Samsung TV Supported Video Formats – Play Video (MP4, MKV, DivX, etc.) from USB on Samsung TV

Samsung Smart TV not only allows you to access a variety of streaming media online, but also lets you play local video files from a USB drive. But when you try to play certain video files like MKV, DIVX(.avi), and MP4, you may encounter playback errors such as unsupported video format or audio codec not supported. This is mainly because Samsung TV only supports limited video formats and codecs (or the video parameters such as 4K/8K resolution, high bitrates, and 120fps frame rates exceeding your TV's hardware limits). You need to change the video to a video format supported by your Samsung TV for easy playback.

This article will tell you what video formats are supported by Samsung TV and show you how to convert videos to Samsung TV supported video formats for smooth playback from USB. Continue reading.

❗ Important: The video specifications vary from model to model, and old Samsung TVs may not support the formats listed below. It is recommended that you look up the user manuals or go to the TV video specifications webpage for exact details.

To play videos from USB smoothly on Samsung TV, it's important to know the video formats supported by Samsung TV first.

NOTE:

• 1. Samsung has ended support for DivX since 2018. Models made after 2018 (NU series and newer) no longer support DivX video, such as older DivX/Xvid AVI or MKV files.
• 2. Samsung has added AV1 decoding support since 2020, supporting resolutions up to 8K.
• 3. Samsung TVs from 2018 and later do not support DTS audio codec. If your MKV or MP4 video uses DTS audio, you will encounter a "video plays with no sound" issue.
• 4. Samsung has added Opus audio support since 2018.
• Container and codec mismatch: MP4, MKV, and AVI are only containers. Your Samsung TV may support them, but if the internal video or audio codec (e.g. DTS, TrueHD) is not supported, playback will fail.
• Hardware and parameter limits: Even if your video is in a supported container and codec (e.g. H.264 MP4), it can still fail to play if its parameters exceed your TV model's hardware limits. Typical limits include:
  • Resolution: You may fail to play a 4K video on a 1080p TV.
  • Frame Rate & Bit Rate: Most Samsung TVs are limited to 60fps. High frame rates (e.g., 120fps) or high bit rates (e.g., >60-80 Mbps for 4K) may cause lag, audio out-of-sync or playback failure.

After knowing the Samsung TV compatible video formats, you can now convert your video to one of the supported formats to make it playable on your Samsung TV.

In the next part, you will learn a simple and efficient Samsung TV video converter to help you convert video for Samsung TV. Please read on.

WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro is a powerful and easy-to-use video converter program that can handle all kinds of video conversions. Beyond that, it can directly convert videos to TV-compatible formats.

With multiple Samsung TV profiles, it can be used as a dedicated Samsung TV video format converter to help you convert videos to your Samsung TV with a single click. Additionally, you can modify video parameters such as resolution, bitrate, and frame rate to adapt to your TV's hardware limitations. The software is fast, maintains high quality during conversion, and supports batch file conversion to save time and effort.

You can learn how to quickly convert a video for Samsung TV below. Download and install Download and install the software to get ready:

Once the video is converted, you can put it onto your USB and then connect it to your Samsung TV. Now, you should have no issues playing the video.

👉 Watch this video to solve the problem:

If your video format and encoding settings are correct, but you still can't play it, the problem might be due to an incorrect USB drive format. Please check which USB drive formats your Samsung TV supports and convert the format if necessary.

If you don't want to convert the video, you can connect your computer to your Samsung TV via an HDMI cable. Then, use VLC player on your computer to open MP4, MKV, or DivX videos that your Samsung TV doesn't support, and use the TV as an external monitor.

Plex is a local media streaming service that can stream your media files from your computer to your TV under the same network. Its biggest advantage is that when it encounters an unsupported video format, it can transcode it to a supported format and send it to the TV for smooth playback. In addition, you no longer need to use a USB.

Check out how to set up Plex and use.

Samsung TV has USB ports on the back or sides, which make it easy for you to play video from USB on Samsung TV. However, you'll need to ensure that the video format is supported by your Samsung TV first so it can be successfully recognized and played. If your video is unsupported, you can use a Samsung TV video format converter to quickly change the video to a video format for Samsung TV. Then you will have no problems playing video files on your Samsung.

That's all I want to share about the Samsung TV supported video formats and how to convert video to play on Samsung TV without errors. I hope this article was useful. Thanks for reading. Have an amazing day!

Samsung TV supports the playback of MP4 format. However, if your MP4 won't play on Samsung TV, it may be due to the following factors:

• Corrupt or incomplete MP4 file.
• Encrypted MP4 file.
• Higher bit rate or frame rate that your Samsung TV cannot handle.
• Incompatible codecs. MP4 is a video container that can hold different video and audio codecs, which may be incompatible with your Samsung TV.

Yes, Samsung TV supports MKV. However, you may still encounter errors if the MKV file is encoded with an unsupported codec. For example, if your MKV has no audio on the Samsung TV. This is mainly due to the unsupported audio codec, such as DTS. Samsung TVs released after 2017 do not support DTS audio codec, hence cannot play the audio track in the MKV video. You can change the audio format of the video to fix the problem.

Likewise, if the video codec in MKV is not supported, there will be no image on Samsung TV.

Additionally, complex ASS/SSA soft subtitles in MKV files can sometimes cause playback failures as well.

While Samsung TV can play a variety of files, the best video format for Samsung TV is

• Format: MP4
• Video codec: H.264
• Audio codec: AAC
• Resolution: 4K or lower
• Frame rate: 24 to 60 fps
• Bit rate: 60 Mbps or lower

When your Samsung TV says the video file is unsupported, the best solution is to convert the video to a Samsung TV supported video format, such as MP4 (H264/AAC). You can use a professional video converter like WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro to complete the conversion in easy clicks.