bnsf

What kind of file did you store it under? Rename the file and store under a MP3 video file then it should open up on any computer or try burning it to a DVD disk with DVD burning software. This will let you play it on any computer or DVD player.

Steved3604

Chances are the DVD player will play a Standard Definition DVD disc. It (might) -- may play a "Data Disc" of MP 4 video -- which is probably what the device you used recorded. So, you could try burning a "Data Disc" of the phone's video and see if it plays. Or, convert the original video to SD video and then convert to DVD (Mpeg2 IIRC) video and burn to DVD. Since you don't need Hi Def video and the DVD player seems to work to the TV then a DVD may be the easiest. Look for free software to burn Data DVDs and "actual" DVDs. Best Buy, Walmart and Micro Center may have DVDs in stock. What city are you in?

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Isn't MP3 an audio file format?

"MP3 is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg, with support from other digital scientists in other countries. "

therwol Loc: USA

I want to ask a simple question. It's obvious from your description that this AV center is antiquated and not able to handle HD MP4 video. What kind of television is it connected to? (Please don't say an old CRT.) If it's any sort of HDTV made since they came out, it will certainly have an HDMI input. If your laptop has an HDMI out, just connect it to the TV and change the input. You may have to enable the sound in Windows. (I know that because I've recorded much off of my laptop through HDMI.) The TV itself may have a USB input as well, enabling you to bypass the AV system it is connected to.

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

It is a newer Samsung TV and has all the inputs. Because it is a clubhouse property I cannot make changes to it. It does have HDMI and I can connect it to Xfinity and cast the video from my phone to bypass the AV system. We have instructions on how to connect via all the Sony player outputs. I did a bit more research and it seems that Samsung has a bias against MP4 files (way too technical for me to understand so I can't regurgitate it here).

The conversion programs are too technical for my old brain.

Thank you all for the input (pun not intended). When I can find the business end of the HDMI cable (it's wound up behind the giant screen TV somewhere) I'll just use that to connect to XFinity and cast the file. I did that on my home Samsung and it works fine.



I do not have a laptop.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It is indeed, an audio format.

therwol Loc: USA

So you took the video on your phone? So they have a modern Samsung TV? I just read several articles on making a bluetooth connection between a phone and a TV. You can then cast directly from phone to TV. It isn't even a longshot if the equipment is new enough. I assume you have access to the settings needed through the TV remote.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

If it is a recent Samsung flat screen TV, in addition to HDMI inputs, it will have USB inputs. Put your video on a thumb drive, plug it into one of the USB ports, find it with the TV's remote and play it. I doubt very much that mainstream Samsung TVs have a bias against mainstream MP4s. I did that with my Samsung 55" until it mysteriously died. I now have a LG TV and it works the same way.

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

Thank you for your input. I know how to cast video from my phone to my TV, but the clubhouse setup is more complicated. But I finally worked it out and this morning was able to pair the two and cast the video. Funny thing - there is a control panel on the wall next to the AV tower that contains the Sony DVD etc. player, Xfinity box, etc. So I have to turn on that panel and the Sony thing to turn on the TV. Once I navigated to the screen mirror icon and started the video, it played - except no sound. Very frustrating. Finally I noticed that the control panel has a volume know! Voilà!

So thank you everybody who spent the time to help me through all this technical stuff, when it turned out to be a pretty simple thing.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

EVERYTHING is simple once you know how...

jcboy3

Make sure the USB drive is formatted as FAT32; if it's formatted on an Apple computer it likely won't be recognized if the format is an Apple format.

Try converting the video to MOV format. In my experience, most electronics work with MOV format but not MP4 format.

MP3 is a music format, and M4V is the lossless version for Apple. The most common lossless music format is FLAC. None of this is relevant to video formats, however.

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Well, I am glad that you finally got it worked out. I am not sure how old your video camera is in your cellphone or how stripped down the camera is. After having lots of experiences such as you have described and even ones in which the aspect ratio did not transfer, I finally installed some freeware to do conversion.

BTW, many video cameras have used stripped down versions of file formats assuming that the software they sent with the camera will know what the unavailable parameters should be. And that works when using their software but not when using other products. So a conversion is often needed.

I use AVC Free Is a precursor to a pro-version, but one can easily ignore and delete the requests to upgrade if you do n ot wish to upgrade. So far it has converted any video I have made or received into forms that can be used by a myriad of programs. And in the process, one can select smaller screens to cut down the file size. I usually use what I feel is a modern and generic form for my files if I do not know what devices the receiver will be using. This means that I try to use an mp4 form that works on a late model of device running Windows. Historically, Apple has used its own formats, but recently both OS''s are using the same formats.

To download the software, visit here:
https://www.any-video-converter.com/en8/for_video_free/

This continues to work for me. --Richard

therwol Loc: USA

The sound output of the TV is obviously channeled through the AV system with the TV sound turned off. A sound bar is usually set up the same way.

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

I figured out how to screen mirror through our AV system. No need for conversions, downloading anything, etc. Thanks for your advice.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Apple's Disk Utility does allow you to choose the disk format FAT32. It is not the default, however, so you have to select it. MacOS also supports ExFAT, required for cross-platform compatible media over 32 GB.