TV with flac playback from HDD

[Goran]

Looking at user manuals for Samsung, Sony, LG and Philips 2020 TV's, I found that in the section 'audio format support' only Samsung has the ability to play flac formats from HDD. It seems unbelievable that no other brand supports this. Does anyone have some experience or info?

I want to plug HDD with my flac music collection, connect TV to active speakers with optical cable and just enjoy my music 🙂

 

[Gray]

Those other TV manufacturers are giving audio the priority they think people need - when buying a TV set (very little).
The Samsung may support FLAC, but it's likely to be far from ideal.
Assuming the DAC will be in your active speakers, the audio quality shouldn't be a concern. But the overall experience might be a different story.
The way the TV displays and allows you to navigate your collection is unlikely to be as good as something dedicated to audio. That could / should be an important consideration.

 

[Goran]

Thanks for the reply!
Actually, I am much more concerned about the audio quality than TV interface.
My resoning is that since the connection from TV to active speakers is digital (optical cable), the TV will not touch the signal - it will be passed through and be converted in the speakers.
So, my logic is that there is no oportunity for the TV to mess with sound - and the pathway to a great sound from absolutely minimalistic setup is wide open.
However I may be wrong, and that is why I am asking people here to share their experience if they tried something similar.

 

[jjbomber]

However I may be wrong, and that is why I am asking people here to share their experience if they tried something similar.

I have those components. I'll fix it up later for you and let you know.

 

[Gray]

Thanks for the reply!
Actually, I am much more concerned about the audio quality than TV interface.
My resoning is that since the connection from TV to active speakers is digital (optical cable), the TV will not touch the signal - it will be passed through and be converted in the speakers.
So, my logic is that there is no oportunity for the TV to mess with sound - and the pathway to a great sound from absolutely minimalistic setup is wide open.
However I may be wrong, and that is why I am asking people here to share their experience if they tried something similar.

I think the same way as you about the sound side.
There are those though, who say that the streamer itself and not just the DAC, influences sound quality (funny enough, often the same people who've spent a fortune on a dedicated streamer).
You will be the judge.

 

[Goran]

I have those components. I'll fix it up later for you and let you know.

Great!
Pls compare this setup vs your usual setup (separate dac, streamer etc)

 

[jjbomber]

Too late at night to do a sound comparison, as the leader of the opposition is asleep. I'll play it tomorrow against the CD.

Easy to set up and use. Press on source on the Samsung remote and the WD Passport (in my case) comes up. Press on that and all the folders with the CDs come up. Every bit as easy as playing the files through the Oppo Blu-Ray, which is where the HDD normally sits.

 

[Goran]

Too late at night to do a sound comparison, as the leader of the opposition is asleep. I'll play it tomorrow against the CD.

Easy to set up and use. Press on source on the Samsung remote and the WD Passport (in my case) comes up. Press on that and all the folders with the CDs come up. Every bit as easy as playing the files through the Oppo Blu-Ray, which is where the HDD normally sits.

Yeah, you should keep the leader of the opposition calm, they usually have the power of impeachment at least 🙂

I am using hdd through old WD TV Live media player but I can not compare because my TV can not play flac.

You have one of THE best Blu-Ray players on the market plus the right TV, so let's compare and see if they are comparable at all or am I making a blasphemy in this HI-Fi Forum 😎

What are the spekers in your setup?

 

[Goran]

I think the same way as you about the sound side.
There are those though, who say that the streamer itself and not just the DAC, influences sound quality (funny enough, often the same people who've spent a fortune on a dedicated streamer).
You will be the judge.

Based of what I learned mostly from Archimago blogs and measurements, the speakers and the room have at least one order of magnitude more influence on actual sound than sources or transports like software Media Players, Streamers, DAC's or, for that matter, TV's.
But since the proof is in the pudding, let somebody compare and see what happens.

 

[jjbomber]

Yeah, you should keep the leader of the opposition calm, they usually have the power of impeachment at least

She's a Kung Fu instructor and also a black belt in Karate.

 

[jjbomber]

You have one of THE best Blu-Ray players on the market plus the right TV, so let's compare and see if they are comparable at all or am I making a blasphemy in this HI-Fi Forum 😎

What are the speakers in your setup?

Got two Oppo's actually, one for the active system as well.

Oppo into Naim Uniti to Kef Reference One in Rosette Burr.

You can't commit blasphemy in this forum. The underlying motto is that YOU have to do what is best for YOU. It doesn't matter what is best for anyone else, only what is best for you. Others will make suggestions and are generally trying to help, but only you can say what's best for you.

 

[Goran]

Got two Oppo's actually, one for the active system as well.

Oppo into Naim Uniti to Kef Reference One in Rosette Burr.

You can't commit blasphemy in this forum. The underlying motto is that YOU have to do what is best for YOU. It doesn't matter what is best for anyone else, only what is best for you. Others will make suggestions and are generally trying to help, but only you can say what's best for you.

Very nice system 🙂

I have a pair of Nubert NuPro A-200 active monitors. Background music listening is through Chromecast audio and Spotify, and music enjoyment from laptop with foobar2000, set for bit perfect playback and connected with USB to NuPro.

I actually want to declutter the living room, remove the laptop and buy a new TV which supports flac. But I would not necessarily do it if there is a dip in sound quality. And this is the reason I am asking for advice.

 

[jjbomber]

OK done. Get ready, the TV sounded better. Really? Well, not quite. It was louder, which really surprised me. You know the old trick when having a demo at retailers, when they put the volume up for the one they want you to buy? It's done for a reason; human ears pick up volume easier than they pick up on quality.

So, I had to do a test with the CD at higher volumes than the Samsung. Literally no difference in quality. The sound was very impressive, but I guess the TV is just passing on a digital signal, rather than processing it. The files were at FLAC encoder level 6, as 1-5 are lossy and the highest level (uncompressed) is actually a bigger file than WAV.

A couple of things to note. Firstly the cover art doesn't pull through onto the TV. For others that may be a factor. Secondly, on my Samsung TV at least, I can't switch the screen off and keep just the sound. It won't go into screensaver mode until it's been idle for 2 hours. So there may be screen burn over time. Obviously your model may be different.

Basically it's perfect for you and a disaster for Gray! You are both right. You must always do what is right for you and not what is right for other people. You will be very happy with your TV while Gray is very happy with his dedicated streamer.

Are audiophiles allowed to be happy???? 😀

 

[Gray]

.....while Gray is very happy with his dedicated streamer.

Happy that it cost him 30 quid 🤑
(Not so much a dedicated streamer as a Rpi dedicated to streaming).

 

[Goran]

OK done. Get ready, the TV sounded better. Really? Well, not quite. It was louder, which really surprised me. You know the old trick when having a demo at retailers, when they put the volume up for the one they want you to buy? It's done for a reason; human ears pick up volume easier than they pick up on quality.

So, I had to do a test with the CD at higher volumes than the Samsung. Literally no difference in quality. The sound was very impressive, but I guess the TV is just passing on a digital signal, rather than processing it. The files were at FLAC encoder level 6, as 1-5 are lossy and the highest level (uncompressed) is actually a bigger file than WAV.

A couple of things to note. Firstly the cover art doesn't pull through onto the TV. For others that may be a factor. Secondly, on my Samsung TV at least, I can't switch the screen off and keep just the sound. It won't go into screensaver mode until it's been idle for 2 hours. So there may be screen burn over time. Obviously your model may be different.

Basically it's perfect for you and a disaster for Gray! You are both right. You must always do what is right for you and not what is right for other people. You will be very happy with your TV while Gray is very happy with his dedicated streamer.

Are audiophiles allowed to be happy???? 😀

Wow!
Thank you for the effort, man!
'Literally no difference in sound quality' using losslesly compressed flac files and comparing with a mighty Oppo sounds very impressive and is music for my ears with my dilemma resolved. Although, I was expecting nothing less 🙂

I just came back from a whole afternoon of checking TV's with USB stick in my pocket. Since I also have 2TB of documentaries and films (including family photos and videos), complete video codec support is extremely important to me.

If I can help anyone who is interested, I can confirm the following:
2020 Samsung TU series can not read some avi formats, and 3gp family phone videos have no voice (Tizen OS);
2020 Philips 7555 and 7855 and series can not read some divx files (Saphi OS);
2020 Philips 8505, reads every file format you can throw at it, video or audio, and also showed the cover art when playing music, including flac (Android OS);
Sony I didn't check, it is min 30% more expensive than any other brand for the same features;
LG I will check tomorrow.

This is my last post on this subject. Thank you once again for taking your time and actually making an effort. Stay well, and enjoy the music!

 

[Gray]

Wow!
Thank you for the effort, man!
'Literally no difference in sound quality' using losslesly compressed flac files and comparing with a mighty Oppo sounds very impressive and is music for my ears with my dilemma resolved. Although, I was expecting nothing less 🙂

I just came back from a whole afternoon of checking TV's with USB stick in my pocket. Since I also have 2TB of documentaries and films (including family photos and videos), complete video codec support is extremely important to me.

If I can help anyone who is interested, I can confirm the following:
2020 Samsung TU series can not read some avi formats, and 3gp family phone videos have no voice (Tizen OS);
2020 Philips 7555 and 7855 and series can not read some divx files (Saphi OS);
2020 Philips 8505, reads every file format you can throw at it, video or audio, and also showed the cover art when playing music, including flac (Android OS);
Sony I didn't check, it is min 30% more expensive than any other brand for the same features;
LG I will check tomorrow. Pp

This is my last post on this subject. Thank you once again for taking your time and actually making an effort. Stay well, and enjoy the music!

I bet those retailers have never had their TVs so thoroughly checked. Good for you Goran and well done to JJ above.
You can buy with confidence 👍

 

[Goran]

I bet those retailers have never had their TVs so thoroughly checked. Good for you Goran and well done to JJ above.
You can buy with confidence 👍

Yeah, they know almost nothing about the differencies between different series of TV's from the same manufacturer and usually go with the maxim 'More expensive is better, Samsung is best', blah blah...
And their faces turn pale when I pull out the stick with diffeeent codecs. Welcome to the age of consumerism, buddy 🙂