Severe colour banding issue in KD-43XE7000

[Alex_in_the_Sky]

Hello,

I recently bought a KD-43XE7000 (product page here). I played a few games on PS4 Pro (albeit with no 4K support), I watched a few movies on Netflix (HD only, no UHD), I watched a few demo 4K videos on YouTube (those showing animals and nature, like this) and while of course the quality on screen varies depending on what's being watched (4K videos look a ton better than no-4K PS4 games and HD Netflix movies), the image from all of these sources has something in common...

During pan camera shots, the image suffers of severe colour banding. This is very noticeable when large objects of the same colour but of different hues are on screen. For example: a scene showing the sky, the ocean, or a scene in darkness where there is mist. These objects are subject to a very coarse-grained blending. I've spent hours tinkering with the TV settings, to no avail. 

Just a few notes:

- The current software version installed is v8.533 (the latest available)

- The HDMI ports setting is already to "Enhanced" 

- I have a 50mb connection in download. Bandwidth capability is definitely not the issue here

- So far I've only found this issue already raised in here. It was closed out with the conclusion the root cause was the bandwidth. I suspect there's more to it

- See issue in the screenshot below, taken from Horizon Zero Dawn on HDR TV setting

Colour banding

I hope someone can help me find a solution.

Regards,

Alex

[Mick_D]

Hi Alex, welcome to the Sony Community 

It's possible this issue can be addressed in the settings for your BRAVIA. A similar issue was successfully addressed a while ago here – hopefully that's of some help you you.

Best wishes

Mick

[Alex_in_the_Sky]

Hi Mick_D,

Thanks for the link but that guide isn't quite applicable to my TV. I have a different model than that the guide refers to, and it runs on Linux, not Android TV. I will call Sony support later and see how they can help. Meanwhile, I attached a screenshot from Horizon Zero Dawn, clearly showing the issue.

[Mick_D]

Hi Alex, thanks for posting the photo and more details. 

It certainly looks as if what you're seeing isn't a problem with your particular TV, more an issue with the way TVs are set up to display high-resolution inputs, specifically in areas where the colour or tone is graduated – or blended, as you describe it in your original post. 

To get the best possible graduations you need to make sure everything is set up as 10-bit, rather than 8-bit colour. This would apply to input devices and sources as well as your display. For example, here's the setup for a Sky Q box.

You might also find this article useful. I'm pretty sure you have a 10-bit display and if you're enabling 10-bit for your input signals, the banding should be minimised or even eliminated, depending on the quality of the source. 

Cheers

Mick

[Alex_in_the_Sky]

Hey Mick,

Thanks for the article. While I'm pretty clear on what the problem is, I'm still missing a practical solution to fix it on my TV (ie best case scenario: a fellow owner of the same TV model who was previously also affected then managed to somehow find the right formula in the TV settings).

My signal sources are setup correctly. In relation to that game screenshot, the HDMI port my PS4 is connected to is already set to Enhanced, and the console is already outputting 2160p RGB. Further, upon starting the game, the Scene mode turns to HDR by itself. Nothing seems to suggest that the game isn't running at its possible best. Yet... the sky banding still exists.

As for other sources, like YouTube. Well there is nothing to be configured in YouTube other than setting the streaming video quality to 4K when the video allows it, which I do.

I'm having a troubleshooting session with a Sony representative over the phone later. I'm not very hopeful it'll be of any use. 

Alex