# Genie 4k issues



## Thalador (Nov 27, 2006)

Hey all,

Got DTV installed last week. 1 Genie hooked up to my 60" plasma and 1 4k mini hooked up to my 65" Samsung 4k tv. They are all connected via coax.

On the mini when I hit Guide or menu I got a blaring white screen for 1-2 seconds before it loads the menu. This is also happening when I change channels. Also seems like watching recordings is slow and staggers a bit.

Looking for some suggestions before I call support. I read a bunch of sites said do a reset, change resolution etc. Tried all of that and no change.

Thanks


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## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Thalador said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Got DTV installed last week. 1 Genie hooked up to my 60" plasma and 1 4k mini hooked up to my 65" Samsung 4k tv. They are all connected via coax.
> 
> ...


Try going to settings, display, video and change bar color to black and see if that helps.


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## Thalador (Nov 27, 2006)

RAD said:


> Try going to settings, display, video and change bar color to black and see if that helps.


I will give it a try when I get home, thanks


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

Unless your mini is a c61K and connected to the 4K Hdmi Port 2.0/2.2 You won't be getting Live 4K resolution.


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## btedford (Mar 10, 2010)

Thalador said:


> Hey all,
> 
> Got DTV installed last week. 1 Genie hooked up to my 60" plasma and 1 4k mini hooked up to my 65" Samsung 4k tv. They are all connected via coax.
> 
> ...


I have the same issue...when I try changing the bar color it just reverts back to grey. It's only been an issue since I had my c61k replaced.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

btedford said:


> I have the same issue...when I try changing the bar color it just reverts back to grey. It's only been an issue since I had my c61k replaced.


Turn off power savings


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## NR4P (Jan 16, 2007)

Try turning native OFF, and preselect only 1080i, 1080p and 4K as resolutions.
(You need to be tuned to a 4K channel to select 4K).

But there is a delay when switching from 1080 to 4K on the C61K.
RVU generally is faster in this respect.


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## Thalador (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks for all the info. I changed it to black and that did help, but I still see a noticeable delay when changing channels on live tv. If I go from local channel 1 to local 2, for example, it seems to take 2-3 seconds to "tune in". Is this normal with a wired 4k mini? ( I know it isn't in 4k but I keep putting that in just for info sake). I am coming from cable where everything is very quick. Am I just expecting too much? I don't remember a delay like this on Dish years ago.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

Thalador said:


> Thanks for all the info. I changed it to black and that did help, but I still see a noticeable delay when changing channels on live tv. If I go from local channel 1 to local 2, for example, it seems to take 2-3 seconds to "tune in". Is this normal with a wired 4k mini? ( I know it isn't in 4k but I keep putting that in just for info sake). I am coming from cable where everything is very quick. Am I just expecting too much? I don't remember a delay like this on Dish years ago.


That is caused By the Digital "handshake" - You could try a Different HDMI cable (not saying) that will fix it but something to try ,also try setting the receiver TV resolution to only one type Example-1080i that may stop it from syncing for other resolutions.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Thalador said:


> Thanks for all the info. I changed it to black and that did help, but I still see a noticeable delay when changing channels on live tv. If I go from local channel 1 to local 2, for example, it seems to take 2-3 seconds to "tune in". Is this normal with a wired 4k mini? ( I know it isn't in 4k but I keep putting that in just for info sake). I am coming from cable where everything is very quick. Am I just expecting too much? I don't remember a delay like this on Dish years ago.


From what I read that is as fast as it will ever change.
My HR24 takes 5 seconds.

Try setting the Display to Native: OFF and see if that helps you any.
Also look at the resolutions you have selected. I turn all mine off except for 720p and 1080i.


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## Thalador (Nov 27, 2006)

I will try the resolution change. I think I have 720p, 1080i, 1080p and 4k chosen right now. As for HDMI I will swap it, but it is the one DTV provided so I assumed it would work well.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

Thalador said:


> Thanks for all the info. I changed it to black and that did help, but I still see a noticeable delay when changing channels on live tv. If I go from local channel 1 to local 2, for example, it seems to take 2-3 seconds to "tune in". Is this normal with a wired 4k mini? ( I know it isn't in 4k but I keep putting that in just for info sake). I am coming from cable where everything is very quick. Am I just expecting too much? I don't remember a delay like this on Dish years ago.


 The fastest way to change channels is to enter the channel number on you remote followed by pressing ENTER. With this method channel changing times using the following, HR54-200 connected to a C61K-700 connected to a Sony XBR-55X900C......HD to HD 3 seconds......HD to SD 4 seconds......SD to SD 3 seconds......HD to 4K 5 seconds......SD to 4K 5-6 seconds.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Thalador said:


> I will try the resolution change. I think I have 720p, 1080i, 1080p and 4k chosen right now. As for HDMI I will swap it, but it is the one DTV provided so I assumed it would work well.


You might try selecting only 4K. That would force the C61K to do the upscaling instead of your TV, eliminating the delay where it sends different resolutions that your TV has to detect and handle itself. Assuming you find little or no difference in picture quality, this might help those channel changes happen more quickly.

I'm not positive, but that resolution change may be causing an HDMI reset, which forces HDCP renegotiation, which is why you see it take such a long time.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

MysteryMan said:


> The fastest way to change channels is to enter the channel number on you remote followed by pressing ENTER. With this method channel changing times using the following, HR54-200 connected to a C61K-700 connected to a Sony XBR-55X900C......HD to HD 3 seconds......HD to SD 4 seconds......SD to SD 3 seconds......HD to 4K 5 seconds......SD to 4K 5-6 seconds.


I'm getting these channel changing speeds with Native set to On and all Resolutions selected.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Thalador said:


> I will try the resolution change. I think I have 720p, 1080i, 1080p and 4k chosen right now. As for HDMI I will swap it, but it is the one DTV provided so I assumed it would work well.


Turn off native. And only select 1080 and 4k. It takes a lot longer on some tvs if you are changing resolutions as you change channels.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

inkahauts said:


> Turn off native. And only select 1080 and 4k. It takes a lot longer on some tvs if you are changing resolutions as you change channels.


I would select only 4K. What's the point of selecting anything else, when the TV is going to upscale it to 4K anyway? Unless your TV is doing a visibly much better job of upscaling, that is.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

slice1900 said:


> I would select only 4K. What's the point of selecting anything else, when the TV is going to upscale it to 4K anyway? Unless your TV is doing a visibly much better job of upscaling, that is.


Not sure if you can. Think it's just like 1080p. I don't believe the c61k will output anything at 4k unless it's actually 4k.


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## I WANT MORE (Oct 3, 2006)

Correct. You can NOT select 4k only. You must choose at least one of the other resolutions in addition to 4k.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

Unlike other DIRECTV receivers, the C61K can up scale everything to 1080p if that option is selected. Only 4K content will display on 4K, it will not up scale HD to 4K. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

slice1900 said:


> I would select only 4K. What's the point of selecting anything else, when the TV is going to upscale it to 4K anyway? Unless your TV is doing a visibly much better job of upscaling, that is.


My TV does a better job than my HR24 does with the upscaling.
I am currently watching the Masters and it looks awesome. Same thing with the races on FS1.


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## IcEWoLF (Jan 14, 2007)

Directv Mini is the worst piece of hardware I've ever seen, it's slow, it's sloppy, requires regular rebooting because at times it gets laggy and slow switching through channels or scrolling through them.
Their technology on those clients is total garbage, Dish has better hardware, hell even the UVerse wireless clients are light years better than Directv Mini genie.

I hope they come out with something better, I think the processing power on the minis are just total crap, I would t be surprised if they are using 10 year old technology on those clients.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

IcEWoLF said:


> Directv Mini is the worst piece of hardware I've ever seen, it's slow, it's sloppy, requires regular rebooting because at times it gets laggy and slow switching through channels or scrolling through them.
> Their technology on those clients is total garbage, Dish has better hardware, hell even the UVerse wireless clients are light years better than Directv Mini genie.
> 
> I hope they come out with something better, I think the processing power on the minis are just total crap, I would t be surprised if they are using 10 year old technology on those clients.


And yet the one mini we have has had none of these issues. In 5 years of use, we've never intentionally rebooted the mini, yet it is still faster than other devices in our system. We've never had U-verse or Dish, so I can't compare.


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

trh said:


> And yet the one mini we have has had none of these issues. In 5 years of use, we've never intentionally rebooted the mini, yet it is still faster than other devices in our system. We've never had U-verse or Dish, so I can't compare.


Same here. My C61K-700 is very responsive to remote commands. On the other hand my patience is wearing thin with the dreaded audio drop out issue many of us are experiencing.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

IcEWoLF said:


> Directv Mini is the worst piece of hardware I've ever seen, it's slow, it's sloppy, requires regular rebooting because at times it gets laggy and slow switching through channels or scrolling through them.
> Their technology on those clients is total garbage, Dish has better hardware, hell even the UVerse wireless clients are light years better than Directv Mini genie.
> 
> I hope they come out with something better, I think the processing power on the minis are just total crap, I would t be surprised if they are using 10 year old technology on those clients.


Let me guess, you have an HR34? And what model minis do you have?

The main genie is your issue either way. Or your system wiring has issues. Minis normally don't have your issues, so I suggest starting a thread and asking for help getting them working right.

But again if you have an HR34 that IS the issue. That thing is awful.


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## CTJon (Feb 5, 2007)

My 2 wireless mini's have none of those problems. The only issue I have, and it is no big deal, is after a system reboot - like a power glitch - it takes a few seconds for the wireless to connect to the system. Again that is probably 3 seconds and it only happens after the Genie has been rebooted for whatever reason.


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## trh (Nov 3, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> Same here. My C61K-700 is very responsive to remote commands. On the other hand my patience is wearing thin with the dreaded audio drop out issue many of us are experiencing.


I hear you. We have new TVs and don't need/want to go to 4K. But even if we could overlook the paucity of available programming, I think DIRECTV's current equipment requirements would stop us. Plus the audio issues. I just hope that when the new system comes out, those with the 61K will be able to swap out their equipment w/o any fees.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

IcEWoLF said:


> Directv Mini is the worst piece of hardware I've ever seen, it's slow, it's sloppy, requires regular rebooting because at times it gets laggy and slow switching through channels or scrolling through them.
> Their technology on those clients is total garbage, Dish has better hardware, hell even the UVerse wireless clients are light years better than Directv Mini genie.
> 
> I hope they come out with something better, I think the processing power on the minis are just total crap, I would t be surprised if they are using 10 year old technology on those clients.


Curious to know which Genie model your currently have?

There is really no need for a lot of horse power in these clients, what they have now is well enough for its purpose.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dod1450 (Dec 16, 2009)

btedford said:


> I have the same issue...when I try changing the bar color it just reverts back to grey. It's only been an issue since I had my c61k replaced.


 I have had two c61k replace and they both had the same symptoms.


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## btedford (Mar 10, 2010)

dod1450 said:


> I have had two c61k replace and they both had the same symptoms.


According to DirecTV this is a known issue

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dod1450 (Dec 16, 2009)

For those who had the c65k grey default problem. I was wondering if some of you had any issues converting to RAV connection that some TV's do support?


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## dod1450 (Dec 16, 2009)

btedford said:


> According to DirecTV this is a known issue
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 So when will this be resolved??


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

dod1450 said:


> So when will this be resolved??


Soon.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> Soon.


Did the 921 firmware fix this? Not sure why the slow rollout on this


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

dod1450 said:


> For those who had the c65k grey default problem. I was wondering if some of you had any issues converting to RAV connection that some TV's do support?


No I don't have the issue with my Samsung RVU


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

compnurd said:


> Did the 921 firmware fix this? Not sure why the slow rollout on this


"Soon" is a in-house joke. Firmware releases come in waves, not all at once.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> "Soon" is a in-house joke. Firmware releases come in waves, not all at once.


Wave is a little nuts here. They rolled out 921 to the rest of c series in 2 weeks. The C61k has been slowing waving here for 6 weeks


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

compnurd said:


> Wave is a little nuts here. They rolled out 921 to the rest of c series in 2 weeks. The C61k has been slowing waving here for 6 weeks


The last time my C61K-700 received a software update was in August,2016.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> The last time my C61K-700 received a software update was in August,2016.


Likewise. However 921 was pushing on reds site for while and several people commented on getting it and it fixing the color bug


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

compnurd said:


> Likewise. However 921 was pushing on reds site for while and several people commented on getting it and it fixing the color bug


I'm not afflicted with the color bug but I do have the infamous audio drop out issue with my C61K-700.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> I'm not afflicted with the color bug but I do have the infamous audio drop out issue with my C61K-700.


I have not had that since about 3 firmwares ago on my tv


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## btedford (Mar 10, 2010)

compnurd said:


> Likewise. However 921 was pushing on reds site for while and several people commented on getting it and it fixing the color bug


I have 0x921 on my C61K-700 and it hasn't fixed the issue for me

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## yobear (Aug 25, 2007)

btedford said:


> I have 0x921 on my C61K-700 and it hasn't fixed the issue for me
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This is a little depressing...I'm still on 0x8b6 and just got off the phone with Directv who informed me that's it's a known software issue and a new box won't fix it...but he implied new firmware should fix the problem...I should have told him that was the same reason given in Feb when I first had this box installed.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

yobear said:


> This is a little depressing...I'm still on 0x8b6 and just got off the phone with Directv who informed me that's it's a known software issue and a new box won't fix it...but he implied new firmware should fix the problem...I should have told him *that was the same reason given in Feb when I first had this box installed.*


You were pacified! Been going on for some time.

Rich


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

yobear said:


> This is a little depressing...I'm still on 0x8b6 and just got off the phone with Directv who informed me that's it's a known software issue and a new box won't fix it...but he implied new firmware should fix the problem...I should have told him that was the same reason given in Feb when I first had this box installed.


Try unplugging the receiver for a few minutes and then plug it back in. I believe that one of the first things it does is see if there is new software and load it up.


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## Chadf (Feb 5, 2018)

peds48 said:


> Unlike other DIRECTV receivers, the C61K can up scale everything to 1080p if that option is selected. Only 4K content will display on 4K, it will not up scale HD to 4K.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Could you please tell us where that option to upscale everything to 1080p is? Please! I've been looking because my AVR or TV will only upscale 1080p content to 4K. Right now I get everything in 1080i, unless I'm on a 4K channel.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Chadf said:


> Could you please tell us where that option to upscale everything to 1080p is? Please! I've been looking because my AVR or TV will only upscale 1080p content to 4K. Right now I get everything in 1080i, unless I'm on a 4K channel.


You should just let your TV change it to 1080p. The new upscaling engines are very good now. No matter what does it, the feed from DTV is 1080i unless you downloaded a 1080p movie or show.


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## Chadf (Feb 5, 2018)

My Sony 900e only upscales 1080p content to 4K like my AVR. They don’t do anything to lower resolutions unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion though, I’ll double check the TV options.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Chadf said:


> My Sony 900e only upscales 1080p content to 4K like my AVR. They don't do anything to lower resolutions unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion though, I'll double check the TV options.


Not sure this will work but have you been into Resolutions settings on the mini and checked Only the 1080p and then go into preferences in Display and turned Native to OFF.


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Chadf said:


> Could you please tell us where that option to upscale everything to 1080p is? Please! I've been looking because my AVR or TV will only upscale 1080p content to 4K. Right now I get everything in 1080i, unless I'm on a 4K channel.


In your manual on page 7 is a statement about the resolution.
Copied and pasted link to manual. https://docs.sony.com/release//REF_4690447121.pdf

Can't Copy and paste statement. Look at the bottom of the first box on page 7.
*All input signals are converted to 3,840 dots x 2160 lines. *
This is the reason they look better than a 1080p TV even if you are watching lower resolution inputs.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

jimmie57 said:


> In your manual on page 7 is a statement about the resolution.
> Copied and pasted link to manual. https://docs.sony.com/release//REF_4690447121.pdf
> 
> Can't Copy and paste statement. Look at the bottom of the first box on page 7.
> ...


Suggest a NEW user Name -Hawkeye I've had a 900E since May and missed that -LOL no wounder I'm throwing rocks at my 2014 lcd -LOL


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## jimmie57 (Jun 26, 2010)

Chadf said:


> My Sony 900e only upscales 1080p content to 4K like my AVR. They don't do anything to lower resolutions unfortunately. Thanks for the suggestion though, I'll double check the TV options.


I would set my AVR to just Pass Thru whatever signal the mini sends it. 
You can try it both ways to see if there is any difference and choose the one that is better for you.


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## Chadf (Feb 5, 2018)

Well cool, did some digging, my tv upscales everything automatically. So it display the info of its incoming signal, but upscales to 4K anything that’s less than 4K. Thanks for the suggestion Jimmie


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Chadf said:


> Well cool, did some digging, my tv upscales everything automatically. So it display the info of its incoming signal, but upscales to 4K anything that's less than 4K. Thanks for the suggestion Jimmie


They upscale everything you throw at them. 1080p will give you the best picture. 720p will give you a lesser picture. A DVD will look awful. BDs will look great. 480p? Fuhgeddaboudit! GIGO is the rule when it comes to upscaling.

Rich


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Does the C61K downscale as well as upscale? If you connect it to a 1080p TV and tune a 4Kp60 channel, does it feed 1080p60 to the TV? Or less? Or refuse to even tune a 4K channel if it isn't connected to a 4K TV?


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

slice1900 said:


> Does the C61K downscale as well as upscale? If you connect it to a 1080p TV and tune a 4Kp60 channel, does it feed 1080p60 to the TV? Or less? Or refuse to even tune a 4K channel if it isn't connected to a 4K TV?


It just flat out refuses if you use a non 4K UHD TV- There's a nag that says your TV is not supported for 4K UHD, or something along those lines.

I put a Monoprice 4K 2way splitter on my C61K a couple months ago. One output went to my 4K TV and another to a 1080P TV. No matter what channel I tuned to, once the C61K saw a signal going to the 1080P TV, the C61K immediately adjusted the resolution to 1080P max to both sets. It also automatically 'Unchecked' 4K in the menu resolution settings.


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## slice1900 (Feb 14, 2013)

Very annoying, I hope they fix that. When Directv transitioned from SD to HD the HD channels were nowhere near synced to the SD channels - they ran 5-10 seconds behind (that's probably still true, I haven't checked) I'm guessing with 4K the same will be true.

That was easily solved by upgrading to HD receivers everywhere even on the SD TVs until they were all replaced with plasmas, which took place over three years. I would anticipate I'd do the same with 4K TVs, or take even longer, but if I can't put a 4K receiver on an HD TV and play the 4K channel at HD resolution I'll have to stick with HD receivers until all my TVs are 4K. Stupid. Hopefully future versions of the C61K won't suffer from this limitation.


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## I WANT MORE (Oct 3, 2006)

EVERY display scales to it's resolution.
If it did not you would either have a portion of the picture outside of the borders of the set or a small rectangular box in the middle of the screen. 
In most instances it is best to set your D* receiver to "native" and your AVR to "pass-through".


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