V+ Poor contrast / black levels from V+ (Samsung) box

HowardCanning · 22-04-2014, 11:18

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the right forum for this...

Since I upgraded my TV (Panasonic TX-L50E6B) I've noticed that the image quality from my V+ box isn't anywhere as near as "good" as it is from my Bluray or media PC. In particular, the black levels seem massively lacking.

I've attached a picture which hopefully shows what I mean; in the 'home' screen you can see that the black background is actually dark grey, compared to the 'actual' black from the TV's menu which I have opened for comparison. Even on 'black' screens when watching TV content, there is a severe lack of contrast and deep blacks.

Is there anything I can do to mitigate this, without adjusting TV settings (I've got them nicely optimised for viewing on the other devices), or is it just a limitation of the V+ box? It's a Samsung unit, not TiVo or anything.

It's all running through my AV amp and passing through to the TV; I'm not changing inputs on the TV.

Hope this makes sense?!

spiderplant · 22-04-2014, 13:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowardCanning

in the 'home' screen you can see that the black background is actually dark grey

That's because the background IS actually dark grey. It's defined as #161616 in the HTML. Absolute black (and other extremes) can cause problems with some TVs so it is deliberately avoided.

HowardCanning · 22-04-2014, 13:54

Interesting.. I'd never have put that as the cause!

Even blank screens look a lot more "grey" than they should be though... It makes it look like I've got the backlight turned right up.

I take it there's nothing I can do but accept it then? I've not noticed it on the TV in our lounge...

spiderplant · 22-04-2014, 15:19

Nothing you can do if you don't want to alter the TV settings specifically for the V+. I imagine the TV manufacturer can use a blacker black themselves because they don't need to ensure compatibility with other screens.

Taf · 23-04-2014, 12:32

Many new TVs have some very complicated setup options which can completely change the picture quality.

http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/beyond-basic-tv-settings/