Watching movies when cruising offshore

[dalbright1963]

We use an Asus Google Chromebox with HDMI out and bluetooth for audio which feeds our house audio, wireless keyboard, USB flash drives and multiple external hard drives. HDMI is connected to an Epson projector. The whole thing draws 2 amps and we have a 55" screen on our bulkhead. We can watch video all night long at anchor and the whole system weighs less than 7lbs and stows in less than 30 seconds.

[Pilot2]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

KVH TracVision HD7 for DirecTV and Sirius.

A milestone.... 10,000 posts!

10,000 posts with a $10,000.00 TV suggestion.😶

[yayabago]

There is the illegal option of downloading movies via torrent. It is a dying thing but there are a lot of movies you could download to an external hard drive. If you would like to know more I could help.

[4palmer]

Originally Posted by januszr

Looking for some ideas on putting together a video/audio entertainment systems for cruising offshore. Tried searching the forum by several different keywords but have not been lucky so far. Any examples/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Janusz

Use a laptop or desktop to record Netflix, hulu, Amazon Prime etc. for playback at a later time. Its legal and inexpensive. The product is called playon.

[yayabago]

I would skip the external player and try to go digital, save you on space from all those dvd’s. I am not crazy familiar with Mac as I would have to see if I can find a program that will work with Mac. Basically if you don’t want to torrent and your flying through DVD players - back up your movies. Look up alcohol 120%, you can save your movies via iso and the program will create a fake Blu-ray player to play them digitally. I’m sorry if this is over your head but I assure you a little research and a few steps and the rest is very simple. I do it with my pc games so I don’t have to keep the discs as security requires a disc to be in to be played. Sorry if I didn’t bring it down for you, I’m a bit of a nerd trying to find my way to the sea.

[yayabago]

The best digital movie player that is free is called VLC, I suggest you download and try it- however alcohol 120 is only for windows, so you would have to emulate or have a windows pc to convert them to iso or mkv as there are more programs that specify in that alone.

[yayabago]

Pm me if you would like some more info as I could just ship you a hard drive.

[Capt'n Ricko]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

I use a Micca media player with 2 TB hard disk and a 32" flat screen. Does not require a laptop to play. Can play just about any format of movie or music out there. All playback controlled on screen with the remote control. Very low energy draw, small and reliable so far. Uses less energy than watching DVDs on my old laptop.

I like this idea for my own boat...

Can you power it with 12v?

[Agnew]

I've a 2tb Noontec Media center loaded with movies and music feeding a 22" LCD TV on a swinging arm that extends out of the cabin doors making it fully viewable from the helm seat when cruising or relaxing at the dining table or the semi circular lounge of my cat. Music and documentaries are on other 2tb plug in USB HDDs. all fed off a 12vdc, 400watt, 240vac inverter. The power is supplied by 4, 400amp hour house batteries fed off 55 amp, twin wind turbines, and two 300 watt solar panels and/or the twin Yanmar engines alternators. The systems been working fine from England to the west coast of southern Africa, but I'm very much looking forwards to finalizing my setup by fitting a surround system thru out the vessel once I'm back in my homeland, Australia.

[Coltrek]

This seems like an appropriate time to re-post this clever poem.


I must go down to the sea again, in a modern high-tech boat,
And all I ask is electric, for comfort while afloat
And alternators, and solar panels, and generators going
And deep cycle batteries with many amperes flowing.
I must go down to the sea again, to the autopilot's ways,
And all I ask is a GPS, and a radar, and displays,
And a cell phone, and a weather fax, and a short-wave radio
And compact disks, computer games and TV videos.
I must go down to the sea again, with a freezer full of steaks,
And all I ask is a microwave, and a blender for milkshakes,
And a water maker, air-conditioner, hot water in the sink,
And e-mail and a VHF to see what my buddies think.
I must go down to the sea again, with power-furling sails,
And chart displays of all the seas, and a bullhorn for loud hails
And motors pulling anchor chains, and push-button sheets
And programs which take full charge of tacking during beats.
I must go down to the sea again, and not leave friends behind
And so they never get seasick we'll use the web online
And all I ask is an Internet with satellites over me
And beaming all the data up, my friends sail virtually.
I must go down to the sea again, record the humpback whales
Compute until I decipher their language and their tales,
And learn to sing in harmony, converse beneath the waves
And befriend the gentle giants as my synthesizer plays.
I must go down to the sea again, with RAM in gigabytes,
And teraflops of processing for hobbies that I like,
And software suiting all my wants, seated at my console
And pushing on the buttons which give me complete control.
I must go down to the sea again, my concept seems quite sound,
But when I simulate this boat, some problems I have found.
The cost is astronomical, repairs will never stop,
Instead of going sailing, I'll be shackled to the dock.
I must go down to the sea again, how can I get away?
Must I be locked in low-tech boats until my dying day?
Is there no cure for my complaint, no technologic fix?
Oh I fear, electric fever is a habit I can't kick.
Anon
(found on a notice board in Fiji)

[carlwk3c]

We have an iPad in an Otter shell with a magnetic quick release mount mounted in the center of the aft facing, sloping inside of the cabin trunk in the Vberth where we sleep at anchor.
We have a pair of Bluetooth speakers (use one, charge one)
Our onboard WiFi router is a Netgear N600, which has a USB port where you can attach an external USB HD or a big flash drive (I use a 128GB flash drive).
Movies can be loaded on to the flash drive from your computer by either direct plug in to the computer, or over WiFi by mounting the “Readyshare” drive via SMB.
We also watch YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and stream US tv via a VPN connection when we have WiFi access to the internet.
The iPad has traveled over 1500 miles at sea, virtually all beating to windward, with two passages that were FAR rougher than we bargained for, and it’s never once come dislodged (but it’s easy to pull off if you want to take the iPad elsewhere). The magnetic mount stays put when you pull the iPad off, and allows either portrait or landscape orientation, though we leave it in landscape for our purposes. The mount sticks to the bulkhead with 3M “command strips”, which can be removed without damaging the surface or leaving a PITA sticky residue.

[Salzstange]

Originally Posted by Shrew

That more elaborate the system, the more amps required to run it. I personally cringe which I see stacks of AV equipment like a full-blown receiver on a boat.

I have a LED TV, a Fusion Head unit that plays AM/FM, Serius XM, Bluetooth and DVD's. The Fusion outputs DVD to the TV and plays audio through the speaker system in the boat.

We also connected an AppleTV to stream content. When streaming through AppleTV, the audio comes through the speakers on the TV.

The Apple TV will allow you to upload files so you can stream movies from the AppleTV as well.

I like your setup! Running almost the same at my boat. My concern is the fusion output to the speakers.
The sound is flat. I have purchased a pair fusion loudspeaker. A bit better, unfortunately not what I was expecting.
Solution could be subwoofer w/ amplifier.
I'm worried about the consumption.
I need an advice.
Best from Dubai

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by Salzstange

I like your setup! Running almost the same at my boat. My concern is the fusion output to the speakers.
The sound is flat. I have purchased a pair fusion loudspeaker. A bit better, unfortunately not what I was expecting.
Solution could be subwoofer w/ amplifier.
I'm worried about the consumption.
I need an advice.
Best from Dubai

I added an external active sub under the settee in the saloon, just a little 10” in its own box. Makes a huge difference to the sound of the Fusion system. Each of the two primary outputs already has a sub out wire, so super easy to set up. Independently powered so you could always switch if off if in an energy crisis, but then I doubt you’d have the stereo on in that case anyway. The sub only powers up when it’s in use.

[mako]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

I added an external active sub under the settee in the saloon, just a little 10” in its own box.

Careful not to be screwing with whale's sonar!

[Kerryf]

I have found the raspberry pi to not be powerful enough to reliably stream, plus you need to be a bit of a geek to set it up.
I suggest keep your media on a laptop (or ext harddrive) and stream it via Plex (one time fee of $30 or something) to a Smart tv (or a Amazon fire tv stick) That way you can also have streaming services(amazon prime netflix) if you are close to marina wifi or you have hotspot. There are also apps for cnn, or fux news. Fire stick also has bluetooth so you can send to your stereo.