Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

AVCHD, MPEG2 or DivX

by Sep 10, 2015 12:20PM PDT

I have a Panasonic Smart TV with Viera . The instruction book says the video mode supports AVCHD, MPEG2 or DivX. I'm intending to watch films using a USB connected to the TV but all my films are in MP4 format. How can I convert them to one of the above formats and which is best in terms of ease of use and quality output? Please reply in plain language - I'm a bit of a dinosaur!

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Answer
Well that's almost true.
by Forum moderator Sep 10, 2015 12:39PM PDT

Let me pick on this for being totally unclear. DivX has at least a dozen versions so if you encode to the latest it's a safe bet the TV will not play it.

As to your question, all have folk telling you this is best. My advice is to go with what works. That is my plain language answer. To go further I have to get too technical.

- Collapse -
Answer
Mpeg2 might be the most common as a format, but...
by Sep 10, 2015 12:46PM PDT

not many standalone devices use it because it uses most space. AVCHD is the coming format, that's what Bru-ray use. Divx was pretty popular as far as standalone player go but I don't how it is now. In the old day, conversion take lots of time but again I don't know how it is now. You could just try them all and which is best for you (as for conversion time and picture quality). Have fun.

- Collapse -
Answer
Update
by Sep 10, 2015 1:16PM PDT

My TV is about 3 years old. I thought I would try DivX first so downloaded the converter. It transferred the MP4 to a MKV file, which I copied to a USB....but as before (with MP4), the meessage on the TV read 'No valid file to play'. Guess I'll look for an AVCHD converter now.

- Collapse -
Here's another thought.
by Oldartq Sep 11, 2015 9:53AM PDT

If you are not successful with avchd, try again with divx but don't put it in the mkv container, just divx in it old form. I am thinking maybe the player can't see through the mkv form.

Back to TVs & Home Theaters forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info