jonathan18:

 

Thanks, but the destruction bit is the only part of being a home handyman I'm competent at, even when it's not deliberate...

 

Man, I wish I'd thought my install better when I built the place about six years ago; would have at least put conduit in, as all I have is empty switch boxes behind the TV and cabinet, so trying to get new cables up between them is going to rely on a decent guide wire, which I don't think is in place. So I'll need to use a current but unneeded cable (why would I have thought I needed 2xRCAs?!) to feed through a guide wire and go from there...

 

Speaking of 4K-ready HDMI cables - what's your advice on these, @ShinyChrome? Will any of the relatively reputable looking TM- or eBay-sourced cables that claim to be 4K-ready be ok, or do I need to be wary? I'm just thinking it could make sense to put one (or perhaps even two) in place now before the TV goes up, but my Scrooge mentality means I hate paying heaps for a cable if a cheaper one will do the job, especially when for resolutions below 4K it's just not been worth spending on more expensive cables... Thanks for the advice!

 

Well, 6 years ago is a long time in electronic gadgetry, so I don't blame ya.

I might not be much help to ya there, as I splashed out on some HDMI2.1 capable cables the last time I needed them... but the sale price was nearly the same as the 18gbps equivalents, so I thought why not?

I have only used the Dynamix 18gbps ones previously and they seem to be of good quality for the price, even though they aren't officially certified.

My testing only goes as far as verifying that the TV is correctly receiving a 4K HDR signal passed through my receiver from my Xbox though, so its not exactly a scientific conclusion.

I bought a Chromecast Ultra from 1-day in November.

The specified power cable that is supplied is a USB A to micro USB cable with an Ethernet port in the middle. 

Great news if indeed they're still supplying the CC Ultra with the same cable, so thanks for the heads-up on that.

So I will order one today; at this point I can't imagine we'll be in a rush to purchase another media box as between the CC, the Amazon Fire TV and the built-in apps we have everything covered; with the devices plugged directly into the TV, rather than routing through the amp, I'm not even now in a rush for a new receiver as I have no current need for 4K switching. I'm sure the need for Atmos at some point will come calling, though!

The Amazon Fire is now switched over to using WiFi and is working fine with a 4K stream; we'll see how reliable those Grandstream APs remain... If I do have to go wired then I'll also have to fit a switch behind the TV as well, as there's a single Ethernet cable behind the TV! (Yep, great planning I know.)

Thanks, all, for the advice; much appreciated as usual.

... so, after a bit of poking about in the GPM app, I started to get a bit suspicious - most movies are available in SD or HD, but I couldn't find any with the option to rent in 4K, even with the latest titles (and I've looked at long lists of all the movies they apparently do offer in 4K/HDR). And now, reading the link ShinyChrome posted in another thread on GPM adding support for HDR10+, I read:

Google is offering 4K movies in the US and a few other countries. In most regions of the world, its movies are available in 1080p HD only.

WTH?! And why not provide the option for the rest of the world? And when will this change?!

Clearly someone (ie, me) didn't do their due diligence, and given I've already bought the CC so will be stuck with this for a bit... Will clearly need to look to other sources for 4K HDR movie rental - what services available in NZ would people recommend?

jonathan18:

 

... so, after a bit of poking about in the GPM app, I started to get a bit suspicious - most movies are available in SD or HD, but I couldn't find any with the option to rent in 4K, even with the latest titles (and I've looked at long lists of all the movies they apparently do offer in 4K/HDR). And now, reading the link ShinyChrome posted in another thread on GPM adding support for HDR10+, I read:

 

Google is offering 4K movies in the US and a few other countries. In most regions of the world, its movies are available in 1080p HD only.

 

WTH?! And why not provide the option for the rest of the world? And when will this change?!

 

Clearly someone (ie, me) didn't do their due diligence, and given I've already bought the CC so will be stuck with this for a bit... Will clearly need to look to other sources for 4K HDR movie rental - what services available in NZ would people recommend?

 

Ouch, I missed that myself, but thinking back to the last time I was on GPM, I remember suspecting exactly that. Stinkbuzz!

Unless it is on a 4k capable streaming service, I think you are pretty much stuck with iTunes?

You can try Amazon for 4k. I don't have 4k equipment so cannot test it.

This is the thread I should have read - https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=151&topicid=251257&singlepage=yes

Yeah, it's a bugger, and if I'd known I'd probably not ordered the CC but I guess it'll still be useful to have (though won't explain this issue to my wife!).

I don't believe Amazon offers movie rental in NZ, so sadly that's not an option. But your post did encourage me look a bit further into Amazon, and found they do have an Apple TV app available for the AFTV. Apparently 4K and HDR10 is supported, but no Dolby Vision (also no Atmos, but not an issue for me... at the moment, anyway).

So when I get home I'll try downloading (or sideloading if not available directly) the Apple TV app onto the AFTV, and see how that goes...