4K Digital Signage with PiSignage: 4K Video on Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 5 and Amazon Signage Stick

piSignage drives 4K displays (3840 x 2160) on the Raspberry Pi 4 and Raspberry Pi 5 and plays 4K video on them with the VLC player. The Amazon Signage Stick plays 4K video as well. Raspberry Pi 3 and earlier boards are limited to 1080p.

Images, web pages and widgets are rendered at the display's native 4K resolution by the browser. 4K video needs the settings below, because the default Chromium player handles video only up to 1080p.

Player version: 4K video playback needs player software 5.4.x or later on the Raspberry Pi 4 and Pi 5. Update older players first; see How do I upgrade software in case of pi players. The player version is shown under each screen name on the Screens page.

Setting up 4K video

1. Display - connect a 4K display to the HDMI port (on the Pi 4 use HDMI0, the port next to the power connector).
2. Enable 4K - in the group's Settings, open Displays and set Dual screen options to Enable 4K. The player switches the HDMI output to 4K at 60 Hz and turns the second HDMI port off; the player reboots once to apply it.
   
3. Video player - in the same Settings, open Video Player and choose Native media player (VLC). Chromium stays in use for images, web pages and widgets.
   
4. Bypass video conversion - in the account Settings, under Display and Screen Settings, switch on Bypass video conversion before uploading, so the server keeps the file as uploaded instead of converting it to 1080p.
   
5. Video files - upload mp4, m4v or mkv files encoded in H.265 (HEVC), which the Pi 4 and Pi 5 decode in hardware up to 4K at 60 fps. 
6. Deploy the group.

Notes

• A 4K video file is large; keep the bitrate reasonable (around 20 to 40 Mbps) and use a fast Class A2 card so downloads and playback keep up.
• The Pi 5 needs the official 5V 5A supply and a fan or heatsink for sustained 4K playback.
• With Enable 4K the group runs a single display; the mirror and tile dual-screen modes are not available at 4K.
• The Amazon Signage Stick plays 4K video without any of these settings; see What are the other players supported.