Choppy Playout of 4k 60 Fps content on a macbook Air 2018 model

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Choppy Playout of 4k 60 Fps content on a macbook Air 2018 model

i am looking to find out what is the recommended approach to play 4k 60 fps content on the macbook air.

I tried playing youtube content on chrome browser, downloaded 4k 60fps video on VLC and KM player

I have tried this on the macbook air as well as connecting it to a philips 4k tv using an HDMI 2 cable. The TV is able to detect a 4k 60fps input. The results are always a choppy video playout - a smooth playout of 4k content is what i am looking to achieve.

I had read that the macbook air supports upto 2 different 4k displays at 60 fps before purchasing the device. Am i missing some detail here? any advice or recommendation ?

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 18, 2020 2:46 AM

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Answer 1

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bradley30

Community Specialist

Jan 24, 2020 8:01 AM in response to ManuJoy7

Hi ManuJoy7,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities! I understand that you're encountering video quality issues on your MacBook Air.

It appears that the 2018 MacBook Air does indeed support video playback exceeding 4K resolutions at up to 60Hz (Source: MacBook Air - Technical Specifications).

You may want to check your video file's format to ensure it's supported, and test its playback on the internal display as well, for isolation purposes: If an audio or video file doesn't play on Mac

Additionally: Get help with video issues on external displays connected to your Mac

That article specifically mentions about halfway down "If starting in safe mode doesn't resolve the issue, reset your Mac's NVRAM and SMC to reset the video ports on your Mac to their defaults." which I definitely recommend, as each of these can help with video and connectivity issues respectively.

Have a nice week.

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Answer 2

ManuJoy7 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2020 6:48 PM in response to bradley30

Hi, thank you for your reply. I did try 4k youtube videos on chrome and downloaded different formats of 4k test sample videos online and tried playing with Quicktime, VLC, MKplayer etc. its the same result every time. The customer service agent told me to try in safe mode but there also we saw a similar result.

I will try out your suggestion of resetting the NVRM and SMC to see if it helps

Meanwhile i wanted to ask the community members if any of you is able to play any online or downloaded 4k content at 60 fps on an external display smoothly?

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Choppy Playout of 4k 60 Fps content on a macbook Air 2018 model

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