[SOLVED] Watch AVI video on TV monitor ?

[shinnen]

Hi all,
I came by a hard drive that has quite a few movies, TV series, etc., mostly avi files.
I can watch them on my computer, but I'd like to watch them on my TV monitor.
What are my options?
Thanks,
....... john

 

[rgd1101]

can the tv play avi?

 

[TerryLaze]

Get mediainfo to find out what video and audio codec the files have and buy a media player that supports those, some smartphones are easily connected to TVs so look into that, otherwise a simple android box will most probably do the trick, just make sure that the codec are not some esoteric weird thing that nobody uses.

 

[shinnen]

can the tv play avi?

Hi rgd1101,
I don't know. I'll put one on a flash drive and see. The other thought I had is to put them on my laptop and connect it to the TV?
.... john

 

[Corwin65]

Chromecast was made for just this.

 

[shinnen]

Get mediainfo to find out what video and audio codec the files have and buy a media player that supports those, some smartphones are easily connected to TVs so look into that, otherwise a simple android box will most probably do the trick, just make sure that the codec are not some esoteric weird thing that nobody uses.

Thanks Terry. I'll check it out.
... john

 

[shinnen]

Chromecast was made for just this.

Hi Corwin,
I'm trying to avoid buying a piece of equipment, but I'll keep it in mind.
Thanks,
.... john

 

[SkyNetRising]

I can watch them on my computer, but I'd like to watch them on my TV monitor.
What are my options?
I'm trying to avoid buying a piece of equipment, but I'll keep it in mind.

What TV?

Is it a smart tv?
Install Plex server on your pc, configure movie libraries. Install Plex client on TV and watch shared content.
TV and pc have to be on the same ethernet network (connected to same switch or router).

Is it a "dumb" tv?
Connect tv to your pc with HDMI cable and use it as second monitor to watch video content.

 

[Corwin65]

What TV is it?

 

[shinnen]

Hi,
It's a Sanyo LCD32R41(c). It's 10+ years old. It has HDMI, VGA, USB, and RCA connectors. I think it would be classed as a 'dumb' TV.
The laptop is much older. It has USB, VGA, and what I think is a Firewire connector. No HDMI.
.... john

 

[Alabalcho]

That hard drive - is it internal (SATA), external (USB), or something else?
ANd unless your laptop has two drive bays, and this drive is 2.5in, you cant put it there either.

 

[shinnen]

Hi Alabalch,
It's a desktop (3.5"?) ide; but I can transfer the files to the laptop.
.. john

 

[Alabalcho]

3.5" IDE drive (with one wide 40-pins connector next to power connector) will need an external enclosure with separate power brick so you can access the files from a laptop. If you have older desktop, it might have spade IDE port.

 

[shinnen]

Hi,
I think I've figured out how to do this. As I mentioned, there are VGA connectors on both the TV and the laptop (Windows 10). So, I transferred the video files to a Vantec USB 2 enclosure (containing a small ide drive, 2.5"?). As luck would have it, the Vantec enclosure will run off the USB drive (so, I didn't even have to use the power adapter). (If I'd had a larger drive on the laptop, I could have skipped the external drive.) One of the TVs (we have two) will show the files on the laptop (probably a smart TV), the other will not ( probably a dumb TV). And that's it. It seems to work. I haven't played an entire show yet, so ....
Thank you all for your help.
...... john