Intel HD Graphics 4600 - Fewer colors for HDMI

[JErga]

Hello,

I recently purchased a new ASUS desktop that uses Intel HD Graphics 4600 along with a 4K UHD television (links below). When the computer is connected to the television using VGA everything looks great, but the resolution is capped at 1920x1080. When I connect it to the television using HDMI (the television supports HDMI 2.0) it will run at the 3840 x 2160 resolution but the colors look very poor. For example, the item that is highlighted on google's search dropdown looks identical to the items that are not highlighted. I would guess that the graphics processor is just having problems running at the high resolution so it is reducing the colors used, but when I reduce the resolution down to 1920x1080 with the HDMI cable the problem remains. I did hook my computer up to an older 1080p television using the VGA then the HDMI cables and the colors looked great.

So am I limited to fewer colors if I want to use my 4K UHD television at full resolution?

Thanks in advance!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220835 ASUS Desktop PC M32AD-US009O Intel Core i5 4460 (3.2GHz) 8GB DDR3 1TB HDD Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - Newegg.com

http://www.walmart.com/ip/39664946?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227029810176&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=49755553472&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=101321465552&veh=sem Sceptre U500CV-UMK 49" 4K Ultra HD 60Hz Class LED HDTV - Walmart.com

[Hans_B_Intel]

Hi Jeremiah,

Please verify if you're using the HDMI from the discrete graphics card, I see this model can come with either an AMD or Nvidea.

If you are using the HDMI output directly from the motherboard, let me know what Intel Hd graphics version that you have.

You can also try to install the Intel® Iris™ and HD Graphics Driver for Windows* and let me know how this behaves.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24937 https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/24937

[Hans_B_Intel]

Never mind the driver version; I saw the attached file, sorry about that.

I wanted to ask you if you have tried other HDMI cables, if not, I would suggest trying a good quality cable and seeing how that works.

[JErga]

Sorry for the delayed response. The desktop I was using had a hard drive issue and so I had to send it back for a replacement. The replacement has since arrived and the same issue still exists.

I downloaded the Intel Iris and HD Graphics Driver that you recommended in your first post and everything looks the same.

Here is the cable I am using:

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-Supports/dp/B00NH126Q0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433526284&sr=8-1&keywords=hdmi+cable# customerReviews AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable - 6.5 Feet (2 Meters) Supports Ethernet, 3D, 4K and Audio Return:Amazon:Electronics

I'd be pretty surprised if that was the issue. Is there a way to tell? I'm not getting any flickering and video runs at the expected framerate. The number of colors are being reduced so the graphics card is doing that. It's not degraded signal due to noise. If you think that that could be the issue though I'd be willing to purchase a different one, but I thought that this already was a high quality cable. What would you recommend or what should I be looking for?

[JErga]

To better illustrate the issue, the image above shows up with grey highlighting where it says "color example java". I am able to see the grey when using the VGA cable at 1080p. With the HDMI cable, there is no highlighting at all (like all the other items).

[JErga]

I tried a different HDMI cable that came with my blu-ray player and same results.

[JErga]

I figure it out! It turns out it was an issue with a setting on the television. For some reason if I change the "Color Temperature" to "Cool" everything looks great. Not sure what is unique about the HDMI connection that this becomes a requirement, but the problem is solved. Thanks for the help!

[JWayn2]

Hello, when you connect your hd 4600 via hdmi in 4k, with latest driver is there 30hz or 60hz?

[JErga]

It's giving me the option of 23Hz to 30Hz.

And the colors still appear to be limited. I jumped the gun a little bit on my last post because changing the television setting did fix the issue I was having with the selections not being highlighted so the system is now functional. It doesn't look good though. The image above has a white shadow around the font that isn't visible on my laptop. Also, images like the one below do not show up as smooth color transitions. I see a lot of thin, vertical lines where it jumps back and forth from being lighter and darker. I think it's trying to simulate an in between color that it is not actually capable of displaying.

If anyone has any suggestions or knows if good looking 4K is possible with these graphics please let me know. Thanks!