[Sam Ash]

I'm wondering if there is a way to optimise the downsampling of 4K content within KODI in order to achieve the absolute maximum image fidelity on a 1080P projector. The image is significantly better when I play 4K content to my 1080p projector but I'm wondering if it's possible to enhance this further by way of a more sophisticated downsampling algorithm.

[Hitcher]

Your projector will probably always be better than a software solution.

[Sam Ash]

Unfortunately, my av processor is not 4k compatible although I'm sure its video upscaling chip is probably very good and superior.

[izprtxqkft]

an on-the-fly video processor will always choose the fastest compression and resizing methods which is not always the highest quality
within kodi - i am not aware of any advanced processing as it will follow the above and choose the fastest method

without assuming to know your level of computer knowledge you *might* find good results re-encoding the files at 1080p using ffmpeg on a slow processing setting
this is really not for beginners but not incredibly difficult to work out with some search engine work and some reading

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html

you should be able to find a version for whatever system you are running and multitudes of examples online

[Sam Ash]

an on-the-fly video processor will always choose the fastest compression and resizing methods which is not always the highest quality
within kodi - i am not aware of any advanced processing as it will follow the above and choose the fastest method

without assuming to know your level of computer knowledge you *might* find good results re-encoding the files at 1080p using ffmpeg on a slow processing setting
this is really not for beginners but not incredibly difficult to work out with some search engine work and some reading

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html

you should be able to find a version for whatever system you are running and multitudes of examples online

Thank you for your useful input. I'd rather use a high-quality scaler that works in real time as eventually I will upgrade to 4K / HDR. Any possibility of the sophistication of MADVR HTPC in KODI running on a Shield pertaining to up/down-scaling?

[Klojum]

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html
you should be able to find a version for whatever system you are running and multitudes of examples online

Kodi has quite an adapted ffmpeg 4.4 version for the use inside Kodi, so good luck with that. Let him use his projector.

[Sam Ash]

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html
you should be able to find a version for whatever system you are running and multitudes of examples online

Kodi has quite an adapted ffmpeg 4.4 version for the use inside Kodi, so good luck with that. Let him use his projector.

Thanks Klojum, it actually works well in KODI, playing 4K content on my 1080p projector provides a better image than playing the native 1080p version. I was just wondering whether there is a way to enhance the image further with a 4K source. It all comes down to the down-scaling algos.

[wsnipex]

there are serveral advanced video scaling algorithms in kodi (implemented in GL shaders) Their availability depends on your platform of choice (not there on low end embedded/android).
play a video, open menu - settings - video settings: video scaling method. Note that those can require a proper gfx card to scale 4k...

[Sam Ash]

there are serveral advanced video scaling algorithms in kodi (implemented in GL shaders) Their availability depends on your platform of choice (not there on low end embedded/android).
play a video, open menu - settings - video settings: video scaling method. Note that those can require a proper gfx card to scale 4k...

Thank you @wsnipex  - I'm using an NVIDIA Shield 2017, I suppose the GPU in these devices don't have the capability to run the more sophisticated video scaling algos.

[izprtxqkft]

https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html
you should be able to find a version for whatever system you are running and multitudes of examples online

Kodi has quite an adapted ffmpeg 4.4 version for the use inside Kodi, so good luck with that. Let him use his projector.

i do need to try to stick to kodi specific recommendations given where i am

[wsnipex]

there are serveral advanced video scaling algorithms in kodi (implemented in GL shaders) Their availability depends on your platform of choice (not there on low end embedded/android).
play a video, open menu - settings - video settings: video scaling method. Note that those can require a proper gfx card to scale 4k...

Thank you @wsnipex  - I'm using an NVIDIA Shield 2017, I suppose the GPU in these devices don't have the capability to run the more sophisticated video scaling algos.

On Android, the whole video decoding and scaling is basically done "by the OS"(android mediacodec), kodi doesn't have the same level of control over it then on PCs, be it linux, windows or osx.
It's pretty much a blackbox, and that's why the specific android device and it's firmware can make a huge difference in terms of objective and subjective performance, quality and features.
The shield is pretty much the reference device for kodi on android and it has a powerful gpu (for an embedded device), but I doubt it could handle those scalers at 4K.

[sarbes]

Thank you @wsnipex  - I'm using an NVIDIA Shield 2017, I suppose the GPU in these devices don't have the capability to run the more sophisticated video scaling algos.

Eh, the Shield should be able to run those at 1080p60, I would guess. But this is practically irrelevant, as the builtin hardware scalers of such devices usually feature 4-tap scalers, similar to our shaders. You are a bit on the mercy of the driver, as Kodi has no control over the weights; but it reduces energy consumption quite a bit and may feature a more or less direct YUV/YUV scanout.

[brettlee007]

it does work nicely with KODI; playing 4K material on my 1080p projector produces a better image than playing the native 1080p version. I was simply wondering if there was any way to improve the image any more using a 4K source. It all boils down to downscaling algorithems

 

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If you want editing and animating your videos easily and free than alight motion is best app.

[wsnipex]

not on android, on other platforms there are more options, but that's no guarantee it would actually look better, objectively or subjectively.