KD-49X8305C HDR Compatibility

[sounder52]

I am aware that this model is not HDR but, a few months ago, an update made it HDR compatible.

I have downloaded HDR content from here

http://demo-uhd3d.com/

and played it from a USB stick. When HDR content is detected the TV switches to a locked picture setting to display the HDR content to the best of its ability.

Also in the update, the description of the Enhanced Features for HDMI inputs added the wording "Including HDR". I inferred from this that if I connected a device capable of sending HDR to the TV that it would switch to display it as it does for content from a USB stick.

I recently bought an Xbox One S which, when probing my TV (with Enhanced Features enabled), tells me that it is not HDR capable and the option to send HDR is greyed out. My question is: what was the point of making the TV HDR compatible if it doesn't send this information to devices connected to it by HDMI? Or should it send that information and the fact that it doesn't is yet another software glitch??

Has anyone any thoughts on this?

Many thanks.

[Anonymous]

Hi there

To be honest, your TV is not officially HDR compatible, however there seems to have been an added 'extra' - in that its able to playback HDR content via USB.  Look at it as an 'extra' - because in all intents and purposes, it is not a HDR TV.

Further evidence can be see in this review:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/sony-kd-43x8305c-review

"According to Sony’s proclamations on the subject, the KD-43X8305C also shouldn't have received the brand’s recently rolled out High Dynamic Range (HDR) update, which enables its 2015 4K TVs to play content mastered in the new high-brightness, expanded contrast range HDR format.

Oddly, the KD-43X8305C proved able to read HDR content we have on a USB stick, while also displaying it with apparently more brightness and a slightly expanded luminance range. However, the KD-43X8305C’s Amazon app wasn't capable of reading Amazon’s HDR streams; this is possible with the app on Sony’s more expensive TVs."

Cheers

[sounder52]

Many thanks for your reply.

In that case Sony should remove the wording "Including HDR" from the description of the Enhanced Features for HDMI inputs as it is misleading and gives the impression that the TV offers something that, in fact , it does not.

Cheers.

[Marino.Manolo]

"Including HDR"

I think this is a "little firmware bug", maybe menù (HOME) isn't modified from high level series (example 2015 X85C).

But, I'm not sure of this...

Manolo

[sounder52]

As a follow up to my original post:

I've just had the opportunity to try an Oppo UDP-203 4k UHD Blu-ray player with my KD-49X8305C. With the Oppo player it is possible to force HDR to be sent to the TV even if it does not identify itself as HDR compatible.

On receipt of HDR content via HDMI the TV behaves exactly as described in my first post, i.e. it switches to a locked picture setting to display the HDR content to the best of its ability.

So the wording in the description of the Enhanced Features for HDMI is, in fact, correct!

But, because the TV does not identify itself as HDR compatible I cannot use this feature with connected devices which rely on the TV identifying itself as HDR compatible and do not have a way to manually force HDR, eg. Xbox One S.

What a ridiculous and frustrating situation, Sony obviously did not think this through!