I checked out the video you referenced above; "4K Video ❤ Beauty of Nature"
First thing's first, that video is RIDICULOUSLY beautiful! I stood there dumbfounded. It was jaw-dropping!
Problem #1: On a more technical note, this video has issues being loaded into the buffer. Something is definitely wrong utilizing DASH* on this video. The first few times it wouldn't even play. It would just show a frozen image at precisely 45 seconds in. I had to tickle DASH into working properly again by scanning backwards to 0:00. This forced a buffer purge, and then video reloaded, correctly this time.
Then came the magic, albeit lasting only approximately 1 minute, 30 seconds, it was still absolutely breathtaking.
Problem #2: I am noticing inconsistencies with my 4K viewing experience overall. Most play, but some do not.
Sometimes it is a framerate vs bitrate issue; noting that although the TV specs can handle VP9, there are "flavors" of VP9 that the TV cannot and will not handle, but will always attempt to decode (and fail.) I have documented some of these videos for study. The only consistency I do find is the following: If the video doesn't play for any reason other than a DASH issue, that video will never play, period. I can always count on my documented list to NEVER work. This is good because I (we) can recreate the issue and gently compel Youtube and/or LG to address it accordingly.
Problem #3: Limited Control. I understand that LG wants everyone to have the same positive and consistent viewing experience on all of their 4K models, doing so requires some restriction on control, however, lacking this control prevents the user from making some crucial adjustments that may allow for a better viewing and listening experience. With that said, LG/Youtube should add a true "Advanced Settings" feature that allows for control over things such as DASH, Aspect Ratio, Audio and Codec tweaks. They should also allow for more passive intelligent diagnostic information to be available to the user on the fly. In easier terms, I'd like to see a diagnostics overlay that measure all relevant metrics and then can diagnose the problem and give you an on screen message.
Here are some imaginary examples that would benefit everyone:
1."Video has been reduced to standard HD due to insufficient bandwidth. Your Speed: 12Mbps (4K/UHD 25Mbps) Video will return to 4K/UHD automatically once your speed reaches 25Mbps or greater"
2. "The 4K video you are trying to play was not optimized for your 4K set and may not play properly, if you still wish to play, click 'Continue' or click 'Play in HD' and your video will be presented in standard HD. Reason: bitrate exceeds xxxbps"
3. "The 4k video you are trying to play exceeds maximum buffer size, if you still wish to play, click 'Continue' to disable DASH for this video playback or click 'Play in HD' and your video will be presented in standard HD. Reason: Buffer size exceeds maximum" "*Note by temporarily disabling DASH, your video may experience stuttering and/or freezing, but will play in 4K"
*Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, What Youtube uses as a video preloading system.
My final thoughts on all of this are clear: I see now that there are some videos are fine and some that are not. Apart from bandwidth issues, I think these TVs at the very least need to tell us whether or not the video we are about to play on our TV sets will actually play and if so, whether it will be in 4K or plain HD (and why if at all possible.)
Does anyone share the same thoughts?
-Branden
Happy Holidays Everyone!