Watching Movies From A Usb Thumb Drive

[Prasert]

I think it will be a matter of several months before some proper media centers will be on the market.

DVD players became so cheap over the years, that manufacturers came up with new options like DivX/XviD playback, in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition. Within months, DVD players were equipped with a USB port, supporting playback from sticks. And the newest DVD players are equipped with an ethernet port, allowing playback from the network.

But I haven't seen these last players in Thailand yet.

I think that in the end everyone will go for a simple media box. A movie downloaded from the internet is for sure way better quality than the DVDs one can buy in Thailand (and yes, both copies are illegal).

But until now I still haven't seen a decent box with LAN-in, TV-out, a remote control and same capabilities as DivX7 on a pc (except a modded XBox)

[LivinLOS]

I think it will be a matter of several months before some proper media centers will be on the market.

DVD players became so cheap over the years, that manufacturers came up with new options like DivX/XviD playback, in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition. Within months, DVD players were equipped with a USB port, supporting playback from sticks. And the newest DVD players are equipped with an ethernet port, allowing playback from the network.

But I haven't seen these last players in Thailand yet.

I think that in the end everyone will go for a simple media box. A movie downloaded from the internet is for sure way better quality than the DVDs one can buy in Thailand (and yes, both copies are illegal).

But until now I still haven't seen a decent box with LAN-in, TV-out, a remote control and same capabilities as DivX7 on a pc (except a modded XBox)

Popcorn media hour..

Another one with a name beginning with K ?? Will see if I can remember.

The western digital media box.

Theres a flood of little media boxes in the local tech market, most look like you can add a sata drive for storage and provide a basic menu system, not been and checked them with files yet but a mate said they did MPEG4 and h264, those were cheap too.

[angiud]

Does ayone know what the size limit is for an LG (sorry don't know the exact model) to accept a USB thumbdrive. I tried my external 180GB HDD and it wouldn't recognize that, popped the gf's 1 GB thumbdrive with a movie on it and that seemed to work fine.

I would just like to know if there is a GB size limit that DVD players can handle. The LG DVD player I bought just last week from PowerBuy at the Emporium, comes with USB, DivX etc... so it's fairly new.

If you want to connect an hard disk drive on your tv or dvd/divx player the HDD must be formatted in FAT or FAT32. I use my 160 Gb 2.5" HDD connected to my home Theatre system, works fine.

If your appliance is Divx certified, better. LG usually are

[Prasert]

Popcorn media hour..

Another one with a name beginning with K ?? Will see if I can remember.

The western digital media box.

Theres a flood of little media boxes in the local tech market, most look like you can add a sata drive for storage and provide a basic menu system, not been and checked them with files yet but a mate said they did MPEG4 and h264, those were cheap too.

The WD box has no LAN connection.

The flood of media players for sale in Pantip almost all require a harddisk and the few with LAN support are not capable of playing Divx, nor handle matroska containers.

D-Link tried to do the job with the DSM330, but has lots of limitations and requires a strong pc that handles the the realtime conversion of any non-Divx movie.

The Popcorn Hour A-100 box looks promising. I'm gonna look around if those are for sale in Thailand!

[LivinLOS]

Sorry your 100% right on the WD box.. forgot no LAN (and that would be a deal breaker for me too)...

I was told by a buddy that he saw a cheap chinese type no name media box, for 3500 baht (without HD you paid extra for the HD) with LAN that claimed to play hidef files.. If thats true its a bargain but he said the menu system looked kinda fugly.

For me the bog appeal of the vista media center and extenders route is how attractive it all is.. All the cover art, all the slick menus and animations, and all my sourced (hidef, dvd, music, and TV) all in one interface.

[jjp]

Bit off topic

Has anyone tried to use a VGA - audio/video lead from the computer to an oldish TV? (I use the VGA computer to TV lead to my flat screen and it works fine) I have an oldish TV upstairs with only audio/video inputs/outputs and i am wondering if this method would work before i buy the lead. The guy at the shop suggested i buy some kind of box for a few grand as a buffer between the com and TV but it be pointless if the VGA/ Audio/video lead would work regardless.

Thanks in advance

ps i use the Oz brand DVD player and it works fine using the USB drive.

[LivinLOS]

If the computer doesnt accept HiDef dont bother..

If it does accept HiDef but only has component inputs of the RGB consumer electronic type is IS possible but an extreme headache and unless your a geek I would again say dont bother..

TV's with VGA / DVI / HDMI are cheaper then the hassle factor these days.

[MartinEMS]

If you want to connect an hard disk drive on your tv or dvd/divx player the HDD must be formatted in FAT or FAT32. I use my 160 Gb 2.5" HDD connected to my home Theatre system, works fine.

If your appliance is Divx certified, better. LG usually are

Firstly, yes, it is DivX certified. I was aware of the FAT32 issue and used partition magic to make it FAT32 as Windows format cannot format over a certain size for FAT32.

Plugged in my FAT32 180GB with 1 movie loaded onto it into the USB port on the LG DVD player and nothing.

[Naam]

Can anyone recommend a dvd player that will play DIVX movies with subtitles such as .srt.

Or alternatively a program that could quickly hard code the subtitles onto the movie

Cheers

JAF

Any DVD player which handles DIVX is able to process .srt subtitles. Just dump em in the same directory as the DIVX movie ....

I have a Sony DVP-NS708HP (around 4,000 baht). Very good player, although nowadays I hardly use it as I play all myDIVX movies straight from my harddisk to my HD TV.

Sorry, thats not true. I have a Fantazia model from Tesco Lotus which is perfectly capable of playing DIVX but will not play the subtitles. I have tried all combinations of different subtitles and nothing has worked so far...........

BTW for those who complain of the picture stuttering, have you tried pausing your movie for a second and the playing it again.......seems to work for me

JAF

same problem here. solution a second el Cheapo player. sometimes no.1 and sometimes no. 2 has problems with subtitles or zoom not working. with brand players like Philips, Sony and others endless problems not only with USB but also with DVDs. rule over the thumb: the more expensive the player the more limitations. never experienced stuttering though

[Digitalbanana]

rule over the thumb: the more expensive the player the more limitations. never experienced stuttering though

I was thinking same, so ending up passing on the brand name DVD players with USB and bought a WD-TV media player instead mentioned earlier. Works on all torrents I've had to date with all subtitles I have tried and no movie stutter off a USB hard disc, but some off USB stick if trying to jump files too fast.

[ihightower]

my only problem is replacing the ELZE remote controls as no one seems to store spares. I have kids who break them every other month!

Have you tried Amorn 3/F in Old Siam Plaza, Bangkok. They sell spare as well as repair old ones.

I am planning to buy an ELZE player. So, do you recommend it highly?

[ThaiLife]

ihightower, to jump in , I forgot to do an update ...

I eventually bought a cheap Mitsucrapo 800 Bhat DVD player that has a USB socket on the front, Ive been just directly moving the avi Movie file from my computer HDD to a USB thumb drive, this works for most of the time, although now more and more the movie just freezes, then some times re starts again, on its own

Does any one know if I can do some thing to the movie avi file, in any way before I transfer it to a USB thumb drive , to stop the freezing ..?

[filingaccount]

In my opinion the only way to play back movies that is not on a physical media is by building a Home Theatre PC (HTPC).

It can be done fairly cheap, gives you enormous storage capabilities and flexibility, with the added benefit of being a full fledged computer allowing you to download content directly and even automatically using RSS.

I would suggest a dual CPU system (eg. Core2Duo, AMD dual or triple core), an all-in-one mainboard (including vga) 2 GB RAM and at least a 1 TB HDD.

This can probably be bought for around 8000 baht or so, depending on CPU chosen.

Some will say it's too pricey too do. (not if you upgrade or use your current PC/Laptop)

Other will say it's complicated (it's not)

Others will be happy with the inconveniences and time wasted using other methods. (fine)

I'm just saying the best alternative is an HTPC.

Edit: I'm happy to assist anyone who is interested in building an HTPC. Just PM me. No, this is not a commercial offer. I'll settle for a cup of coffee.

Edited June 13, 2009 by filingaccount

[nikster]

I am looking for such a device too, ideally a combination of the WD TV and the LaCie LaCinema

http://gizmodo.com/5277622/lacies-lacinema...play-and-record

The WD TV plays all formats you want including MKV and H.264. I just downloaded a show in MKV format and the quality is just fantastic, that's definitely the future.

The LaCie is networked and has a built-in hard drive which makes it more convenient. I'd like a cheapo 3.5" HD install option rather than connect an external one , but mainly the network would be much more convenient for transferring movies. I don't care about streaming too - seems pointless to me, way too much hardware involved when you could just copy the file.

I still might go for the WD TV... it's expensive because it can do all the HD formats, which is pretty rare.

The no-name hard disk based solutions from Korea all had in common a problematic user interface, and most of them didn't play H264 or MKV. AVI only. Oh yeah I have a DVD player with USB too, it's cheap and easy, but honestly in terms of usability total garbage. It works, but just only barely. And it dies if the bitrate gets too high (stutter).

A real PC seems too loud and too much hassle - if I can get a pre-built complete box with linux media center on it let me know where

I was also looking at Apple TV- it's relatively good, does H264, but locked down, e.g. need to hack it, and pretty expensive in Thailand, over $400.

Edited June 13, 2009 by nikster

[ihightower]

The above posts are a little old now... FEB2009. So let's have the latest news.

I am in Bangkok.

Can someone recommend a GOOD CHEAP DVD Player that will play any DVD movie you throw at it and also with USB Flash Drive Input to play xvid, avi files, etc. downloaded from the internet.

Cheap in the sense <1500THB. People... please reply only if you have actually bought the player and had experience with it in very recent times (bought with in the past 2 months). Thanks.

I can't find any ELZE players around in BIG C. Where do you guys bought it? Big C, Tesco Lotus, Carrefour, Makro... ??

[basjke]

I would like to bring the discussion one step further.

Nowadays the plasma and lcd screens have a usb port which accepts usb sticks.Does that mean that you don't need a dvd player anymore to watch movies?

[pgrin]

In an old post I recommended loading a movie onto a thumb drive and bring it with you when you shop for a DVD player. In every case Big C, Lotus, Power Buy and Carre Foure the store people were happy to hook up the DVD player to a display for a test. It takes five minutes and removes all of the guess work.

P

[angiud]

I would like to bring the discussion one step further.

Nowadays the plasma and lcd screens have a usb port which accepts usb sticks.Does that mean that you don't need a dvd player anymore to watch movies?

Yeas, I have an LG 32" Scarlet with USB2 port. I use my thumb drive and I can play most of codecs , actually very useful and you play, pause, FF and rewind from the tv remote.

[ihightower]

I would like to bring the discussion one step further.

Nowadays the plasma and lcd screens have a usb port which accepts usb sticks.Does that mean that you don't need a dvd player anymore to watch movies?

Yeas, I have an LG 32" Scarlet with USB2 port. I use my thumb drive and I can play most of codecs , actually very useful and you play, pause, FF and rewind from the tv remote.

1) Any such TV with USB of a 21" variety. I can't have a BIG TV due to size limitations. only 21" or less.

2) Does it play xvid, divx, avi, mpeg2, mpeg3 and what else...

3) And, also is there any TV out there that can hook up to Wifi and be used as an external monitor for your PC/Laptop. I mean without any wires. How about sound from PC.. can it be listened on TV too? or any other wireless technology out there that can do this. someone pls explain.

Edited July 23, 2009 by ihightower

[weary]

Your reply is completely on topic, thanks for highlighting this product, I too would be interested in feedback from experienced users... looks more interesting than the WD product.

I own a Popcorn Hour A-100, which was the first NMT (Networked Media Tank), a reference platform for media players based on the Full HD capable SMP8635 chipset from Sigma designs. The company behind the trademark NMT is Syabas. Popcorn Hour is a 'doing business as' name of Syabas.

A number of other manufacturers have bought the rights from Syabas to manufacture players based on the same reference design, so there are now many NMTs in the market. Apart from Popcorn Hour, the most successful NMT manufacturers are eGreat, HDX and Kaiboer.

The NMTs are extremely versatile devices.

They are the strongest in terms of movie playback. Similarly to DivX capable DVD players, they can play back most XviD and DivX videos in AVI containers. They also support playback of 1080p BluRay files in .m2ts format, as well as BluRay rips (within DXVA specs) in MKV containers. Full HD looks absolutely stunning.

They also support playback of backed up DVD structures - these DVD structures in either .ISO format, or as VIDEO_TS folders, will be played back as if they were physical discs in a DVD player, including menus. In other words, you can back up your entire DVD collection to hard disk.

If you have an amplifier that can decode DTS sound (preferably not a home theatre in a box type of thing as many of them will not support DTS from external devices, only from the bundled DVD player), you will get digital 5.1 channel surround sound.

They also support playback of the most commonly used music formats - mp3, m4a, ogg, flac and dts in .wav files. You will be able to listen to your digital music collection without a problem, but do not expect the music app in the NMTs to be as versatile as a software player in your computer (for example WinAmp). For example, you can not create playlists within the player itself with the remote control, you need to prepare them beforehand on your computer. Also, you can not browse the menus in the player while music is playing, you need to stop the music first.

They also support digital photo viewing. Like the music player, the photo feature is acceptable but not fantastic. The slideshow options in a computer are generally better. Still - it works.

The players will play back your media either from:

- Internal hard disk

- USB connected external hard disk

- Over a wired LAN network from compatible devices (including computers). You can use SMB, NFS or HTTP for streaming.

- Over wireless network if you buy a USB adapter or create a wireless bridge solution. With a wireless USB adapter, it will not play full HD movies (not enough bandwidth), for that you need a wireless bridge solution.

They also have Internet connection capabilities. (Obviously the speed of your Internet connection matters here. If you can not normally watch YouTube without buffering on your computer, you won't get better results with an NMT.) But for people with fast and reliable Internet a wealth of media is available.

They also have an in-built Bit Torrent client and a Usenet client for downloads. The upside of this is that they only consume about 15 W of power - not a bad power saving compared to leaving your computer always on.

If you install free third party applications developed by users, and spend some time organizing your media, you can make jukebox type menus with cover art for your music, movies and TV series, like this:

At the moment, the cheapest NMT is eGreat M34A at 145 USD excluding shipping, can be ordered online [ see http://www.egreathd.com/index.php?option=c...3&Itemid=65 for buying info, and http://www.avforums.com/forums/streamers-n...deo-review.html for user reviews].

eGreat M34A

The eGreat M34A does not support an internal hard disk, so to use BitTorrent or Usenet, you will need to connect an external hard disk via eSata cable.

Popcorn Hour A-110

If you want to stick with the original, you should go for Popcorn Hour A-110 at 215 USD (don't buy the wireless dongle): http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/ind...noption=catalog

If you have more questions about NMTs, ask away or PM me.

/weary

Edited July 25, 2009 by weary

[ThaiLife]

Just spotted this for sale here in Thailand ... ZyXEL DMA-1000 Digital Media Player , for 8,539 Baht (VAT included) , and I am trying to work out

if this can be used to watch movies ive downloaded to my PC / Mac , on my home TV set . any Ideas ...?

ZyXEL DMA-1000

Complete Solution for Digital Homes

- Streaming of High Definition Video (HD), Standard Definition Video (SD) and Audio Data with HDMI Connection to Your TV system

- Playback and Digital Music Collection on Your Stereo System

- Browsing and Presenting a Slideshow of Digital Pictures on TV with Background Music

- Graphical On-Screen Menu, IR Remote Control

- USB 2.0 for the Connection of Portable Memory Devices

Entertainment in Living Room Comfort

With DMA-1000, files can be transferred from the home computer to TV or stereo via LAN or USB ports. ZyXEL DMA-1000 allows users to make computer files available for big-screen TVs or home stereo systems, instead of small computer monitors, to display photos or videos. The DMA-1000 lets users to truly take advantage of home entertainment system, and to share video, photos or music with friends and family in living room comfort.

Stunning Quality from Digital-to-Digital Transfer

With ZyXEL DMA-1000's support to HDMI and SPDIF direct digital-to-digital transfer, output quality deterioration during transmission is no longer an issue. High-Definition Multi-media Interface (HDMI) allows pure digital connection for both video and audio signals on a single cable, while Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (SPDIF) transmits digital audio from DMA-1000 to stereo system and delivers high-quality surround sound playback. With the new technologies, DMA-1000 can deliver stunning viewing and listening quality unmatched by others.

Hassle-Free Digital Home Setup

ZyXEL DMA-1000 follows Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) guidelines to access PC contents with Microsoft® Windows Media Connect™ control for a hassle-free setup process. DLNA allows you to easily set up a home entertainment system with devices from different manufacturers, and Windows Media Connect™ supports interoperability standards such as UPnP, HTTP and DLNA. Simply share folders with digital contents, activate DMA-1000 through Microsoft® Windows Media Connect™ on the PC, and digital enjoyment is there. Setting up a home entertainment system can't be any easier.

Versatile Digital Content Support

ZyXEL DMA-1000 supports a wide range of music, photo and video formats such as WMV9; therefore digital contents from the PC can be enjoyed or accessed in the living room without previous conversion. Everyone can enjoy 1080i video on a high-definition TV, stay in the couch to listen to the Hi-Fi stereo playing WAV or WMA9 music; or simply play a slide show of JPEG, BMP or GIF pictures.

What do you guy's think

TL

[PastEgo]

umm do you want us to hold your hand and take you to the shops as well

come on get real you copy and pasted that text and did not read it

[shakes his head in resignation]

PastEgo

[nikster]

Just got a WD TV - works fine but costs 5500 BHT here at Hardware House International.

Good: Menus; Can use hacked firmware that adds lots of features, plays all formats including H.264 and mkv and has 1080p output.

Bad: HDMI port is loose (gonna warranty return this I think). No internal storage. No NAS (though the hacked firmware allow playing from NAS). Movie preview not working.

I just saw several new devices released in the USA, one Digital Cowboy one looks very nice. I have no idea how the WD TV compares to the popcorn thingy... I am sure there's tons of info on Google on that.

[tlcwaterfall]

Just got a WD TV - works fine but costs 5500 BHT here at Hardware House International.

Good: Menus; Can use hacked firmware that adds lots of features, plays all formats including H.264 and mkv and has 1080p output.

Bad: HDMI port is loose (gonna warranty return this I think). No internal storage. No NAS (though the hacked firmware allow playing from NAS). Movie preview not working.

I just saw several new devices released in the USA, one Digital Cowboy one looks very nice. I have no idea how the WD TV compares to the popcorn thingy... I am sure there's tons of info on Google on that.

Would this help? I purchased this media player/recorder at Tukcom for 6000 Baht and then put a 1.5 tb harddrive into it. Total cost of 11000 Baht and it works very well. Expensive but in my opinion well worth the cost. Easy to transfer files from laptop and you can record tv if you want.

I have all my movies and tv shows on it as well as all of my music. You can put photos on it as well so it really is a great device. Very easy to set up too.

Purchased at MCS Thailand (third floor I think) in Pattaya and owners name is Max and he can speak good english.

Edited August 22, 2009 by tlcwaterfall

[ThaiLife]

Just got a WD TV - works fine but costs 5500 BHT here at Hardware House International.

Good: Menus; Can use hacked firmware that adds lots of features, plays all formats including H.264 and mkv and has 1080p output.

Bad: HDMI port is loose (gonna warranty return this I think). No internal storage. No NAS (though the hacked firmware allow playing from NAS). Movie preview not working.

I just saw several new devices released in the USA, one Digital Cowboy one looks very nice. I have no idea how the WD TV compares to the popcorn thingy... I am sure there's tons of info on Google on that.

Would this help? I purchased this media player/recorder at Tukcom for 6000 Baht and then put a 1.5 tb harddrive into it. Total cost of 11000 Baht and it works very well. Expensive but in my opinion well worth the cost. Easy to transfer files from laptop and you can record tv if you want.

I have all my movies and tv shows on it as well as all of my music. You can put photos on it as well so it really is a great device. Very easy to set up too.

Purchased at MCS Thailand (third floor I think) in Pattaya and owners name is Max and he can speak good english.

Hi, looks interesting , any chance of a few more details about the unit Please

TL

[basjke]

Looked at the Egreat m34a in pantip today.Asking price was 7000 baht but went down to 6700 at first request.Seems good value for money.Has almost all the same featurers as Dvico media center,also same chipset,but is half price.

[ThaiLife]

Looked at the Egreat m34a in pantip today.Asking price was 7000 baht but went down to 6700 at first request.Seems good value for money.Has almost all the same featurers as Dvico media center,also same chipset,but is half price.

Is this The One

Forum Review - LINK

TL

[bedbugy]

i bought a lg tv 26 inch it had a usb point just put in any memory stick kingston up to 10 g

plays movie music mp3 and pics

[Jingthing]

I have a related question.

With these pricier, codec supporting, recent DVD players that have USB slots and support playing downloaded .avi files (with subtitle files), will they play these files if they are simply directly burned onto a CD-R disk (with no conversion program)? These files typically show up with VLC media file icons on the computer but they are .avi files.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Jingthing

[Beacher]

I recently bought a DVD player at Tesco that has a USB port. It cost 650 baht (Alpha brand, I believe) and plays the vast majority of files AVI, Mpeg4, etc...but not WMV.

Oh ya, it also plays DVD's -- heck of a deal.