Streaming video to USB port

[sinuslog]

My tv is supposed to process the signal at 120 Hz. Indeed it does when the source is a usb key or a blu-ray player. But when the signal comes from a computer through an hdmi port, it is at 60 Hz. Is it possible to remedy to that, perhaps by letting the tv believe that the source is a usb key ?

tv: samsung un50j6300
bd: samsung d5300
htpc: zotac en760, windows 10 64bit, 8gb ram, 120gb ssd, 3tb external hdd

[Krispy Kritter]

Not likely, the input signal is controlled by the input (and in this case, the HDMI handshake).

I don't know what benefit you would get anyway, it may even hurt the quality).

[sinuslog]

Thank you for your reply. I don't really understand it, but if you're sure, I'll take your word for it. The benefit is that of 120 Hz, of course. Right now, the movies are jerky. I paid a lot of money recently for 120 Hz and I can't benefit from it because of false advertising.

Re-edit: I watched the same dvd movie on my tv in 3 ways: from the htpc, from the dvd player and from a usb key plugged directly to the tv. The movie is Red (2010) at the 4th minute. The video is smooth in the latter 2 cases, but not from the htpc.

[usually_quiet]

My tv is supposed to process the signal at 120 Hz. Indeed it does when the source is a usb key or a blu-ray player. But when the signal comes from a computer through an hdmi port, it is at 60 Hz. Is it possible to remedy to that, perhaps by letting the tv believe that the source is a usb key ?

tv: samsung un50j6300
bd: samsung d5300
htpc: zotac en760, windows 10 64bit, 8gb ram, 120gb ssd, 3tb external hdd

When connected to a PC, a TV is just supposed act as a monitor, and all the TV's "picture enhancement" features should be disabled, either manually or by the TV's PC settings. That is why TV doesn't apply the "Motion Rate 120" feature, which uses frame interpolation internally to fake true 120 fps video.

[sinuslog]

> all the TV's "picture enhancement" features should be disabled, either manually or by the TV's PC settings

Is it possible to enable them, either manually or by the TV's PC settings ? And is my original question meaningful, about streaming the video signal to a usb port of the tv ?

[usually_quiet]

> all the TV's "picture enhancement" features should be disabled, either manually or by the TV's PC settings

Is it possible to enable them, either manually or by the TV's PC settings ?

For newer Samsung TVs, labeling the HDMI connection as "PC" automatically turns off picture enhancement. That is true for my mother's 2015 Samsung TV, but her TV also has one HDMI port which is supposed to be used for connecting a PC. ...and of course that is what I use when connecting her laptop to the TV. You could try labeling the HTPC's input as something other than "PC", but as stated earlier treating PC input as something else may hurt the picture in some ways: change the color, make text less clear, or apply overscan.

And is my original question meaningful, about streaming the video signal to a usb port of the tv ?

No. The TV's USB input is for a built-in media player, which is only designed to accept video input from USB hard drives and USB keys. That's why things like the FireTV Stick and ChromeCast connect via HDMI. [Edit]Also, USB 2.0 doesn't have enough bandwidth for uncompressed HD video. Video streams from USB drives are compressed (MPEG-2, HEVC, AVC, XVid, etc.)

[sinuslog]

I have been busy with the tv.
Source > hdmi1 > Tools gives:
-Edit device type (pc, cable box, satellite box, iptv, ...). I tried several of these, no change for the better or the worst (am I supposed to restart beween trials ?, I didn't).
-Edit name: I wrote something there, and I got it on the first line, followed by the original name (hdmi1) on the second line. No change.
-Anynet + (hdmi-cec): it transferred me to the blu-ray player.

Even if the quality will degrade, I wish I could try it.
Is there a way to go through the blu-ray reader or GLan or wifi ?
Or using ps3 or xbox or chromecast or firetv ?
Both the tv and blu-ray reader are smart, can it help ?
At least, I know now that there's no false advertising here...

[jagabo]

Set your computer to output 1080i.

[usually_quiet]

I have been busy with the tv.
Source > hdmi1 > Tools gives:
-Edit device type (pc, cable box, satellite box, iptv, ...). I tried several of these, no change for the better or the worst (am I supposed to restart beween trials ?, I didn't).
-Edit name: I wrote something there, and I got it on the first line, followed by the original name (hdmi1) on the second line. No change.
-Anynet + (hdmi-cec): it transferred me to the blu-ray player.

Even if the quality will degrade, I wish I could try it.
Is there a way to go through the blu-ray reader or GLan or wifi ?
Or using ps3 or xbox or chromecast or firetv ?
Both the tv and blu-ray reader are smart, can it help ?
At least, I know now that there's no false advertising here...

PCs running the 3 latest versions of Windows are DLNA devices and the TV supports DLNA streaming for media files, so you might as well try it and see what happens. A wired LAN connection is more likely to work well than wireless.

None of the TVs that I have access to has a Clear-Motion-type feature, so I can't test any possible solutions. I don't have a Chromecast or FireTV Stick either, so I can't advise you on their use.

FWIW my opinion is there is no false advertising on the PC side either. Your TV treats HDMI input from a PC correctly for many if not most use cases.

[sinuslog]

> Set your computer to output 1080i.
The term 1080i doesn't appear in the tv manual. Or do you mean to set it in the computer ? How do I do that ?

> PCs running the 3 latest versions of Windows are DLNA devices and the TV supports DLNA streaming for media files, so you might as well try it and see what happens. A wired LAN connection is more likely to work well than wireless.
I'll run a cable between the lan ports of the computer and the tv and I will play a movie in the computer, if that is what you mean.

[sinuslog]

Of course, I misunderstood. It couldn't work that way, and it didn't. One thing I did a few weeks ago, I ran a cable between the router and the tv, and I played a movie in the other computer (not the one connected to the tv with hdmi), but the tv didn't get the signal, apparently. I am afraid I need more specific instructions, I'm stuck.

[usually_quiet]

> PCs running the 3 latest versions of Windows are DLNA devices and the TV supports DLNA streaming for media files, so you might as well try it and see what happens. A wired LAN connection is more likely to work well than wireless.
I'll run a cable between the lan ports of the computer and the tv and I will play a movie in the computer, if that is what you mean.

It isn't quite that simple. You have to set up the Windows PC to stream media files over your local area network. There are how-to guides available on the Internet for all three recent versions of Windows.

[Edit]I think I used this one: http://www.howtogeek.com/215400/how-to-turn-your-computer-into-a-dlna-media-server/

[sinuslog]

I found several guides, thank you. Now I am going to read.

[Krispy Kritter]

You may also want to read about how and why having a 120/240 hz TV can help the display quality. How much it helps, if it helps at all, varies by the source (it all depends on the source material frame rate). The PC output will default to 60 hz, and simply having the TV double that will NOT yield the results you are looking for and won't be the same as the output of the BluRay player.

To get a similar output from a PC as you do with a standalone player, you need to use a media player such as MPC-HC and an addon app like reclock.

Or, the path you are currently following, you are going to simply share the file on the PC and use the TV's built-in player to play the file from the PC. This should yield similar results as playing the file directly from the USB stick.

[sinuslog]

With Christmas coming and snow falling, I'm afraid things are going too slow. I installed mpc-hc, madvr and reclock, and there is a small improvement with the jerkiness. Now I am going to concentrate on streaming. But first, I have to solve the audio problem. How do I get back to normal audio ? Is it possible to switch easily back and forth between normal audio and the present situation ?

Many thanks to my mentors.

[hello_hello]

Nobody seems to have mentioned that film mode is 1080p24. My understanding is you play a Bluray disc containing 24fps "film" and if the player and TV support film mode, the player switches the TV to 24Hz. The TV can process frames at 120Hz or another refresh rate internally, but the input must be 24Hz. MPC-HC and MadVR both have options to automatically change the refresh rate according to the frame rate. My Samsung Plasma's manual says film mode is only available at 1080p24.

Newer Samsung TVs don't seem to have a specific HDMI port for connecting a PC. You just need to set the HDMI input the PC is connected to as PC under Device Type. If it's connected via a DVI to HDMI cable, set it to DVI PC.

The TV will automatically go into PC monitor mode if the PC is connected to the TV at 60Hz and 1080p and the input is labelled correctly. Mine won't go into PC mode until those all conditions are met. Change the refresh rate or input resolution and it switches back to TV mode. Most of the picture enhancing crap is disabled in PC mode, but with any luck the TV will go into TV mode when connected to the PC at 60Hz and film mode when it's connected at 24Hz. You can manually change the refresh rate using Windows Display Properties, or whatever the equivalent is for newer versions of Windows.

I don't fully understand the way your TV works. The film mode setting is in one of the TV's picture options menus. The manual I'm looking at clearly states (page 76) that film mode requires a 1080i input. No mention of refresh rate. I suspect Samsung have re-invented the wheel a little, and Film mode is now for 1080i, 60Hz input, to applies some sort of special Samsung IVTC and/or de-interlacing cleverness. It's not clear it actually supports 1080p24.

For my Plasma, film mode provides three options when it's active. Auto1, Auto2 and Cinema Smooth. I think the last one just forces a 96Hz refresh rate, and I can't remember what the first two do. There's no frame interpolation.

I'm not clear whether your TV does frame interpolation specific to film mode either. It has another function called Auto Motion Plus, but that seems aimed at preventing an LCD from looking like crap in general, and not necessarily directly connected to any film mode.

A few other thoughts....
Samsung TVs can have most of their sound and picture options configured for each HDMI input. In 3D mode each HDMI input has another set of independent picture settings. I "think" the same applies to PC mode, which would mean the PC-HDMI input could have three different picture configurations, switching between them according to the mode. Don't hold me to the last one.... I'd have to check... but...... I'm wondering if maybe the USB & Bluray players simply look smoother because their inputs are configured differently to the one the PC is connected to. Or maybe it's a film mode issue, or maybe it's both. You'd have to experiment..

[sinuslog]

The problem is solved, but I don't know how. It's indirect. As I said already, I installed mpc-hc together with the madvr and reclock add-ons. Here is what happened.

I played a movie with mpc-hc and there was (maybe) a small improvement to the jerkiness problem. With mpc-hc still open, I checked the tv settings. There were only 2 picture modes available: Entertain, Standard. In the Picture Options, Auto Motion Plus was Off and greyed out. Using vlc, I had the usual jerkiness with both picture modes.

I closed mpc-hc and I checked the tv settings again, and there were 4 picture modes available: Dynamic, Standard, Natural, Movie. In the Picture Options, Auto Motion Plus had Custom settings (Blur reduction 10, Judder reduction 10, LED clear Motion off). Using vlc, there was no jerkiness in any of the 4 picture modes !!!

I repeated the experiment several times before and after restarting the computer, and I obtained the same results.

I am very happy with that solution, but I wonder if there is a direct way. It would probably be along the lines mentioned by hello_hello (by the way, even if it mostly went over my head, it's that message that sent me checking the picture modes).