Full Guide: How to Play Video from USB/External Hard Drive on TV

How to Play Video from USB on TV?

A TV with a USB port does not guarantee that you can plug in any USB device and play media files from it. There is still some preparation to be done. Follow the steps below to learn more about how to play movies from USB on your TV.

Step 1: Check the accessibility of the USB port on your TV

It's important to understand that the USB ports on a TV are not just for playing files from USB devices. Some USB ports, especially those on older TVs, are solely used by engineers to run software testing and debugging.

Before proceeding, you'll want to check your TV's user manual or the manufacturer's website to confirm whether your TV supports USB video playback. If your TV has multiple USB ports, make sure you are using the correct USB port for media playback.

💡 Note: Some older TVs may not have a USB port. In this case, you will need to use a USB-to-HDMI adapter to connect an external hard drive. For streaming devices like Fire TV Stick or Fire TV 3, you will need to use an OTG cable to connect the USB storage device.

Step 2: Prepare a compatible USB drive or external hard drive

USB drives come in many versions and formats. There are USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and other versions. There are also USB formats such as NTFS, HFS+, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, and more. But a USB drive will only be recognized if it is compatible with your TV.

To check whether your USB will work with your TV, first, look at the USB ports on the side or back of your TV and see which version is labeled below the port. If it is a USB 3.0 port, USB 2.0 drives will not work. Vice versa. In this case, you need to buy a suitable USB.

Next, check the manufacturer's website to see what USB formats your TV supports (tip: most USB drives are shipped in NTFS format, while many TVs only support FAT32 or exFAT formats). Then check your USB format. If your USB uses an unsupported file system, you will need to reformat it to the correct format. Here's how to check the USB format and reformat the USB on a Windows computer.

Important: Please back up the USB files to another location before reformatting your USB.

1. Insert a USB into your PC.

2. Open File Explorer and click PC. Locate the USB drive you just inserted.

3. Right-click on the USB drive > Properties. You will see the USB format next to the File system option.

If you need to reformat the USB, go on with the next few steps.

4. Right-click on the USB drive > Format.

5. Expand the File system dropdown menu and select FAT32 or exFAT that your TV supports.

6. Configuring other settings or leaving them as default, then enter a volume label for your new USB.

7. Click Start and wait for the reformatting to complete.

🔔 Note: FAT32 is an old standard for USB and has a limited file size capped at 4GB, meaning that you can't transfer files over 4GB to a FAT32 device (and a single file cannot exceed 2GB). It's recommended that you use exFAT which has much larger file support (For more info, see FAT32 Max File Size Workarounds).

If you are using an external hard drive instead of a USB flash drive, note that most TVs support a maximum capacity of 2TB. If your hard drive capacity exceeds this limit, you must partition it to a compatible size so that the TV can recognize it.

Step 3: Prepare media files in the supported format

Now your USB is ready to be used on your TV. The final step is to check if the movie files in the USB are supported by your TV. Otherwise, your TV won't recognize your movies and won't be able to play them. Again, you can check the user manual or manufacturer's website to find out what video specifications your TV supports. Note that some TVs also limit the resolution, bitrate, and frame rate of video files. So be sure to check out all these details.

Generally speaking, most TVs support MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MPG, and DivX, while MKV, VOB, 3GPP, HEVC and some other formats are less supported. If your video is not supported, you will need to convert it to a format supported by your TV. For this, you can use the professional TV video converter program WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro to handle the conversion. It provides all major TV profiles and helps you convert videos to your TV format in just a few clicks. Let me show you how to use this software to fix unsupported video files on TV.

1. Download and install Download and install the converter software on your PC, then launch it.

2. Click the Converter option.

3. Click Add Files or drag and drop your media files into it.

4. Open the output format page on the right. Then click on your device brand and choose the target profile. If your TV brand is not provided, you can go to the Video section and select H264 (the universal format supported by almost all devices and platforms) as the output format.

💡 If your video resolution, bitrate, or frame rate exceeds your TV's specifications, you can open Parameter settings and modify these parameters accordingly.

5. Click the ▼ button to set an output folder and press Run to start the conversion.

Once the conversion is complete, connect your USB to the PC, locate the converted file, and then drag and drop the file into the USB. Note that most TVs cannot read files in the USB root directory, so be sure to create a subfolder called "Videos", "Audio", "Photos", etc.

👍 Tricks to help your TV read your movie file easily:

• Keep your movie filename short.
• Remove special characters in the filename.

Step 4: Connect and play USB movies on TV

Now, it is time to connect USB to your TV and play the media files on it. It is simple to do that. Here are the general steps to watch a movie from USB on TV:

1. Turn on your TV.

2. Connect your USB device to the USB port on the side or the back of your TV.

3. A notice may pop up saying a memory device is connected. You can then open the drive and play the media files stored on it. If nothing happens when you plug a USB drive into the port, that means you may need to open the drive manually on your TV. Press the Source button on your remote and navigate to the USB drive.

Make sure that your TV stays on while using the USB to avoid data loss or damage.

🔔 For devices like Amazon Fire TV that don't have a built-in media player app, you'll need to download a third-party app (such as VLC for Fire) to browse and play local movie files.

🛠️ What to do when your TV cannot recognize your USB:

• Clean the USB port.
• Update the TV firmware.

In Conclusion

It's not a difficult job to play videos on TV with USB or external hard drive as long as you have

1, a TV with USB video playback;
2, a compatible USB drive;
and 3, supported media files.

After that, it's plain sail to play USB movies on your TV all the way you want.

That's all I want to share about how to play video from USB on TV. I hope this article was helpful. Thanks for reading. Have a nice day!

FAQs

1. Can smart TV play movies from USB?

Yes, most smart TVs include a USB port that supports video playback, which enables you to play movies on TV using a USB drive.

2. How to play USB on TV?

You need to make sure your TV has a USB port that supports external media playback. Additionally, your drive should be compatible with your TV.

Today's smart TVs typically offer USB 3.0 ports and support FAT32 and exFAT file systems. You need to buy a suitable storage drive or reformat the drive to make it compatible with your TV so that you can successfully play the USB on your smart TV.

3. Why won't my USB play movies on my TV?

If your movie doesn't play on your TV, it may be because the video format or codec is not supported. Please check the user manual or official website to find out what media formats your TV supports. Then use a video converter program WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro (click to download) to convert or re-encode the video to your TV format for smooth playback.

4. What format does a USB video need to be for TV?

The video formats your TV supports vary by model. Some TVs support multiple formats like MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, M4V, MPG, HEVC, WMV, etc., while others only support some of them. Generally, the video format supported by almost all TVs is MP4 files with H264 video and AAC-LC stereo audio.