Playing 4K Movies from Hard Drive to Samsung Neo Qled TV

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  freefall101 on 15/01/2024 - 00:42

  +3

  Plex on the PC plus a shield/chromecast/apple tv would be a better option.

  • 

    Sharma on 15/01/2024 - 00:45

    I have google chromecast — if I connect it via the USB hub .. u recon it will process all video and audio formats and play like normal movies without any problems !!

    • 

      AustriaBargain on 15/01/2024 - 01:01

      A standard chrome cast, doubt it.

      • 

        Sharma on 15/01/2024 - 01:02

        Sorry .. I think I have chromecast 4k with remote the white colour one ..

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  kizzaaa on 15/01/2024 - 01:02

  +1

  So many options, it really depends on the size of your video library, how much you want to spend, and how easy you want it to be.

  Do I need a 4k mini pc for my purpose ?? So that it can process the same file format as on the hard drive ..

  If you have a small library, you could get away with an Apple TV/Shield and copying the videos to an app like VLC. For a large library, consider using your PC or set-up a NAS with Plex to stream.

  Or it won’t make much difference if I play via normal mini pc .. as long as it is connected via mini pc .. or the movie quality will be reduced if my mini pc is not 4k ??

  For 4K movies, you should be considering an external device like an Apple TV/Shield/Chromecast to do the processing to ensure you are streaming the maximum bitrate.

  Personally, I set-up a NAS some years ago because I didn't like using lots of external hard drives. One of the main use cases for my NAS is Plex (free version), which I stream to my Apple TV on a Samsung Neo QLED. Works incredibly well.

  • 

    Sharma on 15/01/2024 - 01:10

    I will try connecting the chromecast tomorrow and see how it goes .. and or maybe work on setting up a NAS at some stage in future .. 😊😊 my main worry is if chromecast will process all files as normal as a computer does .. and play all audio and video formats as normal .. cos the tv doesn’t have all supported file formats ..

    • 

      kizzaaa on 15/01/2024 - 01:19

      +2

      This guide lists all the codecs supported by the different Chromecast models: https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/media

      • 

        Sharma on 15/01/2024 - 01:20

        Sure, thank you very much Kizzaaa. 😊😊

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  McCloud on 15/01/2024 - 07:17

  +2

  I have Jellyfin installed on my networked pc as well as on my LG OLED (via the TV app store). TV is also networked. Jellyfin is free to use and was relatively easy to set up. Just load your media on the pc via the browser localhost and it will be visible when the TV connects to the Jellyfin host.

  I have not had any format playback issues yet.

• 

  jugsy on 15/01/2024 - 10:36

  +1

  Plex is definitely the answer. I use the app on Google TV to watch 4k content.

  • 

    Sharma on 15/01/2024 - 15:45

    With Plex .. I would have to leave the PC powered on all the time ?? Is that right

    • 

      abs898 on 16/01/2024 - 07:09

      +1

      Yes

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  abs898 on 16/01/2024 - 07:11

  +1

  You have a couple of options.

  1. As everyone recommended Plex or making a cheap computer as your media server

  2. You can look into getting a USB hub so you can connect your HDD to it. https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/13988807?hl=en#….

  You can then play using VLC app or something that will read the codec.

  I have recently setup my Plex server on a cheap $100 Intel gen 6 computer.

  You can choose not to have it on all the time and just power on as required. It will take under a minute for the server to be ready upon power on.

  • 

    Sharma on 16/01/2024 - 07:46

    Sure, thanks for the reply ☺️☺️