How to connect a flash drive to a TV and turn it on

Hello everyone, Turks! And today we are looking at another interesting question - how to turn on a movie on a TV from a flash drive. The procedure seems to be quite simple, but sometimes some difficulties may arise. In particular, the treasured port is not detected on the TV or the TV does not see the flash drive. We'll start with the usual connection and playback, then I'll tell you a couple more ways to play your favorite video. If you have any questions, feel free to write in the comments.

Content:

1 Why connect a flash drive to TV
2 General methods for connecting a USB storage device
3 Direct connection via USB connector on TV
4 Possible errors when connecting directly 4.1 Incorrect flash drive format

5 Reading a movie through a DVD player

6 Connection via media player

7 Playing movies through a set-top box

8 Connection via laptop or PC

8.1 Conclusion

For a modern Smart TV, a flash drive on which an interesting movie is recorded is unlikely to be useful, because all the content can be watched online. But for classic plasma, LED, OLED TVs, viewing from a USB drive is an alternative to connecting a PC to a TV or paying for expensive pay digital TV channels. The number of films, TV series, video clips that are recorded on drives depends on its volume. But the methods of how to connect a flash drive to a TV do not depend on it. Let's take a closer look at them.

Which ones are suitable?

For use as an external storage device, you can use 2 types of hard drives:

external;
internal.

External drives are hard drives that do not require additional power to start and operate - the required amount of energy is supplied from the TV set after connection. This type of disk is connected to the TV device via a USB cable, which is usually included in the kit.

Internal drives are drives originally intended for a laptop or PC. To connect this device to the TV you will need an adapter with a USB adapter. Moreover, hard drives with a memory capacity of 2 TB or more will require additional energy. It can be taken from the 2nd USB connector on the TV (using a splitter) or from an electrical outlet (using a mobile phone charger or other equipment).

Why connect a flash drive to TV?

A flash card is a storage device on which you can record videos, photos, clips and other media content. You can record a memorable video on it, which will remain in its original quality for a long time. Often, old cassettes are first digitized onto a DVD, and then copied onto flash drives.

To play all of the above you need a computer or TV. The second option is often preferred for the following reasons:

The diagonal of a TV screen is much larger than that of a PC.
The image quality, clarity and detail is good enough to see all the details of the film.
You can broadcast 3D films if your TV supports three-dimensional images.
The sound of a TV is often much better than that of a computer or laptop.

All this allows you to completely immerse yourself in the world of cinema and watch your favorite movie, TV series, cartoon on the big screen, with good sound and clarity. And most importantly, there is no advertising on the flash drive. And the quality of the display is not affected by the reliability of the Internet connection.

General methods for connecting a USB storage device

Almost all flash cards are equipped with a standard USB connector. This is done for ease of connection to a computer and laptop. But not all TVs are equipped with this connector, which makes the connection process slightly more complicated.

You can connect a flash drive to your TV in the following ways:

Directly via USB input.
Through auxiliary devices: digital TV set-top box, media players, DVD players.
Using a computer or laptop.

It is not possible to use adapters to connect equipment. The thing is that the flash drive itself does not have a “full-fledged filling”. It's just a drive that needs another device to play files.

How to properly save PowerPoint presentations?

A letter has arrived to the editor... I mean, my students who took my courses continue to ask questions. this time on how to save a PowerPoint presentation so that it doesn't get distorted when viewed on another computer.

This is especially true for those who use the 2007 version of Power Point - it uses a new collection of fonts, many new visual effects and animations that are not supported in previous versions. Unfortunately, if saved incorrectly, all this may become inaccessible. And at the same time, Power Point 2007 can protect so that none of the above is lost! How? Read below.

So, let's look at the most common mistakes and learn to avoid pitfalls.

Direct connection via USB connector on TV

The easiest way to connect a flash drive is to use the USB connector built into new TV models. It can be located on the back, side or front panel. It is signed with the appropriate designation.

The drive connection process is as follows:

Find a suitable connector on your TV. You can simplify the process by using the instructions for the equipment or finding a detailed description of the model on the Internet on the manufacturer’s official website.
Install the flash drive into the slot. The installation principle is the same as on a laptop or computer. You should not apply force to this process. Some drives have light indication. If it starts to light up or blink, it means the device is installed correctly.
Take the TV remote control. Go to settings or select AV mode using a separate button for switching the broadcast signal source. This is where the contents of the Flash card will be displayed.
Select the desired folder in the file system that opens on the TV screen. You can move around it using the remote control keys: up, down, right, left. Opening a folder or file - OK key.

It's easy to return to broadcast mode. It is enough to change the signal source again and return it to TV if the broadcast was carried out through an antenna. If the television was digital cable, then select HDMI, to which additional equipment is connected.

Possible errors when connecting directly

It’s easy to plug a flash drive into a Dexp, LG, Samsung TV if it has a USB input. But during this process the following errors may occur:

When switching to an AV signal source, the file system of the drive is not displayed. There can be 3 errors: the TV does not support flash drive playback, the device is faulty, or the connector on the TV is broken.

You can check the TV's ability to play flash drives using another similar device. Or by turning on your smartphone via a USB cable. If the phone files open, then the problem is in the drive.
It is also easy to check whether the flash drive is broken. All you need to do is put it in your PC or laptop. If the computer sees the data correctly, then it is working. This means that the connector on the TV itself does not work.
For initial repair of the connector, you should carefully clean it from dust with a soft brush. If nothing has changed, the input needs to be replaced.

When opening the required file, the message “Error: incorrect/unsupported format” appears. To fix it, you need to re-record the movie in a different format. Most often, the technology supports the following options: wmv, mp4, avi, MPEG, vob, mkv. You can find out exactly what formats a TV plays in its data sheet or on the manufacturer’s official website. There you will need to enter the exact make and model of the equipment.

You can convert a video to the desired format not only by dubbing. It is enough to use one of the applications for converting video recordings. For example, you can use Format Factory, Hamster Free Video Converter, Any Video Convertor and others.

Not all files play or the movie gets stuck at some point. Most likely, the error indicates a poor-quality recording or a broken file. For diagnostics, it is enough to play a movie from a storage device on another device (PC, laptop).

All these errors can appear if you connect a flash drive to the TV through additional equipment. The correction methods will be the same as above.

Incorrect flash drive format

Besides the wrong video format, some flash cards have a different native file system format. And if it does not match the possible options for the TV, then he will not see the equipment.

You can change the file system to FAT32 for new TVs or to FAT16 for older versions of equipment:

Launch the flash drive on your computer or laptop.
Open the “My Computer” folder on your computer and find the removable disk icon.
Right-click on it. Select “Format” from the list.
Select the desired option in the window that opens under the “File system” item and select the “Fast” option.
Start formatting, during which all data from the drive will be erased.
Write the necessary information to the cleaned flash drive. It will already be in the selected file system.

Important! The flash drive will not connect to the TV if it has the USB 3.0 specification, and the connector on the TV is 2.0. NTFS or EXT3 file system options are not supported on TV. If you can’t change this file format through formatting, then you don’t even have to try to put the equipment into the USB input on the TV.

Possible problems and solutions

Conventionally, all the problems that users encounter can be divided into two groups: the TV does not see the flash drive and the TV does not see the files. We will carefully analyze what causes such problems and select the optimal solution that will allow users to reproduce the desired content.

The TV does not see the flash drive

The most common problem is that the file system does not match. The operating system primarily works with two file systems – NTFS and FAT. It is possible that the flash drive uses a format that the TV does not support. That is why even after connecting the device nothing happens.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to format the removable disk in the desired format. We have already discussed how this can be done earlier. Remember that the FAT32 system has very real file size limits - 4 GB. NTFS has no such restrictions.

Excessively large storage capacity is another cause of problems. Almost all TVs have a maximum amount of supported media. For example, if you are using a 64 GB flash drive, then try inserting a memory drive with a smaller capacity.

Detection problems may occur if the TV is equipped with a USB service interface. How to find out? It is quite rare, but next to it there is a corresponding “Service only” marking. It cannot be ruled out that the connector is damaged. For example, the contact pad has oxidized. In this case, you need to contact the service center so that specialists can resolder the damaged areas.

Reading a movie through a DVD player

Despite the fact that DVD technology is gradually becoming a thing of the past, it is still found in many houses and apartments. There are users who like the quality of playing movies and cartoons through DVDs. And this same device often has a connector for connecting a standard flash drive.

To connect a flash drive to your TV via a DVD player, do the following:

Finding the USB connector in the equipment. It can be located on the back or front panel. Most often, connectors for connecting additional equipment are located at the front.
Installing the drive into the appropriate slot. Everything is the same as directly on TV, without strong pressure and sudden movements. A slight click may be heard during installation. It will indicate that the flash drive is inserted correctly and all the way. But such a sound is optional, so you should not rely on it as the only true signal.
Turn on the TV. Switch to playing a picture from a DVD. The image is also output from the AV signal source.
Switch the player to flash drive playback mode. Usually it is enough to hold down the STOP key on the DVD remote control.
When the file system of the drive opens, the desired file is selected. Navigation is the same as with TV. You just need a DVD remote control: right, left, turn on OK.

Often, owners of high-quality DVD players switch to playing movies only from drives. And there are a number of reasons for this:

The storage capacity of the drive is much larger than that of a DVD. There are USB cards from Kingston with a memory capacity of up to 2 terabytes. This is essentially the size of a removable external hard drive for a PC. The maximum disk capacity is 17 GB, standard - up to 5 GB.
Mobility and compactness. The disk takes up more space than a Flash card. The number of information overwrites is not limited. It is enough to periodically format the data to update the flash drive.
Reliability and high speed. Playing a movie from a drive is faster than from a disk. And the quality of detail and contrast is often much higher.

Important! You cannot play video with the new 4K resolution from a flash drive through a DVD player if the equipment itself does not support this format. To transmit such quality, it is better to buy Smart TV with new matrices.

Connection via media player

One option for connecting a flash drive is to use a media player. Unlike DVD, this equipment supports and recognizes all format options. You can watch videos and photos of almost any type. There is no need to do any conversion.

The connection principle is similar to a DVD player.

Find the input for the USB drive in the media player. It is usually located on the front panel. And it is available in all basic equipment configurations.
Install the USB flash drive into the appropriate input. Wait until the indicator light, if any, comes on.
Take the remote control for the media player. Go to the "Video" section.
Using the rewind buttons, select the desired file. And click OK.

Movies, clips and cartoons will start playing. Difficulties can only arise with fairly old versions of players. Then you will also need to convert the file system format of the USB drive through formatting to FAT32.

Advice. Don't believe everything they write on forums. You won't be able to connect a USB flash drive using a simple adapter with an HDMI input. To do this, you need a special cord that contains a bus that recognizes information using drivers and transmits it to the TV. The cost of such a device is quite high.

If YouTube does not work on your LG Smart TV

Many people complain that a network error appears when launching YouTube on their LG Smart TV.

We already discussed this at the beginning of the article. This is a DNS problem, or the TV is not connected to the Internet at all. I showed how to fix this (manually register DNS) in the article Problems with Wi-Fi on an LG Smart TV: does not see the Wi-Fi network, does not connect, the Internet does not work, network error 106, 105.

If the YouTube app disappears after a firmware update

By default, LG TVs have automatic software updates enabled. It happens that after an update YouTube disappears altogether. In this case, you need to install it from the LG Store. Open Smart TV and go to LG Store.
The YouTube app should be on the home page. If it is not there, then look on the “PREMIUM” tab, or try to find it through the search.
Install the application on the TV by clicking on the “Install” button.
After installation, the application will appear in the Smart TV menu. Launch it and watch the video!

YouTube stopped working on LG TV: does not open, freezes, does not load videos

Turn off the power to the TV for 15 minutes (from the outlet).
Uninstalling the YouTube application. Among the applications in the Smart TV menu, we find YouTube, double-click the top button on the remote control and OK. In some versions of webOS you need to press the Ok button and hold it. We confirm the deletion. For example: Then turn off the power to the TV again for 10 minutes, turn it on and install the YouTube application from the LG Store (instructions above).
If all else fails, reset the TV settings. In the settings you need to go to the “General” section. See screenshot: After resetting the settings, install the YouTube application from the LG Store. I showed how to do this above in this instruction. Most likely you will have to look for it in the application store on the “PREMIUM” tab.

Playing movies through a set-top box

Tuners for digital TV have a USB input as standard. The equipment itself is connected to the TV via an HDMI connector or via “tulips” for older versions of TV.

Connecting a flash drive follows the standard algorithm: install the drive, turn on the TV, use the remote control for the set-top box to find the desired file through the Menu.

Important! Before connecting the flash drive to the tuner, make sure that the files are written in the required format. Not all set-top boxes reproduce all format options. It is better to immediately purchase an Android set-top box that expands the functionality of the TV into a Smart device. And through it it’s easy to connect a drive with any movie option.

What formats does a modern TV support?

Modern TVs can play video in different formats differently. Moreover, differences can appear not only between brands, but also within models of the same manufacturer, depending on price, functionality, processor installed in the television receiver and other factors.

In addition, videos in the same extension may not play due to inappropriate resolution, frequency, bitrate, etc. Knowing information about the formats supported by the television receiver will allow you to determine which televisions support digital television and in what form to record files on a USB drive for subsequent playback of 4K movies, 3D movies or other content on the television panel.

Playback information for less common codecs, such as Div X3, varies from brand to brand.

Connection via laptop or PC

A desktop computer or laptop is connected to the TV using an HDMI cable or tulips. They connect the equipment to watch films on the big screen. The flash drive also acts as a storage device – a signal source. But it is rarely used, because you can stream movies directly from the Internet. In this case, the TV screen simply duplicates everything that happens on the PC.

The advantage of this playback method is the ability to broadcast in Full HD quality. And no delays in film playback.

Conclusion

It is up to the user to decide which method to choose for reading information from a flash drive on TVs from LG, Samsung, Toshiba and other models. It all depends on the available equipment. When choosing, you can follow the following tips:

If there is a USB connector on the TV itself, it is better to choose this connection method.
You can turn on a flash drive through a media player, DVD or set-top box. If any of the devices is already connected to the TV, you can use it.

And remember that before recording a movie or TV series on a flash drive, you should format it via a PC or laptop and set the desired file system format. This will remove a large number of errors that appear after connecting devices.

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