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Old 04-01-2013, 08:06   #1
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Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

My first post to cruisers forum! Wish me luck! Hope to get lots of help
We are refitting our boat to live aboard. I need some help with watching movies while onboard.
So what I'm after is a way to store lots and lots of dvd's on a external drive. I would love to be able to watch the movies on our tv and ipads. Is there a magic box out there that allows me to do this wirelessly? Do I get an normal hard drive and store the movies then hook it to our computer that is somehow linked to the tv? I have no clue. I know it can be done. It's 2013! Anything is possible!!!
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Old 04-01-2013, 08:18   #2
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

Maybe try Apple tv. You would need a wifi/lan network and some apple device with a hard drive to load the movies from. Works wifi with an Ipad,Iphone, Ipod or apple computer.
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Old 04-01-2013, 08:55   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by prili View Post
Do I get an normal hard drive and store the movies then hook it to our computer that is somehow linked to the tv?
Yes, preferably a newer TV with HDMI from computer (if you computer is capable ) if not, then a tv compatible with dvi or vga cables, these do not transfer sound like HDMI so sound will have to be wired also.

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Originally Posted by prili View Post
I would love to be able to watch the movies on our tv and ipads. Is there a magic box out there that allows me to do this wirelessly
Yes, for the wireless devices, a wireless router set up with proper folder access between other devices on the network.
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Old 04-01-2013, 09:46   #4
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

You have two options

In the apple world, you can rip the DVD into iTunes and watch them on iPads, or via an apple tv on a tv, You need a PC or Mac, a wifi network and the viewing devices , like iphone iPad,etc. This is what I use at home, and has the bonus that if I have good 3G, or Wifi, I can stream Live TV from the internet and access all those streaming movies. ( Be aware that iPads, iPhone etc dont support flash). I get all my TV and phone coms over the net at home , no sat or cable. It works well

In the purely PC world you could at the simplest, just rip the DVDs onto the PC and play them back , optionally as mentioned through a HDMI link, just be aware that Windows manages Digital Rights over HDMI. ( Ie it will not play some bootleg stuff).

The next step up is a ROKU tv set top box, this is the Apple TV equivalent. works in a similar way.

If your in the Apple spheres, I stick with that as it all plugs together well and just works.
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Old 04-01-2013, 10:43   #5
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

I use a western digital live media player with an attached 2tb drive. It has network attachment for using with netflix or other sources. I just use the drive for now. Ill download movies or rip the ones I have and place them on drive Though mostly I just find what I own and download it, it takes less time. You can plug in to a tv with hdmi or rca video connectors. When I download movies I hook the drive to my notebook and transfer them over. the player was like a 100 bucks and the drive is down to about 120. I have 2 drives that I mirror as a backup with synchtoy so i have a backup/travel one. It usually stays off the boat.
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Old 04-01-2013, 12:39   #6
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

Ok sushirama, not too sure if I got everything. I looked up western digital and looks to be what I need. Do you have the hub where it has 1tb of storage built in? That means I can save my movies and music right on the device right? But you said you have other devices too. Can I attach other storage devices to the western digital hub? Or did you go with the WDTV live and hook a drive to it? I used to think I was good with all this crap. Im only 31 and I feel like my mum setting up the VCR!
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Old 04-01-2013, 12:57   #7
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

For playing on a computer, I have been using XBMC for about 6 months, and I am very impressed with the solution. This is software, you can download at www.xbmc.org. It is free. Put all of your media on an external usb drive, Western Digital has 2tb usb drives that are about $150.00 Then, you can have it create a library of the music, videos, etc, on that drive. The neat thing is that the software uses "Scrapers" that will gather screenshots, trailers, episode synopsis, etc.

They are working on an android version right now, so in the future, you could run this off of a usb stick android computer or a tablet, and then attach the data drive with your media. Right now, it runs on Windows and Mac.

Chris

PS - the western Digital media players are nice. They have an advantage over XBMC with a very nice remote control. They can take a long time from startup to ready to play, if you have a lot of media. They are really designed to be installed, turned on, and stay on (even when they are "Off" they draw power). with a 1tb drive in our live hub, and about 260gb of music and the rest as movies/tv, it takes about 10 minutes for the drive to be indexed each time we turn it on.

Chris
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Old 04-01-2013, 13:17   #8
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

Chris. So what takes the time is if I save all the movies on the WD hub right? If I have another drive to save it all on then use XBMC to catalogue it and use it as a player will I still need the WD media player to transfer it to the TV or will a HDMI cablie do the job?
Carly
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Old 04-01-2013, 13:37   #9
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

You can use XBMC on a computer, or video player device (such as the Live Hub) but you dpon't need both.

If youa re using the computer, and want to watch on a TV, the easiest way to do this is to use a HDMI cable, if both the PC and the tv support it. This carries both video and audio. Many people think about how to connect the video, but forget about the audio.

A WD Live Hub, which has a 1tb drive in it, is the simplest solution, if you have a TV that has HDMI. Plug the Live hub and tv to power, and the HMDI cable between the two.

Chris
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Old 04-01-2013, 13:47   #10
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

I just re-read your original post. For wireless streaming, you would need a wireless network on the boat. This means adding a wireless router to the mix. It can be done device to device (without the router), but that can be problematic.

Installing a wireless network - More complexity, but more flexibility.

Chris
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Old 04-01-2013, 16:33   #11
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When it comes to storage don't start small.

I started my video/music library with a 250gb external drive but quickly switched to two mirrored 500gb drives. I next bought a 1tb drive. After I outgrew all this I have finally installed a buffalo device with mirrored 4tb. I also have a hot swap raid that takes my old 1tb drives with the advantage that they can hot swap so basically now I have unlimited storage but not unlimited backup. Hmmm...

I too have "disabled the cable" and I subscribe to television on the iPad. As soon as an episode airs in the US it is available for download with the huge advantage of being commercial free.

I mostly rent movies but am slowly buidling up my library of "keepers"

At home I stream Netflix (through the apple tv) and there is ennough there to keep one busy for 50 years.

Apple will "gladly" keep your stuff in their cloud but I find that stupid - it's my stuff, I will store it thank you very much (also has advantage of not needing an internet connection.

I travel a lot - I subscribe to everything on Apple on my iPad and have turned on device sync so all my devices (and my home library) get updated automatically yet I have the advantage to retrieve my shows no matter where I am.

I travel with a pocket router and plug it into the hotel ethernet usually and create my own Wifi zone. This is also conevenient when visiting friends and relatives as if they let my hard wire into their router I need no passwords and use my own network.

I carry apple component video cables and these days have a hard time finding a tv (even hotel tvs) that won't plug in. Even if I can't the viewing on the iPad is fine. The only thing I would like is a "remote" control for the iPad so I don't have to get off the couch to start teh next 22 minute tv show - What is this? 1975? - LOL...

I used bit-torrent and ripped DiVx DVDs but frankly found it a PITA. Also I am not a "theif" and do respect the copyright and intellectual property. Now that the industry will deliver the content conveniently and (for the most part) fairly, I don't mind paying.

In regards to Blueray and HD, I guess I can tell the difference in quality but I also had 8 track, cassette, CD, betamax, VHS, VHS-C, 12 inch laserdisk, VCDs and DVDs. Anyone buying media on disk these days is probably a dinosaur.

As OP said - There are many ways to skin the entertainment cat these days...
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Old 08-01-2013, 20:39   #12
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Re: Need some TV/DVD wireless stuff help

If you want an incredibly easy solution and you're buying a new TV anyway, just buy a TV that has a USB port and buy an external USB drive. Most TVs these days have them with the ability to play video off the hard drive. Of course movies would have to be manually copied to the iPad, but for TV this would be the cheapest and easiest way.
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