I have a 5k iMac 27" and iTunes is showing none of them are in 4k to play. Is this a feature only on the 4k Apple TV or is there something I can do to resolve this issue?
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Movies Not Upgraded To 4k On iMac?
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EugW
macrumors P6
Not supported on macOS.
My guess is Apple MIGHT start supporting in 10.14, but only on 2017 Macs or later due to hardware requirements. Which iMac do you have?
Thank you. That is what I was thinking. I have the 2015 27" iMac but it's maxed out with the top Radeon that was offered, maybe that would be enough I know it's not super great or anything. Well, would be a reason to sell and upgrade maybe
EugW
macrumors P6
The Radeon likely doesn’t matter. If Apple decides to support this, it likely depend upon the Intel generation - Kaby Lake or later.
Oh okay, interesting. Better codecs for 4k? I can run 4k videos fine it seems from YouTube, ripped files, etc. I'll check into what Kabby can do on this front.
EugW
macrumors P6
Intel 6th generation Skylake (which is found in the 2015 iMac) does not support the hardware DRM that companies require for 4K streaming. On the Windows side, a minimum of Intel 7th generation Kaby Lake (which is found in the 2017 iMac) is required for Netflix 4K. On the Windows side, the GPU can be used for this now in some cases but Apple likely won't support this.
Furthermore, even if we were to ignore DRM for the time being, only Kaby Lake has the hardware for full hardware 10-bit 4K HEVC decode support for full 10-bit 4K streaming compatibility. Again, on the Windows side a discrete GPU can be used for this now, but we already know that Apple isn't supporting this on discrete GPUs in Macs.
As for YouTube, that hardware 4K DRM support is not necessary. However, in Safari, there is no 4K support at all, as YouTube only supports up to 1440p, and that's using h.264. In Chrome, 4K is supported, but this is using Google's VP9 codec. There is currently no hardware VP9 decode support on Macs, but that's OK, because 4K VP9 is easier to decode in software than 4K HEVC is.
And for ripped movies, they have no DRM either.
So, while 4K does work on 2015 iMacs in YouTube and for ripped movies, those are not at all representative of what is necessary for 4K streaming for DRM'd movies and TV shows.
I appreciate you taking the time to walk me through this. I certainly see why this would be an issue for Apple. I had been considering upgrading but did not see enough of a reason. It looks like I have been mistaken. It almost seems like it is pointless to have this 5K monitor with those issues. I will have to make sure to do more research. I hate to upgrade just for a processor upgrade but as 4K video is important to me I will certainly have to take a look at it. Thank you for taking the time and teaching me about it. I really appriciate it
EugW
macrumors P6
If watching 4K iTunes or 4K Netflix on an iMac is important, I wouldn't upgrade until macOS actually offers it. My posts above are just based on the info we have now, but we don't know if and how Apple will implement this. Once Apple offers this, then you can make an informed decision.
It's just that my best GUESS (or hope?) is that Apple will offer this in 2018, but will limit it to Kaby Lake or later.