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Message: [QUOTE="Gorse, post: 48475, member: 73"] BACKSTORY: A few years ago, I bought one of those big new 4K OLED Samsung Smart TVs, and it's really great! The picture quality for videos and games is excellent, it connects to all my devices beautifully, and it's very simple to set up and start using. HOWEVER. Because I'm an evilton, pretty much everything I watch on TV is an old show, movie, or cartoon downloaded from internet torrents and archives. Some of it works perfectly through my TV's USB input – I just plug in my standard SanDisk 256GB stick, and the TV loads it in – ... but a lot of it doesn't. The TV's operating system just doesn't recognize a lot of very common video formats – .avi files, for example, simply don't appear. Some .mkv files (which, as you may be aware, is the standard file type for animation produced by our friends in the far Orient) give me an error message when I try to play them, and some don't properly load in the subtitle files, leaving me unable to interpret the audio track. I'd say about 50% of the files I try to play on my TV this way aren't watchable. There are a few ways I've tried to address this problem, all of which have failed to some degree. They are: [LIST] [*][B]Connecting my laptop to the TV through HDMI/casting it through LAN. [/B]Unfortunately, both of my current laptops – one Mac, one PC – are very old, and give me serious, immersion-breaking lag when I try to watch video this way. [B][U]FAILURE[/U][/B] [*][B]Adding video files to my Apple TV. [/B]Apple's fucking proprietary, locked-down hardware/software package doesn't let me add any video files that aren't in .mp4 format, which most of what I want to watch isn't. I could convert the videos using FFMPEG or something, but I'm extremely neurotic about video quality – that's why I bought this TV in the first place – and I'm not smart enough to understand whether I'm converting the files correctly. [B][U]FAILURE[/U][/B] [*][B]Using an internet-based media server application. [/B]This [I]could[/I] work, but I have two issues with it: first, I really do not like the thought of me being unable to watch my stuff if I lose my internet connection, and second, I really [I]really [/I]don't want to have to pay a recurring subscription fee to use these applications, which of course every reputable one charges. (Haven't you jerks heard of open-source software!? I'm calling Richard Stallman!) [B][U]FAILURE[/U][/B] [/LIST] So, unless I'm not aware of another solution, it's looking like my only choice to watch my video files is through an external USB media player. From what I understand, the "best" option on the market right now is a 4K Amazon Fire Stick – base price $80 in Leaftopia for the best model (I'll probably buy it on sale) – but before I make the plunge, I have several questions that I'd really appreciate your input on. THEY ARE: [LIST=1] [*][B]Is the 4K Amazon Fire Stick the USB media player you'd most recommend? [/B]Assume that I'm a fucking dumb-dumb who doesn't have the intellect, time, or inclination to bugger around with computer software endlessly. [*][B]When purchasing a modern USB media player, can I even expect to sideload my own files off of it? [/B]I'm completely out of the loop, here – do they still let you do that? Can I add my own files to this device? I don't need or want to use any of the streaming TV features – I just want to download stuff from my computer, put it onto this device, shove the device in my TV, and play it. [*][B]Can modern USB media players play [I]all [/I]major video file types properly, including with subtitles and multiple audio tracks? [/B]I guess what I mean by this is file types like .mkv, .mp4, .avi, and maybe even weird stuff like .divx and .iso. (And yes, there are [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt_(American_TV_series)']shows[/URL] I want to watch that are only available in .divx format – I'm a lunatic.) I'd like to be able to toggle between soft-sub files and different audio tracks at a whim without anything breaking. [*][B]Is dealing with the remotes for modern USB media players a fucking nightmare? [/B]I currently have two remotes for my TV – a standard one, and my Apple TV one – and the thought of adding another kind of makes me want to kill myself, but I think it may be unavoidable. Should I be concerned about this? I have PTSD about the four different remotes I used to have to switch between when watching TV at my parents' house in the late 2000s. [/LIST] Any support you could provide here would be truly appreciated. If anyone has any other questions about USB media players, please feel free to ask them in this thread, as well. Thank you, and goodnight. [/QUOTE]

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