Attempting to prepare a HDD to be viewable on an older Sony TV

[theracles]

Hoping someone will be able to help me despite not having full details to hand!

I have a Sony KDL40NX803 from I think around 2012 which has the Xross Media Bar navigation system.

The TV on which I'm wishing to set up the hard drive to be viewed, however is in an apartment in Spain which I co-own with others it's a Sony 32 inch unit which also has the same Xross Media Bar navigation system, so probably also from around 2012.

Sadly, that is all the pertinent information I have!

In the past we had access to an AstraSat dish for this TV, but sadly due to the weather and salt laden atmosphere, that is now deceased, hence my need for something more than a USB Stick during winter occupation!

What I do know is that my  KDL40NX803 and the Spanish 32 inch Sony TV despite their similarities, differ in their ability to play certain files, so I cannot be sure that if my HDD is set up and working with the KDL40NX803 that it will also work with the TV in Spain!

I'm hoping to use a 320GB 2.5 inch harvested from my old set top box, and fill it with iPlayer movies and box-sets, hopefully with subtitles, since I've reached an age where my ears also need glasses!

I say hopefully, because I have recently had problems with the KDL40NX803 no longer recognising the .srt files, not sure why that is!

Any help gratefully received.

EDIT: Just searching online, I found the KDL32W42xx User Manual, which looks similar to the Spanish TV.

...maybe 😕

[daveyh64 · Accepted solution]

The best thing to do would be to get hold of both the manuals or specifications for both TVs and see which USB/ HDD formats that both TVs accept.

The usual formats are:

Windows and Mac compatible FAT16 (2GB max file size), FAT32 (4GB max file size), exFAT (unlimited file size).

Linux compatible ext2.

Windows Read & Write, Mac Read only NTFS (unlimited file size).

Once you have discovered which formats both TVs can read then select one that fits your needs

and format your HDD accordingly. Both TVs will definitely read the FAT16 and FAT 32 formats

but you are limited to the file size constraints of each format as stated above which is useless

for HD and 4k definition TV/ Movies.

If you are using a Windows PC then NTFS would be the best as file sizes are not limited,

but only if both TVs can read this format.

You will also need to check which format of TV/ Movie file they can play,

mp4 and mkv being the most common although other formats may be accepted.

As for subtitles, .srt files are the most common and both TVs should be able to access them.

However other subtitle formats are used and these older TVs perhaps cannot 'see' them and

that could be the issue you are having.

If you are fairly savvy with using your computer you can download software that will allow you to

convert your TV/ Movie files to mp4 or mkv and 'burn in' the subtitles so they are always visible.

I use this software, https://handbrake.fr on my Mac but it is multi platform, and free.

If you are going to create mkv files make sure you select H.264 rather than H.265, older TVs

are more likely to read the H.264 files.

Although it looks complicated it can be run successfully using its own defaults, experiment

with short (duration) files first as a large/ long movie can take 2 to 3 hrs to process depending

on the specification of your computer.

Other free programmes are available.

Phew that is a lot to take in.

By the way if you are going to Spain for holidays, why are you sitting about watching telly, tut, tut.

[rooobb]

I don't want to diminish your hope but I own a kdl32w4000 TV that is dated 2008 spot the same xross bar interface, have a usb port but no media player at all. Only photo and music. Regardless of the size and format of the hdd.

[theracles]

Thanks @rooobb I might be wrong about the exact model TV in Spain, all I do know from past use is that I have been able to view videos stored on a USB Stick, as long as the TV is happy with the "flavour" ("File Type")!

Have to admit that I have no idea about Video File types/containers etc! 🙄

[theracles]

@daveyh64 Wow!

So much information there, it must contain the solution, ...somewhere in there! 😄

I can't access the Manual for the TV in Spain, since I don't know the exact model, I took a stab at it but as Rooobb has advised, that model doesn't have a media player.

Not sure what qualifies as a media player in a TV, but I just know that I have played (some) Video files on that TV from a USB Stick.

Similarly I can also play them on my own TV though I cannot find any reference to just what specs of "Disk" are acceptable, nor the formatting requirements for them, ...though my USB's are all FAT 32.(Me being a "Windows" person, who also uses iPads!)

The constraints of FAT 32 don't really impinge upon my lowly videos, HD is as exotic as I get!

Playable formats seems to be something of a moveable feast, "all MP4's are not equal,  it seems!"

That seems to be pretty much the rule across all the major ones, what plays nicely on one TV/Tablet won't be recognised by another ...Grrr!

All this talk of Video File types and Containers makes my brain seize up. I'm an Engineer, I deal in things I can touch, and feel, all this nebulous conceptual "nonsense" makes my eyes glaze over! 🙄

Subtitles are similarly a black art.

I have on my Linux machine used "GetIplayer" which was later also available for lesser mortals on "Windows"!

I was able to download Videos with the associated .srt files, which I could play on my iPad, via a HootToo travel router.

That was some years ago, and from memory it required the services of VLC which "picked up" the associated .srt file automatically.

That was on a 4th Gen iPad (2012), my latest 2017 10.5 "inch Pro" even with VLC says there are no software applications that can play .srt files!

Somewhere along the line I managed to "Embed" the subtitles and they play perfectly on any equipment, though sadly I must be succumbing to Alzheimer's 'cos I've no recollection of how I achieved this!

The only down side for folks not Aurally afflicted is that you can't turn them off!😂

Here's an example, sadly the content is all too pertinent to current problems in Europe.

Tried using Handbrake a few years ago, half heartedly I must admit since there were various bit of free software that automated the process at the expense of full control!

I might give it a go again sometime. 

Another thing to add to the mix, I bought an "Amazon Fire tv stick 4K Max" back in December which I've not yet gotten round to using, perhaps that would be able to play some role in this.

I bought it to "re-smart" my KDL40NX803 since SONY seem to have given up updating it! (Never received any since purchase!)

Interested to hear any possible ways to achieve nirvana using this with either or both TV's!

As for sitting about watching telly; you've not experienced a month in Mallorca between November & March!🥶  

Thankfully, my next visit is end of April and most of May, blissful!

TV will be an "After Dark" activity, with copious quantities of duty free Whisky, and Red Red Wine!

Not much else for an old goat like me to do alone! 😢

[rooobb]

the firestick is the smarter option for you, so you can prepare the movie at home and be sure they will work in spain too. You'll only need a cable to connect the hard disk while powering the firestick on using the only usb connector available.

[theracles]

@rooobb Thanks for that, I will have to learn how to use it now!

[daveyh64]

If you could play movies etc on the TV in Spain before then it has its own built in media player.

On the remote you would have pressed Home> Media> Video/ Photo/ Music.

Is there anyone in the apartment at the moment that could e-mail you the exact model number of TV.

I have a 32inch Sony Bravia KDL-32EX520 from 2012 that has built in media player, it accepts

FAT16, FAT32 and exFAT formatted USB drives.

Your KDL-40NX803 should have an iManual button on the remote if you click on that and navigate to the index

you can then click on Digital Camera (connected equipment) you will then see that your TV reads

FAT 12, FAT 16 and FAT32 formatted USB drives, there is also a list of the video formats it can read,

here is a link,

https://helpguide.sony.net/gbmig/ADL31001/egb/2b-15/dscamera.html

If someone in Spain can e-mail text etc the model number of the TV in Spain then you

can search for Sony <model number> specifications and connect to the Sony site that should

give you access to the online iManual for that particular model. If that TV also has an iManual button

on the remote they could navigate to the page described above and quote you the information.

It would seem that FAT32 is the only real option you have for the one here in the UK and the one in Spain will also accept FAT32 as this is common across all Sony TVs (downloading and installing software from a USB would require a FAT16 or FAT32 formatted USB). FAT16 is pretty hopeless for modern movies so FAT32 would be best but remember it only has a 4GB file size limit.

If you take a laptop with you to Spain you could also stream to the TV using the Ethernet connection on the laptop

and the TV by setting up the Network on the TV, experiment at home first.

I stream videos from my Mac to my Sony TVs using the free Universal Media Server app,

https://www.universalmediaserver.com

Once you have established a network connection between the TV and the laptop/ computer you can launch the software. The connected TV should show in the Status panel, the software should work well in its default state,

but obviously can be customised to suit, again experimentation is the key.

Go to Shared Content and there you can set a specific folder for the TV to connect to rather than navigating through a myriad of folders before you get to the one where your movies reside.

If your movies/ TV files are on an external drive then copy the file you want to watch to the laptops hard drive first as this will provide a speedier stream to the TV, make a folder on the Desktop called Movies or whatever and use that as the Shared Content folder. If the Shared Content sections are pre populated on first launch you can delete these entries and add your own.

The advantage of streaming from the laptop is you are not constricted by the format restrictions of using 

a USB HDD/ memory stick on the TV and I think you should be able to play a wider range of video files.

Again experiment before you head off to Spain.

Subtitles I rend to 'burn in' / embed the subtitles so they are always visible.

Don't find that much of an intrusion.

As said some subtitle files may download in a different format to .srt and therefore may not be

selectable on older Sony TVs, so burning them in may be the best option for viewing on the TV in Spain.

I have never used an Amazon Fire TV stick before so cannot offer any advice on that.

I would be concerned that it being bought in the UK may make it connect to UK servers

and therefore could incur extortionate 'roaming' charges that mobile phone users abroad forget about.

I am sure others could give you advice about this.

As it was bought in the UK some services may not be available in Spain.

I think that is about it for now if I have forgotten anything my add some more.

[rooobb]

A laptop can be a possible solution but be aware that the renderer is still the TV , so if it doesn't support a codec you cannot display it in any case.

Btw the firestick connect to WiFi not to mobile network so roaming doesn't apply even if configured for UK.

[theracles]

Grrr! these double captcha's are so irritating! A long time ago, I saw a tip to bypass the dratted things but I've forgotten it and can't find the article any more! 😁

@rooobb Thanks for your info, My Laptop is a circa 2008 Medion Erazer gaming machine and with the power brick weighs weighs around 3.5kg!

I bought it second hand as a cheap and powerful machine to run W10, ...not for gaming!

That life time is almost over as it won't run W11, neither will my "daily ride" so I will be installing Linux as my mainstream OS on all my machines!

I mentioned the Firestick as a possible "go-between" to connect the External HDD to the TV, without any "internet" connection, just to read the external drive and serve up the content to the TV which I'm led to understand is within its capability, (...not yet within mine 😀).

I have not yet even opened the package, so I'm totally unfamiliar with its capabilities at present.

There seems to be a lot of information when I google it, and it's rather overwhelming at present.

I need to install it to my TV at home and then make targeted searches for specifics!

@daveyh64 Thanks for the link to my iManual page!

Sadly, others in our little group are not as hardy as I, or are bound by the scourge of "work", so the place is lying empty at present, no one to relay the Model Number!

As you say, since I've been able to view files on a FAT 32 USB stick it's likely that format will be viewable from the Laptop drive using a simple file system.

No idea what would happen if I exceeded the 4GB limit, is there some way of splitting the programme file into two parts?

Rather academic, since it's unlikely anything I wish to store will exceed 4GB anyway!

Regarding DLNA Servers, Years ago, I used to use Servio with my old machine running, (or rather stumbling) Vista!

I've not had the need since, but I'll store your link for future!

The laptop would displace too much in my baggage, so it won't be coming! 

Re: Embedded subs, I agree, but as I said, I've no idea how I achieved that when I downloaded the second series of "Car Share", maybe its hidden somewhere in the commands for get_iplayer!

Thanks to all for your knowledge, patience and help.