Playing Video Files (mp4, m4v, etc.) from external hd on TV

[tbevinator]

Here's my situation: I have a mac-formatted (fat32) external hard drive (LaCie rugged USB 3.0) that contains movie files (mostly m4v's). I would like to find a way to play them directly through my hard drive on an HDTV's USB port (I haven't purchased the TV yet). Currently when I plug in my hard drive to any HDTV's USB port, I find that it's not recognized by the TV, probably because of how it's formatted.

Here's my question: what is the easiest way to make this work without having to connect my computer itself to the TV? I'm open to any suggestions, but the prize goes to whoever has the easiest, cheapest option for me.

Thanks!

TBevinator

 

[IvanLasston]

How did you format the disk? Generally Mac Fat32 defaults to GUID - most everything else wants MBR. See this guide
The right way to format Windows disks using a Mac | TechRepublic

 

[MightyGem]

Also, TVs usually only recognise particular file types. I think mp4 and avi are the most common.

 

[tbevinator]

Thanks Ivan, it looks that would solve the problem. It does entail reformatting my drive, which is a little bit of a process since I already have a decent amount of data on it (250GB), but I can probably do some shuffling. Is there any way around that?

And thanks MightGem - I kind of figured the m4v's would have to be converted to mp4. Gotta love these little compatibility issues...

TBevinator