Converting video files to work on Philips TV.

[Virgil2U]

I have been working for weeks trying to find a program that can convert video files into a format that can play on a Philips TV. I have used Handbrake and FFmpeg Batch Video converter, but so far all attempts fail for the files to be played. Does anyone know where I can get a program or what settings I need to use for Handbrake so the files can be played?

[DB83]

It's not a question of finding a program to convert - most will do the job.


It is a question of determining the type of video file your tv supports. That information will be in the user manual. If you do not have one then search for one quoting the model number.


Or tell us the model number and we can take a look. But if this is an older tv then there will be limited options for conversion.

[orsetto]

Post back with the model number of your TV as DB83 recommends: it will help narrow things down I.E., if your Phillips TV is a model made by the Funai conglomerate, chances are it may be difficult or impractical to code videos to make them playable (Funai has a poor history of video file support in their TVs and dvd or blu ray players). You'd be surprised how many slightly older TVs really have no useful video play compatibility at all (several quite good older Sonys will only play a completely dead video format I can't even remember the name of). While newer TVs and UHD BluRay players will handle almost anything.

Sometimes the best solution to these problems is to buy an external USB media player for the TV: they're cheap, and they play most any file as-is without having to waste time (and wreck picture quality) with re-encodes. The one exception might be HEVC/x265 format: this is not supported by many TVs and devices older than a couple of years.

[johns0]

I have an xbox one s and it plays all types of files including hevc up to 4k.

[orsetto]

Yes, a gaming console is an excellent option for playing HEVC/x265 video files or other formats that won't play directly from a TV's built-in USB player. But an xBox One S isn't "a cheap accessory USB media player" in the terms I was suggesting: the generic $40 players available thru Amazon etc don't have HEVC decoding ability.

If one can afford to spend more than rock bottom $30-$50, there are better alternatives than the generic USB media players. A gaming console would be toward the higher price range, tho of course if you're a gamer you'd own one anyway (which kinda makes the media player feature "free"). Streaming boxes with USB playback like Roku are relatively affordable. So are some lower end BluRay players (but the more expensive UHD BD players are needed for HEVC).

[rrats]

What is OPs TV model?

[alex]

Firstly you could try a free program available on this site called tsMuxer & select output to M2TS muxing if this fails to be recognized by your TV (I had a similar problem with a Sony Bravia TV) then I would suggest in investing in a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B available in 2-4-8GB RAM of which I have a 4GB RAM & use mostly as a media centre & it will play any format including 4K so no need for any Re-encoding to any format.