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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

$1299 Seiki UHDTV 50" SE50UY04 - Bought it today

Dustin Sims said:
Are there any current solutions for running this at full-res as a 2nd monitor for my retina MBP? I think the HDMI port is crippled from the computer to only handle up to 2560x1440 or something (not sure about thunderbolt)
Click to expand...
13" or 15" RMBP? HDMI port is usually bandwidth-limited, not resolution limited. You should be able to get full resolution at 18 Hz.

Solution that worked on my 15" RMBP: Use SwitchResX to create a custom resolution. 3840x2160, Use simplified settings - CVT-RB, 18 Hz. Sanity check - your pixel clock should be at most 165.00 MHz.

After your resolution shows up as Active in SwitchResX, use Retina DisplayMenu 0.2 to set your resolution to 1920x1080 HiDPI.
 
Tom- I was waiting for your patch over at macrumors.... Did you finish it? We are all pretty tech savvy here, so post instructions if you can. OSX limited to hdmi 1.2 by default, and I would prefer to edit in 10.8.3!
 
Does the Seiki have WI-FI or internet ports for streaming?
 
Joe Taylor said:
Does the Seiki have WI-FI or internet ports for streaming?
Click to expand...

Nope. Only USB, but no playback or streaming services. It's just a TV, not a "smart" or "internet" TV.
 
And that's wonderful. I certainly like provided option of not having to pay for bundled unused features. Now only if they would widen list of countries it's sold at :/
 
John Mallamo said:
... and do 60Hz !!
Click to expand...
NOT if that requires tripling price as to next cheapest that has 60hz support (Sharp PN-K321 32" $5500, as Sony's XBR-55X900A 55" for $4999 IIRC also had 30Hz max) or waiting year more for next revision/version with HDMI 2.0/DP 1.2 MST or multiple HDMI 1.4 inputs for more bandwidth/higher refresh rate, as given such choice i probably can get by without. From youtube video of unpacking/testing seiki TV it seemed to me that it will perform somewhat acceptably even @30Hz if with vsync on.
Don't know how are things with 60Hz for other cheap chinese TVs like from Hisense/TCL/Skyworth but they are sold in China only anyway and i suspect them being 30Hz limited as well.
 
Last edited:
Latest word from Seiki on the new firmware fix:

"The latest version of the firmware is being tested and should be released shortly.

Delwyn Kyte
Customer Service Coordinator"

0


______________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8
 
smooth compressed playback , anyone ?

smooth compressed playback , anyone ?

OK, so now a number of people have this monitor now, so I'll ask again :

Are you experiencing smooth playback from compressed UHD media ?
I am not.
What is odd it that the same media, when played on the 30" monitor( scaled down by player) , is smooth.
It's not the codec being to expensive to decode, as the processor is at about 10%, and I've tried several different codecs.
I am only shooting for 24fps. Monitor is set to 24 as well. Nvidia Titan card.

It's as if the HDMI is having a hard time getting the data over to the display. Perhaps Nvidia is not driving it perfectly, as evidenced by the occasional monitor blanking out.
Is anyone playing UHD compressed smoothly with Nvidia? If so, how?
How about other graphics cards?

I don't care about 1080 playing from movie-player boxes. Just full UHD from the computer.


Thank you!
 
4K/ UHD from RED Rocket via AJA converter looks perfect. 4K from an OPPO or SONY player is just fine. Sure, the source on those is 1080p Blu-Ray, but it's upscaled to 4K at the player and sent over. From the GTX Titan is a bit stuttery, be it for the desktop GUI or video playback. I think it's an issue with the display drivers, not the display. See the same exact issues on the Sharp PN-K321 via HDMI @ 24/30 Hz as well. Displayport to the 30" Sharp @ 60Hz looks great. Unfortunately we get occasional tearing between the two halves and also have issues with the nVidia drivers in that they see the display as two separate displays. Some of this is an nVidia problem and some of it is just a side effect of how Sharp designed this display with existing off-the-shelf video processors. My theory is that the nVidia drivers are expecting timings for 60Hz displays and when you present it with a 30Hz display, the drivers are effectively tossing frames or screen updates. 4K from an ATI video card seems to work smoother. In fact, off the ATI card, it's perfectly smooth playing back 2160p ProRes files. Via the Titan it seems to judder a bit. Could be more the Titan drivers too. They're still a bit on the flakey side overall.

30Hz for GUI or general interface tasks really sucks. Yuck. I really want 120Hz there, 60Hz has always been a compromise with LCDs. Seems we're about to finally get beyond that.
 
OK, Thanks Jeff.
I really hope that Nvidia can improve the UHD HDMI reliability . Seems like the sudden availability of these UHD monitors have caught them with their pants down.
Can someone with a non-Seiki UHD verify that Nvidia playback is also juddering as well, just to rule out the TV set from the equation ?
Perhaps installing an ATI card for the express purpose of driving this display would be a good idea for now.
I'm wondering what the most cost effective ATI card would be to play UHD media ( no games , just media playback ).

What is puzzling to me, as a side topic, is why no one else seems to be inquiring about this playback smoothness problem. Are you guys not playing back your 4K final outputs on the Seiki ? You guys just looks at stills ?
 
I'm under the impression that many of the people using the SEIKI are feeding it upconverted Blu-Ray, or or other non-PC source. Those with ATI video cards using it for a desktop monitor are not going to see as many issues. Those with nVidia cards are going to be fine for the most part -- it works OK as a desktop monitor, if you can stomach 30Hz refresh. I think a lot of people don't know what they're looking at. There's also the question as to whether or not their systems can even handle smooth playback at those resolutions to begin with. If some people are seeing issues, they may just be chalking it up to insufficient computing power or early adopter tech issues. And that's pretty much what's going on here anyway.
 
Do you have a Mac with an HDMI port and would like to help me test a patch that removes the 165 MHz pixel clock limit for HDMI in OS X?

With this patch, you can output 4K @ 24, 25, 30, and 31 Hz from OS X.

If so, PM me, and let me know:
1. What OS X version you are using
2. What video card you have
3. How comfortable you are using the command line
 
Janis P. said:
NOT if that requires tripling price as to next cheapest that has 60hz support (Sharp PN-K321 32" $5500, as Sony's XBR-55X900A 55" for $4999 IIRC also had 30Hz max) or waiting year more for next revision/version with HDMI 2.0/DP 1.2 MST or multiple HDMI 1.4 inputs for more bandwidth/higher refresh rate, as given such choice i probably can get by without. From youtube video of unpacking/testing seiki TV it seemed to me that it will perform somewhat acceptably even @30Hz if with vsync on.
Don't know how are things with 60Hz for other cheap chinese TVs like from Hisense/TCL/Skyworth but they are sold in China only anyway and i suspect them being 30Hz limited as well.
Click to expand...
well... that depends on what you use it for. if i'm not mistaken, Sony's summer panel release are 30Hz at 4K. 30Hz is not good for fast motion, action scenes or sports. a bluray thru my oppo 103 (such as Isle of Mann TT) is clear on a Samsung 55" 120Hz, fuzzy on the Seiko at 1080p 60Hz, and very clear but motion crippled at 4K. Just my empirical observations - I did not use any framerate test equip (but simple snapshots with shutter speed at 30, 60 or whatever really shows the refresh rate).anyway - I mainly use the seiki (and an hp zr30w, connected to cfx 7970s) for work related stuff (3D protein modeling). I have the seiki hooked to sli titans.
 
UHD/4K at 120fps should be the target

UHD/4K at 120fps should be the target

Widespread availability of moderately priced high performance interconnects is the key to the kinds of bandwidth needed for high resolution displays at higher refresh rates. Until such time, the penetration rate and satisfaction index for UHD/4K monitors is challenging to say the least. The draft spec for HDMI 2.0 would support UHD/4K at 60P which is great, but I have serious concerns that it lacks the headroom to be a long term solution.

I know technology is racing forward at dizzying speeds these days so forecasts are always suspect - that said - IMO, a minimum of UHD/4K at 120fps is essential to having a decent time horizon for HDMI 2.0

Cheers - #19
 
HDMI 2.0 technically supports UHD at 120Hz, but that isn't a part of the spec. They are capping it at 60Hz with provisions for packed frame full-UHD 3D. Just as 60Hz is the cap right now with HDMI 1.x for 1080p, even though it supports packed frame 3D or the equivalent of 120fps...

That said, I don't think HDMI 2.0 is the answer we're looking for. It's just not forward-thinking enough. DisplayPort is also not getting the attention it needs. Either one could become the next dominant standard. What we really need is a high-speed interface for desktop use as well as HFR presentation on both the commercial and consumer sides of the market. IMO, we need something that supports 4K 12bit @ 240Hz. That's what I would be shooting for in the near term and make sure it has the ability to go dual or quad channel over the same interface cable/ port in the future so it can expand the same ability to 8K. ...Unfortunately, no one calls me when they're thinking of designing this stuff. I'm sure we'll have to sit and watch the painfully slow and deliberately lumbering progression of several HDMI revisions to get there.
 
Les Dittert said:
OK, Thanks Jeff.
I really hope that Nvidia can improve the UHD HDMI reliability . Seems like the sudden availability of these UHD monitors have caught them with their pants down.
Can someone with a non-Seiki UHD verify that Nvidia playback is also juddering as well, just to rule out the TV set from the equation ?
Perhaps installing an ATI card for the express purpose of driving this display would be a good idea for now.
I'm wondering what the most cost effective ATI card would be to play UHD media ( no games , just media playback ).

What is puzzling to me, as a side topic, is why no one else seems to be inquiring about this playback smoothness problem. Are you guys not playing back your 4K final outputs on the Seiki ? You guys just looks at stills ?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, in the market for a new card and was seriously considering the new nvidia cards coming out this month for the cuda cores but will mostly be using it for 4k video playback so sounds like I'll be better off with a 7970.
 
Think i.ll wait a bit perhaps black magic or aja come up with an easy solution. I wold still think twice to use it as a color critical monitor but as clients monitor it will be fantastic. If using it as client monitor do you think that an xrite would be enough to calibrate it?. I just need it to be in the ball park.
 
Kirk.Attard said:
... If using it as client monitor do you think that an xrite would be enough to calibrate it?. I just need it to be in the ball park.
Click to expand...

I have a Color Munki, but I haven't tried it with the Seiki. I did a slick-n-quick calibration using the excellent Spears & Munsil calibration disc. (Stacey Spears is a member of this forum.) That will get me through for the time being until I get it professionally calibrated by David Webb (after my AJA K3G and Hi 5-4K materialize). As others have reported, there are some issues with the red channel (the calibration disc disclosed some clipping) that (hopefully) can be sorted out with a professional calibration through the service menu.

______________________________
Scarlet X # 1859 “Bettie Page”
“… preparing to ‘whip’ the competition …”

Zeiss Lenses:

CY 21/2.8
ZF 28/2.0
CY 35-70/3.4
CY 50/1.4
ZF100/2.0

Nikon Lenses:
G 14-24/2.8
G 24-70/2.8
D 80-200/2.8

Tokina Lenses:

11-16/2.8
 
Thanks Bill.

I think that this is the purpose of the Seiki for red shooters. At least that's how I see it. Good 4k client viewing to show off all the potential and res of red. I'd stick to fsi for color critical monitoring. The sieki is wonderful as it has good viewing angles from what I've seen. We just need an easier way to connect it to cards or breakout boxes. I'll wait a bit and once there is a clear workaround I'd cash in for one. After all its the only way we can see our 4k material. I only managed to see a dcp from any of my footage twice on a projector.
 
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