Seiki SE50UY04 3840x2160 50" TV ($1300)

I just got the 39" model. Flashed to 50" firmware and just WOW. Amazing! I was able to set 2560/1440 @ 120hz. And 1920/1080 @120 hz. UFO tests state 60hz. RefreshrateMulti shows 120hz. Which one is correct?

I would be surprised if you could get 2560x1440@120Hz...

Just because the UFO browser test says its X FPS or X Hz its not always right.. Anyway UFO browser test has been known to detect the wrong refresh rate at time. Use fraps to verify the frame rate for the refreshrate multitool which has always been accurate for me on syncing with the display but I needed a third-party tool like fraps to verify what frame rate it was going at.

If its properly displaying it without dropping frames it will look like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZJjoR1QEuk

If its dropping frames it looks like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AClZklhqeA
 
Hey Alti, do u mean the settings within the TV? Yeah they are the same. Eg all set to 50 etc, as well as all other settings.
 
The native scaler for the ATSC tuner kinda sucks. The picture is soft and the color palette is crushed. Using the Hauppauge tuner on my computer along with mplayer produces a far better picture. For a device that's sold as a TV, you would expect better.
 
So I can get a used Seiki 39" for $315, but it has about 20 dead pixels. There is a cluster of 5 in the upper left a cluster of 5 in the bottom right and about 10 randoms scattered around if I look very, very close. The clusters are noticeable during light backgrounds, but the scattered really are not.

I could potentially live with this display as it is friggin awesome for work productivity, but I think the dead pixels would kill any resale value and I intend on selling this thing the immediate second affordable 4k screens hit the market in the next two months.

Whats the hive think? Should I buy this thing, or should I get one of those Qnix 1440p screens to hold me over? I think the Qnix would have a much better resale value, but man that Seikis 4k has generous screen real estate :eek:
 
So I've spent the past couple of days trying to figure as much as I could about my new Seiki 39".

I thought I'd share what I have learned:
The firmware file is actually just a tar file so you can easily extract it and explore the contents. The firmware appears to be very similar to dvd player firmware that people have modded in the past. In fact the main process that controls the TV is called "DvdPlayer".

The "package2" folder in the firmware contains 8 files:
bluecore.audio - appears to be audio firmware
bootfile.audio - MP3 file of the sound that is played when the tv boots up. Could be easily replaced with custom sound
bootfile.video - mpeg1 video file containing the boot logo. Also easily replaceable with custom boot video.
bootloader.tar - contains various image files for the bootloader/recovery roms
squashfs1.img - the root linux filesystem (easily mountable in linux using mount -o loop squashfs1.img)
usr.local.etc.tar.bz2 - Various settings that get linked into the root filesystem
video_firmware.bin - the video firmware (A quick "strings" of this file shows many references to scaler functions)
vmlinux.develop.avhdd.darwin.ostar.nand.bin - the linux kernel image

The most interesting part of the root filesystem is in /usr/local/bin. That is where the DvdPlayer binary is and under /usr/local/bin/Resource/ui_script you can browse and edit the ui scripts which are just XML files. By browsing the ui scripts I was able to find that there is an "Engineering Menu" when you press "2947" from the main menu instead of "0000" for the factory menu. There are TONS of settings in that menu. Everything from "Global 3D Feature Enable" to color testing pattern bars, to tuner settings, frequencies, etc. I don't know what all the settings do so I haven't messed with many of them. I don't recommend changing them unless you know what they do. Hopefully some of you can figure out what they do and maybe unlock some cool features and/or better refresh rates. It looks like we could easily create our own menu like "1234" that has the settings from the engineering menu that are safe and useful.

Based on what I have read it sounds like it may be possible to do an emergency recovery of the firmware by unplugging the tv and holding down the power button on the side of the tv for 5 seconds while plugging it back it. I haven't tried this yet but if it works then it will mean it should be possible to recover from a modded firmware that doesn't boot properly. That would at least make it "safer" to experiment with modding the firmware.
 
Hello,

Is it possible to get full resolution @ 30Hz with a Intel HD 4000 graphics and Linux? Particular CPU is a i5-3210M in a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E330 which has a HDMI (and a VGA) output.
If not, what is the minimum required graphic power? Will a higher HD graphic do the job?

Thanks for your help!

Edit: I believe the E330 has HDMI 1.4 but I do not know if 4k resolution output can be done.
 
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So I can get a used Seiki 39" for $315, but it has about 20 dead pixels. There is a cluster of 5 in the upper left a cluster of 5 in the bottom right and about 10 randoms scattered around if I look very, very close. The clusters are noticeable during light backgrounds, but the scattered really are not.

I could potentially live with this display as it is friggin awesome for work productivity, but I think the dead pixels would kill any resale value and I intend on selling this thing the immediate second affordable 4k screens hit the market in the next two months.

Whats the hive think? Should I buy this thing, or should I get one of those Qnix 1440p screens to hold me over? I think the Qnix would have a much better resale value, but man that Seikis 4k has generous screen real estate :eek:

20 dead pixels? skip
 
Hello,

Is it possible to get full resolution @ 30Hz with a Intel HD 4000 graphics and Linux? Particular CPU is a i5-3210M in a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E330 which has a HDMI (and a VGA) output.
If not, what is the minimum required graphic power? Will a higher HD graphic do the job?

Thanks for your help!

Edit: I believe the E330 has HDMI 1.4 but I do not know if 4k resolution output can be done.

I doubt you will be able to get the full 30Hz atleast not on linux. it seems to be kind of hit or miss on the intel hd graphics but even that is on windows. Seems like it needs to be ATI or nvidia (which I would highly recommend over ATI) for doing 4k on linux.

Or something with display port so you can use the accel adapter to get around the driver limitations that usually have the pixel clock on HDMI stuck at 165 Mhz.
 
rockyjvec thx for your work!
Do you want do say that you have tried "2947" instead of "0000" and received another settings menu on the Seiki 39" screen? Or have you just found this function by browsing through the tar file and have not tried yet? ANYONE with seiki 39" and mainly Seiki 50" could you please try what happens if you insted of "0000" code use the "2947" code?

Thx Sinuhet
P.S. my Seiki is by Hardware developer, so I have no possibility to try it by myslef in the moment!
 
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rockyjvec thx for your work!
Do you want do say that you have tried "2947" instead of "0000" and received another settings menu on the Seiki 39" screen? Or have you just found this function by browsing through the tar file and have not tried yet? ANYONE with seiki 39" and mainly Seiki 50" could you please try what happens if you insted of "0000" code use the "2947" code?

Thx Sinuhet
P.S. my Seiki is by Hardware developer, so I have no possibility to try it by myslef in the moment!

True, it opens Engineer menu.
bPA88Vk.jpg

puQaBCI.jpg
 
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Tried Hdmi->Force 2D to Fake 3D with interesting effects (When I disabled this mode, screen got corrupted but power off/on corrected the problem).
h1rWIRh.jpg
 
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The "2947" code should work on both the 39" and 50" models. Both firmwares (39" and 50") have that code in them. By the way. I successfully modded the boot logo with no problems. I still haven't tried updating it using the 5 second pushed power button on plug in because I can't reach the outlet and the TV power button at the same time where it is currently set up.

I've noticed that most of the settings I change in the engineer menu seem to reset after turning off/back on the TV.
 
well I could not find the datasheet either. But even if you take a look with "0000" code in the "version info" in the TV software then it states clearly Board version: ST2975K_R10.3
Btw the following link confirms the realtek as well:
http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/pdf/Seiki SE50UY04 4K2K LED HDTV Data Sheet.pdf

anyway I have the feeling that the Realtek RTD 2975 is sort of prototype of the Realtek RTD2995:

http://www.realtek.com.tw/press/newsViewOne.aspx?NewsID=300&Langid=1&PNid=0&PFid=1&Level=1

btw I really would like to know which board is in the following TV. it seems to have the same LED panel from Innolux as Seiki, but clearly the board has to be different , because it has ethernet and android into it... watch mainly after the 7th minute
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zyphqOTamjU&desktop_uri=/watch?v=zyphqOTamjU

I'm guessing the Skyworth TV in that video uses the same or very similar board as the Seiki. The project_config.h file in the firmware for the Seiki 50" contains:
#define BOARD_ID_RTD2974_SKYWORTH_E83_V3
 
The "2947" code should work on both the 39" and 50" models. Both firmwares (39" and 50") have that code in them. By the way. I successfully modded the boot logo with no problems. I still haven't tried updating it using the 5 second pushed power button on plug in because I can't reach the outlet and the TV power button at the same time where it is currently set up.

I had this same issue (second monitor was in the way of accessing the Seiki power button).

So now I use the -remote control- that came with the unit to turn it on and off :) (just thought I'd pass that on).

I've also successfully used the 2947 code to access the Engineering menu, but I have zero idea that any of those settings are any use.

Has anyone from Australia managed to get the tuner to pick up TV stations? I use my Seiki purely as a computer monitor, but when I tried to use the TV function, its autoscan didn't find any channels. I'm using an F-type connector/adapter and an internal antenna. The antenna worked fine on the Sony Bravia that the Seiki replaced.
 
I doubt you will be able to get the full 30Hz atleast not on linux. it seems to be kind of hit or miss on the intel hd graphics but even that is on windows. Seems like it needs to be ATI or nvidia (which I would highly recommend over ATI) for doing 4k on linux.

Or something with display port so you can use the accel adapter to get around the driver limitations that usually have the pixel clock on HDMI stuck at 165 Mhz.

Unfortunately I only have HDMI (I think 1.4) (and VGA) output.
Is 4k possible with Windows?
What is the problem with Linux? Is it a kernel problem or do drivers not support a higher pixel clock?
If 4k is possible with my graphics (and internal design of the notebook) I might give the Seiki a try. I don't know how difficult it is to fix the pixel clock problem, but it's Linux we're talking about :)
 
The reason why there is no driver patcher for pixel clock limit is that every f linux is different. good luck searching for that info on the distro documentation...you may eventually suceed in 30Hz@4k on linux, but your sucess will mostly likely be useless for other linux users.
 

I got my seller down to $270 for my second hand seiki 39" Its got some dead pixels, two clusters are noticeable on flat light backgrounds, but for the price and what I need it for, its a bargain.

A new one is totally worth $399 if you need some serious desktop real estate and don't mind a semi-sluggish mouse.
 
The reason why there is no driver patcher for pixel clock limit is that every f linux is different. good luck searching for that info on the distro documentation...you may eventually suceed in 30Hz@4k on linux, but your sucess will mostly likely be useless for other linux users.

Then I will have to ask around at the Arch community. Thanks anyway!
 
I got my seller down to $270 for my second hand seiki 39" Its got some dead pixels, two clusters are noticeable on flat light backgrounds, but for the price and what I need it for, its a bargain.

A new one is totally worth $399 if you need some serious desktop real estate and don't mind a semi-sluggish mouse.

I thought the mouse issues could be fixed by flashing the 50" firmware?
 
I thought the mouse issues could be fixed by flashing the 50" firmware?

I just flashed the 50" firmware on my 39" last night. While the mouse is a little bit more responsive, its still 30hz.... so still sluggish.. before, the mouse seemed to be operating at about 15hz, so it is an improvement, but still very sluggish compared to 60hz or 120hz...

Just to note, since flashing the 50" firmware and fiddling with the CRU utility by toastyx, I finally got my monitor at 1080p 120hz, the responsiveness of the monitor is now amazing! I'll be keeping it at this resolution for the next little bit unless I start some coding projects. I setup both a 4k and a 1080p120hz profile and I can switch between them easily. Watching anime / videos at this refresh rate combined with SVP (smooth video project) looks absolutely gorgeous and incredibly smooth.

My only complaint is the colors seem a bit washed out compared to 4k. Can anyone who has a 39 with the 50" firmare post their color adjustment settings? I've followed some previous settings in this thread, but they seem off using 1080p120hz.
 
I just flashed the 50" firmware on my 39" last night. While the mouse is a little bit more responsive, its still 30hz.... so still sluggish.. before, the mouse seemed to be operating at about 15hz, so it is an improvement, but still very sluggish compared to 60hz or 120hz...

Just to note, since flashing the 50" firmware and fiddling with the CRU utility by toastyx, I finally got my monitor at 1080p 120hz, the responsiveness of the monitor is now amazing! I'll be keeping it at this resolution for the next little bit unless I start some coding projects. I setup both a 4k and a 1080p120hz profile and I can switch between them easily. Watching anime / videos at this refresh rate combined with SVP (smooth video project) looks absolutely gorgeous and incredibly smooth.

My only complaint is the colors seem a bit washed out compared to 4k. Can anyone who has a 39 with the 50" firmare post their color adjustment settings? I've followed some previous settings in this thread, but they seem off using 1080p120hz.

As far as I can tell its just the color saturation being worse at 120hz when the scaler is active when I go into the service menu and change the color value from 50 to near 100 it seems to make the colors look a lot more like it does at 4k.
 
I managed to access the busybox shell on the 39" Seiki! Here is top running on it :)

I wonder if it lags because there is like 20 DvdPlayer processes running on it.

[img=http://s11.postimg.org/pptj25q0f/IMG_20140205_184127546.jpg]

possibly but none of them are eating CPU. Do you see the CPU get out of control or anything when moving around in the menu?

How did you access the busy box via the serial and how did you login (what user/pass) or did it not have getty or something and drops you strait to a busybox shell?

Did you have to physically connect to it in a weird way by taking off the bezel and stuff?
 
As far as I can tell its just the color saturation being worse at 120hz when the scaler is active when I go into the service menu and change the color value from 50 to near 100 it seems to make the colors look a lot more like it does at 4k.

Thank you very much, now its looking GREAT! very pleased!
 
possibly but none of them are eating CPU. Do you see the CPU get out of control or anything when moving around in the menu?

How did you access the busy box via the serial and how did you login (what user/pass) or did it not have getty or something and drops you strait to a busybox shell?

Did you have to physically connect to it in a weird way by taking off the bezel and stuff?

Yes, I did have to take off the back. The serial port pins are all marked on the back of the main board and it just takes a 4-pin JST (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9916) cable so no soldering is necessary on the monitor. I just salvaged a cable from the fan of an old Radeon HD2900, then used a usb to serial cable from SparkFun to hook it up to my computer. When you plug in a USB flash drive it auto mounts and is accessible from busybox. That should make it easy to run custom binaries on it without touching the original firmware.

No user/password is necessary. You just press enter and it dumps you straight to the shell.

It dumps all kinds of debug information when you do anything on the monitor like press a key on the remote, etc.
 
Can I get 120hz 1080P out of my 50" while using an Asus 144hz monitor light boosted to 120hz?
When using multiple monitors, each monitor can be configured individually.
So, if you configure each monitor refresh rates correctly, it should work.

I have no experience about Eyefinity / Surround setups and don't know if there are any special requirements.

However, some users have reported that certain monitor combinations don't like to work with each other, but reason for that is unknown. But this is quire rare.
 
All these latest breakthroughs with the engineering menu and busybox are very exciting, i can only imagine the cool stuff that may be possible. Thoughts of awesome custom firmware that does stuff like unlocking the refresh rate (to do 140hz1080p, 254hz720p, and 45hz4k like the skyworth), proper 24hz4k cadence, option to disable the laggy scaling when sending it a 720p or 1080p input from a console, and maybe some extra calibration options.

(I'm not sure if any of this stuff is technically possible, but i can dream..)
 
Hey guys, is it possible to setup a windows shortcut to quickly switch from 4k30 to 1080p120?

Cos i like to view my photos on 4k, but my shadowplay recordings on 1080p120, i wanna be able to quickly switch between them.

Also, is it possible such that i can have different color saturation levels when going from 4k30 to 1080p120, cos at is it, with same settings, the 4k30 looks over saturated, and 1080p120 looks quite flat which i prefer actally.
 
Hey guys, is it possible to setup a windows shortcut to quickly switch from 4k30 to 1080p120?

Cos i like to view my photos on 4k, but my shadowplay recordings on 1080p120, i wanna be able to quickly switch between them.

Also, is it possible such that i can have different color saturation levels when going from 4k30 to 1080p120, cos at is it, with same settings, the 4k30 looks over saturated, and 1080p120 looks quite flat which i prefer actally.

http://12noon.com/?page_id=80

This program should be able to do exactly that, the set up i have with this has icons on my desktop that i just double click to swap between 4k and 1080 120hz and various others, works great.

Theres also a program that lets you change resolutions via a keyboard shortcut.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17604/change-desktop-resolution-with-a-keyboard-shortcut/
 
I don't see an option to let me run it at 120hz while in 1080p only 60hz is the highest.
Do I need a Display port adapter for HDMI to work? How do you guys have it set up?
 
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You need to make 120hz available using CRU or setting 120hz as a custom resolution in NVIDIA control panel. i just installed HRC and it does 120hz out of the box, but not 4k 31hz.
 
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