> Kindly, why the hell would I even watch 4K video on a laptop?
Because that's the file I have on hand. Why on earth would I re-encode it if I want to watch it once?
I also connect my laptop to my 32" 4K screen. There the battery life is not a consideration, but the spinning fan is.
> in my spare time down to 1080p or 720p so I save myself precious disk space and CPU usage while travelling.
Your use case might work for you, and that's fine, but you claim that software decoding is universally not a problem. But it is, if you don't limit yourself to 720p h.264 pre-encoded at home. Most people are not fine with having to do this and having to limit themselves to low resolutions / bad IQ.
Because that's the file I have on hand. Why on earth would I re-encode it if I want to watch it once?
I also connect my laptop to my 32" 4K screen. There the battery life is not a consideration, but the spinning fan is.
> in my spare time down to 1080p or 720p so I save myself precious disk space and CPU usage while travelling.
Your use case might work for you, and that's fine, but you claim that software decoding is universally not a problem. But it is, if you don't limit yourself to 720p h.264 pre-encoded at home. Most people are not fine with having to do this and having to limit themselves to low resolutions / bad IQ.