playing .mp4 on my tv

[Jammer]

what's the best way to do this. my tv won't play them off external my hd. how do i get them to play? would having apple tv help? do i need to convert them first (i dont want to do this) i don't like .avi.

plz explain. thanks.

[lordnoize]

what make/model is your telly and do you have a bluray player or games console?

[SteveMedia]

Leading on from what Lordnoize said, a PS3 or BluRay player could be a good bet.

Failing that, an Apple TV wouldn't be ideal if you're trying to play stuff from an external device as the latest models only stream stuff over a network from your computer / iOS device.

If you want a device that will play everything you throw at it and are working to a budget, try something like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designer-Habitat-Nano-3-0-Flashdrives/dp/B005ERNITE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340989008&sr=8-1

Its basic and the interface will probably be pretty naff, but it'll do the job and its cheap. If you want to spend more and get a media player with more features, look up devices such as the WDTV Live, Boxee Box or Popcorn Hour's.

[Wrecktheplacefantastic]

Do you have an Xbox? I download TV shows/films in either AVI or MP4 format, put them on my external HD and connect this to my Xbox via the USB bit in the back. Go to the video player, select external device and there everything is.

Or you can have your Xbox connect to your PC via your router and stream it directly from there.

I don't know how to do it without having an Xbox involved without just burning the files onto a disc.

[simonbutler21]

It is really annoying that xvid/avi seems to be a dying format in favor of mp4. Luckily we have a WDTV which is brilliant for streaming, not found a format yet that it hasn't played

[Jammer]

Do you have an Xbox? I download TV shows/films in either AVI or MP4 format, put them on my external HD and connect this to my Xbox via the USB bit in the back. Go to the video player, select external device and there everything is.

Or you can have your Xbox connect to your PC via your router and stream it directly from there.

I don't know how to do it without having an Xbox involved without just burning the files onto a disc.

thanks, guess i'll do connect my external hd to my xbox. unfortuantly when i have the xbox on it sounds like a plane taking off.

[yeah and what]

If you have a PC with media centre on there you can access it wirelessly from your xbox, providing your xbox is wireless capable obvs.

[chrisw]

You probably need to reformat your external hard drive to FAT 32 (you do with the ps3 anyway) Make sure you back up everything on the drive first

[Wrecktheplacefantastic]

If you have a PC with media centre on there you can access it wirelessly from your xbox, providing your xbox is wireless capable obvs.

If your Xbox and PC are connected to the same router, wirelessly or otherwise (my xbox is wired to the router, but my laptop is wireless) then the Xbox can find your PC that way too, and access all the video files and play them.