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RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2

Please refer to my previous posts:

https://whysun.com/uncategorized/ring-doorbell/

https://whysun.com/home/ring-doorbell-update-chime-pro-wi-fi-extender-problems/

Since the previous post about Wi-Fi issues, I have been regularly checking the Health Report of the Ring Doorbell 2.

The Chime and the Chime Pro continue to have no problems.

On the other hand, the Wi-Fi issues with the Ring Doorbell 2 seem to have been fixed. I have not changed anything myself, so I can only assume that Ring has issued a remedial firmware update.

Over the past month, there has only been one dropout. However to reconnect, all I had to do was press the ringer button and it reconnected to the Chime Pro network. This is now satisfactory as I could ask my neighbour to ring the doorbell to reconnect it if I was away, and any person pressing the button would also re-connect it.

During the month of June, I have been keeping a screenshot of the Device Health Report every couple of days :

During this period, the RSSI level remained within the “Good” range.

As I said, I did not change anything. The battery level has gone from 72% to 48% and weather in South East Queensland is never an issue.

Therefore I will delay my purchase of the Ring Doorbell 4. In any case, I can’t find a “4” at local retailers. The Ring web site lists them but I am happy with my model and will wait until I see them for sale in the shops before deciding on an upgrade.

BATTERY

In the space of a month, battery level has gone from 72% to 45%.

This is consistent with the approximately 3 months life I have been getting from a fully charged battery. I have “Snapshot Capture” turned on with a snapshot taken every 14 minutes. For best battery life it can be fully turned off or for minimal battery impact set for a capture every hour.

You can set Snapshot capture for 5 minute intervals but this has a “substantial” impact on battery life. I haven’t tried this setting but I imagine it would be dramatic. In fact the app says that this setting is for wired or solar charged devices.

However, I don’t mind having it at the 14 minute setting as this gives a general overview of activities AND a spare battery solves the battery life issue. Having a fully charged spare means that you can swap over the battery in a few seconds instead of having the doorbell out of action for hours while you re-charge the battery.

You get a notifaction when the battery needs re-charging. At that time, I top up the spare which doesn’t take long and swap them. I then re-charge the spare to be ready for the next swap.

All is well with the world – apart the current lockdown in this area.

COMPUTER REFURBISH

Last year when the new video game consoles were announced by Sony and Microsoft, I decided to prepare by replacing my HTPC with a NUC to make room for the PlayStation 5. While the new Xbox will fit in the space occupied by my existing Xbox One X, the PS5 is much larger than the PS4 Pro.

I don’t know why I bothered as, six months later, both the X Box Series X and PS5 are nowhere to be found.

I remember ignoring the pre-order offers from EB Games. I thought that, when they were released, I could just call at any store and pick up one of each. This has not been the case and the lack of availability is more or less the same world-wide.

However, the desire to get the shiny new toys has worn off and I am much less enthusiastic about upgrading. Now I will wait until stock is available. My existing consoles are working just fine. In fact, I might even wait for later models hopefully with more internal storage.

In the meantime, I have been considering what to do with my old HTPC.

It is about 7 years old, and I built it using a SilverStone ML03 HTPC Low Profile case with a mATX Motherboard as well as a reasonable GPU, TV Tuner Card and Sound Card with 5.1 surround output. The Intel CPU was old and did not have integrated graphics.

It was starting to have some problems so instead of getting rid of it, I decided to upgrade the motherboard and CPU and install Linux. I will probably stick with Ubuntu or Mint.

I won’t re- install the TV Tuner and Sound Cards. My new NUC (HTPC) does not have them, and I do not miss them. There is nothing on Broadcast TV that I watch. In any case, all the stations have streaming web sites. Furthermore, I can’t find Linux drivers for the old TV Tuner card. The Optical Drive is Blu-ray, but Ubuntu will not play commercial Blu-ray discs. Again, the web site for the drive offers no software downloads for Linux. My NUC HTPC also has no optical drive and, if I want to play a Blu-ray, I use the Xbox.

I did not want to spend much money, so I bought the cheapest mATX MB and a core i3 CPU (with Graphics). This kept the cost below AUD$270. I also used 2 X 4gb sticks of RAM that I had from another RAM upgrade.

Naturally, things did not go according to plan. The 24-pin power cord from the PSU is too short to reach the MB and there is only one fan header on this low-cost MB. The case has 2 fans. Therefore, I had to buy an extension power cord and a double adaptor for the fans.

This increased the cost to about AUD$300.

I was interested to see how the integrated graphics performed particularly after some minor issues with the NUC. Consequently, I tested it on my large screen 4K HDR TV. It recognises the TV but is best at 1920 X 1080. Whilst not 4K, the picture is fine on the TV and excellent on a normal monitor. (I have also set the NUC to this resolution.)

So, the set-up is a Core i3 with integrated graphics + 8gb RAM on a low price Asrock mATX Motherboard.

I re-used the following items from the previous build + left over RAM –

· PSU (Silverstone SFX 600W);

· Case (Silverstone ML03B);

· Optical Drive (Pioneer BDR-209EBK Blu Ray);

· SSD (OCZ 480GB);

· RAM 2 x 4gb DDR4.

I went with Ubuntu as the OS. (It is the OS I am familiar with but I have a spare SSD that I can swap in to try other distributions – later when I get time.)

It works well, even with a large screen 4K HDR TV as a monitor. A Core i3 with 8gb of memory is more than adequate for a normal computer running Linux.

RING DOORBELL UPDATE – CHIME PRO WI-FI EXTENDER PROBLEMS–UPDATED MAY 21

REFER UPDATE NO 2 – Wi-Fi problems appear to be fixed. RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2 – Whycal’s Blog (whysun.com)

The previous comments in my post about the Ring Doorbell 2 have generally not changed but, after about 12 months of use, I have some comments to add.

CONS – Delay of 6/8 seconds App Response.

This negative feature has been less of a problem than I first thought. Callers seem to wait for a response well beyond the delay time and, if they become impatient, they tend to press the doorbell again. I have not had anyone leave before I got to the door.

Therefore, I will remove this from the “CONS” and put it in a new “SHOULD BE AWARE OF” list.

CHIME PRO WI-FI EXTENDER CARE! UPDATE MAY 21 – SIMILAR ISSUES WITH NETGEAR EXTENDER SUGGESTS THE DOORBELL 2 IS THE PROBLEM

On the other hand, I have found an issue with the Wi-Fi extender built into the Ring Chime Pro that, at least in my case, is an addition to the “CONS”

After further observations, the issues with Wi-Fi seem to be related to the Doorbell 2.

RSSI – Explanation – The Ring Apps (Health) show the strength of the Wi-Fi signal measured as RSSI.

RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator. It is a measure of the strength of the Wi-Fi signal being received by the device. More correctly, it measures the loss as the values are a MINUS figure. Consequently, the closer the value is to Zero, the stronger (or better) the signal. Zero would be full strength (i.e. no loss) and minus 100 is no signal (full loss).

An RSSI of say minus 55 or better is considered “Good” for most normal use cases. Minus 56 to say Minus 60 is still good enough. Minus 60 to minus 70 is reasonable or OK while minus 70 and lower is not so good and lower than minus 80 is bad.

When connected directly to my Router via Wi-Fi, the Doorbell shows an RSSI of around minus 73 but it still works well.

Even so, I decided to install a Wi-Fi extender, so I bought a Chime Pro and located it between the router and the doorbell but closer to the doorbell – about 1 metre or 3 feet away from the doorbell. The signal strength received by the Chime Pro was minus 50 (or better).

I then connected the Doorbell to the Chime Pro. This was easy using the Ring App on my phone.

When the connection was complete, the Doorbell RSSI was good – under Minus 50. I then forgot about but, after several weeks, I noticed that the Doorbell had lost its connection to the Chime Pro. I turned off the power to the Chime Pro, waited a minute or so, then turned it back on and the Doorbell re-connected automatically.

I then began to regularly check the Wi-Fi for both the Chime Pro and the Doorbell.

The Chime Pro connection to the router remained strong but the connection from the Chime Pro to the Doorbell began to deteriorate and after a couple of weeks it was no better than the original connection direct to the router. Dropouts between the Chime Pro and the Doorbell also occurred occasionally. The same issue has now become apparent with the Netgear Wi-Fi Extender.

The most annoying drop out occurred while I was in North Queensland over Christmas. (Lock downs for travel within the state had been lifted.) The Ring Doorbell was disconnected from the internet for a couple of days and, without physical access to the device, I could not do anything about it. Luckily, there was a power blackout from a thunderstorm and, when the power came back on, the Doorbell reconnected automatically to the Chime Pro.

I was not at all happy with this and on return, re-connected the Doorbell directly to the router. Dropouts ceased and it seemed to operate well, even with a low RSSI of around minus 73. I did not leave it attached to the main router long enough to state that dropouts had ceased.

I then remembered that I had a Netgear AC750 Wi-Fi Range Extender (Model EX3700), so I set it up and attached the Doorbell to this device.

This resulted in an immediate ~~and~~ permanent improvement in the Doorbell RSSI to minus 50 (or better) with no dropouts in the last couple of months. After a while, deterioration in RSSI as well as dropouts also started to occur with the Netgear Extender.

The Netgear Extender is about the same price as a Chime Pro and, in my case, performs much better as a Wi-Fi extender. I have a standard Chime plus the Chime Pro and I now use the Chime Pro solely as a Chime ringer.

I don’t know if I just got a bad device but – once bitten, twice shy. Internet searches suggest that the issue is with the Doorbell not the Chime Pro.

Checked reviews on the Chime Pro on various sites and it gets generally favourable reviews (4 out of 5 stars). However, the less favourable reviews can best be summed up by the heading on one – “Chime works – Wi-Fi Extender sucks”.

That is my experience, but it is definitely not the majority consensus. I have changed my mind about which device is causing the problem.

AND to be fair, other brands of Wi-Fi extenders have similar reviews.

My conclusion:

Going on the generally favourable reviews, I must have been unlucky with the extender function in my Chime Pro.

However, I will keep using my Netgear Extender and, in future, probably not risk buying another Chime Pro to use as a Wi-Fi extender.

UPDATE May 21

Exactly the same issues have started to occur with the Netgear Extender prompting the conclusion that the Wi-Fi problem is with the Doorbell 2 rather than the Wi-Fi extenders.

I note that the Doorbell 3 is advertised as having enhanced Wi-Fi, but I assumed that this related to the Doorbell 3 having both 5GHz and 2.4 GHz bands.

There is a new Doorbell 4 coming out in a few days and some retailers are discounting the Doorbell 3. ~~Since I have more money than sense, I will replace the 2 with a 3 and see if this improves the situation. I will provide further reports in a couple of months.~~ I have read the unfavourable reviews of The Doorbell 3 and it has similar complaints about Wi-Fi as the Doorbell 2. Therefore, I will wait for the Doorbell 4 to come out to see if people keep complaining about this issue before I spend more money.

NOTE – I can’t find a Doorbell 4 in stock at any local retailer. I’ll keep looking but, in the meantime, if I go away for a few days or more I will first:

Remove the Chime Pro from the power for a minute or so (eventhough I no longer think it is the problem): and
Remove the battery from the Doorbell 2 and replace with a new fully charged battery so that it is turned off completely. This will re-establish a fresh Wi-Fi connection.

It takes time before the Wi-Fi issues start to occur.

Browsers and Search Engines

As a result of recent developments in Australia involving Google and Facebook, a couple of friends have asked me about what services I use.

First up there is a lot of truth in the saying – “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”

On the other hand, a lot of people don’t have an issue with their information being sold particularly when they are getting something in return.

As far as browsers are concerned, I generally leave the defaults in place.

iPhone – Default Safari / Google (but not signed into my Google Account);
Ubuntu Linux PC – Default Firefox / Google (not signed in);
iPad – Default Safari BUT I changed the search engine to Bing;
Mac Book Pro – Default Safari / Google (not signed in);
Windows PCs – Default Edge / Bing (signed into my Microsoft Account by default).

My most used Windows PC is a Windows HTPC (NUC) and in this case I have 3 browsers set up as follows:

1. Default – Edge / Bing (signed in);

2. Most frequently used for day-to-day searches – Firefox / DuckDuckGo with Firefox set up to clear all search history, cookies etc when I close the browser;

3. And I use Chrome / Google Search mainly for use with Google products like YouTube & Gmail etc (and signed in with my Google Account).

My two most frequently used devices are the iPad and the HTPC (NUC) and both have a default non Google browser and search engine.

I never have had nor ever will have Facebook (including Instagram) as the price you pay is just not worth what is given back in return. This is, by no means, a recent decision. I decided about 15/16 years ago when it first became “a thing”.

Google does provide value and has made no secret of how it funds its operations. Nevertheless, I consciously limit my use of Google products. Once again, this is not because of the recent action taken by Google, but for a number of reasons, the main one being that it is almost a monopoly with search in Australia at above 94% market share. Monopolies are never good. Also, I just want to have my eggs in as many baskets as possible.

Google has many good and useful services including Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube, Maps and Google Docs to name a few. Don’t forget you get 15GB of storage with Google Drive before you have to pay, as opposed to One Drive and iCloud at 5gb each and DropBox at 2gb.

Another reason not to overly rely on one product or company is – Picasa. Remember Picasa – the excellent photo program from Google that was discontinued. This is not the only time that a “free” app has been discontinued. And not to pick on Google – remember Windows Live Essentials with the excellent Windows Live Movie Maker. I even wrote a Blog about it.

So, the moral of the story is – Your information is valuable – Look at how rich Google and Facebook are. Therefore, don’t sell yourself cheaply – spread yourself around. MOST IMPORTANTLY, don’t encourage monopolies.

P.S. Nothing and I mean nothing annoys me more than when I search for information from a Government Department and it returns a Facebook page. It also annoys me when the same thing happens with a private organisation but in these cases I understand why they do it.

HEIC / HEIF IMAGE FILES

Apple has been using the HEIC file format for images for a while now, but I recently saved my first one to a Windows PC.

The image was sent iPhone to iPhone via text message and, as I wanted to save it, I forwarded it to my PC via Email. This is the first time I have had to deal with a HEIC image on a PC as, even though my iPhone camera format (camera capture) is set to “High Efficiency”, my iPhone seems to always produce .jpg files.

I tried to open the HEIC file first with Photoshop Elements then Paint.net and then the Win 10 photos App, without success.

I then tried to convert it via an online web site and, not only was it taking a long time, but it crashed before completion. So I went to the Microsoft Store and got the “HEIC to JPEG (FREE)’” App. This App provides 10 conversions a day before you have to pay. Even then, it only costs AUD$3-55.

The App works quickly and easily. In fact, I will buy it. AUD$3-55 is not much.

APPLE MAC – – BIG SUR / TIME MACHINE

My 2014 Mac Book Pro (MBP) has updated to Big Sur without any problems.

APFS FILE SYSTEM AND TIME MACHINE

Thanks to the podcast MacBreak Weekly Episode 740 that referred to an Ars Technica article that suggests that you should re-format your Time Machine drive to the new file system AFPS.

The Ars Technica article explains why you should re-format the drive to AFPS. However, I had a bit trouble in the re-formatting process so I will set out what I did.

When I tried to use Disk Utility on the MBP to erase the Time Machine drive and re-format as AFPS it kept failing and the reason shown was that the drive was in use. This was even after I removed the drive from Time Machine.

So, I attached the drive to a Windows Machine and used Disk Management to delete the partitions and re-format as NTFS. Then I re-attached to the MBP and used Disk Utility to Erase and re-format as AFPS. All went well and I renamed it – Time Machine- !!

I then set up Time Machine again with the re-formatted drive.

BLUETOOTH DRIVER UPDATE / MICROSOFT KEYBOARD PROBLEMS

I have always applied every Windows Update including Optional Driver updates.

However, I have encountered an optional Driver update that caused issues with my Bluetooth keyboard.

The keyboard is a standard Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard and mouse combo that I am using on my HTPC NUC.

The driver update was for the “Intel ® Wireless Bluetooth ® device.

Fortunately, I remembered what drivers had been updated and I was able to roll back the driver as soon as I noticed that the keyboard would not connect automatically at start and would regularly lose the connection, even though it was still noted as “connected” in All Settings. Surprisingly, the mouse was not affected.

As soon as I rolled back the driver the issue was resolved.

In future I think I will wait for driver updates via the normal Windows Update.

PS4 Error Code (CE-34878-0)

Grrrrrr Playstation Grrrrrrr !!

I was 80% through Tomb Raider (Definitive Edition) when I was prevented from loading the game. An error code of CE-34878-0 came up and I tried everything to fix it – including all of the numerous fixes suggested on line.

But nothing worked.

In the end I had to do a factory reset (Initialization) AND, even though I first moved my saved games to an external drive, I still lost all of my saves. After the reset, which I might add took a couple of hours, I moved the saved games back to the PS4 hard drive. The error had been fixed and Tomb Raider loaded without a problem, but it would not pick up where I had left it at 80%. I will have to start over – GRRRRRR !!

This is the first time I have had a problem with the PS4 – but I am still complaining.

As stated in previous posts, to keep occupied during lockdown, I have been replaying video games. So far I have completed the Far Cry series (X Box) and Uncharted (PS4) and, although lockdown is all but lifted in Queensland, I have enjoyed replaying these games so much that I have continued working through them.

I have “Tomb Raider (Definitive Edition)” on PS4 and the subsequent games, “Rise of the Tomb Raider” and “Shadow of the Tomb Raider”, on X Box.

So it is back to the beginning for Lara Croft. To make matters worse, I had been obsessive in fully completing each section before moving on, (not counting the items you can’t get at until you unlock the shotgun & rope pulley etc.), and some of those GPS things are hard to find!

I suppose it is not the end of the world but I had a bit of trouble with the part where Lara falls out of a crashed plane on a cliff and she grabs a parachute. Naturally the main chute fails and you have to guide her through the tops of trees with her reserve chute. One misjudgement and she clips a tree and gets impaled – it took me about 4 or 5 goes to get it. Poor Lara looks so bad when she gets impaled and I feel guilty for causing it.

CARE! Further comments on this subject at https://whysun.com/ps4/ps4-error-code-ce-34878-0-continued/

RING DOORBELL

REFER UPDATE and Update No 2 – Problems appear to be fixed RING DOORBELL UPDATE No 2 – Whycal’s Blog (whysun.com)

A few months ago, I bought a Ring Doorbell 2. The main reason for buying one was the superseded model (Ring Doorbell 2) was on sale at about a 50% discount. The latest model has better Wi-Fi, video, and motion detection BUT not that much better – an upgrade rather than a significant improvement.

Therefore, I went ahead and bought a Ring Doorbell 2, a Chime Pro to amplify the ring and improve the Wi-Fi reception plus a spare battery (see below for why I recommend a spare battery); AND I also paid AUD$40 for an annual subscription.

SUBSCRIPTION

NOTE for RING devices to be of real use you do need the subscription that provides storage, downloading and sharing of video. The subscription is cheap – AUD$4 per month OR AUD$40 per year to save video for 60 days for 1 video recording device (not including non-video devices like the Chime – a ringer extender – or the Chime Pro that includes a Wi-Fi extender as well).

At AUD$40 per year it is well worthwhile. If you have more than one video recording device, it jumps to $150 per year. However, most people only have one eligible device. This means you have 60 days, to download and save any particular video to your computer.

PROS

Excellent Video quality (Doorbell 2 that is – The 3 is said to be even better)
Excellent night vision video
Starts recording in about 1 or 2 seconds of detecting movement
Field of detection is good and adjustable
Spare second battery is cheap and easy to swap
Easy to set up via the App
Even if you are not at home, you can talk to people at the door via the App.

CONS

Battery life
App Response time – It takes about 6/7 seconds for the App on a phone or computer to respond. (NOTE – it starts recording the video almost immediately) CARE SEE UPDATE

FURTHER COMMENT ON CONS

Battery Life.

The advertised battery life is variable, but 6 months is what you will mostly see in adds. However, my experience is about 3 months.

PLEASE NOTE that any problem with battery life can be easily mitigated by purchase of a cheap second (spare) re-chargeable battery. SO, THIS IS NOT REALLY AN ISSUE. Swapping the battery is easy and, with a spare, you don’t have to wait several hours to charge it. Just charge the spare first and swap it in seconds.

Battery life can vary depending on the number of notifications the doorbell sends, strength of the Wi-Fi connection and cold temperatures. (Cold weather is not an issue where I live.) The number of notifications can be reduced by changing the detection range and field and, if the Wi-Fi signal is weak, you can buy a Chime Pro which not only amplifies the ring but acts as a Wi-Fi extender.

At first, I had mine adjusted to detect cars going past in our quiet street. It turned me into a “sticky beak” – but I lost interest quickly and adjusted it back to my letter box so I can be notified when the postman comes. I get most of my mail electronically so visits from the postman are infrequent.

As stated, the battery life issue is easily remedied by the second spare battery and you get an email when it is time to charge the battery (at 20% level).

App Response time. SEE UPDATE

I assume the delay of about 7 seconds is because it sends to a server and the server sends back notifications to the App and Chimes. The doorbell connects to the internet via your Wi-Fi, but it does not connect directly to other devices on the network. In fact, I have it on a separate network on a different subnet IP address. I have a good internet connection (always at or near my plan of 50/20 Mbps) and the Health Widget on the App reports that the Wi-Fi signal to the doorbell is good.

Seven seconds is not long BUT some of those parcel delivery people move like greased lightning. However, if you get to the door quickly, you can usually get them before they escape to the truck.

Even though the video starts recording almost immediately, the delay for the App and the Chimes to respond, while not a deal breaker, is an issue. When I look at the video later, you can see some people start to look around and contemplate leaving but as soon as they hear the chime go off, they relax. I want to say that the Australia Post people must be aware of the delay as you can tell from the video that they expect to wait a few seconds after they press the doorbell.

SUMMARY

I am glad I bought it and recommend it particularly if you work and are not at home during the day. Both the doorbell and the Chime (with Wi-Fi extender) were easy to install and set up via the App.

Definitely factor in the cost of the subscription but AUD$40 per year (AUD $0.76c a week) is nothing and well worth it.

Overall, I am happy with my Ring Doorbell. Although, now you will probably have to pay full price for the latest model (Ring Doorbell 3) as, after a quick search, I can’t see any cheap version 2 models still for sale.

NUC – PROBLEMS WITH HD TV AS MONITOR – NO PICTURE

I have been very happy with my first NUC and have been using it for almost a year without any issues. See prior post.

I liked it so much so that I decided to replace my HTPC with a NUC to save space and make room for a PlayStation 5.

The new X Box Series X will fit (on its side) in the same space occupied by my X Box One X but the PS5 is a lot larger than the PS4. As a result, I thought I would replace my HTPC with a NUC to open up more space for a PS5.

I bought a “bare bones” NUC with a 10th generation Core i5 and inserted 32 GB RAM and 2 X 1 TB hard drives. (The models with “H” in the model number have space for an additional 2.5 inch SATA SSD as well as the main M.2 drive.)

My existing HTPC has a reasonable graphics card plus a TV Tuner card and a sound card. However, with nothing on FTA (Free to Air) TV, I rarely, if ever, use the TV Tuner card. I play Blue Ray discs on the X Box One X using my Denon AV Receiver so I now use the HTPC for watching Netflix, YouTube and iTunes videos.

Therefore, I reasoned, a NUC would fulfil these requirements and I went ahead and purchased another NUC and attached it to one of the four HDMI inputs on my Sony 4K HDR TV

PROBLEM – POWERS ON BUT NO PICTURE

All went well for about a week. Then one morning when I turned it on there was power but no picture on the screen.

I tried everything in terms of the Intel troubleshooting wizard – with no success:-

This is the link to the Australian version of the Intel NUC no boot troubleshooting wizard

https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/support/topics/wizard-nuc.html

OR just search for – Intel NUC troubleshooting wizard.

After searching the internet, I ran across posts that suggested the problem may be with using a HD TV as a monitor. There are various NUC models with varying integrated graphics capabilities. As a result, some models have problems with some HD TVs. So, I then connected my NUC to a computer monitor and it operated normally.

On the TV, I discovered that the input being used for the NUC had an “Enhanced Format” setting that was turned on. When I turned off this setting or used another HDMI input without this feature, the picture was OK. However I still occasionally had a problem on getting the video to display after sleep and had to use this solution:

Unplug your Intel NUC from the AC outlet and wait for about 10 seconds. Press the power button on the front panel of your NUC a couple of times. Do this with no power source connected to make sure the NUC discharged completely. Connect your NUC to the AC outlet and try to turn it on.

I did further research and Intel does sell NUC models with higher end graphics. My NUC is not one of those.

My NUC does come with an “Intel Graphics Command Centre” App. I opened this App and set it at 3840 X 2160 with 60p Refresh rate.

Hopefully this will fix the problem. I will add to this post with the results. I don’t want to even consider an External GPU (eGPU) as they are bigger and more expensive than a NUC.

UPDATE

It has been a couple of days now and the problem appears to have been resolved. (I hope / touch wood).

Setting the output via the Intel Graphics Command Centre to 3840 X 2160 with a refresh rate of 60 Hz P seems to have fixed the issue.

After installing the hard drives and RAM, I immediately attached the NUC to the TV to install the OS and complete the setting up. The integrated graphics on the NUC detected the TV as the monitor and, by default, set the output to 3840 / 2160 / 59P.

Therefore, I can only conclude that the refresh rate of 59Hz was the cause. The TV manual shows refresh rate specifications for the HDMI inputs of 50 & 60 Hz with additional refresh rates of 24,25 & 30 on 2 of the HDMI inputs.

I know very little about this subject but changing the output from the NUC to the TV from 59Hz to 60Hz seems to have fixed the problem.

I did a lot of reading on the internet about this. CNET has an article that suggests that I should use 50Hz in Australia (and UK) See https://www.cnet.com/news/ultra-hd-4k-tv-refresh-rates/

This article states that, refresh rates of 50 and 60 work the same, as do 100 and 120. In countries that have 50Hz electricity like the UK and Australia, refresh rates of 50 and 100 should be used.

However it is working at 60Hz so I think I “will leave well enough alone”. Also, I don’t think it matters much as I don’t have the Premium Netflix subscription and both Netflix and iTunes video looks OK to me.

UPDATE No 2

I have come up with a couple of options as a final solution to the issue covered above.

OPTIONS

No 1, Change the Intel Graphics to an output of 1920/1080 60P (which is on the list of “Supported Modes” in the App)

No 2, Set at 3840/2160 50P with All Settings / System / Power & Sleep / Power set to “never” for both screen and PC. (NOT on the list of “Supported Modes” in the App and only works if you set the power for the screen never to go to sleep.)

Previously I was having occasional problems with the screen waking from sleep but, with either of these settings, I have had no issues for many days.

DETAILS

I discovered that the Intel Graphics Command Centre has a section that displays all supported outputs for the attached monitor. (Yes, I know – I should have looked!)

As can be seen, it can display 4K resolutions but only at lower refresh rates. However, set at 4K but at lower refresh rates, the difference is noticeable.

A setting of 1920X1080 60P (or 50P) is very good and I can’t see any difference between Options 1& 2.

As a result, I will use Option 1 as it is on the “Supported Modes” list while Option 2 is not and I don’t have any video on or via the NUC that is in 4K. Option 2 is handy to know in case I get a Blue Ray Drive or upgrade Netflix etc..