Sony 4K Bravia TV reports 1080p resolution to apps

[Morosoph]

I have the 49xd8099bu Android TV.

Neither Kodi nor YouTube deliver 4K video, although the built-in video player will.  Kodi reports 1080p resolution, as does 'Developer Tools' from Google's Play store.

A 4K test file is available from the below link, for those who might want to test the resolution.  http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=261768

Apps can't deliver 2160p unless they know that the screen is capable of delivering it.  How, then can the default be overrulled?

[Anonymous]

Hi there

I was playing 4K videos via YouTube just today - I have KD-55XD8577.  How do you know that YouTube is not playing back in 4K? 

In the past, I have also streamed 4K files in Kodi so I know they play.  I will conduct the test using the file in the link you mentioned later on tonight and get back to you.

If its a specific app, then its up to the individual app developers to ensure 4K resolution is supported.

Cheers

[Morosoph]

Thank-you Quinnicus.  I got the Item code off the receipt which  is differently formatted.  I have a TV in the same range as you.  I'm wondering whether it is simply of lower spec. where they don't expect the TV to be pushed by apps, just as long as it'll play Blu-Ray and files through the standard player.

KD-49XD8099

My laptop will deliver 3200x1800, and I can see the difference.  Videos billed as 4K are not delivering on the TV.

The System menu in Kodi is reporting a non-overridable 1920x1080, and 'Developer Tools' confirms this, so this isn't a problem with individual apps.

[Anonymous]

Hi there

I have had a look at this, and I have tested using that file you linked to, and that last line is un-readable.  To be honest, I am not sure on that file anyhow - although MediaInfo reports 3840x2160 (so is 2160p).  I have played other 4K files via Kodi just fine.  So why is Kodi reporting 1920x1080.  The version of Kodi is 16.1 (Jarvis). 

Firstly, I found this link HERE.  Then I thought id see if there is a FAQ on this.  See HERE.

It states:

"

5.5 ANDROID: GUI no longer rendered at 4K

Kodi v15 would render everything in 4K for the Nvidia Shield TV, but used a method that won't work correctly on other 4K boxes, as the GUI is handled by the CPU and not a hardware decoder.

This has been changed for Kodi v16. On supported hardware, such as some official Android TV devices, 4K video will always output at 4K. Only the user interface will render at 1080, so that less powerful CPUs aren't bogged down. In other words, the video lists and buttons are not as "sharp", but video will still be fine. In the future there might be an option to render everything at 4K, for devices that are powerful enough.

"

[Morosoph]

Thank-you Quinnicus, I've read that.  The GUI renders at 1080p, and the menu reports 1080p.  Trouble is, it really doesn't render at 2160p.  The 4K file that I linked to in the original post _will_ render correctly for the native video app, but not for Kodi.

But this isn't the end of it.  Developer Tools also reports back 1920x1080 resolution.  The television isn't reporting correctly to apps.  On your TV, it is probably fine.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.roysolberg.android.developertools

I expect that what is happenning here is that the 49 inch TV that I have is deemed not to be a flagship product, and it is simply deemed to be enough to get the native video working.  Starting up any app takes surprisingly long, and although there will be a video card that is up to delivering 4K, the main CPU is slow, and 1080p is deemed 'good enough' for most purposes on a £770 telly.  The native video app means that the screen _does_ deliver 4K, and that is what is billed, not a general purpose computer.

[RoberMC]

Apps compiled as "Application (Video)" have access to hardware 4K video decoding, that is why Youtube, Netflix, etc, play video at 4K. Apps compiled as "Application" have limited access to 1080p video rendering only.

You can see how an app is compiled pressing "action menu" button, chosing "image" and reading if it says "Application" or "Application (video)" on top.

[Morosoph]

Oops.  I marked this as a solution since it gave an explanation, but I can't find 'image' in the action menu, but only 'picture' which doesn't give the information, even in the advanced options.

It seems odd that Kodi from the Play store doesn't deliver 4K, as proved with the test file, especially when Quinnicus gets 4K on his TV 😕

Also, YouTube doesn't seem to deliver 4K either.  As far as I can tell, only the native Video app will do that.

[RoberMC]

My language is not english and i thought they called that submenu "image", ok, then enter in "picture", then picture settings opens from the right side of the screen, and in the top most line it says the input you are configuring; HDMI 1, HDMI 2, Component, Digital, Application, Application (Video)...

Is not that hard, or maybe your TV's menu layout is different than mine ;), anyway, this is not a problem with the TV, is that Kodi has no hardware optimization for the chipset of the TV to qualify as a native video application and use UHD hardware decoding. The same happens to Developer Tools, and 95% of available apps, they are sandboxed to a 1080p enviroment.

[Kuschelmonschter]

This sample video is played with 4K resolution inside Kodi on my 2016 Sony TV.

GUI rendering can be changed. I wouldn't change it to the native panel resolution though. The SoC inside Sony TVs are too weak for that. But the video pipeline is fully hardware accelerated. So no problem there.

[vacoum]

I just bought Sony Bravia and I am very angry, Sony deceived me. The browser and programs and Youtube working on 1080p and I see pixels from 1.5 meter away, I feel like I bought big peace of cheap s... 1080p now days is a garbage... I wanted to read news on  browser and I sea pixels.... It's ugly, Sony is cheeting. Adverticed as 4k and got 1080p. I will ask to return my money. Chrome browser is missing and impossible to install. I have foto on Dropbox, but it's missing in store for Sony. It's not TV , it's not usable s.... I even can't watch my foto, I neet to install some sharing programs in onther device, stream foto to TV, *****? Or copy foto to USB flash driver, *****? I don't want to describe smaller issues with interface. 

I have good gaming monitor, as it works as adverticed. Bot if you buy Sony 4k, you will get only 1080p. Movies for me would take only 5%. I am care about browsing, Youtube, music and other sruff. 

Just manually updated to newest version as auto update said that I have newest version. One more bug? 

I found that version in support. It was said, that if my version is older then number xxxx I need to update. And my version was older. Also reupdated Youtube. And while playing Youtube at 4k, "stats for nerds" show, that viewport is still 1080p!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!