Hello everyone,
We have RCN service in DC and a few days ago switched to RCN's "Pyxis" TiVo IPTV boxes from standard cable boxes.
I noticed that the picture is very washed out. Areas that are supposed to be black are shown as dark gray. This is true for both the user interface and video content. For example, the Netflix UI, which has a black background on our Roku and the old RCN box, has a distinctly gray background through this box. Black transitions between scenes in shows are also distinctly gray.
You can see the issue when powering up the box. It starts with the correct black level when showing the Android TV logo. The TiVo logo is initially shown against a correct black background, but a second or two later switches to the gray background from which it never comes back.
My TV (a standard 1080p HDTV) is calibrated, so I have a good idea of its capabilities and contrast ratio. This box is markedly worse than other devices plugged into the same TV with the same settings, and the same is true on our second TV. I've double and triple checked all settings are correct, both on the TV and on the box's device settings menu. None of the available options on the box make a difference.
Note that this happens on both YCbCr and RGB modes, and it is not an RGB 0:255/16:235 levels issue between the box and TV.
The built-in Chromecast is affected. I was able to use that with display calibration software and a colorimeter to compare the black level between the RCN box and a standalone Chromecast connected on the same input. I get a contrast ratio of 3500:1 with the standalone Chromecast, and only about 800:1 with the RCN TiVo box.
I found a thread about the same issue on TiVo's own Stream 4K device. It appears to be something wrong with TiVo's firmware, not a hardware issue:
https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/index.php?threads/video-output-has-wrong-colors.577652/
Unfortunately, it looks as though it was reported a long time ago with no subsequent fix. Users on that forum have more or less determined the source of the problem and have a cumbersome and temporary workaround. I can't use it on RCN's box, though, since I can't access Android developer mode on a rented device.
I am a bit lost on where else to report the problem. I know there at least once were RCN employees on this forum, so I thought I would give it a try here. It does seem to be something with TiVo's firmware, not something RCN is doing. But since it's not a standard TiVo product, I don't think I will be able to get help directly from them.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you!
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