Need a way to play video files on TV without USB or wireless

LaserBlast

Member
Jul 25, 2014
36
0
0
Hi all,

I find myself in an odd situation where I need an ability to play video files on a Panasonic Viera Plasma TV I am 99% sure doesn't have a USB port, and in a place without wireless internet access.

I have plenty of nice large external hard drives and large USB sticks I can put the files on... but I need some way to get them streamed onto the TV.

I have an open HDMI port and an open power plug to work with.

I'm thinking the best way to go about this might be to get a DVD or blu-ray player with a USB port, connect that to the TV via HDMI, and do it that way.

Is it fairly common nowadays for a DVD or blu-ray player to have the ability to explore and play the contents of a USB stick or external hard drive?

I'm looking for the cheapest, easiest, and smallest way to do this. If there's some simple little box or converter where you plug USB in one end and the output is HDMI... that would work great. I know I need some means to explore the contents of the USB storage and select what to play, though, and I'm pretty sure this TV doesn't have any abilities in that regard built in. It's a bit old, and as I say I'm about 99% sure it has no USB port on it.

If anyone has a suggestion for a fairly inexpensive blu-ray or DVD player which could enable this, I'd love to hear it.
 

smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
3,389
23
81
Hi all,

I find myself in an odd situation where I need an ability to play video files on a Panasonic Viera Plasma TV I am 99% sure doesn't have a USB port, and in a place without wireless internet access.

I have plenty of nice large external hard drives and large USB sticks I can put the files on... but I need some way to get them streamed onto the TV.

I have an open HDMI port and an open power plug to work with.

I'm thinking the best way to go about this might be to get a DVD or blu-ray player with a USB port, connect that to the TV via HDMI, and do it that way.

Is it fairly common nowadays for a DVD or blu-ray player to have the ability to explore and play the contents of a USB stick or external hard drive?

I'm looking for the cheapest, easiest, and smallest way to do this. If there's some simple little box or converter where you plug USB in one end and the output is HDMI... that would work great. I know I need some means to explore the contents of the USB storage and select what to play, though, and I'm pretty sure this TV doesn't have any abilities in that regard built in. It's a bit old, and as I say I'm about 99% sure it has no USB port on it.

If anyone has a suggestion for a fairly inexpensive blu-ray or DVD player which could enable this, I'd love to hear it.

Are you talking about a 1 time thing or something that will be done regularly?

Depending on the codecs and containers a BR player might not support the correct file type. If it's something regular with different types of media files from different sources then you should probably invest I a WDTV Live Plus or SMP. It's connections and function would be really similar to a BR player and will playback just about any file types that you throw at it.
 
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LaserBlast

Member
Jul 25, 2014
36
0
0
Thanks, had not seen the WD TV before.

An interesting option, and I'm considering it. Looks like it would lose a lot of its functionality by not having internet, of course.

A BR player might be the better bet because it's cheaper, would provide disc playback if I desire it, etc... hmm.

If the WD TV had it's own storage it'd be a more compelling option.

Still, I'll consider it. Thanks.
 

Binky

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,046
4
81
Small and cheap...check out the Micca Speck for about $40, and maybe a few bucks for a USB drive or SD card to plug into it.
 

inachu

Platinum Member
Aug 22, 2014
2,387
2
41
I saw on sale a TV tuner that can connect to the XBOX ONE so you can have TV on your XBOX ONE bit this tuner also connects to a regular tv and has one USB slot in the front so you can watch videos from any thumb drive. The price is around $60?
I bought it on amazon. a while back.