Galaxy tab s 8.4 pixelation/cloud effect when watching dark scenes(movies)

[James van der Vegt]

hello,

Almost 2 weeks ago i bought a new galaxy tab s 8.4 and i love it! there is only 1 big big problem.
Whenever i watch netflix, youtube, popcorn time etc i get a really strange effect when there are dark scenes.
it's like a strange pixelation effect and it's really annoying when i'm watching a movie in a dark room.
I also tested this on my friends galaxy tab s 10.5 inch and no strange effects on his tablets ??
I've added some pictures to show the effect

Should i return this tablet ? are there more people with this problem ?

greetings,

 

[SpookDroid]

Maybe Netflix is not streaming in FullHD? I know that for some tablets (and I really don't know why as this is on Netflix's end) 1080p is not enabled. It actually took a while to get it on my Note 10.1 2014. But I can confirm that the Tab S 10.5, like you said, does stream in full HD.

What I'd do is go to a BestBuy (sorry, it's not an ad, it's just the only place I know that has these things on display for you to play with), get the same model you have and log into your Netflix account to test it (if possible, with the same movie/episode and the same scene you're experiencing the issue with). Just remember to log out before you are done (and as an added bonus, going into the App Manager and clearing cache and data for Netflix, just in case).

 

[clevin]

I'm not quite understand the nature of the problem. ...

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[James van der Vegt]

The effect shows in every app... Netflix, videoplayer, youtube etc u keep getting that weird pixelation effect with dark scenes

 

[James van der Vegt]

Can't you see the effect on the screenshots? It's like bad pixelation in the blacks and It's even worse if you see it in person. ..

 

[SpookDroid]

You can see the pixels on dark areas. Or squares, really.

 

[brosko]

I'm not quite understand the nature of the problem. ...

Posted via the Android Central App

Yeah sometimes with problems like these you really have to see it in person To see the problem. Screenshots just don't do justice.

 

[James van der Vegt]

Maybe you can see it better now ?
Am i really the only one with this problem ?

 

[SpookDroid]

Again, go to a store and compare the SAME device. If what I think we're seeing is the big chunks of black blocks around dark areas, this is perfectly normal in compressed video, but it becomes more apparent when the source feed comes at a lower resolution (since you're displaying it on a screen with more resolution and the digital artifacts are increased). Also, the brighter your screen or the more contrast you set it to, the more apparent these seem.

If for some reason Netflix streams in 720p to your tablet, that's probably why you're seeing compression artifacts here.

 

[James van der Vegt]

Yeah I will go to the store and it makes sense what you are saying... the thing i dont understand is why my friend is not experiencing the same problem with his tab s 10.5 inch ?? I tested the same video's and same video players etc

 

[SpookDroid]

I know for a fact that the 10.5 version does stream 1080p video from Netflix, but I'm not sure it will on the smaller version (again, this is on Netflix's end). BUT, the plot thickens now. You said you tried different players? So you have a video on file that you're playing on both devices? That's different. Now you have the same source video on both, they should look the same on both (even a little choppier on the 10.5 if the video is low-res).

Are both tablets on the same image mode? You know, where you change Standard, Dynamic, Color, etc.

 

[James van der Vegt]

Yes they are on the same image mode and the same video files or trailers on youtube and the effect also is there when i change youtube quality to 1080p and my friend has nothing not even a little bit pixelation

 

[SpookDroid]

Mmm...weird. Maybe it is a panel issue. Nothing left to do but to compare it with the same model you have and see if this is just how it is on this tablet size or if it's just your panel.

 

[carter17]

I don't seam to have this problem i have a solid black background and it looks perfect. i also tried Netflix and noticed that on the start up screen around the logo its colored different but once in the app the blacks look perfect black. selecting a movie and waiting for it to load up on the black screen is also perfect black. so im assuming its your screen that's messed up try and go to bestbuy and compare yours to the display unit. have you tried to get a black wallpaper and see what that does/

 

[James van der Vegt]

Black is also pure Black on my tablet... but in dark scenes in movies or games i have that terrible pixelation. .. could you try watching The godzilla trailer on YouTube ? To see if you have The same problem With dark scenes?

 

[SpookDroid]

Yup, his problem is not color display, is heavy digital artifacts (pixellation, choppy image) on dark scenes. Most of the time this is due to compression algorithms (why waste data on 50 dark pixels when you can compress that into a single, huge chunk of black) but in this case, it seems, the same compression method (i.e. video file, YouTube set to 1080p, Netflix prooobably) yields different display results in different tablet screen sizes.

 

[James van der Vegt]

So spookdroid do you think i have a faulty device or are all 8.4 devices like this ? Maybe it was better getting a 10.5 inch tab s because my friend does not have this problem at all

 

[SpookDroid]

I don't see how the screen size would cause this, but then again, I don't see how a defective panel would do this either. Again, I can only think of testing the same video on the same tablet size at a demo store. If you see the same pixellation, then it's an issue with this particular tablet and size. If not, then it's an issue with your tablet display and should be enough to claim the warranty.

 

[James van der Vegt]

Maybe they use different panels for The 8.4 tablets? Same With ipad air and ipad mini retina... that's why i was hoping someone else here could test it With his/her 8.4 tab s

 

[SpookDroid]

Can't help you there, mate. I own the 10.5 version. Maybe @Carter17 can lend a hand here?

PS: If you can share a link to the specific video you're testing with and the time I should be pausing at, I can test it on my larger tablet if you'd like.