USB Compatibility List

USB

The idea of delivering our videos on USB sticks is fairly new; and different devices have different requirements on what type of USB devices can be connected, the file system they use, and the format of the video.

As such there is not currently a ‘one size fits all’ format that will work with all devices, so we’ve chosen a format that should work with the largest proportion of Smart TVs currently in people’s homes. As of December 2019, out of all the USB sticks we have shipped less than 1% of customers have reported playback issues to us, so hopefully we’re on the right track!

To help you make a more informed decision, we have prepared this page with all the information we know in regards to compatibility with our USB sticks.

Please note that this list is based almost entirely off of customer feedback (and the handful of devices our staff has access to) and as such we are unable to verify that the information presented is 100% accurate, and we are unable to guarantee compatibility with any device even if it is listed here.

With hundreds of models of TV currently on sale from dozens of brands – and thousands of older models installed in various living rooms – it’s unfortunately not possible for us to test every single combination, so if you’ve already purchased a USB stick from us and tried it on your TV or other devices we’d love to hear how well it works one way or another so please do get in touch via our contact form and we’ll update our list!

Known to be compatible or very likely to be compatible:

Computers/Laptops/HTPCs running Microsoft Windows, Apple OSX, or Linux*
Chromebooks*
Toshiba Smart TVs (High end models only, Android TV operating system)†
Sony Smart TVs (2015 or later, Android TV operating system)†
Samsung Smart TVs (2015 or later, Tizen operating system)
LG Smart TVs (2015 or later, WebOS operating system)
LG BD650 BluRay Player
Microsoft Xbox One/Xbox One X
Roku Media Players with USB ports
Android smartphones/tablets with appropriate USB adapter cables (Third-party file browser/media player software may be required)†
Android TV powered set top boxes†

* very old/low-cost devices may not be able to play the video back smoothly – copying the video file off the USB stick onto an internal hard drive may remedy this issue. Linux based devices may require installation of the NTFS-3G package from your operating system’s package manager. If you are unable to use the USB stick with a laptop or desktop computer, it is likely to be faulty – please contact us for a replacement.

† Older Android-based devices may lack the capability to read the format of our USB sticks. Please refer to the section below for further information.

Likely to be compatible, but may require reformatting the USB stick to exFAT before use:

These devices may not support the NTFS file system we use for our USB sticks. There will be exceptions to this depending on how the manufacturer has configured the device in the factory so it’s still worth trying to play the USB first before taking any further action.

You will need a PC or Laptop with 16GB free hard drive space to convert the USB to the exFAT filesystem. Instructions are provided in a PDF file saved on the USB stick.

Sony Playstation 4/Playstation 4 Pro
Panasonic Smart TVs (most 4k models and very recent Full-HD models)
Technika (Tescos) Smart TVs
Recent DLP projectors with USB playback capabilities
‘HDMI Media Player’ devices with USB ports
Freeview set-top-boxes with USB ports and ‘recording’ capabilities
Apple iPad Pro (via USB-C hub)
Apple iPhone/iPad (IOS13 or later, via Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter, may require placing the video in a folder named ‘DCIM’ on the USB stick to be detected)

Unlikely to be compatible/Known to be incompatible:

These devices are unlikely to be able to read video files over 4GB or have other technical restrictions that prevent compatibility with our USB sticks.

Bush (Argos) Smart TVs
Vizio Smart TVs
Microsoft Xbox 360
Sony Playstation 3
Sky Set-Top Boxes (USB port is for system updates/maintenance only)
Non-Smart TVs, especially those manufactured before 2015
Apple iPad/iPhone devices running IOS12 or earlier (please refer to this list showing maximum IOS version for your device)
Nintendo Switch (no video playback capability)

My device isn’t listed!

If your device is not listed above, you may be able to find information online or in the user manual. The specifications for our USBs are as follows:

16GB USB2 sticks
NTFS File System
h.264 video at up to 20mbps in a .mp4 container

Note that older TVs may have a USB port, but only allow viewing of photographs and playback of music with no facility to play video.

If you have a TV or device that is incompatible, there are other ways that you may be able to play the video using additional devices, for example:

Playing on a laptop connected to a television by an HDMI or VGA cable
Copying the video onto a home media server and streaming to the TV using a system such as DLNA or Plex
Streaming over WiFi from a compatible device using a Google Chromecast, Apple TV, or similar WiFi/HDMI adapter.
Copying the file from the USB stick onto your devices internal storage

We are not able to offer refunds for USB sticks for reasons of incompatibility. However, if you have purchased a USB by itself, please contact us if you are unable to play it and we will be able to upgrade your order to a ComboPack and will send you a DVD copy at a lower price than purchasing the DVD alone.