How to get your Bravia TV to read your USB

A bit geeky but after too many hours deciphering errors, I wanted to share this for another poor soul before they get discouraged.

Purpose:

You have a Sony Bravia TV / Device and want to plug in a USB drive to show pictures, videos, etc…

Problem:

Sony TV and Sony DVD player don’t see any of your files. You either get nothing presented on screen, or an unknown directory

Solution:

Your USB Device / Drive is formatted with something other than MBR. Master Boot Record. Short and simple you need to format your device to have 1 partition and using MBR. Apple likes to use GUID, so if you see that, you will not succeed.

Next Steps:

Use your Google kung fu and reformat that USB device as an MBR fat32 (preferred by all of these devices it seems). I used an old Mac, but literally whatever you are comfortable with using will do the trick — DON’T pay for anything to do it. If you can plug a USB in your computer, you have all the resources you need.

Good luck and happy viewing.