that setting the box output to 4k means the box "should" output in 4k

That's what you think and is a reasonable interpretation in my mind as well.
But we don't know how the spec was written, how the programmer interpreted it, what bugs might exist and how well it was tested before shipping.

 

[MikeSh]

Just looked in our Aura settings (with a view to seeing if the reported problem was replicable) and there are five 4k setting options (labelled 4k2k-nnHz, from 24 to 60 IIRC). I'd guess the iPlayer screen doesn't like whichever one of those you've picked (I didn't bother going further).

Well auto isn't going to make it output in 4k.

Just for completeness, when displaying the iPlayer screen from the Aura (in Auto) the TV reports that it is getting a 3840x2160 input. So it seems the Aura can output 4k in auto, though presumably may not in some conditions.

 

[Ian Manning]

I'm wondering if this is related to a problem that I have (documented in a different thread)....basically if I have HDMI Resolution set to Auto on the Aura I get BBC1HD and ITV1HD in standard definition. If I change HDMI Resolution to 1080p/60Hz I get a HD picture.
???