Smart TV file sharing

[driftwood]

I have a USB drive plugged into my wifi router.
I can access it from most of my devices, both Windows and Android. 
I would also like to access it from my LG Smart TV.
Google tells me I should access it via the TV's media player.
As yet I haven't found the media player.

Has anyone been down this road ?

[king1]

I have samsung sorry so probably not much help, but does this help
https://www.lg.com/au/support/product-su...206004827/

[driftwood]

That looked like it might work.
I chose the office pc which uses the USB drive the most.
Turned on the media sharing in step 2, but the LG webOS TV didn't show up on the list.
Although I can see it on the network and cast YouTube video to it.

[nzoomed]

It's probably a security/permissions issue on the TV.
I would check the network settings on the TV in particular anything you see under file sharing and visibility.

[Wainuitech]

I have a USB drive plugged into my wifi router.

Just a guess -- The TV might not be able to connect to the USB Drive if plugged into the Router. Try it plugged into a Computer instead.



Do a Google search for "LG Smart TV connect to USB in Router" -- the AI reply tells you how to do it, bit of fiddling about.

---

AI responce:

To connect an LG Smart TV to a USB drive plugged into your router, you need to access the router's network storage settings through your TV's network settings, essentially treating the USB drive on the router like a network drive that your TV can access over your Wi-Fi connection; you'll need to navigate to your router's web interface to enable USB sharing and find the correct network path to access the drive on your TV.
Key steps:
Enable USB sharing on your router:
Log in to your router's web interface by entering its IP address in your browser.
Navigate to the "Storage" or "USB" settings section.
Enable USB sharing and configure any necessary access settings (like user accounts or permissions).
Connect your TV to the network:
On your LG Smart TV, go to Settings > Network > Network Connection.
Select your Wi-Fi network and enter the password to connect.
Access the USB drive on your TV:
Depending on your TV model, you might need to access a "Media Player" or "Network Storage" app.
Enter the network path to your router's USB drive, which is usually displayed in the router's settings page.
Once connected, you should be able to browse and play media files stored on the USB drive directly on your TV.
Important points to consider:
Router compatibility:
Not all routers support USB sharing functionality, so check your router's manual to ensure it has the necessary features.
File system compatibility:
Make sure the USB drive is formatted with a compatible file system (usually FAT32) for your TV to read it properly.

[driftwood]

Thanks for the help guys.

Yes, I think it is related to security/permissions but I can't seem get into that area to make changes.
I have managed to get access to the other PC's on my network, so i am making some progress.
This is a model LG 55SM8100PVA
I have been into the router settings, but I already new that was set up for USB sharing.

I found this:

To enable a WOS TV to access NAS storage, you need to install a dedicated media player app on the TV that supports network storage access, then configure the app to connect to your NAS by entering its IP address and credentials; most modern smart TVs have built-in media players, but if not, you can download a third-party app like Plex, VLC, or the app specific to your NAS brand from the TV's app store.

I have tried to install VLC Media player but that won't work.

Just about to head out on my exercycle, I'll have another go at it later.

[driftwood]

I've found an alternative method.
I had a spare SSD floating around.
I copied all the data from the USB storage to it.
Connected that to the router.
Plugged the USB into the TV.
Problem solved for now.

[driftwood]

I'll just give this thread another tug.
There are some also some video files on the USB connected to the TV.
However, the TV will not see them.
They are MP4 which the TV should be able to play.
When I open the folder, they are in, it just shows as empty.

[king1]

I presume you have some mp4s that are seen and some that don't ?

mp4 mkv etc is like a container for the video/audio/subtitle streams. What actually determines whether your tv can play it is if the TV supports the codecs used to encode the video/audio...

you can use certain tools to analyse a video and tell you just whats what in the video but essentially they would need to be reencoded into a supported format, using something like Handbrake

[driftwood]

Got it sorted eventually.
There is an icon at the top of the screen, hidden by the background picture, which is for view options.
If you select this, you can choose to display photo or video.