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  1. Originally Posted by millsy5 View Post
    The BD player sounds like a good idea, assuming it will work for my TV. I'll definitely consider looking into this as an option.
    Any BD player with HDMI output and a usb port (which is pretty much all of them new/used) will work fine with your Panasonic TV. MKV files typically come with embedded subs, these get automatically picked up and displayed. The player remote will let you choose which subtitle you want (if more than one available) or turn subs off. The MKV needs to be in x264 format: as I noted earlier x265/HEVC is not supported well (if at all) on older devices, but you could maybe ask a store to let you check x265 from your USB stick on a new current model. MP4 and AVI require separate SRT sub files, BD players often have trouble recognizing embedded subs in those formats (coordinating SRT files are easily found at sub websites for most videos). You must follow the convention of naming the SRT exactly the same as the video file, and both must be at the top level of the USB stick or in the same folder if you use folders. Occasionally you might need to repair an SRT before a player will recognize it, using the instructions I posted earlier.

    Most standalone players and TVs employ a device form of Linux OS that lacks a distinct "dismount" or "eject" function for USB: this is really stupid, dangerous and inconvenient because it leads to periodic destruction of the files on the memory stick as it is removed. They can be recovered in Windows but it is horrifically tedious to do if there are more than a few files on the stick. I strongly advise only using backup copies of files on a stick intended for USB play, and don't fill the stick with many files you won't watch within a few mount/dismount cycles. The less on the stick, the less you might lose from a glitch.
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    Something that should be pointed out is that regular Blu-ray players don't play HEVC/H.265 video. If support for HEVC/H.265 video is definitely required, then a UHD Blu-ray player is needed, none of which are likely to be inexpensive, even older models. Also, I am not sure that all Blu-ray players and UHD Blu-ray players include a good built-in media player, so it would be a good idea to check the user manual for information on the media player before buying.
    Ignore list: hello_hello, tried, TechLord, Snoopy329
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  3. User manuals for TVs and players can be charitably described as "somewhat less than informative" when it comes to USB video playback. Beyond mentioning the stick format the player prefers, and cursory boilerplate about subs needing to be named the same and kept in the same folder, technical /operational details are sparse and you're left to trial and error or reports from owners on forum threads. usually_quiet is correct to warn that some poorly designed BDPs can be even more useless than your TV, but you may not learn this from their manuals: check forums like VH and AVforum for real-life model info from owners instead. My friend bought a Funai/Magnavox budget BD player last year specifically to play video files, only to discover it plays almost nothing well (if at all) despite advertising and user manual specs to the contrary (the thing is so dysfunctional at mp4 and mkv playback that its truly shocking in a 2018 model).

    But generally speaking, I'd say BD players are more consistent than televisions re USB playback (if for no other reason than player sales would have flatlined in Europe without reasonable MKV, AVI, MP4 and subtitle support). The two BDPs I use daily for USB video play date from 2012 and 2014, my father recently purchased a new budget Sony player and it operates largely the same as my old LGs. While USB playback is possible with TVs and BD players, it isn't their primary design brief and they definitely do not have the computing or OS power of of a PC software player. So don't expect the flexibility and smoothness of operation you get with VLC: it doesn't exist in hardware players.

    Things one takes for granted in VLC like random access and reverse search are often unavailable in hardware players, or not consistently implemented. For example, in BD players I've owned and those of other people that I've tried, MP4, AVI and MPG files are supported for reverse search and highest-speed search but MKV (strangely) is not: if you attempt to reverse search MKV playback jumps back to the beginning, if you push fwd search to maximum playback jumps to the next file on the USB stick.

    What BD players offer is idiot proof, consistently clean video quality when playing files from USB, in exchange for more limited file compatibility and less playback control than a PC software player. Connecting a laptop to your TV will let you play virtually any file or subtitle format VLC can handle, but PQ can vary and it can be fussier to set up unless you go all the way with a full-bore media system like Plex. I do grind my teeth sometimes when I can't speed up or reverse search an MKV file on a BD player quite as I'd like, but I can't fault the video quality of the playback.
    Last edited by orsetto; 15th Jan 2021 at 12:56.
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  4. Member millsy5's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    The mp4 file I uploaded works in VLC. You may have to manually enable the subs with Subtitle -> Sub Track -> Track1. And obvious, I didn't burn the subs in if you didn't see them.
    Yes you're right, the subtitle was set to disabled. It worked when I set it to Track1. Cheers. Not sure why it was disabled as it was enabled when I tried your mkv a few days ago.
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  5. I've just managed to solve this problem on my GX800 TV(for myself anyway). You do have to make sure that the film and subtitle file names are the same with different suffixes. On the remote, press the Options button, then select Video Setup, Subtitle Settings, Subtitle and change the Subtitle to Subtitle Text.
    I hope this helps. Please let me know.
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