MKV Files Look "Different" on TV than on PC

[eric_s07]

So I have a movie collection divided across HDDs. When I watch movies on my PC, I use Media Player Classic - BE x64 and when I watch movies on the TV, I use a media player called Micca Speck 4. I feel like the exact same file "looks" different on both setups. Granted, the screens are different and the hardware is different, but I feel like movies look worse on the TV. On the PC, I get a grainy look and on the TV I get slightly blurry images. I get the feeling that the movies are not supposed to be like that, but I don't know which software to try on the PC (if any) to test this theory. I have calibrated the TV to look as good as possible and I don't have problems when watching other sources, like YouTube. Most of the movies I have are MKV files in x264/x265 and they have been created out of blu-ray discs. They are around 10GBs in size. So can you help me out? Is this a problem with software or hardware? Is this a problem with the quality of the encoding? Or do movies simply look worse on a bigger screen because you are more likely to notice imperfections? Anything you can tell me will be helpful so thanks in advance!

[lieder1987]

So your videos are probably being compressed or converted to watch on the TV.

 

Are you using a set top box, something built into the TV?

[Bombastinator]

21 minutes ago, eric_s07 said:

So I have a movie collection divided across HDDs. When I watch movies on my PC, I use Media Player Classic - BE x64 and when I watch movies on the TV, I use a media player called Micca Speck 4. I feel like the exact same file "looks" different on both setups. Granted, the screens are different and the hardware is different, but I feel like movies look worse on the TV. On the PC, I get a grainy look and on the TV I get slightly blurry images. I get the feeling that the movies are not supposed to be like that, but I don't know which software to try on the PC (if any) to test this theory. I have calibrated the TV to look as good as possible and I don't have problems when watching other sources, like YouTube. Most of the movies I have are MKV files in x264/x265 and they have been created out of blu-ray discs. They are around 10GBs in size. So can you help me out? Is this a problem with software or hardware? Is this a problem with the quality of the encoding? Or do movies simply look worse on a bigger screen because you are more likely to notice imperfections? Anything you can tell me will be helpful so thanks in advance!

I’ve seen the difference between TVs and monitors discussed.  The answer I sort of partially gleaned ( I don’t have a tv so I wasn’t really paying attention) would be “the software on the hardware”. TVs often have different encoding and display systems than monitors which are built into their parts. 

[eric_s07]

8 minutes ago, lieder1987 said:

So your videos are probably being compressed or converted to watch on the TV.

 

Are you using a set top box, something built into the TV?

I am using a media player called "Micca Speck 4". I got it as a gift from Amazon years and years ago. It supports MKV files, it is FHD, but it's been superseded by a newer version, so I can't really provide much more information than that really. The only thing I can say about that player is that it's served me right over the years. I've used it on CRTs, 720p TVs, FHD TVs, monitors and it's played around 98% of files I've thrown at it.

[eric_s07]

10 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

I’ve seen the difference between TVs and monitors discussed.  The answer I sort of partially gleaned ( I don’t have a tv so I wasn’t really paying attention) would be “the software on the hardware”. TVs often have different encoding and display systems than monitors which are built into their parts. 

Maybe I should connect my PC to the TV to compare it to the media player playback. I'm thinking about building an HTPC with the ground up with old parts I have, along with a new CPU and motherboard. That's with convenience in mind, but if it helps movies look better that's critical. Regarding the TV vs monitor argument, I don't know much about either. But I'll be more than glad to take a look at an article or forum post if anyone has a link. Thanks for your comment!

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, eric_s07 said:

Maybe I should connect my PC to the TV to compare it to the media player playback. I'm thinking about building an HTPC with the ground up with old parts I have, along with a new CPU and motherboard. That's with convenience in mind, but if it helps movies look better that's critical. Regarding the TV vs monitor argument, I don't know much about either. But I'll be more than glad to take a look at an article or forum post if anyone has a link. Thanks for your comment!

My memory is there are whole families of websites on the subject.  It’s not one I know much about. 

[zassou]

different colour space. some tv has what's nvidia called limited black space, where a a good sized of spectrum is cut, so what would be a deep dark grey colour on monitor would show as black on some tv.

 

some older monitors that use dp or hdmi plugged in will show as a "tv" in nvidia control panel with limited rgp space.

[B16CXHatch]

It could all be in the software and the codecs used and how they are configured. About 10-12 years ago, I was big into fansubs. I used Zoom Player. I got started with it because it was included in the CCCP at the time. It was (and I assume still is) extremely customizable as to what codecs are used and how they can be configured. I found that depending on which codecs you set and how you configured them, it could look wildly different. I eventually found a recommended setup from a forum and just rolled with that.

 

Being that you are using a dedicated media player, it may be factory configured in a way just doesn't suit your taste. I would just switch to a PC, use the same software you use on your other PC and set it up the same.

 

For the rare instances I watch video files on my computer now, I typically just use VLC as it's just configured well enough from the outset.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

17 hours ago, eric_s07 said:

Granted, the screens are different

There you have it. 

 

17 hours ago, eric_s07 said:

 On the PC, I get a grainy look and on the TV I get slightly blurry images.

What's your monitor size as be resolution? What's your TV size and resolution? 

 

17 hours ago, eric_s07 said:

 

 

[eric_s07]

On 5/11/2020 at 3:07 AM, SpaceGhostC2C said:

There you have it. 

 

What's your monitor size as be resolution? What's your TV size and resolution? 

 

 

Monitor 22" 720p plus resolution so 1600 x 900. TV 43" 1080p so 1920 x 1080. I took the time to properly calibrate everything as well as I could without professional equipment.

[JZStudios]

Plug the PC into the TV and look for any kind of HDMI color range. It'll be either limited or full. You should be able to change it in Nvidia control panel or AMD... whatever.I doubt the player itself would be an issue, but you can download VLC and check with that.

Other important information is what GPU (Or other video output) your PC has and what model your TV is.