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

O

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.

Could you elaborate what exactly is the issue you are facing? Is it an error? Which TV do you have?

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Desmond David said:
Could you elaborate what exactly is the issue you are facing? Is it an error? Which TV do you have?

The TV says the file is "Unsupported". I have mentioned the TV in the title

W

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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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.

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.

W

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).

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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).

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.

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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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

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?

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?

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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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.

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.

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.

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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chimera201 said:
Edit: Wait are those really 2V 500mA? Cause i have a 1080p TV with a USB port 5V/1A for HDD.

Whoa sorry. Just checked again and they're "5V 500mA"

Ojasvi Srivastava said:
Whoa sorry. Just checked again and they're "5V 500mA"

No 5V/1A port?

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chimera201 said:
No 5V/1A port?

Nope. Just two 5V/500mA USBs

Ojasvi Srivastava said:
Nope. Just two 5V/500mA USBs

High probability that's the reason. 0.5A are for basic USB sticks since they consume less power. External HDDs need more power. I guess your USB is lacking power to drive 4K.

W

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.

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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.

I tried 4K at 8 Mb/s and 2898 Kb/s and the TV couldn't play either.

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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chimera201 said:
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?

I'm running a USB 3.0 pen drive. It detects all files, but when I try to play it says "Unsupported"

Ojasvi Srivastava said:
I'm running a USB 3.0 pen drive. It detects all files, but when I try to play it says "Unsupported"

Do you have an external HDD to test with?
Looks like there is no user manual download link for this particular model. Did it come with a user manual? If so check for supported video codecs in it.

W

Then something is wrong with either codec or container setting used by the converter.Have you tried some standard 4k demo clips like below?
Demo UHD-3D - Ultra-HD / 4K / HDR / 3D

O

chimera201 said:
Do you have an external HDD to test with?
Looks like there is no user manual download link for this particular model. Did it come with a user manual? If so check for supported video codecs in it.

I'll try an external HDD but it doesn't require any additional power source. So will it make any difference? I'll try and update. The manual doesn't say anything about codecs.

O

whitestar_999 said:
Then something is wrong with either codec or container setting used by the converter.Have you tried some standard 4k demo clips like below?
Demo UHD-3D - Ultra-HD / 4K / HDR / 3D

Yes I've been trying to play clips downloaded from that source only. I've tried mp4 (Panasonic Lumix Demo & SpaceX launch footage) and encm (Mad Max) so far. Will try mkv now.

O

chimera201 said:
Do you have an external HDD to test with?

4K on External HDD didn't play. SD and HD did.

O

Ojasvi Srivastava said:
Yes I've been trying to play clips downloaded from that source only. I've tried mp4 (Panasonic Lumix Demo & SpaceX launch footage) and encm (Mad Max) so far. Will try mkv now.

mkv didn't play either.

Really have to see the official codec support for that model. There must be something in the manual. All TV manuals state the supported codecs. If not that TV seems to be sketchy. Best thing to do would be to ask Panasonic themselves.

W

Just remembered something,just because a TV is 4k doesn't necessarily mean that it can play 4k files via usb.Every TV has different limits regarding USB playback.I found these manuals for 2 different panasonic professional led tv(one is UHD) & neither of them supports 4k video playback over usb.
*panasonic.net/cns/prodisplays/download/pdf/instructions/TH-55_49_42AF1U_W_Eng.pdf
*panasonic.net/cns/prodisplays/download/pdf/instructions/TH-LFE8U_E_manual_en.pdf

Codec Maximum resolution
MPEG4VISUAL 480@30fps
MPEG4AVC 1080@30fps, High Profile
VC-1 Advanced 1080@30fps
VC-1 Simple & Main 1080@30fps

Also as per product page TH-49CX400DX LED LCD TV - Panasonic India it says 4k only supported through hdmi.

So my conclusion is that this model does not support 4k playback over usb.

^That settles it. First time seeing features part contains the important specs rather than the specs part.

O

whitestar_999 said:
Just remembered something,just because a TV is 4k doesn't necessarily mean that it can play 4k files via usb.Every TV has different limits regarding USB playback.I found these manuals for 2 different panasonic professional led tv(one is UHD) & neither of them supports 4k video playback over usb.
*panasonic.net/cns/prodisplays/download/pdf/instructions/TH-55_49_42AF1U_W_Eng.pdf
*panasonic.net/cns/prodisplays/download/pdf/instructions/TH-LFE8U_E_manual_en.pdf

Also as per product page TH-49CX400DX LED LCD TV - Panasonic India it says 4k only supported through hdmi.
View attachment 16918

So my conclusion is that this model does not support 4k playback over usb.

Darn it. How did I miss that. Thanks a lot. So now I guess I have two options:
1. Get a GPU that supports 4K over HDMI or display port. If its the latter I'll have to use a display port to HDMI adapter, which is very had to come by and also kinda expensive (for an adapter)
2. Get a media box capable of 4K over HDMI
Which one would you guys recommend? Watching 4K would not be a regular thing, just an occasional movie or two. So I don't really want to invest a lot.

W

RX460 has both HDMI 2.0 & Displayport v1.4 & costs around 10k.