USB HDD and TV

[Thip]

I've got tons of movies stored on an external USB HDD. My new TV--and how I
wish I'd read reviews before I bought it!--has one USB port that is
"maintenance only." It appears I can't go USB to HDMI. Am I stuck? Does
anyone know a simple, relatively inexpensive solution?

 

[Paul]

I've got tons of movies stored on an external USB HDD. My new TV--and
how I wish I'd read reviews before I bought it!--has one USB port that
is "maintenance only." It appears I can't go USB to HDMI. Am I stuck?
Does anyone know a simple, relatively inexpensive solution?

And without the make and model of TV set, how can we begin to
guess at an answer ?

Either you need an external media box... or you don't.

This is a cheap media player. Of unknown parentage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815260038

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/15-260-038-Z04?$S640$

That one has a USB connector.

Many of these now, have wireless and are intended for
streaming, and aren't quite the same concept. With a streaming
setup, you'll need to keep a computer running somewhere, to
stream data to it. A media player with a USB connector, you
expect it to play the files locally.

If you have an external 3.5" hard drive, it would have its own
power source (wall adapter). That's an ideal situation. External
2.5" drives tend to be "bus powered", and then the question would
be, whether the media player has enough power for the drive or not.
Just something to watch for.

In terms of electronics, these things are in many ways
similar to a Raspberry PI. A SOC (System on a Chip) is a
computing device, with its own GPU for driving an HDMI or
VGA connector. And the processor in the SOC is decoding
movies that it reads off the hard drive. That's how
a media player can be relatively cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_pi

Paul

 

[Thip]

And without the make and model of TV set, how can we begin to
guess at an answer ?

Either you need an external media box... or you don't.

This is a cheap media player. Of unknown parentage.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815260038

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/15-260-038-Z04?$S640$

That one has a USB connector.

Many of these now, have wireless and are intended for
streaming, and aren't quite the same concept. With a streaming
setup, you'll need to keep a computer running somewhere, to
stream data to it. A media player with a USB connector, you
expect it to play the files locally.

If you have an external 3.5" hard drive, it would have its own
power source (wall adapter). That's an ideal situation. External
2.5" drives tend to be "bus powered", and then the question would
be, whether the media player has enough power for the drive or not.
Just something to watch for.

In terms of electronics, these things are in many ways
similar to a Raspberry PI. A SOC (System on a Chip) is a
computing device, with its own GPU for driving an HDMI or
VGA connector. And the processor in the SOC is decoding
movies that it reads off the hard drive. That's how
a media player can be relatively cheap.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_pi

Paul

I don't see how it matters, but it's a Seiki SE47FY19. In the ad, it said
"USB port," which I wanted because the TV that quit (in the middle of the
Super Bowl, no less) had a USB port that made it really handy to watch
movies. The USB port on this TV is "maintenance only," something I found
out too late. I don't care about updating the firmware; I'm just pissed
because I feel like I was mislead.

So, to get back to the original question, is there a relatively inexpensive
fix?

 

[Paul]

I don't see how it matters, but it's a Seiki SE47FY19. In the ad, it
said "USB port," which I wanted because the TV that quit (in the middle
of the Super Bowl, no less) had a USB port that made it really handy to
watch movies. The USB port on this TV is "maintenance only," something
I found out too late. I don't care about updating the firmware; I'm
just pissed because I feel like I was mislead.

So, to get back to the original question, is there a relatively
inexpensive fix?

A TV set with some media capabilities, you might see DLNA
in the advertising copy. That would be for networked TV sets,
suited to streaming, or even direct NetFlix operation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dlna

A TV which has mainly video input connectors on the back,
is more likely to be just a TV. The maintenance port is
for firmware updates, the firmware that runs the OSD (On
Screen Display, for channel changing, volume control etc).

It looks like SE47FY19 is "just a TV set" and nothing more.
No hint of any movie decoding capability built in.
No mention of Wifi, no network port.

http://www.seiki.com/products/tv/SE47FY19-detail.php

That KWorld box is the cheapest solution I can offer.

*******

This is irrelevant to your requirement, but this is the
current trend. This stick uses Wifi to connect to your
network, and converts streams on the network, into
an HDMI video signal.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3BF14J3477

It can draw power from the USB maintenance port, to run the
processor inside the dongle.

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/15-597-001-16.jpg

But with your hard drive as a file source, you'll need
the older concept like the KWorld box. Western Digital
made media players too, but the newer models are
shifting away from a focus on hard drives. And the
remaining ones you can find on Ebay or Amazon, are
too expensive.

Windows Media Player can stream movies to a TV set with
Wifi or an Ethernet connection, where the TV makes some
mention of DLNA. But again, nothing at all to do with
your setup.

When you buy your next TV, you don't have to spend a lot
more money, to get one that can decode videos. Look for
Wifi and/or an Ethernet connector, and then you'll be
less disappointed if the USB port is the "maintenance
port scam".

Paul

 

[Thip]

When you buy your next TV, you don't have to spend a lot
more money, to get one that can decode videos. Look for
Wifi and/or an Ethernet connector, and then you'll be
less disappointed if the USB port is the "maintenance
port scam".

Paul

Ok, thanks.

 

[reinhard.skarbal]

I've got tons of movies stored on an external USB HDD. My new TV--and how I
wish I'd read reviews before I bought it!--has one USB port that is
"maintenance only." It appears I can't go USB to HDMI. Am I stuck? Does
anyone know a simple, relatively inexpensive solution?

Hi

Try a mdia-player : >= 50 euro
http://www.chip.de/artikel/Testsieger-2011-Die-besten-Multimedia-Player-
im-Test_46689173.html

regards
Reinhard

 

[Thip]

Hi

Try a mdia-player : >= 50 euro
http://www.chip.de/artikel/Testsieger-2011-Die-besten-Multimedia-Player-
im-Test_46689173.html

regards
Reinhard

Thanks. I asked my nephew and he came up with an inexpensive blu-ray
player.