Suggested TV's to support USB mp4 files

A question for the group:

What models of TV, both 32 and smaller has this group found that would support a USB access video files supporting the native mp4 format the church produces videos in.

I'm investigating both a larger LCD TV or a smaller TV/DVD combo unit (24 In) or so.

John: You know I don't understand most of this because I am just not tech savvy.

But why do you need the "TV" part? We are using Samsung monitors with built in speakers that have USB ports. The Stake also outfitted our existing TV's with Blue Ray players that have USB ports. They have also provided us with flash drives that have all the Church's videos on them. 500 or so.

I think that library shelf with all those videos and a few DVD's just went obsolete!

TinMan wrote:We are using Samsung monitors with built in speakers that have USB ports. The Stake also outfitted our existing TV's with Blue Ray players that have USB ports.

Make sure those devices can play back videos. Not all devices with USB ports can.

TinMan wrote:John: You know I don't understand most of this because I am just not tech savvy.

But why do you need the "TV" part? We are using Samsung monitors with built in speakers that have USB ports. The Stake also outfitted our existing TV's with Blue Ray players that have USB ports. They have also provided us with flash drives that have all the Church's videos on them. 500 or so.

I think that library shelf with all those videos and a few DVD's just went obsolete!

mostly it was a generic ask, it a samsung monitor works with a USB stick that's great... Have you tried the Flash Drive option and played files on them?

JohnShaw wrote:

TinMan wrote:John:

mostly it was a generic ask, it a samsung monitor works with a USB stick that's great... Have you tried the Flash Drive option and played files on them?

Yep. At least the first 20 or so that I have watched. Haven't gotten through them all yet.

I can tell you what doesn't work on my first try in our building.
LG 32LD452C-UA - It is the 32" LCD TV that is still at the Distribution Center web site. Hope they don't have a large inventory. LG does not support USB video play until you get to the LED TV's.

Have not found a way to get into the service menu to see if it can be changed. Nothing on-line that I could find.

Toshiba 24V4210V - It is a 24" LCD TV with DVD player built in. In the webcast the 4th it was indicated that they were recommending (to Distribution Center?) a different TV to replace this model in the future.

It looks like if you don't have a laptop or device that has HDMI output you can't display video. The solution at this point is to use WD Media Players. One for each TV at about $90 each. Then it will be who's budget since the FM group budget has been deeply cut.

Paulbb1 wrote:LG does not support USB video play until you get to the LED TV's.

As I've said previously - out of the box one of our LG 32"s did support video through USB, and one didn't.

I've noticed that there are differences between the EU versions and the US versions of this equipment, some come with features that others do not.

I am seeing the same thing between US and EU. Can't find anything on the web about the US version. It is all software. Probably same hardware.
East Grinstead and Redhill were one of my mission areas in 1963. Digs were on Reigate (Hill?) Rd.

I have tested the Samsung UN32EH4003 32-Inch 720p 60Hz TV and it plays MP4 video very well using the USB port.

kjbailey8
Are you in Europe?

I have word that new TV's supporting USB video are going to "committee" for approval by the end of January. I think that is a 24" and 32" TV's.

Let's hope the approval language doesn't need to go to translation and then be correlated in those languages.....

Paulbb1 wrote:I have word that new TV's supporting USB video are going to "committee" for approval by the end of January. I think that is a 24" and 32" TV's.

Well, it's February and the wards in our building are ready to spend the money. Any news? Otherwise, I'm prepared to recommend Samsung.

TinMan wrote:The Stake also outfitted our existing TV's with Blue Ray players that have USB ports. They have also provided us with flash drives that have all the Church's videos on them. 500 or so.

This seems like a much more useful option than simply a TV with built-in USB player. With the Blu-Ray player that can also play USB files (along with DVDs and audio CDs) it would seem like you have everything covered! Do you care to share the brand and model of Blu-Ray player your stake is using?

It is a Samsung model BD 05100

We have used the LG 24" LED HDTV Model 24MA31D-PU and the LG BP220 BluRay player. Both have USB playback and operate in a similar manner.

Our ward has a new Samsung.(add about thanksgiving) The catch is the it wants EZtv format of the video going in the USB port and I can't find out what format that is. AVI and MP4 file formats have both been tried on the memory stick as well as changing to a different stick. Neither were accepted so they obviously were not what it was looking for. So don't assume since it is Samsung that it supports MP4.

Well, the Bishops in our wards (three wards in one building) got together and authorized using leftover budget funds from last year (Thank you, CHQ, for letting us keep that) and we bought a couple of TVs and a couple of Blu-ray players (...because neither the stake nor the FM group wanted to buy them at this time). We have Sony Blu-ray players with USB ports and they play downloaded church videos wonderfully. Because the Blu-ray players can handle the MPEG-4 video files we opted to buy TVs that don't play the files, thus saving some money. And then we made sure that the TVs could accept VGA inputs from laptop computers, which was not always the case with LG and Samsung products.

Then, just to be a busybody, I created a "tutorial video" for anyone in our wards to review so that they can have a good experience using the stuff.
http://youtu.be/IX6FiFkkqZw
What you use in your building will be different equipment but this may give you an idea of how to train people on using the stuff correctly.

model number?

We had one bishop buy a TV on 31 Dec 2012 because he thought he was going to lose his remaining budget. Another bishop ended the year with a negative balance. Even his January budget distribution didn't get his budget back into the black. It's funny how things work.

The Blu-ray players we got were Sony model BDP-S185. They output HD video through HDMI and can be used with Standard Definition monitors that use the familiar, old "Red, White and Yellow" audio and video cables. They do not have RBG/Component output. But in our situation we only needed to use HDMI. We found these players at a local Sam's Club for $79 each.

It was asked why bother getting something with the "TV" part. If you aren't running in-building video (from a satellite receiver for example) you indeed do not need the "TV part". But in our building for example we use the TVs to show stake conference in overflow rooms so we do indeed need "a" tuner - having the tuner built into the TV is just one less thing to deal with.

aclawson wrote:It was asked why bother getting something with the "TV" part.

I'm not sure what the alternative is. There are computer monitors, but I don't think they have much connectivity beyond connecting to a VGA or other computer output. No composite or component inputs. I think most units need something that's more like a TV then a monitor.

Agreed. You'll find that a TV which can handle a VGA input is much more versatile (and more of them are on the market) than a computer monitor that can handle a video input. In today's world you will need that versaility. You never know what you'll want to connect to the TV next year. Having the options of HDMI, component, and composite inputs will be handy. Plus, a TV will have better speakers than a computer monitor (if the computer monitor even has speakers). Face it, something designed to be a TV will be much more suited to be used by a group of viewers and a computer monitor is optimized for just one user at a time. A TV is made to be self-contained and a computer monitor is made to be just one component in a system. And if you want to get a monitor larger than 26 inches then I suspect the TV will have the best price too.

Anyone know the status of the LG 32LY340C that's currently in the FM catalog? The specifications indicates it can do Divx HD, but that doesn't tell me if it can play the MP4s downloaded from lds.org.

mrrad wrote:I created a "tutorial video" for anyone in our wards to review so that they can have a good experience using the stuff.
http://youtu.be/IX6FiFkkqZw
What you use in your building will be different equipment but this may give you an idea of how to train people on using the stuff correctly.

This is a great tutorial! I especially like the velcro for the remotes. I notice on the Blu-ray player menu there's an option for "Internet Video" – what does that feature include, and are you able to take advantage of it?

That Blu-ray player doesn't have Wi-Fi so there's no practical way to use that feature in our church building. So I just don't know what the Internet Video feature is really capable of doing.