Considering buying Surface 4 Pro - can it play the 1080p video from internal SSD drive?

[Ćwirek]

Hello everyone !
As I mentioned, I'm considering buying Surface 4 Pro (i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB) but I need to know one thing.
It will replace my Asus R510JX laptop which I'm using mainly to watch full-HD 1080p movies (19GB per file).
Can Surface Pro 4 handle with them? Are there any lags or something while watching the movie on a monitor (connected to Surface 4 Pro via mini display port to HDMI adapter)?

Thank you for any help !

 

[Philtastic]

Intuitively, I would say that it could probably do it since the Intel HD 520 can easily play 1080p videos and can render 1080p 3D graphics (albeit at low detail settings). I'm also pretty sure that people play Blu-ray 1080p movies/rips (which I'm going to assume is what you're doing) on Intel integrated GPUs as well. If you really want to make sure that the specific files that you're working with will run well on it, you can try running them on someone else's Core i5-6300U ultrabook. There shouldn't be any lag when connected to a monitor. Do you need to use special software to play these really large video files?

 

[Ćwirek]

Only the VLC Media Player.

 

[ScottyS]

I'm able to play 1920x800p movies on my SP3 (core i7) with no problem.

 

[Ćwirek]

I'm able to play 1920x800p movies on my SP3 (core i7) with no problem.

Ok, but model which I consider is core i5. This one:
NEW SEALED Microsoft Surface Pro 4 12.3" Intel Core i5 4GB 128GB SSD Win 10 Pro 889842014259 | eBay

 

[GreyFox7]

I think it's more about the codec and VLC configuration. You can do 4k on an external monitor with HD 520 graphics 1080p can be done on much weaker hardware like a Surface 3 Atom.

 

[ScottyS]

I think it's like @GreyFox7 said, more about the codec.
I have a SP3 i7 with 8GB RAM, but the SP4 is a better machine overall and people can play 4k video on Surface 3 Atom.
Perhaps someone with a SP4 i5 4GB can chime in to confirm, but I think you'll be able to play videos fine.

 

[Philtastic]

I think it's more about the codec and VLC configuration. You can do 4k on an external monitor with HD 520 graphics 1080p can be done on much weaker hardware like a Surface 3 Atom.

That's pretty much the only reason that I was slightly doubting whether it would run well: he's running pretty high bitrate movie files which I'm not sure how well VLC handles. Similar to what you've said, it will probably just boil down to how efficiently VLC and its codecs process the large files.

While on this topic of high quality videos, the player that you use also highly affects the quality of the output that you watch. Instead of VLC, I'd recommend using Media Player Classic (MPC) along with MadVR and Lav filters as described here for a cleaner looking image: High Quality Video Playback On Windows

The guide is a bit old so I would go to the actual websites of MPC, MadVR, and Lav (Lav might already be incorporated into the newest versions of MPC) both for acquiring the software and finding instructions for installation.

If you like high framerate videos and don't mind the "soap opera" effect, I'd also suggest the frame interpolation software Smooth Video Project (SVP).
SVP - 60 fps / 120 fps HFR motion interpolation for Windows, macOS, Linux, mpv, VLC

 

[Votality]

That's pretty much the only reason that I was slightly doubting whether it would run well: he's running pretty high bitrate movie files which I'm not sure how well VLC handles. Similar to what you've said, it will probably just boil down to how efficiently VLC and its codecs process the large files.

While on this topic of high quality videos, the player that you use also highly affects the quality of the output that you watch. Instead of VLC, I'd recommend using Media Player Classic (MPC) along with MadVR and Lav filters as described here for a cleaner looking image: High Quality Video Playback On Windows

The guide is a bit old so I would go to the actual websites of MPC, MadVR, and Lav (Lav might already be incorporated into the newest versions of MPC) both for acquiring the software and finding instructions for installation.

If you like high framerate videos and don't mind the "soap opera" effect, I'd also suggest the frame interpolation software Smooth Video Project (SVP).
SVP - 60 fps / 120 fps HFR motion interpolation for Windows, macOS, Linux, mpv, VLC

Download k-lite mega codec pack, has the lav decoders as well as many others and easily configure them for software or hardware decoding etc.