1080p videos playing fine, but issues with 4k files

[jerryo 0]

Hello!

I have a brand new 1800E, and I'm having trouble playing 4K videos from network, SD card, and USB 3.0 thumb drive. The audio plays at the normal rate, but the video is so slow I wouldn't even call it "choppy" - it's just showing freeze frames for a few seconds at a time. Absolutely unwatchable.

I have a couple of tiny 4k sample videos that are able to play and only show slight sluggishness in the video, but all larger files I have tried have difficulty.

The attached TV is a Vizio M70-C3 TV, which supports video playback from a USB thumb drive, although with limited formats supported. One of the videos that the 1800E is having problems with plays without issue when the USB drive is plugged directly into the TV, so I know it's not a problem with the file itself.

I downloaded and installed the Nov/14 firmware, but that did not solve the problem. Since then, the unit has automatically updated with the latest firmware, but the problem persists.

Since there appear to be no issues with 1080p videos and some of the smaller 4K videos are able to play at almost full speed, I'm wondering if I might have a faulty unit? Some bad memory or a problem with a processor? Are there diagnostics I can run on the unit? Any other suggestions?

I purchased this device specifically to be able to watch 4K video ... so I'm hopeful you can help.

Thanks,

Jerry

[Justin 206]

Hello!

I have a brand new 1800E, and I'm having trouble playing 4K videos from network, SD card, and USB 3.0 thumb drive. The audio plays at the normal rate, but the video is so slow I wouldn't even call it "choppy" - it's just showing freeze frames for a few seconds at a time. Absolutely unwatchable.

I have a couple of tiny 4k sample videos that are able to play and only show slight sluggishness in the video, but all larger files I have tried have difficulty.

The attached TV is a Vizio M70-C3 TV, which supports video playback from a USB thumb drive, although with limited formats supported. One of the videos that the 1800E is having problems with plays without issue when the USB drive is plugged directly into the TV, so I know it's not a problem with the file itself.

I downloaded and installed the Nov/14 firmware, but that did not solve the problem. Since then, the unit has automatically updated with the latest firmware, but the problem persists.

Since there appear to be no issues with 1080p videos and some of the smaller 4K videos are able to play at almost full speed, I'm wondering if I might have a faulty unit? Some bad memory or a problem with a processor? Are there diagnostics I can run on the unit? Any other suggestions?

I purchased this device specifically to be able to watch 4K video ... so I'm hopeful you can help.

Thanks,

Jerry

Which video player are you trying this on?

I use the 4K player here at the office to show some small 4K videos for display without issues.

[jerryo 0]

I have the same issue using the factory installed version of XBMC (viewing files from my local network), as well as with the "4K Movie Player" for local/attached media. I would assume that a USB 3.0 thumb drive plugged directly into the 1800E would rule out issues with internal network speed, and it's not streamed content from an online source, so my broadband connection isn't to blame. Plugging the USB thumb drive directly into the TV works fine, so I know it's not the thumb drive or the file itself.

Thoughts?

[Justin 206]

I have the same issue using the factory installed version of XBMC (viewing files from my local network), as well as with the "4K Movie Player" for local/attached media. I would assume that a USB 3.0 thumb drive plugged directly into the 1800E would rule out issues with internal network speed, and it's not streamed content from an online source, so my broadband connection isn't to blame. Plugging the USB thumb drive directly into the TV works fine, so I know it's not the thumb drive or the file itself.

Thoughts?

Any chance you can post the link to where you downloaded these 4K Videos from, so I can try for myself.

If you dont want to post them, then PM them to me.

[jerryo 0]

I can't PM, as my account doesn't (yet) have PM authorization - I just joined the forum this morning.

The specific file is a BBC documentary that I downloaded from a torrent. It's 3.74 GB, named:

BBC.The.Sky.at.Night.2014.Rosetta.Special.2160p.HDTV.x265.AAC.MVGroup.org.mp4

I can post or email the hash, if you want to download the file.

Prior to the firmware upgrades (i.e. straight out of the box), xbmc would show frozen images when playing this file. After updating firmware, it now only plays the audio, and shows a default graphic equalizer (colourful bars on a 2D grid), so I'm guessing it's not even trying to process the video. Again, this same file plays fine from USB key plugged directly into my TV.

Are there diagnostics I can run myself to determine if there are hardware issues with the box?

Edit: also tried barcelona/atletico sample file from here: http://www.andytather.co.uk/Panda/Files/Video/UHD_Soccer%201_Barcelona_Atletico%20Madrid.ts

[jerryo 0]

Is somebody able to provide any guidance on how I might determine if I have a faulty unit? I should be able to play 4K videos in supported video formats without the screen looking like a slide show, should I not, especially when playing from SD Card or USB thumb drive?

if I can't get this to work, this unit will be going back to the store ... and I won't buy another if I can't determine whether or not I just got a faulty unit

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[Justin 206]

Have you tried KODI 15 from the Playstore?

As your post only says XBMC was tried.

[jerryo 0]

Yes, I uninstalled Kodi and reinstalled the newest version (15.2 Isengard). I still cannot play 4K content properly without extreme buffering issues, regardless of whether it's over the network or from USB/SD media directly attached to the ATV1800E.

[kicsrules 0]

im on the same boat, hevc files above 1080p struggle on this box