Help: PC for playing 4k movies

[BillyCarpenter]

Currently, I'm using the Nvidia Shield to play movies that I have ripped to an external hard drive. It works fine for 1080p but not for 4k UHD movies. I've determined that the only solution is a dedicated PC. But therein lies the problem. I want to do this as cheaply as possible but I don't want any stuttering or other problems. Some of the 4K UHD files are huge. John Wick 3 is 68.4 MB. Some are bigger.

I've read a lot on the new mini-pc's that are quite powerful but not sure if they can handle the workload. I have my doubts. I leaning towards just building a gaming PC but it will be used only for movies. I'm not sure what components i need for this build that won't break the bank.

Any help is appreciated.

[Duplicator]

I use Odroid-n2s to do that. They function kinda like cable boxes attached to TVs. ODROID-N2+ with 4GByte RAM – ODROID

For software use either Corelec or Libreelec.

They do have hardware to decode H265 so they run quite nicely with compressed formats. They will support 4k 60fps with HDR10.

[Gift]

I own a shield, too (2019 model) wich I find pretty powerful but I just use it for streaming netflix & co. and emulators.

Is that drive of yours connected via USB or network? Perhaps the USB connection is too slow to handle the bitrate?
As for the player I'd suggest you to check out "Kodi" and "VLC" - I think both dan display things like CPU/GPU usage
during playback. If transfer speed is the issue you might try and stream via LAN (in case it's 1gbit wired of course^^).

If you prefer a PC solution - for playback you don't need anything fancy since most CPU with integreated GPU can handle x264/x265 encoded content
and will also allow retro gaming and some casual stuff. Guess every 2nd hand laptop or MINI PC with an core i3/i5 gen8 or newer CPU will do the trick.

If you need to run AAA games as well the pricetag will go to the roof of course.

[BillyCarpenter]

I own a shield, too (2019 model) wich I find pretty powerful but I just use it for streaming netflix & co. and emulators.

Is that drive of yours connected via USB or network? Perhaps the USB connection is too slow to handle the bitrate?
As for the player I'd suggest you to check out "Kodi" and "VLC" - I think both dan display things like CPU/GPU usage
during playback. If transfer speed is the issue you might try and stream via LAN (in case it's 1gbit wired of course^^).

If you prefer a PC solution - for playback you don't need anything fancy since most CPU with integreated GPU can handle x264/x265 encoded content
and will also allow retro gaming and some casual stuff. Guess every 2nd hand laptop or MINI PC with an core i3/i5 gen8 or newer CPU will do the trick.

If you need to run AAA games as well the pricetag will go to the roof of course.

I've tried connecting the drive both ways...via USB and Network. It simply cannot handle any UHD 4K movies. It will stream UHD 4K but those files have been compressed and there's a lot less data compared to a ripped UHD MKV file tha is uncompressed.

[dalewb74]

so you want to be cheap, but you want the best?? good luck......

[rthonpm]

You don't need a full on PC for 4k. A Raspberry Pi 4 with LibreELEC installed will render 4k just fine whether the file is on the SD card locally or even over an SMB connection.

[Gift]

You don't need a full on PC for 4k. A Raspberry Pi 4 with LibreELEC installed will render 4k just fine whether the file is on the SD card locally or even over an SMB connection.

If the files have insane bitrates and/or the encoding settings are out of specs (like too many reference frames) you'll probably end up with problems on all SoC-based solutions, probably even the new Pi5.

It will stream UHD 4K but those files have been compressed and there's a lot less data compared to a ripped UHD MKV file tha is uncompressed.

Well uncompressed usually means lossless video, in this case a movie might end up with 1TB.
I think you're talking about "untouched" BluRay rips wich are still compressed during it's original authoring of course.
What player applications did you try on your shield?

[slimslob]

I've tried connecting the drive both ways...via USB and Network. It simply cannot handle any UHD 4K movies. It will stream UHD 4K but those files have been compressed and there's a lot less data compared to a ripped UHD MKV file tha is uncompressed.

What type of USB port USB-a or USB-c?

USB-a:

USB 1.0/Low-Speed: 1.5 Megabits per second (Mbps)
USB 1.1/Full-Speed: 12 Mbps
USB 2.0/Hi-Speed: 480 Mbps
USB 3.0/SuperSpeed: 5 Gbps
USB 3.1/SuperSpeed: 10 Gbps

USB-c 20 to 40 Gbps

Most laptops now being produced include st least 1 USB-c and a HDMI port so you can watch the movie on what ever size display you want.

[skynet]

If the files have insane bitrates and/or the encoding settings are out of specs (like too many reference frames) you'll probably end up with problems on all SoC-based solutions, probably even the new Pi5.

I tend to agree since the Shield is still something to be reckoned with, you won't want to buy something that's just a bit better than it.

@Billy if you have a Samsung Galaxy S phone from the S8 onwards you can buy an HDMI to usb c and use the Samsung Dex environment.

I am going to try one of these on my now old S9.

[BillyCarpenter]

I have a lot to say but first I want to confirm a few things.

I will say that I found a way to get the lossless 4K movies to play using KODI on the NVIDIA Shield. It looks and sounds great. However, I want to use JellyFin but no luck on that front.