Seiki 42" 4K SE42UGT Experience

Z

zamaracrillio

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 30, 2015
Messages
85
This is an attractive low priced $250 high quality 42" 4K Smart TV & Monitor with somewhat limited specs aimed at an average home user. Would be interesting to exchange your experience and mods here. It has PC Mode that switches video enhancements off to cut a bit on input lag when used as a PC Monitor, allows 4K@60Hz 4:2:2 via HDMI2.0, has 3 HDMI2.0 inputs but no DisplayPort, also a few Smart apps preinstalled including Netflix app that can run 4K@30Hz 4.2.0 encoded movies from Netflix via Lan or WiFi. Though no 4:4:4 chroma, and neither 1080P@120Hz supported by current firmware. User EDID mods allow 1080P@120Hz on a PC, but the TV drops every 2-nd frame anyway keeping games at 60Hz. Below are test results posted elsewhere by this TV owners, and my today's exchange with Seiki support on Facebook, they hide it for some reason on their page. UGT and UMT as per Seiki support is the same TV model, one sold in USA and the other in Canada. :)

The TV accepts Full RGB 4:4:4 and internally converts it to YCbCr 4:2:2 by default at any resolution, it can't be switched to 4:4:4 in on-screen menu. You can test chroma subsampling at 4K with this image at 100% zoom, set Windows desktop scaling to 100%, PC Mode in TV Image Setup, Just Scan TV aspect ratio, and 0 sharpness (not strictly required). Take a photo of the entire TV with that picture on it. Once you add 1080P@120Hz custom resolution in CRU and your video card control panel, test Frame Skipping in Chrome by taking a photo with 1/4 exposure setting to capture any frame drops after it shows VALID for 120Hz in the browser. Make sure to close all other open tabs or browsers, exit any other apps high on PC resources. Lack of out-of-the box 4:4:4 chroma and 1080P@120Hz support makes this TV not the best choice for web design, graphics professionals, or heavy gamers.

bjgj2epgsbmiv8dzg.jpg


900x900px-LL-56c00a84_pa5nykah3amq8e1zg.jpeg
 
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cageymaru said:
Is everyone that received one happy so far with your purchase? Pros and Cons compared to what you had before? Thanks! Someone should start a thread in the Display subforum here to discuss it.
Click to expand...

Started here. Your correct, its better to share experience in Displays forum section, not in Hot Deals. :cool:
 
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pbassjunk said:
[i just finished the 10586 update]

4:4:4!

The NVidia Control Panel is now giving me RGB, YCbCr422 and YCbCr444 for color output formats. 422 looks like jpeg compressions, RGB and 444 are crystal clear - verified with http://cdn.avsforum.com/b/b4/b4a4404...tach208609.png . Both bottom lines are perfect.
Click to expand...

At what resolution, refresh rate, and color depth? FullRGB or Limited? How did you set the TV, Windows, and test picture scaling and other options?

Sorry to say, but this kind of claims are usually accompanied by photos of your test results, not even screenshots. Since they contradict other users results confirmed by Seiki staff, you better show on your photo the entire TV with transparent Service Menu-Software Version window on top of the test pic on screen to confirm its the same TV model we discuss here (call it by pressing MENU button - 0000 from Remote), otherwise people will keep asking for proof. The recent Windows 10 build 10586 has nothing to improve chroma subsampling on this TV, because 4:4:4 output signal from Nvidia card is downsampled by the TV Controller to 4:2:2, whether you send it from a Windows PC, Linux or Mac. No update of factory firmware on Seiki site for this model.

Hhgregg has a better way to bump sales of this TV by contacting Seiki support as their major wholesale customer, and delivering the crystal clear message that buyers ask to enable 4:4:4 for PC Mode to remove color text artifacts, and 1080P@120Hz for Game Mode to improve gaming experience, since both are supported by the TV hardware specs posted on the web, but suppressed in firmware. In the past Seiki provided similar firmware update on customer requests for older 4K TVs enabling 1080P@120Hz.
 
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pbassjunk said:
http://postimg.org/image/d1tufs4al/

Apologies for the moire. Also hope it looks right, I tried uploading it to Facebook originally but the overly aggressive jpeg compression ended up making it look like 420.
Click to expand...

The pic doesn't look right at all, it looks scaled on screen or fit to Picture Editor window. The original test pic doesn't have white background either. It doesn't even prove it was taken on SE42UGT TV, no full screen to see actual TV or image, no desktop to see Windows and TV scaling choices. And on top it shows 4:2:2 chroma, especially in the last row. It may look like a hoax ad to some prospective buyers without Service Menu-Software Version superimposed and visible on the TV screen with that pic, not just a small portion of the pic, with the original photo linked instead of its scaled Jpeg version converted by a photo editor. You still need to convince Seiki staff they don't know own hardware specs. :D

Here're the actual chroma subsampling Text Test photos from this TV posted by buyers, and below you can compare it to the similar photo taken from a genuine 4:4:4 TV. For reference, the 1st image is this Seiki TV at 4K@60Hz 4:2:0 (source 4:2:2 in Movie mode), 2nd is this Seiki default 4:2:2 out (signal sent from PC as 4:4:4 in PC Mode), 3rd is Samsung 4K TV 4:4:4 out (same as Seiki input source in PC Mode).

Seiki_420.jpg


Seiki422.jpg


900x900px-LL-c139c14d_IMG_7917.jpeg
 
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More info about this TV...

Hardware:

Display panel USMP-V420DK1-KS1
Main Board Cultraview CV6488H_A_13

The TV has TN type panel with PWM backlight control, though flicker isn't noticeable at low backlight setting. Gamma is fixed at 2.20, FullRGB/sRGB input supported, FullRGB input converted internally to sRGB for video playback. No Gamma and RGB output (Black Level) adjustments in TV Setup Menu, use Contrast and Brightness options to adjust visible Gamma. The panel supports Standard 72% Color Gamut and 10-bit color (1.07 Bln colors, 8-bit + Hi-FRC per color) @ 4:4:4 color subsampling, but your GPU and application must support choosing both 10-bit signal output and 10-bit monitor input property to enjoy. Despite YCbCr 4:4:4 input signal is allowed by EDID, its blocked in firmware at 4K reso though allowed at lower reso, but both YCbCr and RGB 4:4:4 input signals are downsampled by the TV Controller to YCbCr 4:2:2, while 4:2:2 input is downsampled to YCbCr 4:2:0.

It has Dynamic Picture Mode, but it remains to be seen if it supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) with 10bpc input signal. Even if it is, due to HDMI2.0 bandwidth limit, 10bpc Deep Color can only be supported at max 4K@30Hz resolution, and 4K@60Hz resolution is limited to 8bpc, even if your PC GPU supports 10bpc output. No PC Sleep & Wake up & Power Management support. The TV would turn off in 5-15min after PC goes to sleep, need to switch it on by Power button before or after PC Wakeup, sometime its not recognized after that requiring PC reboot.
Mount legs are fixed, no Tilt adjustment.

The TV can't play any video content from a USB drive or LAN, only plays some music and picture formats from USB, and 4K or lower resolution video from internet. The TV runs Linux OS. No Plex or another Media Center installed, owners can't install other apps. The TV can interpolate incoming 60Hz signal to 120Hz with MEMC feature, not sure how usable it is even for video content, in games it sharply increases lag. More apps and settings might be possible to add with firmware hacks. Seiki claims unofficially the TV supports HDCP 2.2. No reports found stating if it can recognize and support playback from a USB streaming stick or streaming 4K media player like Roku 4 or Amazon Fire TV requiring HDCP2.2 support by a connected TV.

The TV will scale 1080P sources automatically on the entire 4K screen looking pretty decent at 100% aspect ratio, as 1080P its 2-nd native resolution. It doesn't upscale though non-4K media content to 4K by adding more details, you need to buy a separate 4K@24Hz 4:2:0 Seiki SU4KC1 U-Vision Up Converting Cable with integrated up-conversion chipset for that or a similar product, but Netflix now offers 4K@24Hz 4:2:0 movie & show subscription plans, if your internet connection qualifies for Ultra HD. This TV network speed is limited to Wireless N and 100Mbit/s LAN, no support for Samba (Windows Networks folder browsing in PCs on LAN) and DLNA local content streaming. Such speeds are good enough for 4K internet media streaming. For reference, if 4k @ 60 fps content is compressed with H265 HEVC codec, it now requires 32 Mbit/s streaming speed, uncompressed by a TV video chip at playback, if it supports H265 decoding. Otherwise with H264 compression, 4k MKV high bit rate movies may stutter at 100 Mbit/s, not to mention online games. See also Adoption Of 4K Streaming Will Be Stalled By Bandwidth.


Seiki SE42UGT EDID

Code: 
Monitor
Model name............... SE42UGT
Manufacturer............. SEK
Plug and Play ID......... SEK0030
Serial number............ n/a
Manufacture date......... 2015, ISO week 26
Filter driver............ None 
EDID revision............ 1.3
Input signal type........ Digital
Color bit depth.......... Undefined
Display type............. RGB color
Screen size.............. 930 x 540 mm (42.3 in)
Power management......... Not supported
Extension blocs.......... 1 (CEA-EXT)
DDC/CI................... Not supported

Color characteristics
Default color space...... Non-sRGB
Display gamma............ 2.20
Red chromaticity......... Rx 0.640 - Ry 0.340
Green chromaticity....... Gx 0.300 - Gy 0.690
Blue chromaticity........ Bx 0.138 - By 0.038
White point (default).... Wx 0.282 - Wy 0.297
Additional descriptors... None

Timing characteristics
Horizontal scan range.... 31-140kHz
Vertical scan range...... 59-70Hz
Video bandwidth.......... 600MHz
CVT standard............. Not supported
GTF standard............. Not supported
Additional descriptors... None
Preferred timing......... Yes
Native/preferred timing.. 3840x2160p at 60Hz (16:9)
Modeline............... "3840x2160" 594.000 3840 4016 4104 4400 2160 2168 2178 2250 +hsync +vsync
Detailed timing #1....... 1920x1080p at 60Hz (16:9)
Modeline............... "1920x1080" 148.500 1920 2008 2052 2200 1080 1084 1089 1125 +hsync +vsync

Standard timings supported
2288 x 1430p at 61Hz - VESA STD

EIA/CEA-861 Information
Revision number.......... 3
IT underscan............. Supported
Basic audio.............. Supported
YCbCr 4:4:4.............. Supported
YCbCr 4:2:2.............. Supported
Native formats........... 2
Detailed timing #1....... 720x480p at 60Hz (16:9)
Modeline............... "720x480" 27.000 720 736 798 858 480 489 495 525 -hsync -vsync
Detailed timing #2....... 1440x480i at 60Hz (16:9)
Modeline............... "1440x480" 27.000 1440 1478 1602 1716 480 488 494 524 interlace -hsync -vsync

CE video identifiers (VICs) - timing/formats supported
1920 x 1080i at 60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1280 x 720p at 60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1) [Native]
720 x 480p at 60Hz - EDTV (16:9, 32:27)
640 x 480p at 60Hz - Default (4:3, 1:1)
720 x 480i at 60Hz - Doublescan (16:9, 32:27)
1920 x 1080p at 60Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1) [Native]
1920 x 1080p at 24Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
1920 x 1080p at 30Hz - HDTV (16:9, 1:1)
720 x 480p at 60Hz - EDTV (4:3, 8:9)
720 x 480i at 60Hz - Doublescan (4:3, 8:9)
NB: NTSC refresh rate = (Hz*1000)/1001

CE audio data (formats supported)
LPCM 2-channel, 16/20/24 bit depths at 32/44/48 kHz
AC-3 2-channel, 20/24 bit depths at 32/44/48 kHz

CE speaker allocation data
Channel configuration.... 2.0
Front left/right......... Yes
Front LFE................ No
Front center............. No
Rear left/right.......... No
Rear center.............. No
Front left/right center.. No
Rear left/right center... No
Rear LFE................. No

CE vendor specific data (VSDB)
IEEE registration number. 0x000C03
CEC physical address..... 2.0.0.0
Supports AI (ACP, ISRC).. No
Supports 48bpp........... Yes
Supports 36bpp........... Yes
Supports 30bpp........... Yes
Supports YCbCr 4:4:4..... Yes
Supports dual-link DVI... No
Maximum TMDS clock....... 340MHz
Audio/video latency (p).. n/a
Audio/video latency (i).. n/a
HDMI video capabilities.. Yes
EDID screen size......... No additional info
3D formats supported..... Not supported
Data payload............. 030C002000784420008001020304

CE vendor specific data (VSDB)
IEEE registration number. 0xC45DD8
CEC physical address..... 0.1.7.8
Supports AI (ACP, ISRC).. Yes
Supports 48bpp........... Yes
Supports 36bpp........... No
Supports 30bpp........... No
Supports YCbCr 4:4:4..... Yes
Supports dual-link DVI... No
Maximum TMDS clock....... 35MHz

CE colorimetry data
xvYCC709 support......... Yes
xvYCC601 support......... Yes
sYCC601 support.......... No
AdobeYCC601 support...... No
AdobeRGB support......... No
Metadata profile flags... 0x01

Reserved video related data
Data payload............. 0F000000

Report information
Date generated........... 12/28/2015
Software revision........ 2.90.0.1002
Data source.............. Real-time 0x0012
Operating system......... 10.0.10586.2

Raw data
00,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,FF,00,4C,AB,30,00,01,01,01,01,1A,19,01,03,80,5D,36,78,0A,CF,74,A3,57,4C,B0,23,
09,48,4C,00,00,00,01,01,01,FF,01,FF,FF,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,01,20,08,E8,00,30,F2,70,5A,80,B0,58,
8A,00,C4,8E,21,00,00,1E,02,3A,80,18,71,38,2D,40,58,2C,45,00,C4,8E,21,00,00,1E,00,00,00,FC,00,53,
45,34,32,55,47,54,0A,20,20,20,20,20,00,00,00,FD,00,3B,46,1F,8C,3C,00,0A,20,20,20,20,20,20,01,66,
02,03,42,F2,52,05,84,03,01,07,90,20,22,5D,5F,61,62,64,66,5E,63,02,06,26,09,07,07,11,07,06,83,01,
00,00,6E,03,0C,00,20,00,78,44,20,00,80,01,02,03,04,67,D8,5D,C4,01,78,C8,07,E3,05,03,01,E4,0F,00,
00,00,8C,0A,D0,8A,20,E0,2D,10,10,3E,96,00,C4,8E,21,00,00,18,8C,0A,A0,14,51,F0,16,00,26,7C,43,00,
C4,8E,21,00,00,98,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,67
 
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If I invest in a better computer with hdmi2.0 or Display port 1.2 at 60 htz, will it give me a better experience in terms of fonts sharpness?
Click to expand...

A more advanced PC won't improve your fonts readability on this monitor unless your current video card is really low end, but it will improve your gaming experience due to 4K@60Hz 4:2:2. However, the black-on-white fonts are quite sharp on it, 4:2:2 mostly affects color fonts on color background. In Win 10 System Properties-Advanced-Performance Options-Visual Effects, only one option seems relevant Smooth edges of screen fonts, so tick it. To further improve fonts readability, in TV Setup - Picture switch to PC Mode, then in Setup - System set Zoom Mode to Just Scan, and in Service Menu - Curve Settings set Sharpness to 0 for Game Mode (it's PC Mode here). In Windows Display Settings - Advanced Settings - ClearType Text tick ClearType and calibrate on-screen fonts readability.

In your PC Video Card Control Center, disable GPU Desktop and Panel Scaling, untick Color Control for this monitor, set PC video signal output to Color Depth 8bpc, Pixel Format to Full RGB 4:4:4. Alternatively, you can play with GPU driven signal adjustments. You can also calibrate the display settings by following Calibrate your TV and similar articles, or use Windows Color Calibration, but first work with it for awhile, since it's hard for a novice without proper equipment to improve factory calibration.
 
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Looking at getting this TV, how is it for 1080p gaming? Looking at getting it for a gaming monitor
 
wikidlad said:
Looking at getting this TV, how is it for 1080p gaming
Click to expand...

People reported 24ms latency at 4K@60Hz in PC Mode, which sounds pretty decent for many games. As per Overclock forum reports, older Seiki 4K 39 & 42-inch models were upgraded to 1080P@120Hz with factory or hacked firmware updates down the road and work stable, since 120Hz is native to this TV hardware, but switched off in firmware. This TV as per spec may even do 10-bit color at 1080P@120Hz, if your GPU and games support 10-bit, will check it out if the firmware mod is posted. You won't be able to run it at 4K@120Hz anyway due to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth limit. Though many modern games are designed for 120Hz refresh and you may notice some lag, with older 1080P games you should be fine. The TV upgrade to 120Hz is not guaranteed and may never occur.

Most games are good enough at 4:2:0 chroma due to fast pace, so it looks fine to me from that prospective, unless you can enable both 4:4:4 chroma and 10-bit color for more color rich picture with supporting games and GPU. As one game developer said: "On windows desktop, yes, you want 444 chroma. In games? No. Not PC games, not console games, not movies. Not even static images are easily double-blinded."
 
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The TV comes with several preinstalled apps accessible via on-screen interface Seiki calls Muse. These are Netflix, YouTube, VUDU, Toon Googles, Pandora, and AccuWeather. You can stream media content from these web services via TV internal WiFi adapter pared with your home WiFi & wired router or Cable / DSL modem-router. Some of these services require paid subscription plan. Netflix and YouTube 4K content is streamed on this TV pretty well with good visual quality and no stutter, so it seems to support HEVC and VP9 stream decoding.
 
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Thanks Zama, I have a 980ti so I will try and play 4k but 1080 for fps games i think.
 
I impulse-purchased a Seiki SE42UGT 42" UHD TV to try it as a monitor. It was only $200 (open box), so worth the experiment. I can even return it if I decide I don't like it.

Currently, I can drive it at native res but only 30Hz and not at 4:4:4 chroma, in part because I'm using HDMI 1.4 to drive it. I have a couple of Display Port to HDMI 2.0 adapters on order, which should improve things considerably in he frame rate department.

It's nice having so much screen real estate. At HDMI 1.4, the text is not as crisp as it could be, due to the poor chroma. 30Hz refresh makes me overshoot the mouse pointer targets a little bit. But I'm dealing ok with it. :) The low chroma is more annoying, since text at native res has artifacts around it -- especially red, since 4:2:0 (or whatever it's doing) preferentially degrades red.

So, I tricked my Mac book into running it in HiDPI ("Retina") mode, at a virtual resolution of 3264x1336 (vs the native of 3840x2160, aka 2160p). The text looks pretty good!

The way that HiDPI support on a Mac works is that the UI is always rendered at double of the virtual resolution and then scald down for the physical display. For example, my 15" MacBook pro has a native res of 2880x1800. I'm running it one of the "More Space" scaled modes, "like 1680x1050". This means the UI is actually rendered at 3360 × 2100 and then scaled to 2880x1800.

This means my 42" display is rendered at 6528 × 3672 (and a screenshot confirms this). It's then scaled down to 3840x2160 and displayed.

The trick is to make a "Display Override". These are plists (openstep property lists as XML files) stored in /System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides/${YOURVENDOR}/${YOURDISPLAY}. My hand-generated override file is at /System/Library/Displays/Contents/Resources/Overrides/DisplayVendorID-4cab/DisplayProductID-1086. The string "4cab" is the vendor ID in hex. The "1086" is the same for the display ID (from the EDID).

This is the file I created; look at it in a plist editor for it to make a little more sense:

Code: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>DisplayPixelDimensions</key>
	<data>AAAPAAAACHA=</data>
	<key>DisplayProductID</key>
	<integer>45061</integer>
	<key>DisplayProductName</key>
	<string>Seiki SE42UGT</string>
	<key>DisplayVendorID</key>
	<real>1552</real>
	<key>IODisplayEDID</key>
	<data>AP///////wAGEBKgAAAAABwWAQS1MBt4Im+xp1VMniUMUFQhCACBgEVAYUCVAAEBAQEBAQEBAjqAGHE4LUBYLEUAxI4hAAAeZiFQsFEAGzBAcDYAxI4hAAAeAAAA/ABpTWFjCiAgICAgICAgAAAA/QAySx5QFwAKICAgICAgAX0CAzDyTQEDBAUHkBITFBafICImCQcHERdQgwEAAHIDDAAQALhEIMCEAQIDBAFBAACMCtCKIOAtEBA+lgDEjiEAABiMCtCQIEAxIAxAVQDEjiEAABgBHQC8UtAeILgoVUDEjiEAAB4BHYDQchwWIBAsJYDEjiEAAJ4AAAAAAAAAbw==</data>
	<key>scale-resolutions</key>
	<array>
		<data>AAAMwAAABywAAAABACAAAA==</data>
		<data>AAANgAAAB5gAAAAB</data>
		<data>AAAHgAAABDgAAAAB</data>
		<data>AAAJEAAABaAAAAAB</data>
		<data>AAAZgAAADlgAAAAJAKAAAA==</data>
		<data>AAAZgAAADlgAAAAB</data>
		<data>AAAZgAAADlgAAAABAAAAAg==</data>
		<data>AAAPAAAACHAAAAAJAKAAAA==</data>
		<data>AAAPAAAACHAAAAAB</data>
		<data>AAAPAAAACHAAAAABAAAAAg==</data>
	</array>
</dict>
</plist>

I used a tool called DarwinDumper to get the EDID data for the display. I then used a tool called FixEDID to read in the EDID data and dump a starter override plist file. Then I peered at the override file for the built-in Retina display for a while, and made some guesses about what to stick into the "scale-resolutions" section of the plist file. I put it in place and rebooted and ... the Display control panel showed many "low-resolution" display options that were not there before, but no HiDPI ones.

Then I opened SwitchResX and force-applied the "3264x1836, 30Hz" profile and ... it worked! I'm writing this while looking at my 42 inch UHD "retina" display.

Clearly there's some more magic number tuning to be done, so that the built-in resolution switcher is happy with it.
 
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devilmonastery said:
This means my 42" display is rendered at 6528&#8198;×&#8198;3672 (and a screenshot confirms this). It's then scaled down to 3840x2160 and displayed. The trick is to make a "Display Override".
Click to expand...

I guess 60hz is going to be in Boost mode burning out the Mac? ;)

As you described, on Mac depending on model one may need to add EDID Override for this TV, and enable HiDPI. For readers would be nice, if you explain how did you come to these code values in the Scale Resolutions array?

Patch EDID on Mac
How to Enable HiDPI Mode in Mac OS X
 
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I like the fact that I can play a video on youtube and have it play on the TV.
you just pair the TV to your PC.
Open the youtube app on the TV, go to settings, go to pair to get the code, then on your PC, go to youtube.com/pair and put the string of numbers in.
now you can search and find videos on your pc and have them play on the TV.
 
I had no idea we had a thread about this TV here, guess I'll post in here from now on instead of the Hot Deals thread.

Unboxed mine yesterday and have been playing with it to get the brightness, contrast, and color the way I like it.

First thing anyone should do who is planning to use this with a PC:

  • Go into Setup -> System -> Other Setting and turn HDMI EDID to HDMI 2.0. This will unlock the proper native resolution and refresh rate being reported over EDID. Once this is done the panel's native 3840x2160 resolution should show up in your GPU's control panel and be identified as the native resolution. 60hz should also be available if you're using a GPU that supports it (ie Geforce 9 series, whatever the latest AMD card is probably does it as well)

    Make SURE you set your resolution to 3840x2160 and not 4096x2160. Although 4096x2160 will show up at the top of the supported resolutions list it is NOT the native resolution of the panel and text will look like shit if you use this resolution.
  • Go into Settings -> Picture and change 'Picture Setting' to 'PC Mode'. Then scroll down and go into 'Advance Setting' and turn Noise Reduction to 'Off'.
  • Get used to the 'hidden' service menu. In order to stay in PC Mode and still be able to change a lot of settings you have to do it through the service menu. Press MENU and while the on screen menu is up press 00000 on the remote (Zero five times).
    • Once the Service Menu is up scroll down to 'Others' and hit 'OK', then scroll down to 'Mount Config' and press the right arrow to change it to 'rw'. (This basically makes the configuration changes you make in service mode stick past power on/off cycles) Now press menu once to back out to the main service menu.
    • Scroll down to 'Curve Setting' and press OK, then scroll down to 'Sharpness' and press the left arrow button and continue pressing until it gets to '0'. (You can hold down the left arrow to quickly lower the number). Once done press Menu to back out a level, and then press Menu again to exit the service menu entirely. One note is that in the 'Curve Setting' menu you'll see that it says 'Game Mode' at the top - don't freak out. In the service menu 'Game Mode' is the same as 'PC Mode'.

That should get anyone off to a decent start with clear text at least. You're probably going to want to adjust things like brightness and contrast and I actually highly advise changing these values in the 'Curve Setting' menu of the hidden service menu to keep the TV from kicking itself out of 'PC Mode' and putting you back into super input lag mode.


BACKLIGHT CONTROL
For some reason Seiki chose to completely omit a backlight level control in the user accessible menus on the TV, which is completely fucking weird because the TV actually has stellar backlight control. To adjust the backlight go into the hidden service menu and go into 'Others' and then 'Other' again and there you'll find a backlight control. Completely granular from 0 to 100, and it's actually quite good! Even at the lowest setting (0) the flicker doesn't seem to change at all. The PWM frequency must be really high because my previous LG TV flickered like crazy especially with a low backlight setting. This thing is as close to being a non-PWM backlight as you can get.

So far as color temperature goes, I found that the most neutral setting is to go into the service menu, then the color temp menu, and change the preset to 'User'. By default 'User is a completely equal mix (1024 for each color value in the menu) and whites look paper white to me like they should.



SERVICE MENU WARNING

It should go without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway because I've found that people in general are morons. The service menu has all kinds of neat items that give you the urge to change something and go 'Ooooh what does this do?'. I STRONGLY advice you not to go tinkering with something if you have no clue what it actually does. Although most of the stuff seems harmless enough if you screw around with something you shouldn't you could potentially BRICK YOUR TV. So just stick to what you know.... Capiche?
 
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I'm confused by the OP or the FB post.. my 42UGT does 1080 120hz just fine (actually does 1080 144hz fine too). No memc.
 
pbassjunk said:
I'm confused by the OP or the FB post.. my 42UGT does 1080 120hz just fine (actually does 1080 144hz fine too). No memc.
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It will accept the signal, sure, but it will drop frames so that you effectively only get 60 frames per second anyway.

Hence the second part of the OP telling you how to test for this and verify it for yourself...
 
NoxTek said:
It will accept the signal, sure, but it will drop frames so that you effectively only get 60 frames per second anyway.

Hence the second part of the OP telling you how to test for this and verify it for yourself...
Click to expand...

This. I tested at 70 and 75 as well, pretty much anything above 60hz skips frames.
 
zamaracrillio said:
You can test chroma subsampling at 4K with this image at 100% zoom, set Windows desktop scaling to 100%, PC Mode in TV Image Setup, Just Scan TV aspect ratio, and 0 sharpness (not strictly required).
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ROFL....... nice image link there chief. That's a link to a SAMPLE of what a good 4:4:4 chroma set should display, not the actual test image....

HERE is a link to the real deal...
 
@ NoxTek

Corrected to original MadVR's link. It was a duplicate image before, not sure when it was substituted for test result. ;)
 
Nothing we really didn't already know but I got bored and took part of the back off.

boards.jpg


board1.jpg


board2.jpg
 
Nice shots! :D Can you take some close ups on the main board and post high resolution photos? I wonder if these stickers show HDMI and Graphics processor models, both under huge heatsinks? The 2 main chips look highly integrated, can't see any other chips on the board apart from memory chips. There seems to be 2 or 3 cooling fan ports on the board.
 
zamaracrillio said:
Nice shots! :D Can you take some close ups on the main board and post high resolution photos? I wonder if these stickers show HDMI and Graphics processor models, both under huge heatsinks? The 2 main chips look highly integrated, can't see any other chips on the board apart from memory chips. There seems to be 2 or 3 cooling fan ports on the board.
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I have the high res if you want them, about 7MB each.
 
Would love to see TFTCentral or Anandtech do a nice review of this particular TV -- in the past, they've done reviews of "bang-for-the-buck" monitors, why not this?
 
Well picked my set up on New years day and watched it maybe 5 times and last night when I turned it on it played about 20 minutes and the screen went black. I still have sound but no picture on any input. Guess the backlight blowed. Will be taking back today.
 
I have a Club3D adapter arriving today, but I also ordered this adapter:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019ZQ5GX0

It works. I'm driving the seiki at 3840x2160, 60fps (well, actually 59.976Hz) over HDMI 2. It's much less laggy than 30fps.

W1h74kl.png


Still only 4:2:2, of course.

quQwfML.png
 
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I just noticed today when I play youtube videos through the tv the video signal goes green on everything. Turning off the tv and back on returns to normal but if I try to play any youtube videos it does the same thing. Any ideas?
 
normanbatez said:
I just noticed today when I play youtube videos through the tv the video signal goes green on everything. Turning off the tv and back on returns to normal but if I try to play any youtube videos it does the same thing. Any ideas?
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Strange, I don't have that issue. Maybe other folks can find a solution?
 
tungt88 said:
Strange, I don't have that issue. Maybe other folks can find a solution?
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It just started for me today resetting settings did not fix. Did work for the first couple of weeks I had the tv. Also now it seems like it keeps losing my wifi settings every time I power it off and on.


edit. just tried signing in with my other google account and videos play ok... now I am confused.
 
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Make sure your internet sub current speed, and wired LAN or WiFi speed is sufficient for 4K stream playback in selected YouTube video encoding format & bitrate. Source video stream 4k@24fps encoded as H265/HEVC may require up to 32Mbit/s real WiFi speed, and 4K video encoded in H264 requires much higher speed. YouTube may be f&#1077;&#1077;ding you a wrong format based on previous speed glitches, so login in to YouTube under a different account may clear this for some time, if your internet connection speed varies over time. Use SpeedTest to check it out. The issue may also be linked to your WiFi router problems, wireless signal interference, so try switching to wired connection.
 
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zamaracrillio said:
Make sure your internet sub current speed, and wired LAN or WiFi speed is sufficient for 4K stream playback in selected YouTube video encoding format & bitrate. Source video stream 4k@24fps encoded as H265/HEVC may require up to 32Mbit/s real WiFi speed, and 4K video encoded in H264 requires much higher speed. YouTube may be fidding you a wrong format based on previous speed glitches, so login in to YouTube under a different account may clear this for some time, if your connection speed varies over time. The issue may also be linked to your WiFi router problems, wireless signal interference, so try switching to wired connection.
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Happens wired or wireless. It seems the problem is only happening in youtube red accounts.
 
normanbatez said:
Happens wired or wireless. It seems the problem is only happening in youtube red accounts.
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Just to fill everyone in started happening no matter what youtube account I was in. Ended up trying different routers/modems etc no change. What fixed the problem was doing a factory reset from the service menu with all hdmi cords disconnected. Not exactly sure why factory resetting it with the cords disconnected made a difference but I had tried 3 times without unplugging the cords prior to this.
 
Quick question to the owners of this TV... Is it possible to make a 21:9 resolution on this screen even if you end up with black bars on the top and bottom? And if so, could you game like that? Thanks!
 
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