Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Safari in macOS Big Sur Works With 4K HDR and Dolby Vision Content From Netflix on Newer Macs
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
So annoyed that I can't playback in 4K on my 2017 iMac Pro. It has the T2 chip for hardware decoding of H265 so this is an asinine, arbitrary cutoff by Apple.
i mean, this is kind of ridiculous. Its not a huge deal for me because i’ve started just pasting the youtube links into IINA and using that to display youtube videos on my Mac, but it is absurd that you cant get 4K in Safari. This has to be fixed
So my 5k Retina Display iMac bought a little over a year ago (2017 model) doesn't have the hardware to support 4k viewing? Finding this difficult to believe. I wonder what specific hardware does my iMac NOT have that is present in the 2019 model?
iMac Pro supports 4K and HDR:
Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support
Support for high dynamic range (HDR) video, such as HDR movies and TV shows from Apple or other providers, requires the latest version of macOS, a compatible Mac model, and an HDR10-compatible display, TV, or projector.
Guessing it is T2 chip (vs. DRM politics) related.
[automerge]1593474289[/automerge]
It also does DRM in the browser - try take a screenshot of it for example. Last I tried that in windows I got a black browser window (but drivers/software versions/etc. may vary. that was a few years ago when I last ran windows 10).
iMac Pro supports 4K and HDR:
Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support
Support for high dynamic range (HDR) video, such as HDR movies and TV shows from Apple or other providers, requires the latest version of macOS, a compatible Mac model, and an HDR10-compatible display, TV, or projector.support.apple.com
The 2017 iMac Pro most certainly DO NOT support 4K Netflix or iTunes. Look at the support doc again; that's only for HDR.
YouTube do not use only VP9 for 4K videos; they have recently started using AV1, which appears to be what Apple are supporting in iOS 14 and tvOS 14, not VP9.
This was well covered in the comments to Juli Clover’s earlier MacRumors article linked above, but then it’s pretty clear that she rarely reads the comments to her articles.
Last edited:
Netflix's DRM is not something Apple controls.
It supports 4K on iTunes for both internal and external display. I have tested this, and the support doc is clear.
You might want to double check that. In fact, the article you link to makes no mention of VP9.
I guess the silver lining of buying the 2017 iMac back in 2017 is that there is no 2018 iMac. Waiting 2 years to get an iMac would have been worse.
And what about those folks just buying the 2019 iMac, knowing the ARM iMac will be out soon, and smoke the 2019? Always something better right around the corner...
iOS 14 does indeed support 4K HDR VP9 on YouTube on HDR capable iPhones. tvOS does not.
Next iMac is reportedly supposed to be an Intel model actually, according to analysts. New design though.
ARM will come later. Perhaps only half a year later.
tvOS 14 supports 4K YouTube.
It's VP9.2.
iOS/iPadOS 14 and VP9 support [Merged]
I’m able to watch the Costa Rica video and this Peru video in 4K, 60fps, HDR on my iPhone XS Max. They’re both the VP9.2 codec. Not able to on my A10X iPad Pro 10.5” though that’s supposed to also be HDR compatible.
forums.macrumors.com
Is this something people even do? Every time I hear about anti-piracy features like HDCP and such I roll my eyes because actual pirates don't attack the browser or the display connection; they crack the encryption on the original video stream itself.
By definition, if you can watch something you have the decryption keys, so there's always a way unless it's a fully sealed, locked down system which Windows and MacOS are not.
What pirates record from a freaking HDMI port? I'd love to know. It's only a tiny step above pointing a camcorder at the screen in a movie theater.
Going to have to see some evidence of that please. tvOS 14 will support 4K YouTube. Right now it does not.
Open question which I'd love some advice on.
I have the 27" 5K 2019 iMac. But it will not seem to play 4K at all. For example, even in the Apple TV app, its not an option (whereas it is on my MacBook Pro).
The difference between the two units is the T2 chip.
So, here's the question: this article says any Mac from "2018 or later." But this isn't true, right? Because its actually only Macs with T2 chips? Or am I wrong, and is there something wrong with my 2019 iMac?
Thanks all!
Nick
I have the 27" 5K 2019 iMac. But it will not seem to play 4K at all. For example, even in the Apple TV app, its not an option (whereas it is on my MacBook Pro).
The difference between the two units is the T2 chip.
So, here's the question: this article says any Mac from "2018 or later." But this isn't true, right? Because its actually only Macs with T2 chips? Or am I wrong, and is there something wrong with my 2019 iMac?
Thanks all!
Nick
Sorry but Catalina, (when 4K itunes playback for Macs was introduced) does not support 4K playback for Macs prior to 2018; it literally says it in the Catalina guidelines.
Check your data bandwidth next time you stream an iTunes movie. If you’re on a 2017 iMac Pro it will be of a 1080p data stream size.
Last edited:
Yeah people do try to use screen recorders to try to capture things. Imagine if Netflix made 4K available in Safari voluntarily, and you can record it with these tools. That would make piracy easier. Maybe Big Sur Safari natively supports DRM in the browser, so you can't screen capture it. If it doesn't, my gut says Netflix will disallow it.
