Panasonic TH-49CX400DX UHD TV not playing 4K videos over USB

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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
I have tried H.264 (AVC and AAC) with .mp4 container
I have also tried H.265
I have converted videos using Pavtube HD Video Convertor to different profiles (Panasonic TVs, Matroska Videos and a few custom made Matroska profiles). None of these worked
My TV, for the record, does play Matroska files. I'm attaching a screenshot from MedaInfo of one of the mkv files it is able to play:
*i.imgur.com/xOGm9tt.jpg

And here is the info of a mp4 that I converted to mkv:
*i.imgur.com/wnXVIep.jpg

If you guys want I can share similar screenshots of all the mp4 files (h.264 and h.265) that I've tried.

I have also tried NTFS and FAT32 file systems. In both the cases I was able to play HD files but not 4K ones.
So where am I going wrong?
Is there any possibility that 4K content doesn't play over USB? On all the forums I've read people say that it shouldn't be a problem.

I haven't tried HDMI yet. The TV has three HDMI ports and only one of it says 4K/2K.
I have a laptop with GeForce GT540M which can give a max res of 2560x1600. The laptop display though, maxes out at 1366x768. So even if I connect it to the TV, it won't be a 4K stream, right?
I do have a desktop PC but playing 4K via that will be too cumbersome and also expensive since I'll have to upgrade by GPU.
 
Desmond

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
Could you elaborate what exactly is the issue you are facing? Is it an error? Which TV do you have?
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
The file your TV was able to play has overall bit rate of 3165 Kb/s(~3Mb/s). The file you are trying to play has an overall bit rate of 17.5Mb/s.My guess is your TV is not able to handle such high bit rate 4k files.

Laptop graphics card resolution has nothing to do with laptop screen resolution.A graphics card resolution is limited only by 2 things:max resolution of card(your case,2k) & max resolution of output display device(4k TV). As 4k is more than 2560*1600,you will get upto this resolution(or 2k) when laptop is connected via hdmi(2k/4k port) to your tv.
 
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OP
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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
whitestar_999 said:
The file your TV was able to play has overall bit rate of 3165 Kb/s(~3Mb/s). The file you are trying to play has an overall bit rate of 17.5Mb/s.My guess is your TV is not able to handle such high bit rate 4k files.

Laptop graphics card resolution has nothing to do with laptop screen resolution.A graphics card resolution is limited only by 2 things:max resolution of card(your case,2k) & max resolution of output display device(4k TV). As 4k is more than 2560*1600,you will get upto this resolution(or 2k) when laptop is connected via hdmi(2k/4k port) to your tv.
Click to expand...

Alright. So do you think using the HDMI port labelled "4K/2K" should work? Also, how do I use that port without hooking it up to a PC? A media box (Blu-Ray player etc) ? Any recommendations for that? I just want to conveniently hook up a USB drive and watch 4K content.
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
You have to find out what is the max bit rate 4k files that your TV can handle via usb by using advanced settings of converter software & then setting bit rate at a lower value than last failed to play clip.

A 4k/2k media box is not necessary when the TV itself is 4k capable.My suggestion is to build a small HTPC using celeron or pentium processor(latest generation,don't confuse them with older pentium 4,these latest ones are faster than whatever processor your TV will be using).
 
OP
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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
whitestar_999 said:
You have to find out what is the max bit rate 4k files that your TV can handle via usb by using advanced settings of converter software & then setting bit rate at a lower value than last failed to play clip.

A 4k/2k media box is not necessary when the TV itself is 4k capable.My suggestion is to build a small HTPC using celeron or pentium processor(latest generation,don't confuse them with older pentium 4,these latest ones are faster than whatever processor your TV will be using).
Click to expand...
So I scaled down the 4K videos to full HD (keeping bitrates and everything else the same) and the resultant files had almost the same bitrate as their original 4K source files. And I was able to play these converted files (with bitrates as high as 18 Mb/s) over USB. So the TV can handle high bitrates.
Next, I connected my laptop via the HDMI port labelled "2K/4K" but the max possible resolution was Full HD. Apparently the Intel drivers limit that and the only way to churn out a higher resolution is to create a custom resolution template in the Intel drivers. I read that here. Also, I checked all available modes of the display adapter and the highest resolution available was, in fact, Full HD. So now I guess I have to try a dedicated GPU capable of 4K on my desktop PC. That'd be cheaper than building a HTPC from scratch. Although, aren't there any 4K media boxes that could do the job at a lower cost? Because if I upgrade my GPU ATM I'll most likely get a nice one and that'd be expensive.
 
Nerevarine

Nerevarine

Incarnate
can you try uninstalling Intel drivers and running your GT 540M instead.
Then connect to your display, go to display properties and select, second screen as primary or something..
Hit apply, and try scaling your resolution to 4K..
I believe this should work, however dont quote me on that
 
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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
Nerevarine said:
can you try uninstalling Intel drivers and running your GT 540M instead.
Then connect to your display, go to display properties and select, second screen as primary or something..
Hit apply, and try scaling your resolution to 4K..
I believe this should work, however dont quote me on that
Click to expand...
So apparently the laptop I have uses a "mux-less software-switched design where only the Intel GPU has a physical connection to the display panel". I read that here. So there is no way to bypass the integrated graphics. But I can't seem to understand. The integrated graphics Intel HD 3000 is capable of 2560 x 1600. So why is the max output via HDMI Full HD then?
 
chimera201

chimera201

Wise Old Owl
Ojasvi Srivastava said:
So apparently the laptop I have uses a "mux-less software-switched design where only the Intel GPU has a physical connection to the display panel". I read that here. So there is no way to bypass the integrated graphics. But I can't seem to understand. The integrated graphics Intel HD 3000 is capable of 2560 x 1600. So why is the max output via HDMI Full HD then?
Click to expand...

HDMI 1.4 can support upto 4K/24Hz
HDMI 1.3 can support upto 2K/60Hz
HDMI 1.2 - 1200p/60Hz

You probably only have HDMI 1.2.
 
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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
chimera201 said:
HDMI 1.4 can support upto 4K/24Hz
HDMI 1.3 can support upto 2K/60Hz
HDMI 1.2 - 1200p/60Hz

You probably only have HDMI 1.2.
Click to expand...
The manufacturer's manual says its a HDMI 1.4 port. But the only way to get the max resolution output is by using the display port. I read that here. Besides, the laptop can manage a max of 2K whereas I want to play 4K. So this sounds doable by using a dedicated GPU capable of 4K on a desktop but I still can't find any answers to my original question.
The TV can handle high bitrates, but it cannot play 4K over USB. How can this be possible? Can the TV have a separate processor for the HDMI port marked "2K/4K" ? The USB ports are of 2.0 standard as they're labelled "5V 500mA". So bandwidth shouldn't be an issue with them.
 
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chimera201

chimera201

Wise Old Owl
Ojasvi Srivastava said:
The manufacturer's manual says its a HDMI 1.4 port. But the only way to get the max resolution output is by using the display port. I read that here. Besides, the laptop can manage a max of 2K whereas I want to play 4K. So this sounds doable by using a dedicated GPU capable of 4K on a desktop but I still can't find any answers to my original question.
The TV can handle high bitrates, but it cannot play 4K over USB. How can this be possible? Can the TV have a separate processor for the HDMI port marked "2K/4K" ? The USB ports are of 2.0 standard as they're labelled "2V 500mA". So bandwidth shouldn't be an issue with them.
Click to expand...

Edit: Wait are those really 2V 500mA? Cause i have a 1080p TV with a USB port 5V/1A for HDD.
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Power got nothing to do with it.Only thing usb power limits is reading speed in such cases which op has confirmed is not the case as TV can read successfully at 18mbps.If power is not sufficient then the device will not appear at all for any reading operation.

@Ojasvi Srivastava you misunderstood my reply.I meant that processing 4k video at same bit rate is more taxing than HD video at same bit rate.Your TV's processor can handle 18mbps HD videos but it can't handle 18mbps 4k videos.Try a 4k video at ~8-9mbps bit rate.Intel HD3000 is ancient & like you found out,hdmi on it is limited to 1920*1200 resolution.RX460 is the cheapest card for 4k output via HDMI 2.0.
 
OP
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Ojasvi Srivastava

Broken In
whitestar_999 said:
Power got nothing to do with it.Only thing usb power limits is reading speed in such cases which op has confirmed is not the case as TV can read successfully at 18mbps.If power is not sufficient then the device will not appear at all for any reading operation.

@Ojasvi Srivastava you misunderstood my reply.I meant that processing 4k video at same bit rate is more taxing than HD video at same bit rate.Your TV's processor can handle 18mbps HD videos but it can't handle 18mbps 4k videos.Try a 4k video at ~8-9mbps bit rate.Intel HD3000 is ancient & like you found out,hdmi on it is limited to 1920*1200 resolution.RX460 is the cheapest card for 4k output via HDMI 2.0.
Click to expand...
I tried 4K at 8 Mb/s and 2898 Kb/s and the TV couldn't play either.
 
chimera201

chimera201

Wise Old Owl
What are you running it from? A pen drive or a HDD? What happens when you open the file? Does it show an error or nothing happens at all? Does it even detect the file?
 
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