XE90 BIG problems playing video from USB stick.

[DesmondDecker]

I am having big problems playing video data from USB flashdrive memory stick. TV: 49XE90 (2 days old).

Flashdrives: Sandisk Extreme 32Gb USB Flash drive and Sandisk Ultra 64Gb. (Both well used and work fine).

I loaded 3 video files of different format .TS , .AVI , .MP4 onto each flashdrive.
Inserted into TV, the flashdrive was detected by TV.
After selecting video media the files played OK.
So far so good... but it soon goes downhill-

I then (on my Win10 PC) loaded a folder containing 6 .TS video files onto the Flashdrives.
NOTE: These played fine on my Win10 PC , a 6-year-old Panny TV and and two Humax PVRs.
The Sony just sat there saying 'Loading Video'... yawn...
So, I moved the .TS video files to the Flashdrive root just in case Folders confused it.  Still no joy.

(BTW, the files still play OK on PC, old Panny and PVRs.)

Then the TV firmware got so stuck I had to pull the plug. Awful really.

Notes.
1. Whenever I remove the USB flashdrive from Sony TV and put it back in PC dear old Windows has to 'repair' it.
(Unless I go through Sony, Home>Settings>blah>Eject - which takes ages and is tedious).
2. Home>Albums>etc is way too long winded; is there a quicker way to access USB Flashdrive video? (Panasonic include Flashdrives as an 'input' which is far more sensible as it is Read-Only).
3. Home>Albums>Folder does not auto refresh. I have to, for example, do a look in 'Devices' then back to 'Folders' to get a refresh.
4. Using the Home>Albums>Folder > 'play' gives same duff results as the auto-detection method.
5. Yes, I've tried full power-cycle, plugs out and leave a minute or two.

6. Yes, I've tried all 3 USB holes - I've spent 6 hours faffing around.
7. I'm beginning to think my thousand pounds has not been well spent...

Please help. What am I doing wrong? Surely a bit of consumer electronics should be relatively wally-proof?

Or is it just flaky software?

Thanks. (Sorry for such a long post).

[DesmondDecker]

I should add that the TV did a software update this morning (30/12/2017).

[Jecht_Sin]

Welcome to the nightmare of USB on Bravia TV (sorry for the sarcasm)!

The USB is a bit faulty on these Android TVs. I get Android slowing down to a crawl if I enable the video preview in X-plore. And there it stays until I unplug the cord. Not even a reboots solves it. But let's look at your case..

I suppose your USB keys are formatted in NTFS via Windows, correct? Not that it should really matter, but maybe try to format them in exFAT (or format them in NTFS if they aren't). Avoid FAT/FAT32 due to their 2GB file size limit. And it is better if you don't use a Mac, unelss you know how to format with the MBR partition table instead of Guid/GPT.

In my case, with exFAT, I can watch any video with Sony's Video app via USB (I just have to avoid X-plore in case the previews are on). I have only a couple of .ts videos but they play fine.

Then I don't use it for pictures, but if you want a quick access to your (local, as in the internal memory and/or USB) videos, press the "Discover" button and configure it to use Video. You can also add a list of apps you want to access quickly (when it doen't quit or crash and so it take a minute or two to reload).

I can also suggest to install Kodi or Plex (this one needs a Plex server in your PC to stream your content. No need of USB devices but the PC must always be alive). They both build libraries for videos, TV shows, Movies, Pictures, Music.

Give to the above a try and then see if you have found a sactisfatory solution and in case ask again.

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@DesmondDecker wrote:

I should add that the TV did a software update this morning (30/12/2017).

---

Really? How? Please tell me it's a brand new TV just out of the box. I see no updates newer than 25 Oct 2017.

[DesmondDecker]

Jeez this Captcha is darned annoying..

Anyway, 

Thanks Jecht_Sin,

Re: Software update.
It just did it on it's own.
I bought it from Currys 29/DEC and label on carton says  delivered by Sony/Importer to Currys on 26/Dec.
On the face of it very new, but after checking Sony update dates the last one was as you say. Odd.

Kernel Version: 3.10.79 ...Wed Oct 4 18:20:47 JST 2017
Build:  BRAVIA_ATV2_EU-user 7.0 NRD91N.S90 1.6.0.26.71.1.00

I find the whole TV very slow to respond. Looks like a case of flash-before-function.
Wrestling with Apps just to watch TV doesn't make my day - apps should be an add-on to basic functions.
The actual picture is excellent.

Streaming from PC server has been good, but I don't always want to leave PC switched on.

First Test with USB stick flashdrive.

Anyway, I've now formatted a USB stick in exFAT and moved .AVI, .MP4 and .TS files to it.
As a test I've played them on PC and old Panasonic TV. Humax 4000T won't recognise exFAT.
And so, onto the Sony TV.  The flash drive is recognised - HURRAH!
AVI and MP4 play OK. But TS format doesn't play.
Oddly, after it failed with TS it now won't play the AVI or MP4 !!
They work in PC and old Panny TV, so no corruption.

Sony website says TV will play TS (MPEG2TS). It worked once yesterday...

Secondary Test with HDD.

I then plugged in a 'My Passport' 2TB HDD (half-full of Folders with Video files)  into Sony and left it to sync.
Only AVI was recognised. TS video ignored or wouldn't play.
Most of the folder names and files don't even appear on-screen!
(All files/folders recognised by Humax 2000 & 4000 PVRs and, amazingly, my old Panny worked perfectly).

Well, either I've got a duff TV or the software/firmware is flaky.
Pretty unimpressive really.  A real shame. Nearly excellent.

Should I get onto Sony or take it back to Currys?

[LightFoot]

Hi @DesmondDecker. I find VLC is better than the default Video player for playing a wider range of video formats. I have to use VLC for viewing my Nextbase Dash Cam clips.

[DesmondDecker]

Thanks, I'll check that out.  My Cobra dashcam records in AVI. I just tried it and the files play fine on the Sony TV's default video player.

As I've only had the TV 2 days I thought I'd made a glaring error. (Maybe I have).

The Sony (website) technical literature says it would play TS format so I assumed it would do what it claims.

It just feels like buying a car but the radio won't work unless I get some extras from Halfords

I've reported it to Sony support so I'll give them a few days to reply.

UPDATE: Repeated playback tests after formatting Sandisk Extreme 32GB USB Flashdrive in NTFS.

All formats played perfect on old Panny TV and Humax 4000 PVR - they just work as expected.

That's what I pay for, a polished/tested product that does what it claims.

The Sony TV, alas, same as before. AVI and MP4 OK.

It played a TS format once and then never again.

This is pretty pathetic really for a premium 2017 product from a reputable manufacturer.

[Jecht_Sin]

Well, at this point it seems to be an issue with those particular TS videos. Maybe try to download this video. It plays with mine using Video. But it did give me some problems with other apps in the past. Still, just try installing Kodi from the Google Play Store. It's a bit complicated for first time users, but you should manage to access your videos easily enough. If it doesn't work with that, something may be odd with your TS videos.

The Video app is great in terms of performances, and usually video formats supports (it really played everything I tried. Even with DTS audio passthrough). But it's very basic and not exempt from bugs. But TS is supported by our Bravias, so in a way or another you should manage to play them.

My biggest issue with Android TV is the lack of a fully fledged fast and reliable media player (Kodi gets too slow). So much that I ended up buying an Apple TV 4K just for Infuse Pro (and also because via HDMI ARC the audio is limited to DD+ 5.1. Not to mention that the DTS passthough is broken on our version of Android TV). Some suggest Archos (there is a free version) maybe try that as well. To me it had all kind of issues (crashes, broken audio, etc).

PS: yeah, the one you've got is the latest firmware release. You have just got the TV, so it makes sense it updated.

PPS: You can also format the USB key back to NTFS if you like. That was just to test.

[DesmondDecker]

Thanks Jecht_Sin. Very much appreciated.

Test 1.
USB Flashdrive (Sandisk Extreme 32GB) formatted in NTFS.
TravelXP 4K HDR HLG Demo unzipped then copied to Flash.
Played perfectly on Sony. Lovely picture.
Wouldn't play on any other device. (PC, old Panny TV, Humax 4000 PVR).

Test 2.
TV recordings (on Humax PVR) copied to Flash.
A Tom Baker Dr Who and Channel 5 Classic Car Show. TS format.
Car Show: 25fps, data-rate 5642kbps, frame 720x576. (SD)
Dr Who: 25fps, data-rate 15000kbps, frame 544 x 576. (SD)
Wouldn't play on Sony.
All TS format played on Humax, old Panny and Win10 PC.

I couldn't see any visible syntax differences in Win10 Fil>Properties>Details between the files.

Odd things...
1. After the Sony had failed to play the 'Test 2' recordings it then refused to play the (previously OK) TravelXP recording until I exited Player and restarted. Something had messed up.
In fact, after the play failure I switched back to TV mode and it sat there for 30 seconds doing nothing.
2. I had to press the Input select button and re-select digital TV before it recovered.

3. If it was some hidden protection thing, why do some Humax-generated TS files work and other not. (I purposely excluded Humax HD recordings as they strip details just to mess us up).

4. On 75% of testing when I re-insert the Flash into my PC (after the Sony has cocked-up) Win10 has to repair the drive (NTFS and FAT32).

This is not good. (I wouldn't get away with that at work).

My don't Sony bundle a polished and tested fast media player? We poor public should be able to plug a Telly in and (subject to User-Error) it should work. Dear old Panny does, but not a patch on Sony for picture.