[ZwartePiet]

4K 10-bit YCbCr 4:2:0 mode is the best. This is followed by 1080p/4K RGB Full modes. These are the modes that show the least amount of banding. Absolute color errors are minimal for all the modes. The modes are set based on display settings. 10-bit mode is activated only if the display has HDR capabilities. Otherwise, it would be 8-bit YCbCr or 8-bit RGB for 4K 50/59.94/60Hz modes. For 1080p and 4K 23.976Hz, it is always RGB.

Wouldn't RGB full mode be the best? Almost all commercial video is YCbCr limited, but Kodi needs to convert the color space to RGB to composite the GUI. Outputting YCbCr would require another color space conversion, resulting in more rounding errors and the appearance of banding. AFAIK, LCD televisions will convert their input signal to RGB 4:4:4 anyways so you would be looking at another color space conversion.

If your device is doing the math in a higher bit-depth (e.g. 32-bit float), then accumulated error will be minor. If it's doing everything in 8-bit, then banding will become more obvious the more the video is processed.

[noggin]

I use Full on the Shield and Limited on my Sony Bravia XBR-55HX929, the colors and black levels are AMAZING.

Unless you've altered the calibration settings on your XBR - or the Full and/or Limited settings are being over-ruled then you are watching badly crushed blacks and oversaturated chroma...

Full = black at 0, white at 255
Limited = black at 16, white at 235

If you feed a full signal into a limited input then you are clipping low level content between 0-16 and highlights above 235. This will make blacks look 'super black' (because you are clipping low level black detail) and as a result colours will appear more saturated (unnaturally so).

However it is possible that the limited setting on your TV is being ignored and info frames in the HDMI signal from your Shield are forcing the TV into Full...

Seriously DO NOT recommend running mismatched Limited and Full range settings (apart from when you are using Intel platforms with the spoofed "Limited over Full" driver hack)

[iMak]

I use Full on the Shield and Limited on my Sony Bravia XBR-55HX929, the colors and black levels are AMAZING.

With these settings you are not seeing content the way it was color graded or intended to be seen. As with all visual/auditory stimuli, the best settings are what pleases the individual and not necessarily what conforms to standards

I use Full on the Shield and Limited on my Sony Bravia XBR-55HX929, the colors and black levels are AMAZING.

Unless you've altered the calibration settings on your XBR - or the Full and/or Limited settings are being over-ruled then you are watching badly crushed blacks and oversaturated chroma...

Full = black at 0, white at 255
Limited = black at 16, white at 235

If you feed a full signal into a limited input then you are clipping low level content between 0-16 and highlights above 235. This will make blacks look 'super black' (because you are clipping low level black detail) and as a result colours will appear more saturated (unnaturally so).

However it is possible that the limited setting on your TV is being ignored and info frames in the HDMI signal from your Shield are forcing the TV into Full...

Seriously DO NOT recommend running mismatched Limited and Full range settings (apart from when you are using Intel platforms with the spoofed "Limited over Full" driver hack)

You were absolutely right about mismatched settings. I was missing a lot of details especially in dark scenes, the scenes were too dark and the color over saturated, nice but unreal. Now the Shield and the TV settings are on Auto and color and the black level are normal and I am getting used to it.

Thank you guys.

[Savededa]

Came across this thread due to my hdr streams having this color clipping issue. Super dark blacks and almost blown out whites when streaming and hdr file. The shield is set to ycbcr 10bit 2020 at 4k 59.9hz. I'm totally unsure how to correct this. I feel as if I've tried every available setting to no avail. What am I missing?

[fritsch]

You can't. Kodi has no control at all on Android. All managed by Mediacodec (Surface) and Android's display settings.