Same Question Another Way

[blackglass]

Okay it seems no-one is using VLC on ATV4K. I would love to hear from someone streaming MKV files on ATV4K.

The easier question is... Does the ATV4K stream 4K video movies on other services such as Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime etc?
I was told the ATV4K only supports 4K viewing if rented on the Apple (iTunes) site. Is this true?

 

[JBaby]

tv can’t natively play mkv. Yes, tv can play 4K that isn’t from .

 

[-Gonzo-]

Any app that supports 4K will play in 4K.
Prime Video - Yes
Netflix - Yes
Disney+ - Yes
YouTube - Currently no, but is coming in the next TvOS release.

 

[blackglass]

tv can’t natively play mkv. Yes, tv can play 4K that isn’t from .

Thanks, I thought it was rubbish that it couldn't support ATV4K.
[automerge]1595761045[/automerge]

Any app that supports 4K will play in 4K.
Prime Video - Yes
Netflix - Yes
Disney+ - Yes
YouTube - Currently no, but is coming in the next TvOS release.

Any idea about MKV and UHD etc?

 

[waw74]

UHD is just another name for 4k.

no one is using VLC because there are a ton of better options out there

take a look at plex or infuse.

Plex runs a server program on your computer
Infuse accesses network shares directly on the aTV.
Both give similar experiences, Plex is a bit more full featured
Infuse requires a paid upgrade to play certain files
Plex will play everything for free - There is a paid upgrade to add features.

Plex will re-mux your MKV files into something the aTV will play, (re-mux takes the video and audio streams and puts them in a new container, it leaves the streams completely unaltered)
Plex will also convert any files as needed, so the 4K-HDR movie you have to watch in the living room, will be converted to 1080-SDR for watching on a different TV that doesn't support 4K

Re-muxing doesn't take much processor power on the server, converting can take quite a bit.

They will both play 4k and HDR content,
(You can only get Dolby Vision when streaming, but regular HDR will play)

as others have said
Netflix, prime, disney+, aTV+ --- all have at least some of their shows in 4k. Some of those are either HDR or Dolby Vision.
Showtime is starting to have 4k, there are a few shows and some of those are HDR.

 

[johannnn]

I use (paid) Infuse from my local (wifi) iMac to play 4K movies. Plex is also great, but I don't want to install an app on my Mac. I also use Infuse to connect to my paid https://put.io account, but I don't think Macrumors allows that kind of discussion. And Infuse syncs over iCloud, so everything is always updated on both my Apple TV, my iPad, and my iPhone.

 

[Rigby]

tv can’t natively play mkv. Yes, tv can play 4K that isn’t from .

Depends on the definition of natively. ;-) The Infuse app can play pretty much any video format on the ATV without requiring server software or any kind of transcoding or remuxing. That includes MKV containers with all of the commonly used video and audio codecs, and 4K and HDR support.

 

[JBaby]

Depends on the definition of natively. ;-) The Infuse app can play pretty much any video format directly on the ATV without requiring transcoding or remuxing. That includes MKV files with all of the commonly used video and audio codecs, and 4K and HDR support.

That’s not natively. It requires a 3rd party app.

 

[Rigby]

That’s not natively. It requires a 3rd party app.

The ATV hardware and OS support playing these formats natively on the device. Again, it's a question of definition. The key point is that no prior conversion is required.

 

[JBaby]

The ATV hardware and OS support playing these formats natively. Again, it's a question of definition.

Disagree. If you can’t take the device out of the box and play mkv without downloading a third party app then it’s not native. Also, I don’t see mkv listed anywhere.

 

[Rigby]

Disagree. If you can’t take the device out of the box and play mkv without downloading a third party app then it’s not native. Also, I don’t see mkv listed anywhere.

This is getting silly. I think the OP's question has been answered.

 

[JBaby]

This is getting silly. I think the OP's question has been answered.

I agree this question of what native means was silly. And, yes, OP’s answer has been answered.

 

[blackglass]

UHD is just another name for 4k.

no one is using VLC because there are a ton of better options out there

take a look at plex or infuse.

Plex runs a server program on your computer
Infuse accesses network shares directly on the aTV.
Both give similar experiences, Plex is a bit more full featured
Infuse requires a paid upgrade to play certain files
Plex will play everything for free - There is a paid upgrade to add features.

Plex will re-mux your MKV files into something the aTV will play, (re-mux takes the video and audio streams and puts them in a new container, it leaves the streams completely unaltered)
Plex will also convert any files as needed, so the 4K-HDR movie you have to watch in the living room, will be converted to 1080-SDR for watching on a different TV that doesn't support 4K

Re-muxing doesn't take much processor power on the server, converting can take quite a bit.

They will both play 4k and HDR content,
(You can only get Dolby Vision when streaming, but regular HDR will play)

as others have said
Netflix, prime, disney+, aTV+ --- all have at least some of their shows in 4k. Some of those are either HDR or Dolby Vision.
Showtime is starting to have 4k, there are a few shows and some of those are HDR.

I really appreciate your detailed reply, thank you!. You've straightened out a few things I was unsure of. I'm currently using PLEX (at this early stage I haven't figured out how to use it yet) on an Nvida Shield TV Pro streamer and I'm returning it today and picking up the ATV4K instead.