I recently bought a Samsung TV and I have a lot of .mkv files saved on an external drive that I would like to play on the TV. Plugging the drive directly into the TV lets me play most of those files but certain .mkv with the DTS audio codec aren't supported. Also I can't access subtitle settings either. Would an Android TV be the solution to my problem? I just want to keep the external drive connected and just leave it there and have access to my content whenever.
I use a mii box s with VLC to watch my movies. All my mkvs are on a NAS, everything run smoothly.
Does your Samsung TV have a Plex app?
You could run a Plex server on your computer and stream to your TV.
Edit:
This option option could cost you nothing and index your media.
This is a common question for owners of modern Samsung TVs ( 7 series + newest models ). You can read the reasons for this on the off site in the comments. https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/TV/New-Series-7-Does-not-support-vidoes/td-p/704814
So, I would advise you to buy tv box without such problems and easy to set up - MAG 425a this set-top will give you much more functions than the built-in Tizen.
I have bought an Android TV a year ago. If you want android, buy a separate box. Android TV in TV's lack the power and are sluggish. Or hook up a Windows or Mac desktop if you want more.
You might get by with a Fire TV stick 4K. A bit trickier to install apps, but not all that much.
MI Box S would be if you just want to play movies and stuff but if you want to games also you should get a shield
Mi Box S with VLC installed will do the job.
"Android TV" would mean a google and Netflix certified device running Android TV OS of which there are only a few out there. An Android box would run the standard mobile Android OS. The main difference is Android TV will run Netflix at 4K and have the limited Play Store while others will not run Netflix 4k but have the full Play store (however you can pretty much get any Play store app via Aptoide or other unofficial sources) . I opted for Mibox S rather than the significantly more expensive Nvidia Shield. Both will run MKVs and other formats as you can get MX player or VLC on the Android TV store.
Yes, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that VLC for Android can play anything.