Transfer Samsung TV Recordings to Computer

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of transferring recorded TV programs from a Samsung TV to a computer, focusing on issues related to file systems, encryption, and Digital Rights Management (DRM). Participants explore technical aspects of file compatibility and potential solutions for accessing the recordings.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the process of transferring recorded TV programs saved on a USB disk to a computer.
  • Another participant asserts that Windows may not be able to read the file system of the USB drive and mentions potential issues with encryption and DRM.
  • Some participants suggest that Samsung smart TVs may format USB drives to ext2 or ext4, complicating access on Windows, while others note that many USB drives are typically formatted to FAT32, which should be readable.
  • A participant recalls that their TV required formatting the USB drive before recording, leading to unreadable content on Windows, and speculates on the reasons behind this choice.
  • One participant proposes using a live Linux distribution to access the USB drive, suggesting the installation of a package for xfs support.
  • Another participant reiterates that even if recordings could be copied to a PC, they would remain unreadable due to encryption and DRM protections.
  • A later reply humorously acknowledges a lack of prior research on DRM issues before contributing to the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the file system used by Samsung TVs and the implications for transferring recordings. There is no consensus on the best approach to access the recordings or the effectiveness of potential solutions.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various file systems (ext2, ext4, FAT32, XFS) and their compatibility with Windows, as well as the implications of encryption and DRM on accessing recorded content. There are unresolved questions about the specific file system used by the TV and the effectiveness of suggested solutions.

Sobi
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How can I send recorded tv programs which have been saved into a usb disk to computer
 
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I don't think you can. Windows can't read the file system. If you find software that can read the file system, you can copy the file to the computer, but you would still have to deal with encryption, DRM, and possibly other problems. (I knew about the file system issue, so I googled and found the claims about encryption and DRM here).
 
Samsung smart TVs are running android, it's possible that the file system on the USB flash drive may have been changed to ext2 or ext4 in which case, you will have issues reading it on windows.
But most USB sticks are formatted to FAT32 out of the box. They should be readable in windows. I cannot see a good reason why the TV would format a USB flash drive to ext.

What do you see when you plug the USB drive into your computer?
 
Routaran said:
Samsung smart TVs are running android, it's possible that the file system on the USB flash drive may have been changed to ext2 or ext4 in which case, you will have issues reading it on windows.
But most USB sticks are formatted to FAT32 out of the box. They should be readable in windows. I cannot see a good reason why the TV would format a USB flash drive to ext.

What do you see when you plug the USB drive into your computer?
According to Wikipedia, they're running a Linux distribution called Tizen OS. And according to the article I linked to in my previous post, the file system is XFS.

It's been a couple of years since I last tried recording to a USB drive, but I think the TV demanded that I let it format the drive before I record anything on it. Windows couldn't read anything off the drive after I had made the recording. I don't remember what happened when I plugged the USB drive into my computer, but I would guess that Windows just asked if I wanted to format the drive, since it couldn't read anything off it.

I don't know why they have chosen to do this. Maybe to make it more difficult to convert TV shows to a nice format and upload them to a torrent site?

The TV has no problems reading a drive formatted for FAT32 or NTFS.
 
Then I guess it's time to download a live Linux distro, boot that up and see if there's anything on the flash drive.
Probably have to install a package for xfs support and then try to see if there's anything on that drive.
 
Routaran said:
Then I guess it's time to download a live Linux distro, boot that up and see if there's anything on the flash drive.
Probably have to install a package for xfs support and then try to see if there's anything on that drive.
From the article I linked to in my first post:

Windows can read the contents of the drive with suitable software, but that wouldn’t solve the problem. Even if you could copy the recordings to your PC they would still be unreadable as they are encrypted. Whilst decryption is theoretically possible, they are further protected for Digital Rights Management (DRM) purposes.​
 
Should have probably read that DRM link before posting lol
 

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