USB playback

[Simon 1402]

Hi all,

I used to have a HDR-1100S one of the side benefits of which was that it would play video files from a USB stick including passing through Dolby Atmos soundtracks.

I currently have a YouView box which is fine for recording but does not allow playback and was considering buying a cheap(ish) Humax box just to enable playback. Can anyone advise which models would be suitable?

P.S. Ideally I would like to be able to play downloaded movies in 4K/atmos either from USB or by using Plex to stream. Unfortunately my Samsung HW-K950 soundbar will not play Atmos via ARC so I need a device to act as a source. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Cheers,
Simon

 

[grahamlthompson]

Pretty sure none of the current Humax boxes are 4K capable. I use a Amazon Fire 4K TV stick with MCRC and a laptop with Plex (MCRC supports plex). (The stick was a £25.00 bargain during the recent prime days sale). It will play any files on my laptop or on usb connected kit. It has the major advantage that Amazon Prime properly supports the native framerate as a result playback is very smooth. Also files streamed from my laptop also play at the native framerate. Netflix though plays at 60Hz (need an update to the netflix app). I don't have Dolby Atmos so can't help with your other query. Perhaps a google search would help.

Welcome to our forum

 

[Simon 1402]

Pretty sure none of the current Humax boxes are 4K capable. I use a Amazon Fire 4K TV stick with MCRC and a laptop with Plex (MCRC supports plex). (The stick was a £25.00 bargain during the recent prime days sale). It will play any files on my laptop or on usb connected kit. It has the major advantage that Amazon Prime properly supports the native framerate as a result playback is very smooth. Also files streamed from my laptop also play at the native framerate. Netflix though plays at 60Hz (need an update to the netflix app). I don't have Dolby Atmos so can't help with your other query. Perhaps a google search would help.

Welcome to our forum

Thanks. I am not sure how the Humax boxes would do with a 4K movie. They do not themselves support Atmos but will play Atmos demo files so maybe 4K as well. I may have to borrow my gf's box to try it. Apologies for being a complete noob but Googling MCRC only comes up with cancer-related links?

 

[grahamlthompson]

Thanks. I am not sure how the Humax boxes would do with a 4K movie. They do not themselves support Atmos but will play Atmos demo files so maybe 4K as well. I may have to borrow my gf's box to try it. Apologies for being a complete noob but Googling MCRC only comes up with cancer-related links?

Sorry typo should be MrMC

Explanation of the new Frame Rate Matching feature on the Amazon Fire TV and how it works

Software update version 6.2.5.3 to the Amazon Fire TV has added the ability to configure the media player so that it adjusts your TVs refresh rate to match the frame rate of the video content being played.

www.aftvnews.com

Reviews here

Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: MrMC

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for MrMC at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users.

www.amazon.co.uk

All the Humax boxes I am familiar with can only handle a Full-HD source. The Freeview HD ones can use a 1080p25 source or 1080i50 as broadcast. Or 1080i with a satellite source. The newer ones can de-interlace a progressive source and frame double to create a 1080p50 output stream. None (except the original 5000T) has scaling to 2160p. This was removed in a later firmware update. Usb frame rates other than 50Hz 25fps content is is recoded to 60Hz producing the pull down jerkiness especially on panning shots. The 4K firestick has 4K capability and some HDR capability.