Many recent TV sets will not decode MPEG4

摘要

On page 11 in the Mailbag pages of the January 2016 issue, Barrie Smith pointed out some issues with the introduction of MPEG4 that will lead to a significant cost for those of us still using older TVs and STBs that don't decode it. Of my four sets, only two will decode it; a 32-inch Sanyo and my PlayStation 3 and PlayTV tuner. A 42-inch AWA set bought in 2013 will not decode MPEG4; although it indicates h.264, it also reports "Invalid Format". On investigation, this TV appears to be a 2009 model which was still on store shelves four years on. Saying that recent model TVs will decode MPEG 4 is therefore fraught as some retailers are still selling older models.