DStv Explora Ultra 4k?

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PDF_27

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I've seen the device is advertised that it delivers 4k. To my knowledge there aren't any channels broadcast in 4k but I'm assuming they label it a "4K" decoder to due the Netflix integration. To those that have this decoder or know about it better than myself, are there any channels which DStv even broadcast in 4k?...
Ideally, if they broadcast anything in 4k it could be worth the change, but anyone with a 4k TV could watch 4k Netflix on the TV itself generally speaking, or even with a much cheaper Android TV box...
 
PDF_27 said:
I've seen the device is advertised that it delivers 4k. To my knowledge there aren't any channels broadcast in 4k but I'm assuming they label it a "4K" decoder to due the Netflix integration. To those that have this decoder or know about it better than myself, are there any channels which DStv even broadcast in 4k?...
Ideally, if they broadcast anything in 4k it could be worth the change, but anyone with a 4k TV could watch 4k Netflix on the TV itself generally speaking, or even with a much cheaper Android TV box...
Click to expand...
I have an explora ultra and it's currently not worth it. It upscales all channels to 4k HDR. The upscaling of normal 576p (non-HD) channels is terrible. The picture is full of artefacts and noise. I have turned video preset to 1080i and the picture is ok. If you own a 4k TV, let it do the upscaling. I currently own a LG C8 OLED and it upscales brilliantly. The only question I have is why is the explorer ultra toggling HDR on all channels as this feature cannot be disabled?
 
JohnDoe said:
I have an explora ultra and it's currently not worth it. It upscales all channels to 4k HDR. The upscaling of normal 576p (non-HD) channels is terrible. The picture is full of artefacts and noise. I have turned video preset to 1080i and the picture is ok. If you own a 4k TV, let it do the upscaling. I currently own a LG C8 OLED and it upscales brilliantly. The only question I have is why is the explorer ultra toggling HDR on all channels as this feature cannot be disabled?
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Good feedback... Obviously forcing HDR to SDR content will throw out colours and bring all kinds of artifacts into picture... I'm surprised it doesn't have an option to switch it off, similar to that of android tv.
 
Would be good and interesting to see more feedback by DSTV Explora Ultra 4K decoder owners on the quality picture experienced.
 
Just got my ultra as well. First thing I noticed is the forcing of hdr across the board. Besides it not looking as it was intended, my concern is that with hdr enabled the oled light on an oled (I have a cx) is maxed. While this is fine for actual hdr content, the risk of burn-in is increased dramatically on the channel logos.

I tweeted out to them to see if they're going to address it. Will give it a week. If I get no joy, I'll return it for the explora 2 or 3. Does anyone know if the smart lnb they installed with the ultra will be fine for the 2 or 3?
 
QuiXilver ZA said:
Just got my ultra as well. First thing I noticed is the forcing of hdr across the board. Besides it not looking as it was intended, my concern is that with hdr enabled the oled light on an oled (I have a cx) is maxed. While this is fine for actual hdr content, the risk of burn-in is increased dramatically on the channel logos.

I tweeted out to them to see if they're going to address it. Will give it a week. If I get no joy, I'll return it for the explora 2 or 3. Does anyone know if the smart lnb they installed with the ultra will be fine for the 2 or 3?
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Which SLNB is it? has it 6, 4 or 2 ports?

6 ports- LMX 500 original, 4 Unicable and two Universal ports - no longer available, rather unreliable.
4 ports - LMX 501 3 Unicable and 1 Universal port. - Supports 3 decoders in XV and 1 universal decoder stand alone
2 ports - LMX 502X - 2 Unicable ports - only supports 2 decoders in XV and can't be used with many older decoders, but supports all Explora versions.

All the SLNB will work with all the Explora decoders.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with the ultra, but I am surprised that there no way to change the forcing configuration.
 
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Does this thing really come without wireless and you need to buy a separate dongle?

A device that literally boasts doing streaming out of the box.

Or have I lost the plot and this is not the same thing my in laws just got installed?
 
SauRoNZA said:
Does this thing really come without wireless and you need to buy a separate dongle?

A device that literally boasts doing streaming out of the box.

Or have I lost the plot and this is not the same thing my in laws just got installed?
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The Explora, Explora 2A, require an external dongle for wifi. The 3A not sure. But the ultra is supposed to support wi-fi internally as far as I know.
 
Geoff.D said:
The Explora, Explora 2A, require an external dongle for wifi. The 3A not sure. But the ultra is supposed to support wi-fi internally as far as I know.
Click to expand...

Must have been one of the others then.

Will any USB WiFi do the job or is it some specific and overpriced DSTV offering?

Regardless, what a joke in 2020/1.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Must have been one of the others then.

Will any USB WiFi do the job or is it some specific and overpriced DSTV offering?

Regardless, what a joke in 2020/1.
Click to expand...
The 2A only worked with a DSTV supplied proprietary dongle. Don't know about the other decoders.
 
Geoff.D said:
Which SLNB is it? has it 6, 4 or 2 ports?

6 ports- LMX 500 original, 4 Unicable and two Universal ports - no longer available, rather unreliable.
4 ports - LMX 501 3 Unicable and 1 Universal port. - Supports 3 decoders in XV and 1 universal decoder stand alone
2 ports - LMX 502X - 2 Unicable ports - only supports 2 decoders in XV and can't be used with many older decoders, but supports all Explora versions.

All the SLNB will work with all the Explora decoders.

Unfortunately, I have no experience with the ultra, but I am surprised that there no way to change the forcing configuration.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'm not sure tbh. The installers brought it along. They did leave the box behind but my wife chucked it today lol. Afaik it's a smart lnb and for some reason a 2 port comes to mind. But as you said all slmb will work on all explora decoders so I should be safe.

I was also surprised that the option to turn it off isn't there and I went through the settings a few times. I even changed the res on the hdmi port to test and it still kept hdr.

From what I read, Sony did it on the ps 5 so it's definitely plausible. I just hope MC can and are willing to fix it.

The dashboard is definitely crisper and it feels like the hardware has been beefed up slightly at least when compared to Explora 1. It doesn't lag out - not yet anyway.
 
A little feedback on this - I went the route of trying to get dstv support to address the hdr always on issue. After a few days of back and forth I got nowhere - it's currently "escalated" to a team who wanted to know the model of my TV. When they asked that I knew it was a dead end. I returned the Ultra. Explained to the dude and support thatvit poses a potential issue for oleds as it bumps the oled light to the max (not mention it looks like dog shyte) and static channel logos could burn in. Anyway, I got the Explora 3. As @Geoff.D said, it did just plug n play with my slnb - thanks man.
 
Ja agree. As soon as they ask what TV it means all they want to do is blame a factor beyond their control.
Glad you got sorted on the connections.
 
Geoff.D said:
Ja agree. As soon as they ask what TV it means all they want to do is blame a factor beyond their control.
Glad you got sorted on the connections.
Click to expand...
They did try that when I sent them images showing the hdr logo displaying as I scrolled through the different resolutions on the decoder. I had to explain that the tv just displays what the decoder is telling it to display.

I noticed the tv had deep colour enabled on the decoder's hdmi port. I tried disabling that and even setting the res to 576p on the decoder just to test and it STILL sent the hdr signal to the tv.
 
Has there been a software update to address the HDR issue or is the decoder still forcing constant HDR?
 
Johan R said:
Has there been a software update to address the HDR issue or is the decoder still forcing constant HDR?
Click to expand...

They never acknowledged it back when I tried to bring it to their attention. I'd be extremely surprised if it has been fixed. I just returned mine and used an explora 3.
 
Reviving this thread because I picked up an Ultra for the World Cup in 4K - for what it's worth, the 4K UHD test broadcast (currently on #216) is rather impressive, and hopefully a sign of good things to come on the forthcoming 4K channels. Anyway, I also have an "always on" HDR issue - LG OLED - but have a somewhat unnecessary, somewhat fiddly, somewhat clumsy work-around. Unfortunately it means swapping out HDMI cables. I connected an old HDMI cable I had laying around (I suspect < HDMI 2.0) between the TV and the Ultra, which then defaults to a standard 1080i/P SDR picture (upscaled to 4K on the TV of course). If I need 4K UHD e.g. for the current 4K test broadcast, I swap the HDMI cable back to the HDMI 2.0 issued with the decoder. You could likely achieve the same with an HDMI splitter. Until there's an update to fix this - or more 4K broadcasts - this work-around will have to do for me. Once you see live 4K HDR sport, you unfortunately cannot unsee it.
 
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