watching mkv movies on RCA TV

[Shinnen]

Hi all,
I have one season of Hannibal on mkv files and would like to watch them on my RCA TV, which is
about 10 years old. What's the easiest way of doing that?
Any help is appreciated.
..... john

[hech54]

Blu Ray player with a USB input playback option?

[Shinnen]

Thanks hech,
i was hoping not to have to buy a piece of equipment.
..... john

[The_Doman]

i was hoping not to have to buy a piece of equipment.

It depending on the capabilities of the TV there are possible other options?
Play it directly on TV from USB?
Or using network if it has DNLA support?

[Shinnen]

i was hoping not to have to buy a piece of equipment.

It depending on the capabilities of the TV there are possible other options?
Play it directly on TV from USB?
Or using network if it has DNLA support?

Hi Doman,
Here's what it says on the back of the TV
RCA 39" Direct LED TV
ATSC Tuner June 2016
SN: A1606174110004240
RLDED3956A
Does that help?
...... john
P.S. The videos (12 of them) are in mkv format

[jagabo]

The manual doesn't mention a USB port or built in media player.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1139046/Rca-Rlded3956a.html?controller=view#manual

So you'll have to use an external media player. You can get one for as little as US$20.

[cholla]

I did a little more digging.
This TV does have a "service port.
It is supposed to be able to do this:
"The RCA RLDED3956A TV's USB port
does not support video playback. The port has limited functionality and was only designed to support static files like JPG images and audio files like MP3 and WAV. "
So no this TV will not directly play any video.
So an external player that has USB in to HDMI out would be a good choice.

[The_Doman]

I did a little more digging.
This TV does have a "service port.
It is supposed to be able to do this:
"The RCA RLDED3956A TV's USB port
does not support video playback. The port has limited functionality and was only designed to support static files like JPG images and audio files like MP3 and WAV. "
So no this TV will not directly play any video.
So an external player that has USB in to HDMI out would be a good choice.

Yes there is no playback option of video/media/network.
May be understandable as this TV only has a resolution of 1366x768 (HD Ready).

But of course there is also the most simple option to connect the TV directly to your PC/Laptop?
It has HDMI/VGA input.
That could possible be a (temporarily) solution to playback the media files without any investment if you have the correct cable(s) available.

[usually_quiet]

Playback from a desktop PC or laptop would certainly work. I used to have a desktop PC permanently connected to an older 720p TV for watching videos, among other things. I could use either HDMI or VGA + stereo audio.

I have a Onn 4K Pro connected to my current 4K TV, but it should work for a 720p TV too. Although there are less expensive Android TV boxes, this one has a USB port and a legitimate Android TV OS rather than an OS designed for Android phones. (The USB-connected drive must be formatted as exFAT or FAT32 because Android doesn't support NTFS.) I installed Kodi (free) on the Onn 4K Pro for video playback.