Question about upscaling

[Jdiesel 1114]

How does the Android TV app upscale video? Does exoplayer upscale to the system resolution or does it output the video at its native resolution and let the display do the scaling? The reason I ask is that my display does a good job upscaling SD content to 2160p and I'd like the ability to output the video at its native resolution and let the display do the scaling. With a PC I would just use madVR and it's HQ scaling algorithms but that is not possible on an Android device.

[ebr 14930]

The app doesn't do anything to upscale.  It is either being handled by the device itself or the display (probably depending on the output resolution at which you set the device).

[Jdiesel 1114]

Would it be possible to have a setting to tweak the display switch to favor 1080p modes rather than 2160p?

 

Here is a scenario, you set the devices system resolution to 2160p which allows you to watch "4K" content at its native resolution in not only the Emby app but all other apps on the device. This works great and likely how most people are currently setup. The problem is that if feed a 1080p signal rather than the devices upscaled 2160p out the picture quality it generally better. This can be tested by setting the system resolution to 2160p and starting at 1080p or lower video, stopping the video, and switching the system resolution to 1080p. On my TV the 1080p output is noticeably better.

 

By having this option to switch to 1080p display modes rather than 2160p modes when the system resolution is 2160p it allows for:

 

1. Utilizing the TV scaler which is often better than the ATV.

 

2. Supports lower powered hardware that can't upscale to 2160p but can play native 2160p content where scaling isn't necessary.

 

3. Maintains the ability to play native ”4k” content in all apps which can't be done if the system resolution is set to 1080p.

 

This is something that Kodi has implemented already and seems to work well.

Edited July 2, 2017 by Jdiesel

[ebr 14930]

While I understand your logic, such an option would be understood and properly utilized by

 

It would be better, if we can assume that the end display device will do a better job of upscaling, to cap the resolution at 1080 for

 

So, the question is, can we make that assumption...?

[Jdiesel 1114]

I only have my experience with a Sony 4K TV but based on that I would say yes your assumption is correct. I am not sure on the exact wording of the option, but it should definitely be an option otherwise you will have users complaining about Emby not outputting "4K". Maybe a check box that say ”Limit upscaling to 1080p” or ”Prefer 1080p output”.