Firestick 4k Auto/2160p/1080p/720p?

[Rowan88]

Hi.

Most of my IPTV channels are FHD (1920x1080).
Should I keep my Firestick 4k set to Auto or 2160p or should I change it to 1080p?

Am I correct in saying if I pick 720p/1080p then it will lock my firestick at that resolution and my Hisense U8K 75" will do the upscaling, where as if I pick Auto/2160p then the firestick will do the upscaling (for the iptv channels)

I am looking at getting a Nvidia Shield Pro if these options dont work. Since upgrading from a 49" to 75" tv I have noticed 1080p streams have degraded in quality (assuming due to size vs scaling).

Thanks

 

[Aristotle]

I would set the Firestick to 1080p and let the TV do the upscaling.
Then try the Firestick set 2160p then compare the upscaling of both and see which provides the best upscaled image.
I can’t see the Shield improving the image much.
That is also jump in screen size tbh.
On Hisense TVS you can click settings, go to help, then signal information.
This should tell the actual resolution of the incoming image.
Just make sure it is actually 1080p.

 

[cactikid]

Hmm interesting i think mine are set to 2160 and hope i find a good stream , i dont upscale to get the grainy picture.

 

[Aristotle]

Hmm interesting i think mine are set to 2160 and hope i find a good stream , i dont upscale to get the grainy picture.

If you have a 4k tv it will automatically upscale the images to fit the screen if it’s not a 4k image
The upscaling quality depends on the quality of TV also.

 

[cactikid]

Sony Bravia 4K set to 2160 and picture at times has black bars top and bottom so assume its not upscaling

 

[Aristotle]

Sony Bravia 4K set to 2160 and picture at times has black bars top and bottom so assume its not upscaling

That’s to do with aspect ratio because movies have aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and wide screen TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9.
This produces black bars that you see.
You shouldn’t see them when you are watching regular TV programmes.

 

[Aristotle]

@Rowan88
Seen this on a website regarding the Firesticks.

The device upscales 720/1080p to faux 4K. It is not always consistent, and we have yet to find a way to override the FireTV upscale and leave it to the TV or vice versa. We find 4K upscale a little soft

 

[Rowan88]

Thanks for the replies and info.

I would set the Firestick to 1080p and let the TV do the upscaling.
Then try the Firestick set 2160p then compare the upscaling of both and see which provides the best upscaled image.
I can’t see the Shield improving the image much.
That is also jump in screen size tbh.
On Hisense TVS you can click settings, go to help, then signal information.
This should tell the actual resolution of the incoming image.
Just make sure it is actually 1080p.

Although I know u can check Hisense Signal Info I use Tivimate and it showed the channel as 1920x1080 but I will double check this too, hopefully my stream isnt a 720p upscaled to 1080p then my device trying to upscale that hense the low quality grainyness.

If you have a 4k tv it will automatically upscale the image if it’s not a 4k image to fit the screen resolution.
The upscaling depends on the quality of TV also.

I just assumed a £1500 TV would have better upscaling features than a £35 Firestick so was wanting to make sure I wasnt crippling quality using the wrong device. Exactly why I even debated moving to the Nvidia Shield Pro.

@Rowan88
Seen this on a website regarding the Firesticks.

The device upscales 720/1080p to faux 4K. It is not always consistent, and we have yet to find a way to override the FireTV upscale and leave it to the TV or vice versa. We find 4K upscale a little soft

I did see some of this stuff also, but others mentioning setting display to 1080p forces firestick to output that to the TV then the TV will take over the upscaling but I doubt this is true :(

Seems the only way to make your TV upscale itself is to use the built in software (Vivaa in this case) rather than external smart tv accessories like firesticks.

IF this is true then wondering if trading to a Shield Pro from Firestick would show a massive improvement to 720/1080p streams.

 

[HonestPrick]

Thanks for the replies and info.


Although I know u can check Hisense Signal Info I use Tivimate and it showed the channel as 1920x1080 but I will double check this too, hopefully my stream isnt a 720p upscaled to 1080p then my device trying to upscale that hense the low quality grainyness.


I just assumed a £1500 TV would have better upscaling features than a £35 Firestick so was wanting to make sure I wasnt crippling quality using the wrong device. Exactly why I even debated moving to the Nvidia Shield Pro.


I did see some of this stuff also, but others mentioning setting display to 1080p forces firestick to output that to the TV then the TV will take over the upscaling but I doubt this is true :(

Seems the only way to make your TV upscale itself is to use the built in software (Vivaa in this case) rather than external smart tv accessories like firesticks.

IF this is true then wondering if trading to a Shield Pro from Firestick would show a massive improvement to 720/1080p streams.

Regarding the improvement with a shield, it can be good for some channels and not so good for others. It's mostly for media but can be good for live tv as well. More than the upscaling I would worry about the motion processing for sports on your display. All major competitions and TV channels are full HD anyway so your TV doesn't have to do as much processing compared to 720p or SD feeds where the shield would show more improvements. There's also new boxes coming out with boasting AI upscaling but how much of it is placebo and how much does it help is something only you can check in person and side by side.

 

[Aristotle]

Thanks for the replies and info.


Although I know u can check Hisense Signal Info I use Tivimate and it showed the channel as 1920x1080 but I will double check this too, hopefully my stream isnt a 720p upscaled to 1080p then my device trying to upscale that hense the low quality grainyness.

I would also check in tv settings for the resolution.
It is a possibility that the image is upscaled from 720p.

I just assumed a £1500 TV would have better upscaling features than a £35 Firestick so was wanting to make sure I wasnt crippling quality using the wrong device. Exactly why I even debated moving to the Nvidia Shield Pro.

I would have thought so as well but just do some testing and compare the upscaling of both devices.
Not sure how much of an improvement the shield upscaling will be compared to your tv.
You could buy from Amazon to test and if there is no improvement, send it back.

I did see some of this stuff also, but others mentioning setting display to 1080p forces firestick to output that to the TV then the TV will take over the upscaling but I doubt this is true :(

Seems the only way to make your TV upscale itself is to use the built in software (Vivaa in this case) rather than external smart tv accessories like firesticks.

Not to sure about Firestick upscaling situation and finding the answer will need some research. I would just test both devices and see which one produces the best image.

IF this is true then wondering if trading to a Shield Pro from Firestick would show a massive improvement to 720/1080p streams.

I can’t see there being a massive improvement to be honest.

 

[Aristotle]

@Rowan88 do have frame rate and resolution matching switched on in Tivimate as this is the only way that it will produce the correct resolution information in Tivimate.

 

[Rowan88]

Whatever I pick in Firestick Display settings is exactly what shows in the Hisense Signal Info. So even if I pick 2160p 60hz and play a 720p video from YT it shows 3840x2160 on Signal Info.

I enabled Auto Frame Rate in Tivimate like you said (along with Switch Screen Refresh Rate & Switch Screen Resolution) but same as above if I play a "HD" channel which shows 1280x720 in Tivimate but on Hisense Signal Info it shows 3840x2160.

Does this mean if I have Firestick set to 2160p and I play 720/1080p content then the firestick will upscale it to 4k to match the display resolution set?

Or if I change the Firestick Display to 1080p 60hz then if I play 4k content it means the TV is responsible for upscaling, even though Signal Info shows 1920x1080. Or does this mean locking at 1080p means TV wont output above that? (Dont beleive this as surely if it was RAW 1080p it wouldnt fill the screen).

Therefore if I want to make sure the tv uses its upscaling rather than firestick for 720/1080p then I should select "720p 60hz" from Firestick Display. That means its sending a 1280x720 signal to TV and it will upscale everything to suit a 75" 4k ULED? And only stuff 480p will be upscaled by the firestick.

 

[gaz82]

Whatever resolution you set the Firestick to, that is what it will output to your TV regardless of the content you're watching.

If you set it to auto, the Firestick will change the resolution to match the content you're viewing.

 

[Rowan88]

Whatever resolution you set the Firestick to, that is what it will output to your TV regardless of the content you're watching.

If you set it to auto, the Firestick will change the resolution to match the content you're viewing.

So if I set Auto and Match Frame Rate on then if I play a HD channel 1280x720 then it will play it at that resolution and the TV will upscale it to 4k or does the firestick disable my TV from upscaling? (from what im reading elsewhere)

Update:
I changed to Auto and Match Frame Rate ON. In Tivimate I have Auto Frame Rate and Match Resolution and Refresh Rate on.

When I played a HD channel it went black for a sec then loaded. In Hisense Signal Info it shows 1280x720. So does this mean its taking the actual signal from the stream, playing it at that and not upscaling it?

 

[gaz82]

So if I set Auto and Match Frame Rate on then if I play a HD channel 1280x720 then it will play it at that resolution and the TV will upscale it to 4k or does the firestick disable my TV from upscaling? (from what im reading elsewhere)

Correct.

The firestick will deliver it to your tv at 720p then your tv will do whatever you have set in your tv settings.

 

[Rowan88]

Correct.

The firestick will deliver it to your tv at 720p then your tv will do whatever you have set in your tv settings.

Thanks. I updated my last comment but basically l:

Firestick Display - AUTO
Match Frame Rate - ON

Tivimate - Auto Frame Rate - ON
Screen Resolution Match - ON
Screen Refresh Rate - ON

Played a HD channel and it went black, came on and Hisense Signal Info shows 1280x720. So assuming this means its taking the RAW HD signal and my TV will automatically upscale that to look better on 75" 4K TV rather than firestick?

 

[gaz82]

That is correct.

The firestick is now providing the tv with the native resolution of the content.

It’s now up to the TV’s settings to decide what is does with that signal so you will need to check your TV’s picture options / user guide.

 

[Rowan88]

Thats my next problem. With this TV the settings seem different from country to country. For example I am looking for the "Super Resolution" setting which from what I can tell is upscaling but the closest I can find is called "Smart Scene".

If anyone has experience with Hisense U8K 75" ULED please advise lol.

 

[Aristotle]

Thanks. I updated my last comment but basically l:

Firestick Display - AUTO
Match Frame Rate - ON

Tivimate - Auto Frame Rate - ON
Screen Resolution Match - ON
Screen Refresh Rate - ON

Played a HD channel and it went black, came on and Hisense Signal Info shows 1280x720. So assuming this means its taking the RAW HD signal and my TV will automatically upscale that to look better on 75" 4K TV rather than firestick?

This is how I use my device and app settings so that the TV knows the native resolution, frame rate and refresher rate.
The black screen is the device and app switching the settings and is normal.

Not sure what settings you should use for a Hisense TVs as I have never owned one.
Also I would imagine 720p image upscaled is not going to look that great on a 75 inch TV but that will also be down to how good the TVs upscaling capabilities are and this varies from each manufacturers on low, mid and high end TVs.
You will have to find specific reviews for your TV and their views on how good the upscaling is on it.

 

[manic01]

So if I set Auto and Match Frame Rate on then if I play a HD channel 1280x720 then it will play it at that resolution and the TV will upscale it to 4k or does the firestick disable my TV from upscaling? (from what im reading elsewhere)

Update:
I changed to Auto and Match Frame Rate ON. In Tivimate I have Auto Frame Rate and Match Resolution and Refresh Rate on.

When I played a HD channel it went black for a sec then loaded. In Hisense Signal Info it shows 1280x720. So does this mean its taking the actual signal from the stream, playing it at that and not upscaling it?

When I have Match Frame Rate set on my 4k max Firestick it goes black for few secs on my Samsung tv as well