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Thread: Media Player for playing hard drive movies on a TV

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    Default Media Player for playing hard drive movies on a TV

    I did a search on this and was overloaded with info so I was wondering if anyone has been through the same process. I am getting to the point where I have too many DVD's and want to put them on a hard drive so I can access them from my Samsung UA 8000 TV for playback. I intend to use a Seagate 2TB expansion drive to load the movies. I guess I just plug the hard drive into the TV's usb port and then search the files. Would it be better to use a Media streaming device such as a WDTV to sort the files or is there a better WDTV equivalent out there?



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    you may find a lot of the new movie files, meaning .mkv x264 codec ect wont play form a hard drive on a tv, unsure about dvd files
    at worse you can buy a $30 media player off ebay just to plug the hdd in, that works
    or go bigger & buy a decent media player.

    eg

    i have a couple of astones as i like to put the hdd in them

    I HAVE A COUPLE O
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    WDTV has the advantage of playing just about any file you throw at it.
    Disadvantages is that it can be sluggish and need the odd reboot.
    The new Media Player from WDTV is just the old Live Streaming Media Player with new firmware that does not include Netflix.

    If all you want is something to stream your media files then the WDTV should fit the bill nicely

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    Thanks guys. Yes I saw some write ups on the WDTV and the drawbacks. I was wondering if that was the only choice to make life easy or were there any others just as good or better ? My technology challenged SHMBO has to be able to use it as well which is a challenge in itself ?? I thought there was a media player advertised on this forum a while ago ?
    Last edited by jex; 27-01-15 at 02:46 PM.

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    like i said, i use
    very user friendly
    remote response can be a bit slow sumtimes but otherwise
    usb\lan\wireless\ mines permanent on a usb cable of 20ft
    better email them 1st, should be 93$ not 9000 lol
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    Mmmm, this link is not working Philquad


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    no, he removed it
    none astones around
    maybe a noontec
    same stuff

    just want one that takes sata 3.5 inch drives
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    Thanks m8, I noticed the noontec does not display RAW files. Does your astone display RAW ? I have been using RAW option on my digital camera so it would have been a nice option.

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    Raw files are not really a single file format. Just install photoshop and get the constant updates of all the different Raw files from all the different camera manufacturers. I very much doubt any media player will process all the different types.

    For example from wiki:

    "Many raw file formats, including IIQ (), 3FR (), DCR, K25, KDC (), CR2 (), ERF (), MEF (), MOS (), NEF (), (), PEF (), RW2 () and ARW, SRF, SR2 (), are based on the TIFF file format. These files may deviate from the TIFF standard in a number of ways, including the use of a non-standard file header, the inclusion of additional image tags and the encryption of some of the tagged data.
    Panasonic's raw converter corrects geometric distortion and on such cameras as the , with necessary correction information presumably included in the raw.'s raw converter also offers corrections for geometrical distortion, , purple fringing and keystone correction emulating the shift capability of in software and specially designed hardware, on most raw files from over 100 different cameras. The same holds for Canon's DPP application, at least for all more expensive cameras like all SLRs and the G<n> series of compact cameras.
    , the format, is an extension of the TIFF 6.0 format and is compatible with , and uses various and/or , including , , , , , and .
    Last edited by mandc; 27-01-15 at 09:07 PM.

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    Thanks mandc, its a Canon so uses CR2. I will probably need to buy photoshop and use it to convert the files to JPG. I could not find any media players that play RAW and what wiki says probably explains why.

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    Photoshop elements is much cheaper and should do what you want

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    I have a setup as described in the OP except that I use a computer (permanently connected to the TV) and VLC to play anything that I want.

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    building a low powered cheap pc as you say is a way to go also
    he could rip his dvds str8 to the hdd, play it to a tv

    the new am1 sockets are 25 watt quad core
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    I am leaning towards the noontech option This one uses up to a 3tb hdd cartridge. Does this mean I can install a standard hdd disc in it ?
    .....Dolby & DTS surround sound options

    I would like to take it when we travel in the caravan so 12v power supply / portability is essential. The PC option would not be suitable for travel. WDTV looks like it supports the various theatre surround sound formats . Only a couple of the noontechs do this and they use external hdd.


    edit:-also found these Noontec options , both can be powered with a 12v 2A supply.

    ...all surround sound options.....uses external HDD only

    .....no surround sound options..........uses outlay HDD

    The bottom line with noontec, the only one with all the surround sound options uses an external hard drive . This makes it about $30 cheaper than the latest WDTV box. which would be the better option do you think ?

    Your help trying to sort this is appreciated.
    Last edited by jex; 28-01-15 at 05:20 PM.

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    i think they play fine from a external hdd
    i use the internal hdd jobs only as its stationary & i cbf moving usb devices around
    outlay hdd seems to mean external anyway? i may be wrong
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    rang umart and there tech support said "outlay hdd cartridge" means you can fit a normal sata HDD in the media player. No idea why they just don't say "internal HDD", maybe a chinglish translation ?? I like the idea of an internal HDD as it makes it compact for travel and is all powered from one 12v supply. At the moment the Noontec A311s ( $65) with a 3TB HDD ( $129) is top of the list.
    Last edited by jex; 28-01-15 at 05:53 PM.

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    thats a valid point
    mine only has a crappy old 250gig sata in it but it goes where i go
    i cant stand external 3.5 drives as they need power
    plus just buying hdd's is cheaper, $60 for a 1tb sata
    your biggest prob is ripping all the dvds lol
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    yeah, not having used one of these media players with internal HDD I am not sure how you load it ? I have a mate with 1TB of movies I want to copy ?

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    just usb them both to the same pc
    format the new hdd ( quick format fat32)
    then copy like hell
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    I bit the bullet an ordered a Noontec V7IIs + 3tb int HDD. Total $218. As I suspected, the A3 "Outlay Hard Disc cartridge " is chinglish for external HDD. The V7 & V7IIs both have the facility for mounting internal HDD.

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