TV that can read from USB: Does it exist?
January 4, 2011 8:32 AM Subscribe
What is the quality I should look for in a new TV if I want to watch stuff on it that I've downloaded onto a USB?
I've in the market for a new TV, but I'm not into anything fancy and am not ready for Google-TV or what-have-you (plus, I live in the EU so who knows if that's even available).
Up till now I've survived without one because I download torrents and watch them on my computer. However, seeing as I need a TV anyway, do you have any tips for getting one that can read movies off of a USB?
Any tips about brand/type to buy is much appreciated!
THANK YOU METAFILTER
I've in the market for a new TV, but I'm not into anything fancy and am not ready for Google-TV or what-have-you (plus, I live in the EU so who knows if that's even available).
Up till now I've survived without one because I download torrents and watch them on my computer. However, seeing as I need a TV anyway, do you have any tips for getting one that can read movies off of a USB?
Any tips about brand/type to buy is much appreciated!
THANK YOU METAFILTER
Actually in case it's useful to mateuslee, this is the TV I was talking about.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:43 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:43 AM on January 4, 2011
My DVD player (a Philips whose model number I don't remember) has a USB slot in front. It plays all my downloaded stuff just fine.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 8:44 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by Gridlock Joe at 8:44 AM on January 4, 2011
Yeah, this is probably a bit trickier than it sounds. Pretty much any HDTV these days has USB input, but that's only half the battle- you then have to deal with codecs. More often than not, the cheaper units are restricted to playing DRM-laden content like Windows Media, and won't recognize formats like divx, avi, or mkv. If the TV you want doesn't support it, you'll either need to transcode yourself or get another box that can stream+transcode on the fly.
posted by mkultra at 8:49 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by mkultra at 8:49 AM on January 4, 2011
Newegg has a bunch of tv's that have USB inputs, some for pretty cheap too. The trick will be to find a tv that supports playing files that have the same codecs as what you are trying to play.
posted by mmascolino at 8:50 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by mmascolino at 8:50 AM on January 4, 2011
If the info is not available from the maker, check the forums for tips about what codecs are supported by the model you want, and what are its limitations. Some brands provide firmware updates too. I'm using a LG Blu-ray player with a USB slot that supports many formats and codecs (including MKV) but only on FAT32 formatted keys so it can't read files larger than 4 Gb so HD files have to be split in half. Such problems should be similar with TVs with USB input.
posted by elgilito at 9:13 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by elgilito at 9:13 AM on January 4, 2011
My Sony Bravia is such a pain codec-wise. It's even networkable (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) and supports M$ crap media server stuff supposedly. I tried many Linux media center solutions and pretty much gave up. Only found one that would actually work with Sony stuff, and it had to transcode everything on the fly. Music and Pictures worked well though. Finally the best option was just to get a DVI to HDMI cable from the computer to the TV. It wouldn't surprise me if el-cheapo TVs had better standard support for various codecs, leave it to Sony to be such a PITA.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:30 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by zengargoyle at 9:30 AM on January 4, 2011
I've got a TV that has played pretty much every torrent I've thrown on it. They are generally AVI files w/o DRM. Most current TV's have pretty good media players built in.
My 2 year old (2009 model) LG even has the ability to connect to network shares, thought its never worked well.
You might also want to look at a Boxee Box (~$200) out of the current crop of of OTT boxes it does the best job at finding files located on your home network (or off a USB drive) and streaming them to your TV. (For most people I recommend the Roku, but Boxee does the shared drive thing better then Roku).
What's your price range?
posted by bitdamaged at 10:11 AM on January 4, 2011
My 2 year old (2009 model) LG even has the ability to connect to network shares, thought its never worked well.
You might also want to look at a Boxee Box (~$200) out of the current crop of of OTT boxes it does the best job at finding files located on your home network (or off a USB drive) and streaming them to your TV. (For most people I recommend the Roku, but Boxee does the shared drive thing better then Roku).
What's your price range?
posted by bitdamaged at 10:11 AM on January 4, 2011
I have two different devices in my house that are capable of doing this, that is, playing content off a USB drive. One is the Boxee Box, the other is the WD HD Live.
The Boxee's interface is a bazillion times better, but it's twice the price of the WD HD Live. Both also read all the media on your network, but wifi on the WD HD Live is a pain - you can only use one of about 10 specific USB-wifi dongles (bought separately); most will NOT work. That being said, once you get it working, it is functional, although basic. But it's at least played everything I've thrown at it.
I love my Boxee Box. I put up with the WD HD Live because I bought it, I might as well use it.
posted by cgg at 10:29 AM on January 4, 2011
The Boxee's interface is a bazillion times better, but it's twice the price of the WD HD Live. Both also read all the media on your network, but wifi on the WD HD Live is a pain - you can only use one of about 10 specific USB-wifi dongles (bought separately); most will NOT work. That being said, once you get it working, it is functional, although basic. But it's at least played everything I've thrown at it.
I love my Boxee Box. I put up with the WD HD Live because I bought it, I might as well use it.
posted by cgg at 10:29 AM on January 4, 2011
I bought a new 40" LCD Samsung before christmas and it has USB thumb drive plug-and-play. Works like a charm for any avi file I've tried on it, no problems with codecs.
posted by lizbunny at 11:33 AM on January 4, 2011
posted by lizbunny at 11:33 AM on January 4, 2011
My TV (Sony Bravia) has USB too, but we don't use it because it doesn't like AVI files.
But we watch AVI files on a USB drive using a very cheap (AU $60) DVD player so it's not a problem.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2011
But we watch AVI files on a USB drive using a very cheap (AU $60) DVD player so it's not a problem.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 3:04 PM on January 4, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Actually my SO's mother bought a new 32" HDTV just before Christmas that plays Xvid movies (and presumably other codecs, but the only one I tried was Xvid) directly from a USB drive. It was only £220 and made by some non-brand I hadn't heard of, so hardly "fancy".
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:42 AM on January 4, 2011