Will usb2 speeds be fast enough for 4k playback?

[masty88]

Hi all

I am looking at purchasing the Minix Neo U1 android box but its usb ports are only usb2.

My concern is that when Ultra HD blurays are released & I am able to make backups of my 4k movies on hard drives for easier playback, will usb2 be able to handle sending over huge MKV files with huge bitrates? As I have a projector I always opt for full quality MKVs (no quality drop) & am concerned that usb2 won't be up to the job.

So, will usb2 cut it?

Thanks

 

[George Phillips]

USB2 might be enough for watching movies, but the Minix Neo U1 may not be enough to watch 4k titles that require higher bit rates. It's already 2016, I recommend to get one with USB3 or even USB 3.1.

 

[masty88]

USB2 might be enough for watching movies, but the Minix Neo U1 may not be enough to watch 4k titles that require higher bit rates. It's already 2016, I recommend to get one with USB3 or even USB 3.1.

Thanks George. I unusually stream my movies from my NAS (have external usb hard drives plugged into the NAS) so even then USB3 will be important I am guessing?

I didn't even know of USB 3.1, am looking into it now.

I guess I will build my own HTPC then.

Thanks again.

 

[George Phillips]

Building one's own HTPC is a great way to ensure performance and long-term usability. It's a great idea to build one with USB 3, USB 3.1 and one that's based on Intel's latest Skylake platform. It doesn't need to be the high end 6700/6700k or 6600/6600k processors. A lower tiered i5 or i3 will do well! Finally it is a good idea to get everything USB 3.0 and beyond for make sure whatever contend one uses will be processed quickly.

 

[masty88]

Thanks again George! Would an Intel i3-4170 3.7 GHz CPU cope easily with 4K films? I can get a 750 2GB DDR5 GPU for £50 to pair with it too.

 

[George Phillips]

Compressed 4k films based on H.265 HEVC is about 50Mbps, so I think an i3-4170 is powerful enough to play 4k filmes. If it doesn't play well for any reason, it will always be easy to upgrade to an i5 with 4 cores or install another graphics card that has builtin hardware to play H.265 films at ease.

I have watched quite some 4k videos and short clips and am very impressed by the resolution and clarity. And 4k Blu-ray movies will come out soon, too. It's good time to watch movies.