Box to play external disk mkvs on Samsung tv

[NewGuy]

Right now I’m playing them on an ancient MB Pro, using the VLC ios app. It can connect by USB-c and USB-2; I send the movies to the Samsung using IMDB, but only one at a time, haha.

 

I would like a Tukcom Pattaya Tai box to do the job. Do these boxes have a remote? Faint chance: do any run ios so I can continue using iPad ios VLC as my remote?

 

Which model would be good for me?  Thanks all.

[NextG]

Pray tell us how you can “send the movies to the Samsung using IMDB”?

Do you think the posters here know the models being sold at “Tukcom Pattaya Tai”?

 

Buy an Android box. Something like this will be fine for you: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/4k-android-9-amlogic-s905x3-hk1-1080p-1000m-5g-wifi-streaming-set-up-tvbox-i2488084979-s8775679950.html

[NewGuy]

Oops, I meant HDMI. But an IMDB connection would be the ultimate, haha.

 

Thanks for this first tip!  Am I in the right forum?

[NextG]

4 hours ago, NewGuy said:

Oops, I meant HDMI. But an IMDB connection would be the ultimate, haha.

 

Thanks for this first tip!  Am I in the right forum?

First tip? It’s all you need. 

They come with standard remote controls, but you can buy an ‘air mouse’ and/or Bluetooth keyboard to pair with it. Max. 400 baht per item. 
The box will play most formats natively. Most people will use KODI as opposed to VLC. 

I use it to stream my library that sits in the Cloud, in addition to playing media downloaded to a portable drive. 

[NewGuy]

I noticed, but perhaps my specs translation fell short that this model does not play external usb-2 and usb-3 disks. I went through a number of Lazada offerings - at least one had a maximum of 2T disks - not right for me. There was one model that worked with an iPhone but I can’t find it again. I’m not looking for Netflix etc - my wifi is too slow - the condo won’t let TOT upgrade the line.

[NextG]

59 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

I noticed, but perhaps my specs translation fell short that this model does not play external usb-2 and usb-3 disks. I went through a number of Lazada offerings - at least one had a maximum of 2T disks - not right for me. There was one model that worked with an iPhone but I can’t find it again. I’m not looking for Netflix etc - my wifi is too slow - the condo won’t let TOT upgrade the line.

Translation? It shows USB 3.0 clearly within the graphic.

The 2TB limitation is if you want to add storage to the box. But you are wanting to connect external storage from which to play media; a completely different proposition. That’s not an issue. 
 

With regard to streaming, it’s almost impossible that your connection is to slow for streaming. Even if you are limited to free condo WiFi, it is all too simple to rig up your own WiFi network from a data connection for a mobile phone, once you have ascertained which network is best at your location. 
 

You can stream 720p media using a 4Mbps connection and 1080p in a 10Mbps connection. Both accessible inexpensively via mobile data pack. Perhaps 200 baht per month or less for unlimited access. 

 

 

[Mutt Daeng]

1 hour ago, NextG said:

First tip? It’s all you need. 

They come with standard remote controls, but you can buy an ‘air mouse’ and/or Bluetooth keyboard to pair with it. Max. 400 baht per item. 
The box will play most formats natively. Most people will use KODI as opposed to VLC. 

I use it to stream my library that sits in the Cloud, in addition to playing media downloaded to a portable drive. 

Not trying to start an argument, but why would you think "most" people will use KODI as opposed to VLC? No-one I know uses Kodi, they all use VLC as their preferred media player. Just wondering.

[NewGuy]

But, does your suggestion support usb-2? Can I use 4 tb external disks? I do like VLC because I understand it

[Mutt Daeng]

4 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

But, does your suggestion support usb-2? Can I use 4 tb external disks? I do like VLC because I understand it

Who are you replying to? Best to use the "quote" button when replying to avoid confusion.

[matchar]

Most fairly recent Samsung TVs have USB ports to play files directly from your hard drive.

Annoyingly they don't support the DTS audio codec though since they were too stingy to pay for the license.

[NextG]

39 minutes ago, Mutt Daeng said:

Not trying to start an argument, but why would you think "most" people will use KODI as opposed to VLC? No-one I know uses Kodi, they all use VLC as their preferred media player. Just wondering.

Are you referring to Android boxes? I am. 

[NextG]

46 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

But, does your suggestion support usb-2? Can I use 4 tb external disks? I do like VLC because I understand it

Yes. VLC is great. You can probably install  it to the box. KODI is often installed as standard. 

Yes, you can access a 4TB HDD via an Android Box. 

[Mutt Daeng]

6 hours ago, NextG said:

Are you referring to Android boxes? I am. 

Any platform really.

[CharlieH]

Reported post and response removed.

[NewGuy]

How does one install VLC on an Android box? Lazada gives me nothing for “Android tv box Vlc”.

[giddyup]

On 12/29/2022 at 10:00 PM, Mutt Daeng said:

Not trying to start an argument, but why would you think "most" people will use KODI as opposed to VLC? No-one I know uses Kodi, they all use VLC as their preferred media player. Just wondering.

I have Nova installed on my smart TV as the preferred media player. It works far better than VLC IMO.

[Jai Dee]

5 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

How does one install VLC on an Android box? Lazada gives me nothing for “Android tv box Vlc”.

You can either download it from the Google Play Store on your Android box, or if you are using a PC or laptop you can download it from here, put the apk file on a USB stick or drive, and install it on your Android box from the stick/drive. 

 

[NewGuy]

I just ordered this from Lazada:

กล่องแอนดรอยรุ่นใหม่สเปคแรงมาก- HK1 RBOX X4 Wifi 2.4/5G Bluetooth 4.1 CPU Amlogic S905X4 Android 11 รองรับLAN1,000M Smart tv Boxandroid TV box

 

Why? The ad had a 20 minute review (boring) but ended with ‘for $50 this is a great little box’, and the specs looked okay.  Cheers.

[Jai Dee]

30 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

I just ordered this from Lazada:

กล่องแอนดรอยรุ่นใหม่สเปคแรงมาก- HK1 RBOX X4 Wifi 2.4/5G Bluetooth 4.1 CPU Amlogic S905X4 Android 11 รองรับLAN1,000M Smart tv Boxandroid TV box

That should suit your needs perfectly for playing your mkv library.

 

I see that it has both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports.

 

I'm not sure about Android 11, but previous versions had an external USB drive capacity limit of 2TB... not sure why.

 

I have connected a 4TB USB drive to my Android box, and it worked OK (using both Kodi and VLC to access the media files), but the disk was by no means full.

As soon as I went over 2TB of data on the drive, the Android box refused to recognize it.

 

Just something to keep in mind... 

 

[Mutt Daeng]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

I have Nova installed on my smart TV as the preferred media player. It works far better than VLC IMO.

Thanks for the info re Nova. Haven't come across it before. Will take a look at it.

[topt]

4 hours ago, NewGuy said:

I just ordered this from Lazada:

กล่องแอนดรอยรุ่นใหม่สเปคแรงมาก- HK1 RBOX X4 Wifi 2.4/5G Bluetooth 4.1 CPU Amlogic S905X4 Android 11 รองรับLAN1,000M Smart tv Boxandroid TV box

 

Why? The ad had a 20 minute review (boring) but ended with ‘for $50 this is a great little box’, and the specs looked okay.  Cheers.

I and a couple of friends have this box. One of them has issues with the lan port but the wi fi works fine.

My box no issues on the lan.

However in reviews on one site I read some posters thought they had 1000Mbps lan connection but in fact was only 100 so worth checking when you get it.........

[BigStar]

On 12/29/2022 at 10:00 PM, Mutt Daeng said:

Not trying to start an argument, but why would you think "most" people will use KODI as opposed to VLC? No-one I know uses Kodi, they all use VLC as their preferred media player. Just wondering.

Kodi has more features and options than VLC and is far more configurable. It can be extended via a vast number of addons. The media library is vastly superior to VLC's. It also has a great bookmarking function for resuming videos at various points. VLC is comparatively primitive, but it does use fewer resources. The learning curve is very short ????

[NextG]

On 12/30/2022 at 4:41 AM, Mutt Daeng said:

Any platform really.

We are discussing Android boxes here. I don’t know anyone who uses VLC on an Android box and by your reply, it seems neither do you. 
I use VLC everywhere else. 

[surat04]

21 minutes ago, NextG said:

We are discussing Android boxes here. I don’t know anyone who uses VLC on an Android box and by your reply, it seems neither do you. 
I use VLC everywhere else. 

I use VLC as the default player for my IPTV service. It is recommended by some service providers. My box is the Beelink GT King Pro.

[NextG]

2 hours ago, surat04 said:

I use VLC as the default player for my IPTV service. It is recommended by some service providers. My box is the Beelink GT King Pro.

It works. 

[Jai Dee]

On 1/3/2023 at 3:11 PM, NewGuy said:

I just ordered this from Lazada:

กล่องแอนดรอยรุ่นใหม่สเปคแรงมาก- HK1 RBOX X4 Wifi 2.4/5G Bluetooth 4.1 CPU Amlogic S905X4 Android 11 รองรับLAN1,000M Smart tv Boxandroid TV box

 

Why? The ad had a 20 minute review (boring) but ended with ‘for $50 this is a great little box’, and the specs looked okay.  Cheers.

So how is the box @NewGuy?

Does it perform well?

It it doing everything you want it to do?

Any problems?

 

Some feedback would be useful... 

[NewGuy]

Hi Jai Dee. My MBP has finally died, last throues at least.

 

i plugged in the box, hdmi to tv, usb-2 to external drive, batteries in remote, and … I’m stuck.

 

The connection on the tv identifies as HDMI 3, unknown. No signal. 

 

in the installation guide it has 1) connect to your tv, 2) connect to the internet, 3) enjoy. Pretty terse.

 

How do I connect to the internet? On the tv it says run an ethernet cable to the router which is far away. Will I have to keep that cable plugged in? Do I connect it to the new box or to the tv?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

[NewGuy]

Some changes. I moved the android box power plug to a different power source. First time some lights are on the box.

 

A menu came up on the tv. Bluetooth logo, broom logo, time and date amd these logos: Play Store, YouTube, File, Apps, Kdmc, Firefox, Wallpaper, Settings. At the bottom of the screen, a green A, Prime Video, red play button, white Plus sign.

 

How do I navigate the screen? My new remote has batteries. On its back there are instructions re: using blue buttons. The front of the remote doesn’t have blue buttons. I can turn on a red light but can’t control the screen.

[NewGuy]

I think I’ll play around some more. I can play movies, even though I don’t understand the controls. I am connected, bluetoothwise, to my ipad and will look for an app.

 

thanks.

[Jai Dee]

51 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

How do I navigate the screen? My new remote has batteries. On its back there are instructions re: using blue buttons. The front of the remote doesn’t have blue buttons. I can turn on a red light but can’t control the screen.

Does the remote look like this?

 

 

If so, you navigate through the menu items using the arrow directional buttons in the middle of the remote then select by pressing the OK button.

 

No harm will be done playing around with the remote control buttons... always remember there is a Home key which should take you to the top menu level (usually looks like a little house), and a Go Back key (which looks like a Return key), so you can explore all your menu options to see what they do.

 

52 minutes ago, NewGuy said:

A menu came up on the tv. Bluetooth logo, broom logo, time and date amd these logos: Play Store, YouTube, File, Apps, Kdmc, Firefox, Wallpaper, Settings. At the bottom of the screen, a green A, Prime Video, red play button, white Plus sign.

KDMC is probably a fork of Kodi, which started off life as XBMC which was initially created as the Xbox Media Center from Microsoft.

It's been pre-loaded onto your box by the supplier, so may have some streaming sources already configured. 

 

I'd recommend to start playing around with something simple and familiar like YouTube first, and familiarize yourself with the functions of the remote control.

 

2 hours ago, NewGuy said:

How do I connect to the internet? On the tv it says run an ethernet cable to the router which is far away. Will I have to keep that cable plugged in? Do I connect it to the new box or to the tv?

To get the best possible streaming connectivity you should run a Cat 6  ethernet cable from the RJ45 port on your Android box to a spare RJ45 LAN port on your router.

 

Alternatively, you can connect the box to your wifi by using the Settings menu options, and connect to your wifi using the network name and password.

Streaming connections via wifi is sometimes a bit dodgy however, and you can experience signal loss due to packet loss.

A hard-wired (ethernet cable) connection is best for streaming.

 

I see that one of your menu options is the Google Play Store.

If you select that you can set up your google account so you can download and install apps like VLC (which you are already familiar with) so you can access your movies etc on an external USB drive.