Panasonic UB820 - problem playing 4K content from a hard drive

[Piriven]

So I have a portable drive plugged into the rear USB port of the UB820. HD movies play fine, but some 4K films won’t play, especially if the bitrate is high. The sound plays but the picture is a series of frozen images.

Apparently the bitrate of these films (which are max 20gb in storage size) is within the capability of the player.

So is my problem the hard drive?

It is the WD Elements 4tb Hard Drive: https://amzn.eu/d/jhK292f

I’m using the lead that comes with the drive to connect to the Panny.

Any help much appreciated!

[LexInHD]

You need to get a 4TB external SSD. The I/O of that external HDD isn't very high, whereas an SSD has far more bandwidth to use for data streaming to the player.

[Piriven]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

You need to get a 4TB external SSD. The I/O of that external HDD isn't very high, whereas an SSD has far more bandwidth to use for data streaming to the player.

Gotcha, thanks!

Could you recommend a model?

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by Piriven

Gotcha, thanks!

Could you recommend a model?

Anything from Samsung is good or you can just roll your own, with an M.2 or SATA SSD in a USB 3.0 enclosure, buying whatever is on sale. Most enclosures and portable SSDs use USB-C, so you'll have to get a USB-C to USB-A cable, to use with the player.