Tag: quality

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Android Auto sounds bad: four tricks to improve the sound quality between your phone and the car


If when you go on a trip you always play your favorite music or podcasts on your Android Auto to liven up the journey and you are not satisfied with the sound quality, or even you do not hear the calls or the assistant’s instructions well, we have good and bad news for you: the bad news is that Google’s infotainment system does not have a tool to improve the audio, but Yes, there are effective solutions so that you can hear Android Auto and the sound that comes from there better..

Android Auto sounds bad. If we analyze in depth the reason for low quality sound or that it does not meet our expectations with the Google infotainment system, we will see that the critical points (leaving aside, of course, the sound system in your car with its respective limitations or possible problems) are in the connection between mobile phone and car, the sound quality of the file or the source configuration, in this case, our Android phone.

Thus, if the mobile phone and the console are connected via Bluetooth, then we face challenges such as interference or compression inherent to the technology to optimize transmission and energy consumption. Likewise, we cannot expect the same quality from a track with high-resolution sound as from a lightweight file that we have downloaded in. Finally, parameters such as volume, balance, equalization or even the sound mode configured in the application from which we play on the mobile affect the final result through the car.

I want to improve my sound experience with Android Auto

Of the possible causes why our sound experience with Android Auto can clearly be improved, some solutions can already be anticipated.

  • Better wired than Bluetooth. Wireless connections are exposed to problems such as drops, problems, delays, inferior data transfers… which with the cable you minimize the probability of happening or directly avoid. Transmitting with cable it is possible for the system to receive sound without loss or compression, which translates into sound with more sharpness and clarity.
  • With downloaded music there is less risk. In the same way that offline maps are insurance for areas without coverage, if you download the podcasts or albums that interest you to your mobile before starting your trip, you can choose the best quality for the process and enjoy it later. Otherwise, you are exposed to optimizing the use of mobile networks and the coverage.
  • Spend time setting up the playback app. It is worth investing some time in trying the different options offered by both players (if you have the music downloaded to the device) and streaming services that also allow it, such as Spotify or Amazon Music, for example the volume, the equalizer , sound effects, modes. So, if, for example, you use Spotify without downloading music, you can adjust the audio quality to the most ambitious (although you will use more data).

  • Beware of Dolby Atmos. Your phone may support Dolby Atmos, a technology that offers a more immersive and immersive experience. Bad news: Android Auto is not and that can result in some distortion or losses. So when you play music from your cell phone so that it plays in the car, it is better to deactivate it.

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Change DAZN image quality: You have these options if the image is bad


If the image quality of your stream on DAZN suddenly deteriorates and the image appears pixelated or even blurry, there can be many reasons. Sometimes these problems are due to a bad internet connection, but there can also be problems with the player or even with the provider.

DAZN image quality: These tricks can help

Unfortunately, DAZN does not offer you the option of adjusting the picture quality of your stream so that you can enjoy a perfectly sharp and good picture again. However, you can try a few tricks to fix the (possible) causes of the problem mentioned above.

If you are watching DAZN via a mobile hotspot, you should switch to your home WLAN if possible. Mobile hotspots are often used by several users, which can affect the transmission rate and thus the streaming quality of individual users.

Another option would be to close and reopen DAZN again. In some cases, this alone can help solve the problem. Or you switch to another device to watch DAZN on it.

Sometimes poor transmission quality can be traced back to the provider, for example when too many users want to access the DAZN program at the same time, for example in the case of particularly exciting Champions League games. In such situations, there isn’t much you can do except accept the poor quality or wait for the provider to fix the problem. In our DAZN malfunction reporter you can find out how the provider’s servers are currently doing.

More information about DAZN

We tested the streaming service DAZN for you. In separate articles we will also inform you about the costs of DAZN and the cancellation conditions at DAZN.

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How to know if your mobile is playing Netflix, Disney + or Amazon Prime Video in maximum quality


Most streaming platforms offer different playback qualities to their users. These have settings in the respective apps, although companies Limit aspects like resolution or HDR to select Android phones. How do you know which ones are compatible with the highest quality? We teach you how to find out.

Mobile not only provides access to messaging and games, but watching movies and TV shows is generally one of the ways to take advantage of the phone’s growing screens. And Netflix is ​​generally one of the most used, along with other platforms like Amazon Prime Video or Disney +: all offer a more or less voluminous catalog that can be viewed in different qualities. As usual, not all mobiles can access the best breeding conditions. But do you know why and how to know if your mobile is suitable? The key is in Widevine, a file protection or DRM system.

Widevine, the DRM that dictates reproduction quality

This is one of the key aspects of any Android mobile and the first thing to know whether your mobile can play high resolution streaming content or not. Widevine is a protection system or DRM which ensures reproduction of protected content to avoid copying and sharing. On Android, most platforms use this system. And manufacturers certify their phones with Widevine so they can access streaming apps.

One of the key aspects of Widevine DRM is that it Divides devices into two levels for their playability: L1 and L3 (Widevine is L2 level, but not used on Android). In terms of resolution, here’s how the two certifications work:

  • These mobiles Widevine L3 certified They will have access to playback on Netflix, Disney + or Amazon Prime Video up to maximum SD resolution (standard or basic, up to 720p).
  • Widevine L1 offers high resolution playback, above 720p. The decoding process is more demanding than Widevine L3, many midrange to low range mobiles are not certified for the top level (the reason is often attributed to the material contained). Additionally, having a Widevine L1 certified mobile means that it is also compatible with the lower level, L3.

Having a phone with Widevine L3 or L1 makes a remarkable difference as the reproduction quality differs greatly from one to another. It doesn’t matter if your mobile phone has an FHD screen if it is certified with Widevine L3: Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video and the rest of the usual platforms they will only download the SD version of the streaming; so you can see the somewhat pixelated content.

As long as your mobile has a high resolution screen, if your mobile has Widevine L3, you will see Netflix in SD

How do you know which Widevine level your mobile understands? You can check it as follows:

  • Download an app that can read DRM certification. For example, DevCheck Hardware and System Info. This app offers a wealth of information with everything your Android has, hardware and software.
  • Open the app and go to the « System » tab.
  • Go down to where it says « Widevine » and look at the security level, « Security Level ». It will appear there if you have L1 or L3. If your mobile is not Widevine certified, this part should appear blank.

Widevine L1 Safety Certified

With Widevine, you can access content in SD or HD resolution, depending on the level of security in DRM. And if your mobile doesn’t incorporate any certification, such as cooked ROMs, you may be able to use a Magisk module, like the one from XDA developers.

Can your mobile phone stream Netflix in HDR?

Besides resolution, which is a fundamental aspect of the quality of any video, Netflix offers HDR playback to just a few phones. And it does not matter here that your mobile has a screen compatible with HDR standards: Netflix will only play this way if the phone is certified by the platform for it.

To know Which phones are compatible with Netflix in HDR you need one of the following:

MARK MODEL
GOOGLE Googloe Pixel 3 et Pixel 3 XL
HONOR / HUAWEI Honor 10
Honor play
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Huawei Mate 20
Huawei P20
Huawei P30 and P30 Pro
LG LG G6
LG G7
LG G7 One
LG Q9 One
LG X5
LG V30
LG V35
LG V40
ONEPLUS OnePlus 7 and 7 Pro
RAZER Razer Phone
Razer Phone 2
SAMSUNG Samsung Galaxy Fold et Fold 5G
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 et Note 10+
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Samsung Galaxy Tab S4
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Samsung Galaxy S9 et S9 +
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 + et S20 Ultra
SONY Sony Xperia 1
Sony Xperia 1 II
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Sony Xperia XZ1
Sony Xperia XZ2
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium
Sony Xperia XZ3
TCL TCL 10 Pro
XIAOMI Xiaomi Mi 9T and Mi 9T Pro
Xiaomi Mi 10 et Mi 10 Pro
Xiaomi Redmi K20 et K20 Pro

Whether you meet the requirements does not imply the highest quality

Ok, your mobile is compatible with Widevine L1. It’s even certified to play HDR content. Now, are you still going to get access to the highest quality streaming available? The answer is no, because other factors also come into play.

In addition to compatibility with certificates and reproduction standards, streaming depends on the quality of your network, whether it is WiFi or mobile. This way if your internet connection is saturated, surely you can only access SD playback. You will even enjoy terribly pixelated scenes with drops of « frames » against which you can do nothing. And there is one final point to keep in mind: most streaming platforms has reduced quality by confinement, you will therefore not appreciate the 100% clear image at all stages of the day (the platforms have chosen to lower the « bitrate » or the flow, the amount of information that passes per second).

Source: Frandroid

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Which streaming service has better picture quality: we compare Netflix, HBO, Disney +, Prime Video and seven other platforms

Over the past few months, due to lockdown and demands from the European Union, major video streaming services have reduced bitrate or bit rate and resolution which in several cases has become too visible.

When practically all the services returned to normal (Netflix partially, Amazon did not confirm anything), we wanted to compare the speed and the resolution of the main services, in order to be able to determine what are the image quality indicators in this new normal.

The tests we carried out with a tool for developers of Apple TV 4K, we will therefore only include data from applications present in the device’s App Store, so that all data is directly comparable. The flow rate that we will show in the comparison table is the average number, not the peaks, as the tool shows. The maximum quality may vary by title, but we’ve picked some that represent the best of each platform.

Apple TV + dominates, Disney + and Netflix follow

PLATFORM BITRATE 4K BITRATE 1080p BITRATE 720p
Apple TV + 26 Mbps 8,84 Mbps 2,56 Mbps
Disney + 16,59 Mbps 7,42 Mbps 4,42 Mbps
Netflix 16,64 Mbps 6,44 Mbps 3,06 Mbps
Video premium 10,02 Mbps 5,12 Mbps 3,18 Mbps
HBO ND 3,75 Mbps 2,55 Mbps
The movie ND 4,13 Mbps 2,57 Mbps
FlixOlé ND 6,66 Mbps 2,68 Mbps
Atresplayer Premium ND 3,68 Mbps 2,4 Mbps
RTVE Alacarta ND ND 2,79 Mbps
Sky ND ND 3,26 Mbps
FuboTV ND ND 3,2 Mbps

As we have seen in our tests, The category’s highest dominator at 4K is Apple TV +, and it’s a newcomer. The speed exceeds by almost 10 Mbps that of its maximum competitors in this regard, Disney + and Netflix, who are more or less couples after childbirth (Not all Netflix series and movies are 100% quality today.)

Amazon is also far from the podium, but maybe that’s because they haven’t restored their peak quality yet (although they do offer 4K, which they did not do while in custody). We asked the company about this, to no avail. According to data from Flatpanels, the maximum quality in 4K should be around 15 Mbps, equal to that of the rest of the big ones in 4K.

Try Apple TV +

Try ‘Altered Carbon’ on Netflix


Try ‘Avengers: Endgame’ on Disney +

From here, 4K and HDR run out, and practically with it also what we can consider very good picture quality with the codecs they use. In 1080p, history repeats itself, with the podium again being led by Apple and followed by Disney + and Netflix. After them and Amazon comes the first surprise: a platform like FlixOlé, depending on the content chosen, can have a correct speed of 6.66 Mbps, higher than that of HBO and FILMIN, depending on the titles and scenes, they have a quality that can be problematic, as we saw with chapter 8 × 03 of “Game of Thrones” compared with the Blu-Ray version.

“Westworld” on HBO. Low bit rate with AVC / H.264

RTVE Alacarta, Sky and FuboTV do not have content available in 1080p, so they have to be content not to make a mistake at 720p, but of course, it’s bad video to fill as many millions of pixels as a 4K or 8K display implies. In the arena where they go head to head, the 720p Arena, the winner is Disney +, and Apple drops a bit, although now we will analyze why it looks better than some of its weaker rivals having even lower bitrate, because there is life beyond the numbers.

The numbers are not everything to explain the quality of the image

Despite the fact that Apple doesn’t win at 720p, it still looks a lot better than others with similar bitrate numbers. The key is in the codec: QHVC section of HEVC.

Throughout the article and looking at the table, we mentioned that the quality of the Apple TV + is a step or a step and a half above the rest at 1080p and 4K. And it’s true, however, Even if there had been a connection between Apple TV + and HBO, the painting wouldn’t tell the whole story.

And that wouldn’t be because, in the first place, it doesn’t count that Apple (and the two that top the list) offers its original content in HDR Dolby Vision, which can be much larger than the resolution to have a spectacular color gamut and, above all, enormous detail in highlights and shadows, those in which with the standard dynamic range (SDR) it is difficult to distinguish what is going on in them.

The numbers don’t explain everything, but Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Disney have all the extras to deliver the best in addition to speed.

But there is more. A good bit rate is just as important as a good compression algorithm and a good codec. And this is what explains that despite the fact that Apple TV + is one of the losers in 720p bitrate, then it looks much better in this resolution than HBO, FILMIN, Atresplayer, etc. The explanation is that all of these platforms, the ones that don’t have 4K or HDR, encode using H.264 / AVC, which is much less efficient than H.265 / HEVC or similar than Apple and others use it with their HDR content. With SDR content and only available in Full HD, the big ones also encode in AVC.

So, All things being equal, between HBO and Apple TV + at 720, Apple’s video looks much better.. So, 4K video compressed in H.265 can be viewed just as well (or even better for other exclusive features) than H.264 32 Mbps. And H.266 again promises a similar advance. This is why it is so important that departments embrace technical innovations presented by hardware manufacturers and consortia.

Source : Engadget

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TUTORIAL : Helldivers 2: Should you play in quality or performance mode on PS5?


Like many PlayStation 5 games, Helldivers 2 offers fans the option to play in either a Quality mode that makes the game look fantastic, or a Performance mode that helps the game run like butter. Which one to choose before getting started?

Should you play Helldivers 2 in quality or performance mode on PS5?

Screenshot by blog

Helldivers 2 is an attractive game no matter what graphics setting you play on, but if you’re hoping for the best picture imaginable, you’ll want to choose quality mode. There is, however, a big drawback to this mode: 30 frames per second. You’ll be aiming for 30 frames per second at pure 4K resolution, so the overall picture quality will be stunning no matter what type of TV or monitor you’re playing on.

On the other side of the coin, you will have Performance mode. This provides a 1080p experience at 60FPS – the game won’t look as sharp, but it runs at a smoother FPS, making the shooter feel more snappy and satisfying. After starting the game in Performance mode by default, I cannot recommend playing in Quality mode, even if you are looking for the most perfect display options available.

How to make quality mode look good in Helldivers 2

Screenshot by blog.

While the drop to 1080p might be a bit disappointing, wasn’t 1440p an option here? – you can still make the game look pretty fantastic on any screen. There are a variety of graphics settings you can change in Helldivers 2 on PlayStation 5, and I recommend using the following:

  • Camera Shake Intensity – Personal Preference
  • Vertical Field of View – Personal Preference
  • Motion Blur – Personal Preference

  • Depth of Field – Enabled

  • Quality Profile – Performance
  • Antialiasing – Disabled (TAA makes the game blurrier)
  • Sharpness – 1.00

Read also : How to get the castle build in LEGO Fortnite

It won’t be 4K like we would have hoped, but it will at least improve the overall look of the game and make it pop on your screen alongside the crisp 60FPS to make squashing bugs and Terminators all the more exciting.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on our Helldivers 2 section below to learn more about the game and find out what you’ll need to do to Add friends on other platforms.