SEIKI 39" 4K HDTV now does true 120Hz at 1920x1080 (flash 50" firmware onto 39")

Spartan F8

1,297 posts · Joined 2012

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#2 · Jan 5, 2014

I am so happy to see this. I will be flashing mine tonight.

 

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ae-?a

125 posts · Joined 2008

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#3 · Jan 5, 2014

Wow... so some more unexpected benefits of the 50 inch firmware....

The scaling is now simple pixel doubling at 1920x1080 so it so it renders well without the scaler messing with the image. This is better scaling (IMHO) for computer/game use which is what people running at 1080p@120hz would do. See the difference.

Here is the 39 inch standard firmware:



And here is with the 50 inch firmware. The difference is plain.



I know a ton of people preferred this method of scaling. I am guessing its a difference in the i2c commands being sent to the display is causing this. I think this is probably a plus for most although this does make the scaling at 2560x1440 more jagged but more bolded IMHO so it could be argued which is better at resolutions that don't scaler perfectly.

Also this is not completely verified yet but it is looking like the issue of the 39 inch neading an HDMI detective so that when you power it off windows thinks the display went away also appears to be fixed. I haven't tested enough to verify this yet though. I haven't had windows get resized and all moved to one monitor since I flashed it with the new firmware.

I also assume this will fix the issue where the display turns off after several hours of use as well as I have seen that several times on the 39 inch but its never happened to me on the 50 inch model.

I didn't notice any difference in input lag at 4k @ 30 hz though.

 

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epbel

2 posts · Joined 2014

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#4 · Mar 17, 2014

Hi Guys,

I can't get the update to start... I followed the instructions on the Seiki website but the power light stays solid red. I downloaded the ZIP file and put it on a 4GB stick with FAT32 and on a 256MB with FAT and neither worked? I tried zipped and unzipped. I tried the 39 and the 50.

 

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epbel

2 posts · Joined 2014

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#5 · Mar 17, 2014

Got it!

Okay here's my findings from a noob perspective. I was able to enter the service menu from reading this article.

http://www.terracode.com/Seiki_SE39UY04_review/Seiki_SE39UY04_review_P1.html
Thank you Terracode

To enter the service menu, press "MENU, 0 ,0, 0, 0"
Then select software update.

Then I used the firmware I found in this post.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1442986/playing-with-my-seiki-se39uy04-got-it-to-do-1440p-at-60hz-playing-with-other-custom-stuff/60#post_21824933

http://box.houkouonchi.jp/seiki_firm/install.img

Thank you ae-?a

The first thing I noticed is that a desktop at 120HZ on such a big screen is memorizing. WOW. Unfortunately, I'm using the panel as a 4k monitor so it really doesn't do much for me but It's still impressive.

This probably doesn't need to be said for most of you but to the newcomers to this screen, when using it with a computer, always turn the sharpness down to 0.

 

Pip Boy

5,458 posts · Joined 2010

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#6 · Mar 18, 2014

is there a 60hz version @ 4k of this in the works or new models coming out that are improved? 39" seems like an ideal size, 28" 4k is too small and 50" is too big.

 

bobbybluz

47 posts · Joined 2011

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#7 · Aug 20, 2014

I found this thread and did the 50" firmware on my 39" last night. There's a big difference in display quality for the better after the flash. Running off a HD 7950 in HDMI the colors pop a lot better and was the first thing I noticed. It also shows up as the 50" in the Catalyst Control Center. I'm going to play around more with it later today.

 

Ray2kay

4 posts · Joined 2012

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#8 · Sep 2, 2014

Ok, so i recently purchase the 50inch version and im trying to use the custom firmware, but when i try to flash it says usb searching failure. I have formatted the USB with Fat, Fat32 etc. Still no luck, its like it doesnt see the file inside the usb drive. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

 

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RussellB

1 post · Joined 2014

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#9 · Sep 20, 2014

First of all, you don't need to use the 50 inch monitor firmware on the 39 inch monitor. The latest 39 inch monitor firmware on the Seiki website at
http://www.seiki.com/support/downloads.php
works fine. Look for the file listed as
Model # SE39UY04 - 20130828 With Backlight And color TEMP

and download it to the root of some ordinary FAT 32-formatted (the typical format) USB flash drive. Second point, if the Seiki monitor will not update the firmware immediately from your USB flash drive, simply copy the software update to SOME OTHER usb flash drive, and try again. When the Seiki finds a flash drive that it likes, the firmware upgrade happens immediately after you select that you want to upgrade firmware from the Seiki advanced menu.

My first update attempt was with a Micro Center USB 3.0 house brand flash drive, no go. Kept getting a Seiki dialog saying "Do you want to upgrade firmware?". My next update attempt was from a Patriot Magnum USB 3.0 thumb drive, and upgrade happened immediately. Of course we are talking about getting into the advanced menu by pressing the MENU button on the Seiki remote control, then immediately pressing 0 0 0 0.

Display quality for non-gaming is just superb at 4K resolution, once you go into the Seiki standard setup menu and turn the Sharpness down to zero. That gets rid of the barely-noticeable bright halos around small bits of black text on a white background (seen on Microsoft Windows version 8.1 displays for example).

My Microsoft Windows clients that do not have 3840x2160-capable HDMI outputs on their PC's are happiest with a minimalist no-fan $70 U.S. dollar
XFX R7-240A-CLH4
graphics card. The XFX card plugs into a single PCI express slot, "only" draws about 25 watts, and thus does not require an auxiliary power cable going to the FANLESS graphics card. You can learn more than you want to know about this "4K resolution capable" video card at
http://www.eteknix.com/amd-xfx-r7-240-2gb-ddr3-core-edition-passive-graphics-card-review/
In my experience the XFX card can work in either a PCI Express 2.0 or 3.0 slot.

 

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macphreak

1 post · Joined 2015

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#10 · Jan 7, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by epbel

Got it!

Okay here's my findings from a noob perspective. I was able to enter the service menu from reading this article.

http://www.terracode.com/Seiki_SE39UY04_review/Seiki_SE39UY04_review_P1.html
Thank you Terracode

To enter the service menu, press "MENU, 0 ,0, 0, 0"
Then select software update.

Then I used the firmware I found in this post.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1442986/playing-with-my-seiki-se39uy04-got-it-to-do-1440p-at-60hz-playing-with-other-custom-stuff/60#post_21824933

http://box.houkouonchi.jp/seiki_firm/install.img

Thank you ae-?a

The first thing I noticed is that a desktop at 120HZ on such a big screen is memorizing. WOW. Unfortunately, I'm using the panel as a 4k monitor so it really doesn't do much for me but It's still impressive.

This probably doesn't need to be said for most of you but to the newcomers to this screen, when using it with a computer, always turn the sharpness down to 0.

Click to expand...

I was wondering - with this firmware version, does this remove the sound from the monitor? I have a firmware on my 39" Seiki 4k that I use but, the sound is gone and it loses the color settings every time I turn off the TV. I am trying to figure out which is the best firmware to download now.

Current software version I have is May 21 2013, Baseline Version: 522712

Thanks!

 

DividebyZERO

1,124 posts · Joined 2014

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#11 · Jan 7, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by macphreak

I was wondering - with this firmware version, does this remove the sound from the monitor? I have a firmware on my 39" Seiki 4k that I use but, the sound is gone and it loses the color settings every time I turn off the TV. I am trying to figure out which is the best firmware to download now.

Current software version I have is May 21 2013, Baseline Version: 522712

Thanks!

Click to expand...

If you don't get a response here, you can try your luck at this thread also.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1442986/playing-with-my-seiki-se39uy04-got-it-to-do-1440p-at-60hz-playing-with-other-custom-stuff

 

furdieur

80 posts · Joined 2017

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#12 · Jan 7, 2017

I can confirm this. My Seiki SE39UY04 used to only run 1080p at 60 Hz, and any resolution higher at 30 Hz. I then installed the 50" firmware for the SE50UY04 on my 39" monitor, and then proceeded to use ToastyX's CRU to set new resolutions for my NVIDIA GTX 960, those resolutions being 1920x1080 @120 Hz, and 2560x1440 @ 60 Hz. ToastyX's program comes with a graphics driver restarter, and after I ran that, I could then change my resolution to 1080p with 120 Hz. This worked without a firmware change, but a quick test on TestUFO.com proved that the monitor was clearly skipping frames. But with the 50" firmware, there was no frame skipping. The TV was running at full 1080p with 120 Hz. I took the photos on an old phone, so I cannot link any proof, but they would look like the ones pictured by the OP.

It works excellently, and I now have 1080p 120 Hz and 1440p 60 Hz.

NOTE: In the ToastyX CRU, when defining a new resolution & refresh rate, there is an important value called the pixel clock speed. This is measured in mHz, and depending on your input method (displayport, hdmi, vga, dvi) as well as whether it is dual-link or single-link, there will be a cap to the pixel clock speed. This is critical. My HDMI input, as it is recognized as single link DVI, could not handle 120 Hz, as the pixel clock exceeded the limit of what I think was 195 mHz. However, this was remedied by downloading a .dat file from the ToastyX CRU page, and then importing it into the CRU when the GUI is open. If you are experiencing issue with setting high resolutions/refresh rates, it may very well because of your perceived input bandwidth.