HDR Video Playback Discussion Thread

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radioham

Member
Aug 7, 2009
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Hi.
I got a Tab S3 2 days ago.
I've tested with MX PLAYER all heavy HEVC HDR videos, 10 bits UHD 2160p @60fps, and of course all other formats and bitrates.
EVERYTHING WORKS GREAT. All in HW or HW+.
Even the AVC h.264 UHD 2160p @60fps "Big Buck Bunny" works perfectly and fludly in HW+ (jonathonalexander told it didn't work fluidly???).
This Tab S3 is a must!
Also tested European version of Galaxy S8 with Exynos 8895 and it's able to read excatly the same video files as Tab S3 with absolutly no jitter.
Both Tab S3 and Galaxy S8 claim to work HDR file formats and it's true.
 
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mannequin

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Feb 7, 2011
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Hi.
Also tested European version of Galaxy S8 with Exynos 8895 and it's able to read excatly the same video files as Tab S3 with absolutly no jitter.
Both Tab S3 and Galaxy S8 claim to work HDR file formats and it's true.

while you're right that it "works" in HW+ mode, it appears that MX player doesn't support HDR10 playback. it's easy to test if you play the same file in stock S8 video player which has no problems with local HDR playback. in fact, i wasn't able to reproduce HDR in any available 3rd party players.
 
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radioham

Member
Aug 7, 2009
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while you're right that it "works" in HW+ mode, it appears that MX player doesn't support HDR10 playback. it's easy to test if you play the same file in stock S8 video player which has no problems with local HDR playback. in fact, i wasn't able to reproduce HDR in any available 3rd party players.

Do you mean that MX Player can't reproduce the wider color space of HDR10 video files?
Unfortunately I was not able to make many tests on Galaxy S8 because it wasn't mine. The owner has only installed MX PLAYER which was working very well and we didn't test native S8 video player.
Question: is it the same player as TAB S3? (this one's version is 7.2.81 in French TAB S3)
TFor information there's only one video that this Samsung player can't play the video but only sound track: LG_4K-View-the-Felling.mp4
This video is played by MX PLAYER without any problem.
 

mannequin

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Feb 7, 2011
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Do you mean that MX Player can't reproduce the wider color space of HDR10 video files?

like i said, playing the file itself is not a problem but looks like MX doesn't pick up any HDR metadata so you're not getting the proper contrast range and luminance levels in specular highlights along with wider color gamut.

edit: i looked through the thread but didn't see the answer: does MX support HDR metadata at all?
 
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radioham

Member
Aug 7, 2009
18
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Samsung tells that S8 and Tab S3 are HDR capable, is it true or not?
On my Tab S3 I've tried HDR videos from demos UHD 3D website with native Samsung player and Mx Player, and to tell you the truth I didn't see any difference...
So which player should be able to play HDR videos with visible difference?
 

mannequin

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Feb 7, 2011
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New York
Samsung tells that S8 and Tab S3 are HDR capable, is it true or not?
On my Tab S3 I've tried HDR videos from demos UHD 3D website with native Samsung player and Mx Player, and to tell you the truth I didn't see any difference...
So which player should be able to play HDR videos with visible difference?
on S8, native video player definitely supports HDR metadata. MX has issues with some HDR files (as in, doesn't pick up the metadata).

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Who wants test HDR capability, download these videos

those look great and play in HDR in both native and MX player on S8. however, i can only speak for Jazz demo since i don't own any Dolby Vision equipment and while the Dolby ones do look HDR i'm not entirely sure if they look right. not sure why would Dolby HDR be supported on S8 to begin with either.
 
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Thirumalai.K

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Sep 14, 2011
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on S8, native video player definitely supports HDR metadata. MX has issues with some HDR files (as in, doesn't pick up the metadata).

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------



those look great and play in HDR in both native and MX player on S8. however, i can only speak for Jazz demo since i don't own any Dolby Vision equipment and while the Dolby ones do look HDR i'm not entirely sure if they look right. not sure why would Dolby HDR be supported on S8 to begin with either.

which decoder you have tried?
HW decoder doesn't work either on such videos?
 

husaintaherali

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I can confirm that my s8 plus exynos version can play HEVC 1080p 10bit HDR in HW and HW+ mode on mxplayer. Also played it in stock player and couldnt find any difference between both apps. Seems to be working well with HDR in both. Also played a 12bit 720p HEVC video but Mxplayer could only play it in SW mode.
Havent tried 4k yet.
 

mannequin

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Feb 7, 2011
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I have asked this as you have mentioned that MX doesn't pickup meta data.
So, what's the exact issue?
can you add some snapshots?

i'm not sure how to submit this info to you.

video players (on Galaxy S8) behave the same way as HDR capable TVs pretty much, they boost brightness and contrast once metadata is detected. however, there's very little technical data provided regarding HDR capabilities of these mobile screens/devices. officially, Samsung only supports their own HDR10+ format which operates with dynamic metadata but there're no HDR10+ videos in the wild (i'm not entirely sure about this either) since it's new and targeted at streaming resources. most (all?) of the files out there are HDR10 (like that Jazz demo posted above) with static metadata only but the phone has no issues playing them and display proper HDR. why files marked as "Dolby Vision" "work" i have no idea either.

i tested MX player with random files and few didn't boost brightness and looked non HDR while stock player was able to reproduce HDR.
 

Thirumalai.K

Inactive Recognized Contributor
Sep 14, 2011
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I can understand the how it will look with / without HDR.

In general the stock mediaplayers are based on mediaplayer api. So, technically MX Player's HW Decoder (not HW+) should be able to replicate the behaviour of stock one as it's based on mediaplayer api. If it doesn't work with MX's HW & works on stockplayer, we really need to check whether the issue is on our side or nit. samsung may not be using mediaplayer api or dynamically adjust the brightness values externally based on the metadata.

We do not have a S8 device to test. It will be better if you can provide some information like what are the videos (may be some links) working & what doesn't. It might be helpful to understand the issue better.
 
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mannequin

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Feb 7, 2011
1,603
362
New York
We do not have a S8 device to test. It will be better if you can provide some information like what are the videos (may be some links) working & what doesn't. It might be helpful to understand the issue better.

sounds good, i'll try to compile some info for you.

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------

I can confirm that my s8 plus exynos version can play HEVC 1080p 10bit HDR in HW and HW+ mode on mxplayer.

720 and 1080 10bit HDR files? no such things exist ;)

also how do you know you're playing HDR? do you have a reference HDR capable TV? does the phone boost brightness and contrast automatically when you play them (not to be confused with Video Enhancer)?
 

husaintaherali

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sounds good, i'll try to compile some info for you.

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------



720 and 1080 10bit HDR files? no such things exist ;)

also how do you know you're playing HDR? do you have a reference HDR capable TV? does the phone boost brightness and contrast automatically when you play them (not to be confused with Video Enhancer)?
720p wasn't HDR. 1080p was a sample of a movie in HDR(atleast the guy i got it from said so). And it looked to have high contrast/brightness. Not Sure if it was HDR or just looked like it. I dont have HDR TV.

If u got a small size sample of HDR 1080p or 4k 10bit HEVC video, please provide me a download link and i will report back to you.
 

mannequin

Senior Member
Feb 7, 2011
1,603
362
New York
720p wasn't HDR. 1080p was a sample of a movie in HDR(atleast the guy i got it from said so). And it looked to have high contrast/brightness. Not Sure if it was HDR or just looked like it. I dont have HDR TV.

If u got a small size sample of HDR 1080p or 4k 10bit HEVC video, please provide me a download link and i will report back to you.
the Jazz video linked few posts above.
 

radioham

Member
Aug 7, 2009
18
3
Guy There's plenty of HDR videos on demo-uhd3d.com, h264, h265, 2k, 4k, 8 or 10 bits, 30fps, 60 fps, etc...
For info 4k HDR 10 bits videos read on TAB S3 with MX Player or native Samsung player have very high contrast, plenty of details and vivid colors.
 

husaintaherali

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2014
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35
Pune
Mxplayer

Stock player


Played the jazz video on Both players, looked same and it looked to have more brightness then the other non-HDR videos, but not enough like the other 1080p hdr video i played before. Colors looked great too. Played in crop mode on stock and 100% on mx.

Im unable to upload all the screenshots due to my slow net.
 

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  • 2
    Hi.
    I got a Tab S3 2 days ago.
    I've tested with MX PLAYER all heavy HEVC HDR videos, 10 bits UHD 2160p @60fps, and of course all other formats and bitrates.
    EVERYTHING WORKS GREAT. All in HW or HW+.
    Even the AVC h.264 UHD 2160p @60fps "Big Buck Bunny" works perfectly and fludly in HW+ (jonathonalexander told it didn't work fluidly???).
    This Tab S3 is a must!
    Also tested European version of Galaxy S8 with Exynos 8895 and it's able to read excatly the same video files as Tab S3 with absolutly no jitter.
    Both Tab S3 and Galaxy S8 claim to work HDR file formats and it's true.
    2
    Did a comparison side by side on Note 8: "Samsung Video Player" & "MX Player"
    File: "Atmic Blonde (2017) 2160p 10Bit HDR"
    Result: MX Player plays the file without any hiccup, so does the Samsung Video Player
    But there is clearly visible difference between the contrast of both of them.
    Samsung's Stock Video Player's looks fantastic, whereas MX's is somewhat dull as compared to the former.
    In a nutshell, MX does'nt show an HDR as "HDR" .
    2
    Nothing wrong with MX Player in my S10+. It plays 10-bit HDR10 4K HEVC just fine (HW+ enabled). Video output look the same in the stock player and MX Player.

    Yea. Properly encoded HDR files play as expected. Like tigole prints, Atomos etc... psarips doesn't work because they add hdr metadata after the conversion. So yea, 4K x265 HDR works in MX and Stock Player.


    Well, I'm not sure whether it's the files to blame. As I mentioned above, my Note10+ N9760 Snapdragon does have something wrong while playing some HDR videos some of which are released by Tigole, TERMiNAL, PSA, etc, as listed below. It's also the same case with my Note8 N950N Exynos.
    Big Hero 6 (2014) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Big.Hero.6.2014.2160p.UHD.BluRay.x265-TERMiNAL.mkv
    Zootopia (2016) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Jojo.Rabbit.2019.2160p.10bit.HDR.BluRay.6CH.x265.HEVC-PSA.mkv
    Knives Out (2019) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Ford.v.Ferrari.2019.2160p.UHD.BluRay.x265.HDR.DD 5.1-KangMus.mkv
    Dark Phoenix (2019) (2160p BluRay x265 HEVC 10bit HDR AAC 7.1 Tigole) .mkv


    The easiest spotted problem is the red color cos it looks like the red is reduced by almost 30% to 40%, though some other colors also look washed out more or less but not so distinguishable to me as the red color. And their maximum brightness is no higher than their SDR versions, while some of them are even lower.

    Actually, the sad thing I have just found out is that even the HDR10 movies that I always thought played perfectly with MX Player Pro on my Note10+ because the brightness is higher than usual such as <The Secret Life of Pets> #1 and #2 are actually not played in the right color!!! I just compared them with their regular non-HDR version. The red color is sadly surprisingly still somewhat paler with the HDR playback!!! Red looks about 10% reduced. Not so bad as other HDR movies so you don't instantly tell or even see it as correctly played because the excellent brightness cheated you into believing so until you compare the it with its SDR version. So really this leads me to feel no HDR movie is completely supported on cellphone yet.
    The Secret Life of Pets (2016) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv


    For example, The Secret Life of Pets (2016), check 00:06:25~00:06:45 the red stand mixer machine used as a massage machine by the sausage dog. Not really red. (Looks to you quite real red? Try compare it and you 'll see it's actually orange-ish red)

    It's the same case when the same HDR movie's playback is compared between my Note10+ and my computer.
    (PS: Those 2 movies are by far the only 2 HDR movies that I find produce the highest brightness, quite noticeable but sadly still only 10% higher than their SDR versions when both version are at maximum brightness)

    The best scenario is a bitter sweet thing which is that I do find below HDR movies produce correct color, but the brightness is way lower than their SDR version by about 15% to even 40%. So SDR versions turned out to be even much more enjoyable on the phone.
    Frozen (2013) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Frozen II (2019) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Cars (2006) (2160p BluRay x265 10bit HDR Tigole).mkv
    Fast.and.Furious.Presents.Hobbs.and.Shaw.2019.2160p.HDR10Plus.BluRay.8CH.PSA.mkv


    Yet, on the other hand, I do find all the 10 demo HDR videos I have are perfectly played back on my Note10+ with MX Player Pro. Red is genuine red, not even a little less as played on my computer. Besides, the brightness is way higher than the HDR movies brings though the HDR movies are for sure correctly recognized as HDR and do have brightness boosted when you check the Android UI interface during the playback. But they just do not work the same way. Like the demo videos doubled the brightness while HDR movies just don't get brightness gain. Like HDR movies are played in an isolated section that brightness boost does not apply.
    Samsung.HDR.4K.DEMO_Chasing.the.Light.Main10@L5.2@High.ts
    LG.4K.DEMO_NASA-HDR.mp4
    Sony 4K HDR Demo - Mont Blanc.mp4
    Samsung 4K HDR Demo - Wonderland 1.ts
    Sony Swordsmith HDR UHD 4K Demo.mp4
    (Got this one here from this thread)
    ETC.

    So, I don't know what's the cause and reasoning. Seems a little complicated.
    But at least when it comes to HDR movie files, I do tend to believe that it does not make any difference which team group released the mkv file. The source file, such as the remux file, is probably what makes the difference.

    HDR on cellphone is more like a bragging fact. HDR movies are still not fully well supported.
    NOT ENJOYABLE for movies.
    1
    Hi.
    Also tested European version of Galaxy S8 with Exynos 8895 and it's able to read excatly the same video files as Tab S3 with absolutly no jitter.
    Both Tab S3 and Galaxy S8 claim to work HDR file formats and it's true.

    while you're right that it "works" in HW+ mode, it appears that MX player doesn't support HDR10 playback. it's easy to test if you play the same file in stock S8 video player which has no problems with local HDR playback. in fact, i wasn't able to reproduce HDR in any available 3rd party players.
    1
    Have you had any luck with this?
    Yea. Properly encoded HDR files play as expected. Like tigole prints, Atomos etc... psarips doesn't work because they add hdr metadata after the conversion. So yea, 4K x265 HDR works in MX and Stock Player.