How can I watch 4K content on my TV from USB drive? If you are experiencing issues playing 4K video files on a USB drive directly on your TV, you may follow this guide to solve your problem.
Why my 4K TV won’t play 4K content on a USB drive?
“Hi all, I recently bought a Samsung 4K TV and I’m enjoying it very much. It allows me to view media contents from a USB storage device. When a USB device is connected to the USB port, a pop-up message will appear allowing me to easily switch to media content stored on the USB device. My TV plays almost everything I throw at it, except downloaded 4K MKV movies. Is there anything I can do to solve the issue?”
Playback of 4k video files on a USB drive directly on the TV should work if your 4K content includes compatible video/audio codecs. If not, you will encounter incompatibility issues. For instance, if your 4K MKV movie is encoded with the new HEVC (H.265) codec, but your TV only supports H.264 encoded MKV, then you will fail to play it. Please check for compatible video codecs and formats before playing. They should be in the TV manual. If your 4K videos are not supported by your TV, converting them to a compatible format (e.g. the widely supported H.264 MP4) prior would solve the issue. Here’s a guide displaying how to process file conversion.
How to convert 4K content to H.264 MP4 for playing on TV via USB?
To transcode 4K movies to H.264 MP4 for playing on a TV via USB, follow these steps:
Step 1: Click “Add File” to load video files that you want to convert into this program.
Step 2: Click “Profile” to select H.264 MP4 as output format
If you want to downscale 4K media to 1080p H.264 MP4 for your TV, you can select “HD Video” > “HD H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format.
If you want to convert 4K content to 4K H.264 for your TV, you can choose “4K Video” > “4K H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format.
Step 3: Custom video and audio settings
If necessary, you can click “Settings” button to modify video and audio parameters like encoder, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, aspect ratio, sample rate, and audio channels. You can also “enable 3D Settings” to add 3D effect to your source media.
Step 4: Click “Convert” to start 4K content to H.264 MP4 conversion for your TV.
As soon as the conversion is complete, click “Open Folder” to get the generated H.264 MP4 files for playing on your TV via USB drive with optimum performance. Hope it helps.
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