on a Television Set
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Computer Video Playback on a Television Set |
Enjoy Your Personal Video Files the Easy Way
While the masses are becoming ever more addicted to both online streaming at any cost
and the ability to control the entirety of their lives from a tiny electronic companion,
there remain a few dedicated souls such as myself who don't have a cell-phone
bolted to their faces, and who would like to enjoy their own extensive video-file
collections on a television set with a minimum of hassle. To that end, the ideal
setup would sport the following features:
Of course, if all that you want is to mirror the occasional video file to a big screen,
you need only run an HDMI cable from the TV set to the computer's video card. Then
you can play a file from any disk location with the incomparable VLC
utility, which handles any type of video file and even will attempt to repair defective
ones! Drawbacks to that method are the necessity of running the show with the
computer mouse and dealing with the potentially unwanted on-screen video
controls.
If, however, you would like to enjoy the conveniences of the aforementioned features, something else must be done. Unfortunately, the television industry has morphed from functionality to accommodation of society's ongoing degredation and lack of expertise in much of anything at all. My exhaustive online research suggests that said features no longer are supported by any television model on the American market.
Not all is lost, however; for there is a way. You can totally control your video experience from the comfort of your sofa just as if you were sitting at your desktop, by going onto eBay and purchasing this device:
Yes, this item is long out of print (circa 2011), but it still is available as of
2023. I just purchased a backup unit for $42 postpaid. Of course, there
might well be other DVD players, including some newer ones, which also could work if
they are DLNA-certified (see Addendum); but I'm not about to spend good money
on one just to find out whether it will do the job.
On the BD670 setup screen, ignore the unneeded and unwanted Nero Essentials package;
for there is a much better way. The BD670 can be set up as a Windows User
Account! What a concept. My own user is named LG, with a
simple password (required by the LG.) An easy-to-type digital
password is best, because negotiating the CIFS setup screen is somewhat tedious.
Once that procedure is complete, and access rights have been granted to the video folders of your choice, you should be ready to go; and it never will be necessary actually to login to that user account, which sole function is to provide access to the computer's file system. Just power up your PC, then head for your lounge chair.
I have used this device for a dozen years with a non-smart TV set, three different
routers, and three different Windows operating systems — each configured
with several different hard disks; the BD670 doesn't care.
Some pertinent specifics of the BD670:
If desired, newer MKV files using the H.265 codec can be converted to H.264 using free software; also, unwanted subtitles can be removed with a freeware program. You can obtain a replacement remote if necessary. My $8 universal remote handles both the TV and the LG.
Now, my bride can manage the viewing options from her easy chair while I play on the computer, composing this file in the hope that someone might read it sometime.
For more information, Download this: LG-BD670 User Manual
ADDENDUM
DLNA is an acronym for 'Digital Living Network Alliance' —
a trade group created by Sony. Its non-proprietary protocol enables
compliant devices of any brand to share media content. Ten or fifteen years ago,
DLNA was ubiquitous; quality television sets and other devices all supported it.
Now, such capability is becoming increasingly rare as our society degenerates ever
further into true androids who have little use for DLNA.
One upshot of this is that even if your television is officially DLNA-certified,
its firmware no longer actually supports the protocol. Nowadays, most brands have
their own pseudo-capable methods for connecting to a computer, all of which require
the assistance of a third-party media player and/or a garbage protocol such as
Miracast or Chromecast, even if the requisite video playback controls (PVR) are
built into the unit.
It seems that the last DLNA-capable television sets were the Panasonics made from about 2011-2015 and perhaps some of the LG units with the WebOS operating system. Unfortunately, those models are virtually unavailable now except in foreign countries, and the dealers there are disinterested in shipping a television set across an ocean. That is too bad, because certain models still have useful features that have been disabled on sets sold in the U.S.
The increasingly prevalent intentional crippling of useful technologies, especially in the United States, does not represent progress; in fact, it's a slap in the face of any user who is capable of doing more than just pressing buttons on a remote. Apparently, any desire to think and do for oneself just doesn't jibe with the corporate "Profit is all that matters" mentality.
