New Year, New Home Theater. Some Tech Issues. (1 Viewer)

[BluHT]

Just in time for the New Year, I finally upgraded my media room to 4K, installing these devices...

—Denon AVR-X4700H AV Receiver
—LG OLED 77C1 77-inch Television (OLED77C1PUB)
—Panasonic DP-UB9000 Ultra HD 4K Blu-Ray Player
—Roku Ultra HDR 4K UHD Streaming Media Player (2020 Edition)


For now, I’m continuing to use the same DVR cable box (Arris 3600 Cable Box with Enhanced DVR (HD, 1080i box from Spectrum) and the same 5.1 Surround Sound speaker setup that had already been there. Perhaps I’ll upgrade the speaker setup a little later in the year. I’ve also been watching some cable TV via the Roku device and the Spectrum app.

I certainly love my new system. The image detail from those 4K Blu-ray films (e.g., The Green Knight) looks especially mesmerizing.

But I have come across a few technical issues, especially with the Roku.

The biggest issue is that the Roku sometimes struggles to stream in 4K. It seems to be worst when using Netflix. On several occasions while watching 4K content, the Roku stopped streaming completely, displayed an error message that my system was not set up for 4K streaming, then displayed the image with colors that were completely off, rendering the content and even the entire Roku interface, unwatchable.

Another thing I just noticed is that, when I watch content using the Spectrum app on the Roku, the image is better than using the standard cable box, but the sound is different. For instance, I’ve been watching the live broadcast of a football game. When I watch the broadcast on the cable box, all my speakers are engaged. But, when I watch the same program on the Roku, my surround speakers are not used at all (just the ones at the center and front).

Also, in the image, the darker colors seem to be a bit too dark, to the point that they seem to lose too much detail. This seems to be worse while streaming. Maybe the TV just needs to be calibrated.

Finally, I noticed that, for some reason, the remote control that is supposed to be dedicated to the cable box seems to also control the Roku. For instance, pressing the List button on the cable remote is supposed to let me watch the shows I have recorded on the DVR. But, now, pressing List changes the input to the Roku device. I have no idea how that happened. Maybe I accidentally assigned some function to the remote somewhere along the way?

Anyway, I’m just getting to know these new devices. So, I’ll probably figure out solutions to some of these issues.

I would like to see some suggestions from others, though, especially on the 4K streaming difficulties with Roku and Netflix.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

 

[JohnRice]

First question. Are the player and Roku connected to the receiver or the TV? They really should be connected to the receiver.

How is Internet accessed? Wired or wireless? What is your Internet speed?

 

[BluHT]

First question. Are the player and Roku connected to the receiver or the TV? They really should be connected to the receiver.

How is Internet accessed? Wired or wireless? What is your Internet speed?

Hello, John.

Everything is already connected via the receiver.

For the Roku, I have a wired internet connection. My internet speed is 408.11 Mbps for download and 22.31 Mbps for upload, according to Speedtest.

 

[JohnRice]

Hmmm.

Maybe someone can chime in about the Roku. I use an AppleTV 4K because it’s reliability and image quality seem to make it’s high price worthwhile. I have no problems with it.

 

[BluHT]

I went into the Roku’s settings and tested the HDMI connection. The Roku device returned a message that states “This HDMI connection can only play video at resolutions up to 1080p because HDCP 2.2 is not supported...”

Meanwhile, I’m looking at the specs for my TV and it clearly lists that it supports the HDCP 2.2 version of the HDMI connection. My receiver, according to its specs, has HDCP 2.3 support, which, I would think, is even better. I’m using the HDMI cable that was provided inside the Roku Ultra package.

The Roku I have is supposed to handle 4K content. Don’t know why it won’t do it. Makes no sense.

 

[JohnRice]

It can be the cable to the TV. I suggest replacing them all with Monoprice certified 18gbps ones. They’re not expensive.

 

[BluHT]

And now, after fiddling around with random settings, then going through the same HDMI connection test, the Roku now says “This HDMI connection can play video at resolutions up to 4K/Dolby Vision.” I don’t know what’s going on. Is this some sort of bug in this Roku device?

 

[BluHT]

It can be the cable to the TV. I suggest replacing them all with Monoprice certified 18gbps ones. They’re not expensive.

I’ll try doing that.