I did not write this up, so a thanks goes to the original author of this... Ahmad Rafiq from HACKSlurp. I just thought it was very useful, and may be worth adding to this forum, so enjoy!
Do you have a large collection of movies and pictures stored in your external hard drive and you just can’t decide which stuff you want to move to your Android tablet’s 32GB SD card especially when you are traveling? You can actually stream data directly from your portable hard drive to your tablet essentially increasing the storage capacity of your tablet beyond SD card.
Here is how you can do it!
Step 1
You need to prepare your external HDD by formatting it to FAT32. If you have stuff in your hard drive, which is in NTFS state, you should move it temporarily to some other media while you prepare your hard drive.
This is perhaps the only downside to this procedure. But depending on your usage you can make this step worth your effort. This is just a one time only step so don’t be afraid to carry out the arduous task of moving your items from and to your HDD.
Step 2
Connect your portable HDD to your tablet.
Step 3
Make sure your USB switch state is set to ‘Host’. Get this free USB Mode Switcher app (requires ROOT access) if you don’t know how to do it.
Step 4
Switch to your file manager app and wait for it to detect your hard drive. It might take sometime for the app to detect your external drive during which time you should keep refreshing, but once it has detected, the streaming is flawless.
If you have followed the above steps properly you should now be able to watch your HD movies on the go!
The same procedure can also be applied to nearly any USB device like pocket drives etc. This can really come handy as you can transfer your documents from your pen drive to your tablet and edit them on the move!
I work full time, so I havent been able to test this on the sony S, but I plan to this coming weekend (tomorrow), I will add notes as to what I discover, after paying around with it a bit. I know it works on my Acer Iconia, lets keep our fingers crossed!
You say you need root access in order to do it successfully. I don't think anyone's made an exploit to obtain root access for the Tablet S yet. If I'm wrong, you better be sure to tell me how to obtain!! So many things I want to do once I get root!
Good luck though, i'm highly interested in this idea of external hard drives and thumb drives.
Yeah that root access part kinda threw me too. Im gonna try it this weeken, and will report back. I am also going to see what I can do to root this bad boy! I hope I can make something work.
Ok I've just hooked I'm my usb hard drive and so far i'm having mixed success.
Firstly the usb powered option did not work. The light on my HDD came on but i couldn't feel it spinning.
I attached a mains connections to it and it started to spin. A message popped up on the tablet saying "Recognising media" it asked if i wanted to open the Sony data transfer app that comes pre-installed. I declined and tried to view the files via a couple of different file managers but couldn't seem to find the HDD in either of them.
So i went to the Sony data transfer app and it recognised it fine. from there i can either stream from the HDD of transfer the files to the tablet. All the files tested were 720p TV & BD rips and they worked fine with MX Video player.
Sorry this so long winded but hope it helps.
I did all this without going through targazzi's method.
Probably not what you are after but if you have a nas drive you can connect to it wirelessly very easily using built in dlna app. It plays mp4 3gp etc videos no problem and i imagine other files will be supported as long as you have an app to deal with them properly. Another option is file expert app from the market - i mapped same drive as a network drive in it and can see all files. Haven,t bothered putting an sd card yet
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using Tapatalk
ps3taker said:
Probably not what you are after but if you have a nas drive you can connect to it wirelessly very easily using built in dlna app. It plays mp4 3gp etc videos no problem and i imagine other files will be supported as long as you have an app to deal with them properly. Another option is file expert app from the market - i mapped same drive as a network drive in it and can see all files. Haven,t bothered putting an sd card yet
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to connect my PCH using dlna and I could see all my files but couldn't play most of them and the ones that I could play were stuttering.
Vinny1967 said:
I was able to connect my PCH using dlna and I could see all my files but couldn't play most of them and the ones that I could play were stuttering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have an issue with my DLNA server as the videos either have no sound or the video is stuttering. After several trial and errors, I was able to find the right setting for most of my DLNA devices. I use Freemake video converter (it's free, Google it)... then use Freemake to convert the videos to MP4 with bitrate not more than 1400 kbps, and AAC (stereo) audio format. Hope this helps.
well i didnt get a chance to play around with it over the weekend, I ran outta money before I could buy the USB cable for it. (Sad seeing as how its only $14, but thats life when your married with kids, and in the military, dumping your money into stuff to prepare to go to a field excercise for a few weeks)
requires ROOT access?
So your Sony Tablet S been rooted already?
Tergazzi said:
I did not write this up, so a thanks goes to the original author of this... Ahmad Rafiq from HACKSlurp. I just thought it was very useful, and may be worth adding to this forum, so enjoy!
Do you have a large collection of movies and pictures stored in your external hard drive and you just can’t decide which stuff you want to move to your Android tablet’s 32GB SD card especially when you are traveling? You can actually stream data directly from your portable hard drive to your tablet essentially increasing the storage capacity of your tablet beyond SD card.
Here is how you can do it!
Step 1
You need to prepare your external HDD by formatting it to FAT32. If you have stuff in your hard drive, which is in NTFS state, you should move it temporarily to some other media while you prepare your hard drive.
This is perhaps the only downside to this procedure. But depending on your usage you can make this step worth your effort. This is just a one time only step so don’t be afraid to carry out the arduous task of moving your items from and to your HDD.
Step 2
Connect your portable HDD to your tablet.
Step 3
Make sure your USB switch state is set to ‘Host’. Get this free USB Mode Switcher app (requires ROOT access) if you don’t know how to do it.
Step 4
Switch to your file manager app and wait for it to detect your hard drive. It might take sometime for the app to detect your external drive during which time you should keep refreshing, but once it has detected, the streaming is flawless.
If you have followed the above steps properly you should now be able to watch your HD movies on the go!
The same procedure can also be applied to nearly any USB device like pocket drives etc. This can really come handy as you can transfer your documents from your pen drive to your tablet and edit them on the move!
I work full time, so I havent been able to test this on the sony S, but I plan to this coming weekend (tomorrow), I will add notes as to what I discover, after paying around with it a bit. I know it works on my Acer Iconia, lets keep our fingers crossed!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Related
Can we have forum for Sony Tablets now?
sent via rooted Xperia aRc
Please
Sony tablets are the best of all tablets now - we need development!
Sony Tablet S update to 3.2 !!!!
I have been using my Sony Tablet S for a couple of days and it's awesome. I got on it this morning and a 3.2 system upgrade notification popped up! I'm now running on 3.2!!! I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong area.
Root?
Has anyone found a way to root it?
Awesome, you must be joking!
Awesome - you are surely joking.
1) DLNA 'throw' is incompatible with most devices (including PS3, LOL)
2) The memory card only works as a 'transfer' device - you can not accessit directly from inside an app (epic fail for me and my 32Gb of music on an SD card, that will not fit in my 16Gb Tablet S, and shouldn't need to)
3) adb for android development is not supported and so I can't even test my apps on the thing
Most epic fail android tablet ever.
No I wasn't joking I was giving my opinion of the tablet from what I have used or experienced with it. Just like you gave your OPINION! I have tried the dlna with my VAIO and it does work (LOL)but not on my PS3 so can not comment on that. I have a 32gb SD card in mine and can access all my files with a file manager app, so I have been able to listen to my music and watch my movies that are on my card without a problem. The remote app is very awesome and controls my TV, surround sound and DVR's in my living roomand bedroom. It might not be the tablet for you and maybe some others but to say epic fail.. for you maybe but not everyone.
magick86 said:
Has anyone found a way to root it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 please. Many thanks in advance
+1 open a forum plz
Yes. Let's root it. It is an awsome device and let's make it better.
BTW: ADB does supported.
See here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17624941#post17624941
Kaz Taguchi said:
The following procedure has confirmed that ubuntu 11.04.
1. Enable debug mode for sony tablet S
2. Add line /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="054c", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
3. Change file mode
sudo chmod a+r /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules
4. Add line idVendor to ~/.android/adb_usb.ini
0x054C
5. adb kill-server ; sudo adb start-server
6. finish!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
derf09 said:
No I wasn't joking I was giving my opinion of the tablet from what I have used or experienced with it. Just like you gave your OPINION! I have tried the dlna with my VAIO and it does work (LOL)but not on my PS3 so can not comment on that. I have a 32gb SD card in mine and can access all my files with a file manager app, so I have been able to listen to my music and watch my movies that are on my card without a problem. The remote app is very awesome and controls my TV, surround sound and DVR's in my living roomand bedroom. It might not be the tablet for you and maybe some others but to say epic fail.. for you maybe but not everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there I got the Sony Tablet S in Japan over the weekend, and it's a sweet little device. I've been burned by faulty iphones in the past, so I thought I'd try something different. I went for the 32gb option, but after installing and transferring podcasts and the whole works, it's not going to be enough! What app file manager are you using? ...Really glad I didn't go for the 16gb option.
I've had no problems with the remote control app, and really like the Android Utorrent remote access app. My only beef with it would be the slow rotating response time which gives a bit of a "cheap" feel to the interface, but overall it's a cool device!
Jpku said:
Hey there I got the Sony Tablet S in Japan over the weekend, and it's a sweet little device. I've been burned by faulty iphones in the past, so I thought I'd try something different. I went for the 32gb option, but after installing and transferring podcasts and the whole works, it's not going to be enough! What app file manager are you using? ...Really glad I didn't go for the 16gb option.
I've had no problems with the remote control app, and really like the Android Utorrent remote access app. My only beef with it would be the slow rotating response time which gives a bit of a "cheap" feel to the interface, but overall it's a cool device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You want to be using "File manager HD" to search for files on the SD Card. I also use "mx video player Pro" which you set to search the sd card folders by default for movies etc!
jkr284 said:
You want to be using "File manager HD" to search for files on the SD Card. I also use "mx video player Pro" which you set to search the sd card folders by default for movies etc!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I use.
quick question guys I really want to buy this thing but I cant get a real answer as to the sd card transferring and playing media from the it. If i have a video on my sd card can i play it from the sd card or do i have to transfer to the hard drive of the tablet. thank you to anyone that can help
shawnten said:
quick question guys I really want to buy this thing but I cant get a real answer as to the sd card transferring and playing media from the it. If i have a video on my sd card can i play it from the sd card or do i have to transfer to the hard drive of the tablet. thank you to anyone that can help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the posts above cover this. You can not play video off the SD Card using the default Video player included with the tablet, but there are third party apps that you can downlod from the App Market that will play video from the SD card.
anyone have problem with the SD card keep getting remove? i have a kingston 16gb class 10 SDHC inserted, but after a few hours it say SD card removed... but the card is still clicked in the slot...
also which player is best for encoding rmvb videos? i tried a few, some are either lag, or is very blur...
one more question, which image viewer is best for pictures on SD card cause the "file transfer" app can only view picture one by one... cant swipe to next picture. i tried using astro file manager, i can swipe to next picture but it makes the pictures blurry.
Thanks heaps for your help, I'm off on a trip soon and wanna pack as many videos into an SD card as I can, and MX Player seems to do the trick (I got the free version for now but it's great enough). Cheers again for the tips!
Just on the video, I use Any Video Converter, and followed someone's advice to convert to a Motorola Zoom tablet. These settings work fine, but does anyone have any full details of the video specs so I can get the maximum resolution? Sorry about the questions, but the Japanese language manual I got was pretty damn short of information about the product itself...It's basically just a guide to the main features!
Does anyone know if you can hook a external hard drive up to this and play media directly from the external? I know you can with the SD Card, but wasnt sure if the USB port will allow it or not. I ask cause i have a 500gb External full of movies, tv shows and music, that i would rather carry as opposed to try and figure out what i might want to watch or listen to later, and then transfer them to a SD card.
Tergazzi said:
Does anyone know if you can hook a external hard drive up to this and play media directly from the external? I know you can with the SD Card, but wasnt sure if the USB port will allow it or not. I ask cause i have a 500gb External full of movies, tv shows and music, that i would rather carry as opposed to try and figure out what i might want to watch or listen to later, and then transfer them to a SD card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Tablet S wont power an external hard drive. i do wonder if it will read one though
3vilhomer said:
anyone have problem with the SD card keep getting remove? i have a kingston 16gb class 10 SDHC inserted, but after a few hours it say SD card removed... but the card is still clicked in the slot...
also which player is best for encoding rmvb videos? i tried a few, some are either lag, or is very blur...
one more question, which image viewer is best for pictures on SD card cause the "file transfer" app can only view picture one by one... cant swipe to next picture. i tried using astro file manager, i can swipe to next picture but it makes the pictures blurry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure about the SD issues that you are having because I haven't experienced any issues with mine. I'm using a 32gb SanDisk. The app I use for picture viewing is called Quick Pic and in the settings you can add the folder sdcard2 and it will access your pictures without transferring them.
derf09 said:
I'm not sure about the SD issues that you are having because I haven't experienced any issues with mine. I'm using a 32gb SanDisk. The app I use for picture viewing is called Quick Pic and in the settings you can add the folder sdcard2 and it will access your pictures without transferring them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I just download that from market today, it have the feature I want but is not as smooth as the built in image viewer... hope it will improve soon...
hi all I was just wondering if anyone knew how to get videos from android to the wii (hacked of course). I have tried to just plug in a usb cord in the back like I do for my psp but every time I go into an app for watching movies it wont show my phone. I know I can just take the sd card out but its a real pain to take the back off my phone and the case I have on it too. anyone have any ideas (besides taking out the sd)?
i'm wondering the same thing, they both have bluetooth, so maybe there's a way to stream music/video from android onto it that way? even if that isn't possible, is there a way to trick the wii into thinking it's a linux computer, and stream via wifi? (wiimc should be able to identify it at that point, no?)
i doubt anyone's going to bother trying to get this to work : (
What about a dlna server and wiimc? Does it work?
Or set up samba filesharing on android and connect from wiimc?
greenskull13 said:
hi all I was just wondering if anyone knew how to get videos from android to the wii (hacked of course). I have tried to just plug in a usb cord in the back like I do for my psp but every time I go into an app for watching movies it wont show my phone. I know I can just take the sd card out but its a real pain to take the back off my phone and the case I have on it too. anyone have any ideas (besides taking out the sd)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's completely possible (and without wires) to stream videos off your rooted Android to your modded Wii. I'll see about writing up a full guide ...
[Guide/How to]Android/Wii wireless networking solutions | Stream videos and transfer/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2576185
... for now though I'll assume you'll want to know how I did it quickly
1. Download and install WiiMC to your Wii if you've not already done so.
www.wiimc.org
2. Download and install FTPServer to your rooted Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lutey.FTPServer
Edit 12172013- this next suggested app should replace the previous
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nalic.app.wifishare
WiFi share is far more stable to use with the Wii ... Well for streaming with WiiMC it works but for WiiXplorer I've yet to get this app to work.
3. Set up FTPServer to point to the folders you want to share
- check the box to restrict access to other folders
- set user name and password
4. Connect your Android device to a wireless access point, for this I used an old rooted phone that has the Hotspot function but no data connection to the outside world, but you can use a wireless router instead.
5. Open FTPServer again and start the service.
6. Now to pick up the Wii mote and set up a FTP connection
- Finger up to the gear symbol, click it, and finger down to Network
- Add a new FTP (it's the option that isn't smb) and input the info from the FTPServer app; IP-address, port, username, and password.
Note: don't worry about setting a folder path in the WiiMC screen we're in right now because FTPServer will take care of this if set properly.
- Back out of the setup screen on WiiMC and finger over to the Film icon (on the far left of the screen) and you should see your new connection, click it and enjoy browsing and playing almost all your videos on your Wii.
Somethings to note; it's kinda finicky on showing anything in a directory so just press B and A on your Wii mote till it works, high resolution videos don't work well so keep it 480p or bellow, I'll say it again its really finicky so try restarting each device's connection or software one at a time till things start working.
I realize this question is from a little wile ago but felt that this answer would benefit us all. I don't know if streaming music or pictures wirelessly from Android to Wii works but video works once a directory is loaded. I'll be testing other apps, options, or crafting my own solutions shortly to work out why folders don't always show content but for right now (just got it working a few hours ago and have been watching all sorts of formats) it's great for proof of concept and home use.
Sent from either my SPH-D700 or myTouch3Gs
Debian Kit/QEMU Linux Install guide for all android devices that I'm writing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2240397
Now have working Installers for ARM Java 7 JDK + Maptools + jMonkey
How do I connect the Sony Xperia S in Mass Storage Mode?
There must be a way? Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) mode is not ideal for transferring Photos and Videos (ironically) as it doesn't show you thumbnails for the Pictures and Videos on your phone. Neither can you stream the videos straight from the device this way..
You have to first click on the file and wait for it to load, just to find out its not the one you want, and repeat the arduous process all over again for the next Video, till you get to the one you wanted..
Please Help
Download Sony PC companion there is an option in there to open the drive on your phone (storage)
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
MTP is the only mode that there is but there is a file manager in PC Companion software
eddyedwards007 said:
Download Sony PC companion there is an option in there to open the drive on your phone (storage)
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We can all open the storage on the device..windows does this by itself through autoplay when you connect the phone..
I'm talking specifically about mounting the storage with Full access privileges, as it would be if you plugged in a mass storage device (such as a hard drive).
All the previous Xperia range allowed this, and of what I know, most android devices allow this. This is a very fundamental feature required and expected of all phones these days. Your not exactly going to enjoy downloading a 3GB Video file only to find out that's not the one you were after..
RoleX1 said:
We can all open the storage on the device..windows does this by itself through autoplay when you connect the phone..
I'm talking specifically about mounting the storage with Full access privileges, as it would be if you plugged in a mass storage device (such as a hard drive).
All the previous Xperia range allowed this, and of what I know, most android devices allow this. This is a very fundamental feature required and expected of all phones these days. Your not exactly going to enjoy downloading a 3GB Video file only to find out that's not the one you were after..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's also one that is going away with unified storage models. There are technical reasons behind this (as it's all one partition leveraging a fuse file system to mimic external storage) that it can't simply be "unmounted" from the OS side and mounted as external storage.
krohnjw said:
It's also one that is going away with unified storage models. There are technical reasons behind this (as it's all one partition leveraging a fuse file system to mimic external storage) that it can't simply be "unmounted" from the OS side and mounted as external storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the paying Consumers lose another round
vs Manufacturers and their cost cutting techniques..
Soon we will have phones that are nothing to do with what we want, they will be what's left after its attacked by a budget sheet. Zombies of the mobile world, where passion doesn't exist..
(lol got a bit carried away there, but you get the point) since when does something that's been demonstrated to be the more user friendly option (as demonstrated on the Galaxy s2 amongst other android handsets), get thrown out as if consumers are too stupid to notice that we are being put at a disadvantage?
oh well, welcome to the pathetic future, where what's in my pocket is what the account manager needed to get his bonus this year
RoleX1 said:
So the paying Consumers lose another round
vs Manufacturers and their cost cutting techniques..
Soon we will have phones that are nothing to do with what we want, they will be what's left after its attacked by a budget sheet. Zombies of the mobile world, where passion doesn't exist..
(lol got a bit carried away there, but you get the point) since when does something that's been demonstrated to be the more user friendly option (as demonstrated on the Galaxy s2 amongst other android handsets), get thrown out as if consumers are too stupid to notice that we are being put at a disadvantage?
oh well, welcome to the pathetic future, where what's in my pocket is what the account manager needed to get his bonus this year
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's more of a movement that does away with insufficient internal storage and allows the user to leverage available space however they see fit, but there is a tradeoff there.
Sent from my LT26i using xda premium
I actually like the way it is now better. No more hassling around with too little storage for apps (HTC desire was horrible in that perspective). The built in memory is faster than SD cards. And mtp is working fine for most things.
Sent from my LT26i using XDA
Yey - they do a pc companion... problem is, I'm using a mac...
So no way of copying photos from/to it using iPhoto.
On the plus side, at least the "Salling Media Sync" application I used to use to copy music to my Hero/Desire still works with this phone when plugged in by usb.
atilaw said:
Yey - they do a pc companion... problem is, I'm using a mac...
So no way of copying photos from/to it using iPhoto.
On the plus side, at least the "Salling Media Sync" application I used to use to copy music to my Hero/Desire still works with this phone when plugged in by usb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Sony Bridge for Mac to sync your music to your iTunes and it will move photos to your phone from iPhoto. It will also do software upgrades as well and use it as a file manager for your files on your phone.
MTP works fine on Windows, and there is the excellent Bridge for Mac for all Mac users:
http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/tools/bridge-for-mac/
Anyone knows if I will be able to use my Sammy TV with Anynet+ and use the controller, just like Sony ones?
Or listen to music from it on my Xbox?
Sent from Xperia X10 Mini Pro using CM9 by paul-xxx
Thanks for the Bridge to Mac tip guys... I've had my Sony Xperia S for a day so far, loving the phone so far - screen and camera are awesome, nice bump in speed over my old Desire too. Just didn't see anything on the mac bridge in all the google results on the subject of transferring files.
Will give it a go.
Felimenta97 said:
Anyone knows if I will be able to use my Sammy TV with Anynet+ and use the controller, just like Sony ones?
Or listen to music from it on my Xbox?
Sent from Xperia X10 Mini Pro using CM9 by paul-xxx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anynet+ is just HDMI CEC and will work fine! Has been tried and tested.
If the Xbox supports standard DLNA, music sharing should work.
Ambroos said:
Anynet+ is just HDMI CEC and will work fine! Has been tried and tested.
If the Xbox supports standard DLNA, music sharing should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK. Thanks.
Sent from Xperia X10 Mini Pro using CM9 by paul-xxx
I am not able to transfer .mkv file to the phone, I think simple mass storage should be included.
Ambroos said:
Anynet+ is just HDMI CEC and will work fine! Has been tried and tested.
If the Xbox supports standard DLNA, music sharing should work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So need a HDMI cable to connect XS to Samsung TV?
Saeen said:
I am not able to transfer .mkv file to the phone, I think simple mass storage should be included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can put .mkv file to the memory card and than move it to the root with X-Plore
RiotRick said:
I actually like the way it is now better. No more hassling around with too little storage for apps (HTC desire was horrible in that perspective). The built in memory is faster than SD cards. And mtp is working fine for most things.
Sent from my LT26i using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The irony is, that Xperia S choose to ignore this advantage as it still divides flash into "internal" and "external" storage. In my eyes it is one of the biggest flaws of this phone (together with flaps covering the interface sockets).
But it is definitely a way forward and the problems are solely on the computer software side. Which will get attention only when there are enough users demanding for this.
Is it possible to transfer .MKV files with MTP?
Hi all
I bought recently one of those cheap Mini Android PC (the MK808B) and I am trying to setup an easy/cheap NAS with it so I can see my videos from other devices. This would let me turn off my big energy-sucker desktop PC and leave that light small device doing its job. By the way... I am using the MK808B, but the idea is that any rooted Android device would do it.
Until now the progress is big and I can say it almost works... but that "almost" is why I am here, asking for help.
This is what I have done until now:
In the MK808B I have installed:
- Paragon NTFS&HFS+ (so I can mount any NTFS device, in my case a 32GB FTFS flash drive but this would support any big hard drive) (needs root)
- Droid NAS (a free app that does in theory what NAS do, in theory only accessible from Macs and Android devices although that would still be OK since I want to access to those videos from our phones and tablet)
So, once all this is setup and running, I go to any of my Android devices and try to access. To do so, I installed:
- ES File Explorer (to access my MK808B via my WiFi connection)
- MX Player (to play the videos)
And here is the problem: I manage to access my MK808B, I can get into the mounted flash drive... but when I try to play any of the videos, whatever the format, MX Player gives me this error:
"Video problem"
"Can't play this video"
If I click on an image it opens it, if I try to copy files I can... is just playing videos that doesn't work. Could be accessing them through my WiFi connection the problem? Maybe the MK808B is not reliable enough, WiFi speaking? Should I get one of those USB-LAN thingy?
If you could help me I would appreciate it. And also, I think getting a setup like this working would be very useful for a lot of people, who could access their files from any device while at home
Thanks!
I use BubbleUpNp from the play store across all of my devices.
HTC One X, Google Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 and an MK809 plugged in the back of the TV. I do have a OTG-Lan plugged into a hub, with 1TB hard drive all plugged into the MK809. I have Finless 1.7 Rom on the TV Stick.
Seems to work well, allowing me to say use my tab to render a movie from my MK809 library (1TB Hard Drive).
Other recommendations for you are Droidmote. Droidmote server on your TV Stick and Droidmote client on your phone, acts as a remote.
XBMC android installed on your TV stick.
ALZHEM said:
Hi all
I bought recently one of those cheap Mini Android PC (the MK808B) and I am trying to setup an easy/cheap NAS with it so I can see my videos from other devices. This would let me turn off my big energy-sucker desktop PC and leave that light small device doing its job. By the way... I am using the MK808B, but the idea is that any rooted Android device would do it.
Until now the progress is big and I can say it almost works... but that "almost" is why I am here, asking for help.
This is what I have done until now:
In the MK808B I have installed:
- Paragon NTFS&HFS+ (so I can mount any NTFS device, in my case a 32GB FTFS flash drive but this would support any big hard drive) (needs root)
- Droid NAS (a free app that does in theory what NAS do, in theory only accessible from Macs and Android devices although that would still be OK since I want to access to those videos from our phones and tablet)
So, once all this is setup and running, I go to any of my Android devices and try to access. To do so, I installed:
- ES File Explorer (to access my MK808B via my WiFi connection)
- MX Player (to play the videos)
And here is the problem: I manage to access my MK808B, I can get into the mounted flash drive... but when I try to play any of the videos, whatever the format, MX Player gives me this error:
"Video problem"
"Can't play this video"
If I click on an image it opens it, if I try to copy files I can... is just playing videos that doesn't work. Could be accessing them through my WiFi connection the problem? Maybe the MK808B is not reliable enough, WiFi speaking? Should I get one of those USB-LAN thingy?
If you could help me I would appreciate it. And also, I think getting a setup like this working would be very useful for a lot of people, who could access their files from any device while at home
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was thinking about the same thing. How to create a cheap NAS with an android device as the core of the system. But i was thinking about a RAID1 NAS. ANy suggestions?
So I had a CD rom disk I wanted to get a data file off of tonight, but left my laptop at work. I tried hooking a USB DVD drive (a full size desktop "internal" drive in a powered usb enclosure. Used to be top of the line, high speed re-write, etc. 10 years later, it is obsolete junk, slated to go to the landfill home of Zip and Floppy Disk drives. Am I the only one that is maudlin?) to my Tab S4 with nothing but incompatibility (even using exFat/NTFS for USB by Paragon).
I didn't realize this was "hard".
I found a Quora post that said that USB CD/DVD drives need to have "USB Flash Drive Mode Support" (which most drives don't seem to have). I found one USB DVD Drive on Amazon that people report works with Android. But it is $50 and USB 2.0.
Does anyone have a drive you can verify works on the Tab S4? Preferably USB 3.0 or USB C? And preferably in the $20-30 range?
I'm really try to go PC-less, and occasionally need to look up a file on DVD or CD Rom. It would be nice to be able to do that with my tablet,
Thanks,
Joe
So I'm looking at this.
Multiple LG drives claim "TV Connectivity" which seems to be flash drive mode - but does not explicitly call out support for otg.
https://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-Portable-External-GP65NB60/dp/B00ODDE33U
$23.43 on Amazon
The manual says it has TV Connectivity where it acts as a flash drive.
What is TV Connectivity? TV Connectivity is a function that allows you to enjoy videos, pictures and music by connecting this product to a compatible A/V device (e.g. DIGITAL TV, DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME, PC) that supports USB connectivity.
How to Use TV Connectivity
* This product is defaulted to ODD mode when it is powered on.
1) With the tray open, press and hold the ‘Eject’ button for 2 seconds. (The LED indicator will turn on, switching to TV mode. Press and hold the button again for 2 seconds with the tray open to return to ODD mode.)
2) Insert your supported media into the drive. The disc file system will be converted to FAT32 and will be recognized as USB flash memory.
3) Select and play the files from your A/V device to enjoy videos, pictures and music. Refer to your A/V device owner’s manual for more information.
So I found and have ordered a drive that specifically claims android support:
https://www.lg.com/us/burners-drives/lg-GP95NW70
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-gp95nw70-slim-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827136309
Android OS (Smartphone & Tablet) Connectivity*
Transfer and preserve photos, videos, music and data from your Android OS devices to an optical disc. Also, video, audio and data from optical discs can be played and read on your Android OS devices.
* Optical drives are compatible with devices running Android version 4.4.2 or above. Not all file types are compatible. Compatibility may depend on codec of application being used when playing files.
I can't find a manual for it on the LG website, and Newegg is one of the only shopping hits I could find. ~ $40 with tax and shipping. No hits on Amazon.
I'll post how it works when it arrives!
Joe
Long first impressions of LG GP95NW70
https://www.lg.com/us/burners-drives/lg-GP95NW70
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-gp95nw70-slim-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827136309
I received my GP95 from Newegg yesterday.I played with it for a couple hours, and have some first impressions to report.
This model is Android compatible out of the box. There are two apps you need to download from the Playstore to make it work. Documentation is very poor. The only LG optical drives that are compatible with the software are KP65, KP95 and GP95. The only available in the USA is the GP95NW70 and I only found it on Ebay and at Newegg. The most commonly sold LG optical disc drive sold in the USA seem to be GP65 & GP60 (based on Google & Amazon searches). Neither of these models are listed as compatible with the Android apps you need to access the drives.
There are the two apps you need that are published by Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc.:
1) There are three versions of Disc Link: Disk Link, Disc Link Pro, and Disk Link Platinum
Disk Link is the oldest, from 2016, and is compatible only with KP65
Disk Link Pro is from 2017, and is compatible with KP95 and GP95. It is obviously out of date, was locked in portrait mode, which sucks with the USB C connector at the base of the picture frame. The documentation with my GP95 said to run this version.
Disk Link Platinum is the newest, from earlier this year, and is compatible with KP95 and GP95. This is what I am using and allows for rotation to landscape mode.
2) There are two versions of TrueDVD: TrueDVD+ (free) and TrueDVD ($0.99).
TrueDVD+ only works with KP95, but this is what the documentation for my GP95 said to use. It did not work
TrueDVD is $0.99, and it works with GP95 and KP95
Now the evaluation:
Out of the box, the drive has a female micro USB connector, they give you
1 ) A micro male to full size USB 2.0 male cable,
2) A micro USB adaptor that allows for external power + connecting to your phone (Full size USB from the player + micro USB power in / micro USB male to plug into your android device)
3) a micro USB female to male USB C adaptor plug to convert the micro USB adaptor to work with a USB C device.
4) There is a windows software disk
5) Poor documentation (what else is new?)
Links in the TrueDVD and Disc Link Platinum playstore entries take you to Korean web pages where you can download a firmware updater (that runs on Windows, of course). The manufacture date on the unit I got was from October 2018; its firmware "needed" to be updated out of the box. Of course, I have no idea what the update in the firmware has to do with anything.
TV Connectivity Mode (which the GP60 / GP65 models sold in the USA support), is very limited. By holding the eject button down with the door open, you can convert the CD player to a Fat32 read-only flash drive. I had problems getting Solid Explorer to recognize the drive. Microsoft exFAT/NTFS by Paragon works, but you have to pay extra for Fat32 (I optioned only for NTFS). It didn't seem to work with a hub.
When 4unning the aps, it seems to work fine plugging the full size USB into a powered USB C hub. It runs fine plugging directly into the tablet using the included adaptor, both with and without external power. I'm going to order a USB C to micro USB cable so I can connect directly without the hub / adaptors.
The apps:
Disk Link Platinum was a relief after running the Pro version. Screen rotation is a must. It reads CD's, opens PDF's / images from a data CD without obviously saving it locally to the device (the Paragon enabled file explorer had to copy it to local storage). Besides the data CD, I browsed images saved on a DVD ROM disc. No problems playing an audio cd, but it didn't automatically detect the track names. There is a grayed ot "gracenotes" option with a cryptic comment that suggests there is financial negotiation going on between Hitachi-LG and Gracenotes - presumably if this is ever enabled, it will be able to auto detect song names. Pressing the eject button on the unit brings up a "do you want to eject" pop-up on the screen. I'm not sure if you can minimize the window and keep playing.
TrueDVD is worth the $0.99. This allows you to play video DVD's. The menu's are touchscreen activated. There was a weird issue with eject -- pressing the eject button didn't do anything, and there was no menu item to "eject". I had to disconnect / reconnect & hit eject to get the video DVD out. "Help" on the app sends you to a Korean web page that says that non-white protected DVD's can be played from VLC Player, but that write-protected material can only be played with the TrueDVD app. The app would not play in split screen mode, and doesn't have a cast function (I don't know if it functions with screen mirroring). Besides a video DVD, I was able to play a DVD audio Disc (Dolby Tracks only, not DTS). DVD audio would not run minimized.
The video DVD player is region-locked. It came out of the box as Region 2 (Europe/Japan). When you put a Disc in, it says "The player region does not match the disc. Would you like to change the player region? You can do this 5 times and then it locks". I set it to region 1 and all ran fine. But it is a shame you can't make it regon free -- I have several DVD's I purchased years ago from Europe / Japan that weren't available in the USA. I don't know if the region selection is tracked in the TrueDVD app, or in the hardware; I suspect it is in the hardware. So you can't freely switch regions. Not a big deal unless you live in the US and are a big anime fan. I suppose you could buy two players and set one to Region 1 and the other to Region 2. But watching video DVD's is not the primary purpose I bought the drive for, it is just a perk.
I have no plans to try burning discs. That's what flash drives are for. I need it for reading existing CD/DVD ROM discs with out a PC. It seems to do this well. Audio CD and DVD video playability are happy (but probably seldom used) extras.
And I haven't tried using this with DeX yet. That will be for the weekend.
All and all, it seems like a good drive, and another step to freedom from PC's
Joe
So, DeX.
Not so much.
Disc Link works fine with DeX. TrueDVD, no.
In the link to the Korean help page for TrueDVD it mentioned that mirroring/casting (or what they refer to as "remote viewing") is not allowed for copy protected DVD's. But it suggests casting is OK for non-copy protected material using external viewers like VLC. Well, I'm not sure I have a video DVD that isn't copy protected. And TrueDVD sees DeX via HDMI to my TV as "remote viewing." So no-joy. I tried DeX locally on the tablet, and while it will run, if you try to resize the screen, it freezes. So you have to properly size the window before playing the DVD.
The other non-related to DeX observation was that I don't have to unplug / reconnect the drive to eject video DVD's -- If I hit the eject button, then close both apps and reopen Disc Link, the "do you want to eject" message pops up and the tray opens when you click "yes"
So to end my first impressions (and since I won't be using this on a regular basis, this is probably my last impressions too),
I think this is a very useful arrow for the quiver. I'm happy I can access data from old CD/DVD ROM libraries. It works well for this. I can't imagine ever using it to burn a CD or DVD -- we have USB flash drives today. Likewise ripping or burning an audio CD. I ripped all my CD's on a PC years ago and sent the vast majority off to the pawn shop. I no longer use the CD player in my car, I have a bluetooth adaptor that let's me transmit audio from my tablet to the car stereo system.
It is a nice plus to be able to view video DVD's, but there are some limitations. Ejecting, region lock, resizing, casting not possible. Likewise a nice plus to be able to play audio CD's, but this would be much improved if they re-enable gracenotes. It seems like a work in progress, but it isn't clear how much more work is going into it. It is a head-scratcher to me that they aren't marketing this more strongly in the US market. I couldn't find anything on other optical disc drives which could work with Android. There has to be at least a niche market somewhere in the electronic world for this.
I hope folks find this useful. Sometimes I wonder if I am only typing for myself. This sort of new functionality is interesting to me. I'd love to see more posts from people "look what I've found!" If there interested folks out there, please drop a note on the thread and say so.
Take care,
Joe
I'm going to add a couple more comments:
First, I was unfair about the documentation vis-à-vis Disc Link Pro / Platinum. The manufacture date was older than the platinum app. Hence the reference to pro in the documentation.
Second, I dropped an email to the support contact in the Disc Link app, and it took a couple of days, but they responded from Korea. With very good English. Explained Disc Link Platinum added tablet support (hence the ability to rotate), and that the TrueDVD / TrueDVD+ had different licenses. And thanked me for purchasing the drive. Very nice support, very polite response.
I've reported the eject bug, and asked a few additional questions.
Joe
Is Disk Link Platinum in the Play store? I do not see it there.
aspexil said:
Is Disk Link Platinum in the Play store? I do not see it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disk Link Platinum:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.co.hlds.disclink.platinum
TrueDVD:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smedio.hldsusb
sMedio seems to be the actual app developer, although they identify Hitachi-LG Data Storage as the publisher
Joe
So the "eject bug" isn't a bug, or is at least a known bug.
In the Disc Link Platinum playstore "about this app" documentation, in a footnote, it says, "to eject the disc inside ODD during video/music playback on the player works on with, terminate the player and then press eject key of ODD."
Obviously, this means when I want to eject a video DVD, I need to close TrueDVD+, then hit eject and the eject button works. And it does. ?
Joe