Database Develop

HDMI dock review

This is a bad and hardly structured review with a focus mainly on video playback. This is not a full review, and there's more things I want to test (and probably info I will post) for the future. It is also 4 AM, so don't expect any literary gymnastics.
So, I've had the (Euro) HDMI dock for a few weeks now (as well as the black leather sleeve, which is nice) but hadn't really gotten around to testing it. Primarily because I hadn't gotten around getting a mini-to-normal HDMI cable - yes the dock has a mini-HDMI output. The cable in question is commonly known as an HDMI "A<->C" cable with male ends on both sides.
Let's get the details you all know already out of the way. We're talking about the ECR-D980, more info here.
The dock itself comes packaged with nothing. No extra USB cable, no HDMI cable (or even converter plug), nothing. Keep in mind that these up the total cost of ownership for the dock quite a bit. I got the dock for about 29 euro, add about 20 euro total before you have a second SGT USB cable and a mini-to-normal HDMI cable. So that's 50 euro or about $70 US minimum cost at the time of writing, significantly more if you don't search a bit to find the cheapest deals. You don't strictly need the extra USB cable, but it becomes annoying in most setups if you don't have it - you'd be switching the cables location a lot.
The dock itself feels like a solid piece of equipment, much like the Tab itself. It features a 3.5mm audio out, mini-HDMI out, and 30-pin Samsung "PDMI" USB / power connector (the same connector on the Tab itself).
I started out testing at a friend two weeks ago, using his Sony soundsystem (several HDMI ins & outs) and his 42" high-end-4-years-ago Philips LCD. We were however completely unable to get it to work. Having no clue which component the problem was, we gave up after a bit. Note that his LCD doesn't do 1080p, but max 1080i (at time of purchase, even 1080i was rare). So I borrowed his cable, and today I tried it (with his A-C cable) in my home, on my Samsung 6-series 37" LCD that does do 1080p, without any special soundsystem. Note again that I used a converting cable, not an A-C converter plug. I know people have reported problems using those.
As soon as I plugged everything in, I immediately had display on my screen. We still don't know what the issue was at my friend's house, but keep in mind that it may be a requirement that the display device supports 1080p. The signal received by the TV was 1080p30. I think this is the maximum the device will do, as my TV does support both 1080p50 and 1080p60 as well (and I regularly use both those modes).
Immediate snags:
(1) First, the dock needs to be connected (via the USB cable) to a power, or HDMI will not work. I actually used an old HTC adapter instead of the Samsung one, that delivers 1a instead of 2a, and that worked fine. Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet).
(2) Second, the Samsung USB cable you got with your Tab is really short, using an extender cable is almost certainly necessary for most situations.
(3) Third, the 3.5mm audio out does NOT work while HDMI is connected (reported by others, not tested myself)
(4) Last, the backlight will NEVER go off when connected over HDMI. Not even using the power button.
So, when you have it all connected, you will see one of two things: a really narrow output of your portrait screen, or a screen-filling output of your landscape screen. I advise everyone to put the device in landscape mode and enabling the orientation lock before connecting. Note that the HDMI dock is also a really handy standard for landscape mode!
When in the normal Android UI, you can clearly see the artifacts of upscaling. You'll see whatever happens on the Tab on the TV as well, scaled up (and not using a good resampler). The Android UI does NOT suddenly see a FullHD screen (as I expected, but some may be surprised).
However, some applications that go full-screen do see and use the FullHD resolution. I have not extensively tested this on many applications. For example, the YouTube app appears to see FullHD, but I can not be certain. The stock Samsung video player does see and use the FullHD resolution, as far as I can make out.
I have tested playback of the following videos, in the stock video player:
(1) Iron_Man_2-DivXPlusHD.mkv - 81mb, 2:30, CCV1 1920x800 23.98fps, AAC 48000Hz stereo, 4.4mbps
(2) Cowboys & Aliens - Trailer.mp4 - 174mb, 2:31, CCV1 1920x816 23.98fps, AAC 48000Hz stereo, 9.2mbps
(3) v.2009.s02e03.720p.hdtv.x264-ctu.mkv - 1118mb, 41:22, CCV1 1280x720 23.98fps, Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch, 3.6mbps
(4) the.mentalist.s03e12.720p.hdtv.x264-ctu.mkv - 1119mb, 41:48, CCV1 1280x720 23.98fps, Dolby AC3 48000Hz 6ch, 3.6mbps
These four videos all played fine, with audio and everything. V even had subtitles, and those worked well. However I must note that the button to disable subtitles is disabled while outputting to HDMI. Not sure what that is about. DTS is still on my to-test list, but I'll get around to that when we get the setup working on my friend's soundssystem, where I can also test whether or not the output is more than stereo or always downsampled to 2-channel.
The video output is pretty good, but not without buts.
(1) First, as stated before, the backlight on the Tab will not go off no matter what you do, and you will see one of the first frames of the video as a still on the Tab. You can however still use much of the videoplayer UI (which is suddenly slightly different: amongst other things options like brightness and scaling disappear), and that UI only appears on the Tab, NOT on the TV. Now if only I could control that UI, over Wi-Fi, with my SGS ... (might be possible through DLNA, btw, a nice test for the future)
(2) When you look closely at the image produced, you will see that the postprocessing is not quite up to par to the quality you get from CoreAVC or even ffmpeg on a laptop or HTPC or whatnot. The difference does really seem to be postprocessing though, not bad decoding or scaling.
(3) There is some shift in framespeed. Not traditional suttering you might see when the player cannot decode fast enough, though, the speed seems to be fine. I think this has to do with the fact that first the Tab has to scale 24fps to 30fps, which is probably done with some pulldown scheme, and then my TV has to scale that to 100hz, again with some pulldown scheme. I'm sure the videophiles amongst you will understand what I am talking about, even if the jargon is not correct. If you're not following, you are probably someone who wouldn't even notice it. Also note that I have all video-enhancing features on the TV itself turned off (as always). Enabling the 100hz motion interpolation mode makes the issue mostly disappear, but I really hate the "homevideo" effect you get when doing that. All in all, when watching a 40 minute show, you don't really notice it anymore after a few minutes, but if you're like me you know it's there and see it. If it were 1080p25 instead of 1080p30, the issue would probably not exist.
All in all, it does look good and works pretty well. Unfortunately, though most of these individual issues are small, together they are big enough to prevent this from being more than a casual playback device. It comes close, but not close enough to being a home-theater device. However, who knows maybe XBMC can be ported and we'll get past a number of these problems.
I won't make any claims as to whether the HDMI dock is worth the money or not. You know the price, and you have a bit of information here, and more in other reviews online. You have to decide for yourself it it's worth it. Hope this is helpful and/or interesting to someone.

For me the dock was totally worth it. The framespeed issue you describe is definitely there, but I do not notice that unless I am consciously looking for it. I have watched a lot of movies quite comfortably using the dock on Full HD TV.
And yes, if TV is not 1080p, for example just HD Ready and not Full HD, the video output is not HD at all. I think it's the same as Tab's screen: 1024x600.

"Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet). "
USB from my computer (Kies drivers installed) works fine with the Dock. I have an HDMI capable computer monitor and this also works fine with the dock.

Thanks for the review!
For those who purchase movies through MediaHub, you will not be able to play back through HDMI dock to TV. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECR-D980BEGSTA-reviews

GeorgijSapkin said:
For me the dock was totally worth it. The framespeed issue you describe is definitely there, but I do not notice that unless I am consciously looking for it. I have watched a lot of movies quite comfortably using the dock on Full HD TV.
And yes, if TV is not 1080p, for example just HD Ready and not Full HD, the video output is not HD at all. I think it's the same as Tab's screen: 1024x600.
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Have you tried movies with DTS ? And on a surroundl soundsystem ? If so, can you share the details ?
Re: 1080p, you are saying even if the TV does not support 1080p, you do still get output ? Would mean that 1080i is not the problem on my friends' system, as we got no output at all.
(good info on this dock is hard to find )
specmac said:
"Connecting it to a computer USB port (0.5a) reportedly does not work, but I have not tested this myself (yet). "
USB from my computer (Kies drivers installed) works fine with the Dock. I have an HDMI capable computer monitor and this also works fine with the dock.
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I meant using the computer as power source for HDMI. Do you get HDMI output when the USB cable is connected to a computer ? I read on some other reviews people did not get that to work.
quattr0 said:
Thanks for the review!
For those who purchase movies through MediaHub, you will not be able to play back through HDMI dock to TV. http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECR-D980BEGSTA-reviews
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That is really silly ...

Yes, dock connected to my computer via usb and connected to my monitor via hdmi. Outputs to the computer monitor just fine with this configuration.
Sent from Samsung Galaxy Tab

Dock but no audio
I have this dock but I get no audio what so ever... Have you had to do anything at all to enable it?

gsjurseth said:
I have this dock but I get no audio what so ever... Have you had to do anything at all to enable it?
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Worked out of the box for me, through HDMI. Haven't tried 3.5mm jack. Have heard that complaint before though.

Nice review its a bit dissapointing for me that they chose the mini HDMI standard as there is plenty of space to have included a normal size plug.
Maybe I'm just annoyed because I have HDMI cables laying around but now need to buy a mini HDMI cable

Ghostwalker9 said:
Nice review its a bit dissapointing for me that they chose the mini HDMI standard as there is plenty of space to have included a normal size plug.
Maybe I'm just annoyed because I have HDMI cables laying around but now need to buy a mini HDMI cable
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100% agree

YouTube is great when you're docked. You can flip through videos and playlists on the tab while a YouTube clip continues to pay fullscreen on your TV - nice! It's a shame you can't play HD though.
I stripped the DRM off all the free movies that came with my Tab so I can play them directly through the dock. Inception looks great! You're right though, post-processing looks a little rough at times.
The dock is pretty overpriced for what you get but I'm happy with it all-in-all. If it came with a mini HDMI cable it would be perfect.

are you using a stock rom or custom rom? wondering if that will matter in regards to dock performance, i am on the rotohammer jme v4 and love how fast it is compared to the stock roms.
thanks for the notes/review!

Chainfire said:
Have you tried movies with DTS ? And on a surroundl soundsystem ? If so, can you share the details ?
Re: 1080p, you are saying even if the TV does not support 1080p, you do still get output ? Would mean that 1080i is not the problem on my friends' system, as we got no output at all.
(good info on this dock is hard to find )
I meant using the computer as power source for HDMI. Do you get HDMI output when the USB cable is connected to a computer ? I read on some other reviews people did not get that to work.
That is really silly ...
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My projector is 1024x768 and the dock work well with it, so 1080p is not necessary for it to work, and as a power source I use an external battery rated 500mh, so I guess a computer usb port should be able to power it.
My problem is that my projector doesn't have an audio out jack, and when the hdmi cable is connected all the audio port of the tab get disabled, INCLUDING bluetooth audio. This is why I now use this dock as an overpriced charging dock
Sent from my Galaxy Tab

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=236523&t=2611349
Just an FYI. $37 Shipped.

FYI, I got this 6 foot long Samsung sync/charge cable for only $8 (with shipping) that is a great companion for the Dock because the stock Samsung cables are way too short.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300509955254

w4rmk said:
FYI, I got this 6 foot long Samsung sync/charge cable for only $8 (with shipping) that is a great companion for the Dock because the stock Samsung cables are way too short.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300509955254
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Just what I needed !

does SGT screen needs to be turned on while docked, because while streaming / watching vids i dont want to hav twin/identical display
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App

erlz said:
does SGT screen needs to be turned on while docked, because while streaming / watching vids i dont want to hav twin/identical display
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
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As metioned in the first posting of this thread, unfortunately you cannot turn off the screen on the Tab when it's in the doc. When watching video's the first frame of the video stays visibile on the Tab the entire time. When your not watching videos the displays on the Tab and your TV are mirrored.

I buy the HDMI station dock and I find it no really good!
A HD photo is not so nice on the LCD, it ok buy when you see then at the real resolution with the camera, it's bad!
The only way that I can have good resolution is when i plug the tab into the PS3 like a hard drive annd the I see the same photos like they are and my videos arein real 720P or 1080P
I will returned it and wait for a new model or plug into my PS3

I just picked one of these up and was a bit disappointed with the video quality too. Videos looks great in HD on the Tab but jaggy and average quality on the TV - no better than a DVD really.
I bought one so I could connect it to the TV in my hotel room when I go on Holiday soon. Is it true that if you get no audio over HDMI, you can't use the line out at the same time? I was going to take some small speakers just in case the TV in the hotel didn't support audio (should be fine, think they're Samsung 32" LCD TVs).
I'm a bit surprised there's no settings you can tweak on the Tab other than PAL or NTSC to correct the overscan and advise on resolution and FPS.
Surprised about the quality, I loaded a webpage up in Xscope and could hardly read it on the TV, very poor. I genuinely thought it would be near HD. I could just take my 13.3" Laptop with HDMI out but that's 2.5KG.
At least I'll get lots of films on the Tab as there's no point putting HD ones on there if they don't look HD on the big screen. What an oxymoron that they look better on the Tab screen!

Please help, I'm going mad

Is there a application that I can use so when I stream anything from a website on my note it will go to my TV wirelessly, at them moment i have to go to a movie website I have to use the TV out lead from my note to my Samsung TV, my videos on my phone all work with all share, but anything from a website I can't do please does anyone know?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

No way man, what you are asking is too much...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

Why is it ok for all share to stream exactly what's on my phone, but if I go to a website it can't? So I have to have the TV out lead in, as this can't be done wireless?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Im sure it is possible, but just hasnt been done yet!!
just wait for a few weeks or months hopefully not years... someone or the other would be able to do it. There are a lot of geniuses here!!

First, you cannot directly stream any online movie websites as those websites doesn't support streaming their contents outside the borders of the device/media they just support with. In a layman's term. You are bounded to just watch it on your phone or if you like, plug an HDMI cable from your phone to your TV.
However, there's still some possible way you can stream wirelessly movie files BUT you need to have an Internet enabled- TV that supports All Share Connections as well (e.g. Samsung ,LG, Sony BRAVIA, Philips, Panasonic Viera, Toshiba), latest models have this enabled on the TV console itself.
Secondly, granted your internet enabled TV supports AllShare, you can only do streaming thru certain contents only... apps e.g. Imediashare (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bianor.ams&hl=en) enables you to stream online contents from your phone to your TV itself (thru your WIFI network)
Another way as well, is to just stream your downloaded movie files from your phone to your HDTV (you need to have a TV that supports this type of precondition), and wirelessly stream your movie to your internet enabled TV (thru wifi). (the streaming depends on your Wifi connection speed), you can try an app called Twonky for this one if you like. (http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile...streaming-from-android-to-tv-pc-dlna-devices/)
Lastly, you can check one last app I can suggest - Playto Universal from Google play(https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5kYXlnbG93cy52aXZpZC5mdWxsIl0. and http://www.playto.tv/), those links would explain some or all of the details on what you might be looking for.

do you have a ps3 ?? if so you can stream it wirelessly ???

Nexus 7 with portable DVD r/w NAS as wireless entertainment system for car or travel

Nexus 7 with portable DVD r/w NAS as wireless entertainment system for car or travel and can be used a wireless access point if you plug into your hotel or home ethernet port. I use a car inverter plug to power the samsung optical smart hub. I can read. write or stream files from cd or dvd or flash storage or hard drive attached to the hub. Can be accessed simultaeneously by 4 people. Two people can watch same dvd at different stages in the movie or 4 people can watch stream files off usb memory. UYou do not need root for doing this. It works out of the box. see my youtube video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dKvwom5K8s
also see my other nexus 7 videos on my link in my tagline below. see my various nexus 7 and android play lists as well, which might be useful for some people. subscribe to my youtube channel if you like my videos as i will be uploading few more nexus related videos as i have shot some more but havent uploaded them yet and will do so soon.
my nexus 7 is in car entertainment system and is portable as not built into dash and can take with me while travelling. My wife and child watch live TV and tv catch up and surf the net or do skype video chats for free (excluding the cost of my unlimited data plan) by tethering it to my samsung galaxy note by wifi hotspot.
my total cost was 189.99£ for 16gb nexus 7 + about 70£ for samsung optical smarthub from amazon + 15£ for car inverter = cheap as chips in car entertainment system / NAS that can be shared by 4 people wirelesly and can play dvds, read / write / copy / stream to dvd / cd / flash drive / hard drive and do device back ups or watch internet tv and radio and skype video chats. Has got ethernet port to connect to hotel ethernet port to use a wifi access point when travelling. Can connect to laptop to act as internal drive via usb or as dvd player for TVs although i havent tried those features.

so I had obvious questions, like software, wifi setup, etc, but I guess this "smarthub" device has much of that built-in. how is it over bumps? lose data connection any? can this work with any video/media file type or does it have to be DVD movies only?

640k said:
so I had obvious questions, like software, wifi setup, etc, but I guess this "smarthub" device has much of that built-in. how is it over bumps? lose data connection any? can this work with any video/media file type or does it have to be DVD movies only?
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i cant answer all the questions today but might be able to either tomorrow or over the next few days. I am on holiday for the last week and will be for about a week more. So busy travelling or making travel plans most of the time as am going on short breaks on a daily basis or recovering in between.
They sent me one with a EU plug and the fit into the inverter is a bit loose. Although i get a contact i dont like it being loose so just use an existing EU to UK plug adapter from tesco (think might have been £1 or so) to plug into my car inverter. The nexus 7 has no probs catching the signal or playing dvds or cds. I tried accessing documents and they work fine as do avi videos from what i remember but i emtied that flash drive for other stuff so cant check the formats now.
I didnt get to use the hub much as my 3y child was more interested with playing on the nexus 7 or watching cartoons on the internet television or my wife was watching television on it so i couldnt check it out as i was driving most of the time. Will try to check it out tomorrow or over the next few days.
The techradardeals website seems to have goofed up and i got an email saying my two 64gb flash drives usb 3.0 are not being delivered, so i am busy making other arrangements for my data for the trip. I had deleted some of my movies from my sd cards in anticipation of getting the drives but now have to copy them to alternate flash drives IF i can find some spares tonight as most of my existing ones are filled with other documents. But will definitely try some dvds tomorrow if my child allows it as she will be using the nexus 7 while i am driving! Today and the last few days she was busy playing on the nexus 7 in the back seat or watching internet TV or skype video chatting or my wife was surfing or watching internet TV, so i didnt get much of a chance using the device myself! Am wondering whether to get another nexus 7 now for only myself. This one was my childs present!!! which i thought i could use but my child has other ideas!!! so my PLAN to get a gadget for myself didnt work out!! I still use the tablet when at home or at night though. But my child uses the tablet the entire journey if she is not sleeping, by playing games or watching TV or listening to songs as she now wants to hear it on the tablet rather than the car stereo and she is only three soon to be four years old.
Anyway enough of me digressing from your queries.
You can see more videos and tutorials and FAQs for the device here http://samsung-odd.com/eng/
the user manual here http://www.samsungodd.com/WebManual/SmartHub/SE-208BW/en/index.html
specifications here http://www.samsungodd.com/WebManual/SmartHub/SE-208BW/en/Specifications_Product.html
you can directly connect this to compatible TVs or photo frames with usb slot function http://www.samsungodd.com/WebManual/SmartHub/SE-208BW/en/Using_AV_Function.html
I am not sure what codecs etc are supported. File sizes cant be more than 4gb. There are a couple more videos on this device on my "android accessories playlist" as far as i remember. see the one by mavericchoi if i remember the name right.

got a few dvds to test tomorrow and some videos (m4v, avi) copying to my flash drive now. will check it tomorrow or over the next 3 days and get back here. they work fine in the stationary car, so i dont see why they wouldnt work while moving unless the electrical connection gets loose. wifi signal strength is great.

640k said:
so I had obvious questions, like software, wifi setup, etc, but I guess this "smarthub" device has much of that built-in. how is it over bumps? lose data connection any? can this work with any video/media file type or does it have to be DVD movies only?
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Click to collapse
Dvd works fine in my car and handles the bumps fine. Did not loose connection at any point. Flash drive seems corrupted, as my movies are not working working. But previous hard drive movies played fine.

I bought one of these as well, and it works great with the Nexus 7. I haven't put it in the car yet, as I'm still doing my testing, but here are the things I've noticed so far.
1. My MP4 files aren't playing when using the Samsung Smart Hub app. It always says unsupported media type. I used handbrake and the ATV2 setting, which works for every other third party player I've tried (BSPlayer, ES File Manager player), but the Samsung video player chokes on them. However, if I use the same ATV2 setting, but choose MKV, they play. Definitely an issue with the Samsung player.
2. The Samsung video player cannot handle any HD content without stuttering. That's pretty much a kiss of death for me, because I'm not ripping the DVDs that come with my BDs just to have them for travelling. So, instead I use ES File Manager - the navigation is very easy and the player works great for all of my HD content.
3. If you want to play DVDs using the streaming app, then the Samsung video player definitely works and does the job perfectly. The only issue I had was getting a message about setting the correct region. All of my mobile devices can play DVDs that way (HTC One X, Nexus 7, iPod touch, and iPhone 4s).
4. MP3s play great using the Samsung video player.
Those are really the only things I've noticed so far. I don't have any other media types to try, because I only use MP4 and MP3, but for me this device will do exactly what I want - have a mobile media hub during our long trips, that all of my mobile devices can use.
If you visit the Samsung ODD support website and read the manual, and watch the videos, setup is a breeze. First thing - make sure you already have a USB drive/stick/etc with some movies or songs on it, because the SmartHub will choke when you try to navigate around in the app. I have a 32GB SD card (Amazon Basics - cheap but works great) and a SanDisk MicroMate SD reader plugged into the Hub, and it works great. External USB hard drives work, too - I've tried two different 2.5 SATA drives and both had no issues. After you set it up, plug the USB drive in before doing anything else. I didn't bother with the included setup CD - I just connected the SmartHub to my home network via ethernet cable, let it acquire an IP, then I used IE and browsed to http://smarthub. I could set everything up that way, including doing a firmware update. My device came with A00, and A03 was available, so I went ahead and did the firmware update. Once that was done, I changed the SSID and password (the default SSID and password is on a label on the bottom of the device), changed the SAMBA sharing password, then I disconnected it from my home network and rebooted the device.
Next, I changed my Nexus wireless network to the SmartHub's - that's very important, because you can't use it at all unless your mobile devices and the SmartHub are on the same subnet! I think that's the biggest issue with people having problems getting things to work. I started the Samsung Mobile Smart Hub (previously downloaded from Google Play), set my SAMBA password, and I was up and running.
I don't think I'd use this for my home network streaming/playback, because I already have things in place that take care of media, but I don't think there's a better media hub type device for travelling.

Thanks. OP! I just ordered one as they are on sale for $40 at Amazon (US):
http://amzn.com/B007JUFLS0

Not knocking the Samsung thing -- especially at only $40 -- but anyone considering it should at least look at the (much more expensive) Seagate Satellite. It is a battery-powered 500gb HDD with onboard WIFI and file server. I've installed hacked firmware and can stream four different movies to four different devices simultaneously without problems. Now three kids of differing ages and tastes can watch whatever they want to watch on a long car trip.
At $40, the Samsung thing is a steal -- almost an at-the-cash-register impulse buy. At $160, the Satellite is a good value, but not an impulse buy. But being able to store 500gb of movies... well worth the money IMHO.

SoonerLater said:
Not knocking the Samsung thing -- especially at only $40 -- but anyone considering it should at least look at the (much more expensive) Seagate Satellite. It is a battery-powered 500gb HDD with onboard WIFI and file server. I've installed hacked firmware and can stream four different movies to four different devices simultaneously without problems. Now three kids of differing ages and tastes can watch whatever they want to watch on a long car trip.
At $40, the Samsung thing is a steal -- almost an at-the-cash-register impulse buy. At $160, the Satellite is a good value, but not an impulse buy. But being able to store 500gb of movies... well worth the money IMHO.
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But does the HDD come with an intuitive user I interface that kids can use and understand in order to select the movie they want to watch? That's the biggest draw with the Samsung solution, even if the interface is a little spartan in design.

SoonerLater said:
Not knocking the Samsung thing -- especially at only $40 -- but anyone considering it should at least look at the (much more expensive) Seagate Satellite. It is a battery-powered 500gb HDD with onboard WIFI and file server. I've installed hacked firmware and can stream four different movies to four different devices simultaneously without problems. Now three kids of differing ages and tastes can watch whatever they want to watch on a long car trip.
At $40, the Samsung thing is a steal -- almost an at-the-cash-register impulse buy. At $160, the Satellite is a good value, but not an impulse buy. But being able to store 500gb of movies... well worth the money IMHO.
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Thank you for sharing this, any chance you could say where you got the firmware from? This could be pretty amazing with a head rest mount.

so... whats the point of chromecast vs HDMI out?

So, I finally bought a chromecast and after 30 minutes was left wondering "why did I buy this instead of just getting a 15' HDMI cable to dual monitor my laptop on my TV.
It seems like casting from a tab uses more resources, uses double the bandwidth, and has limited features compared to just dual-monitoring.
In order to continue using a VPN and chromecast I have to mod the firmware on the router. chromecast uses a fair amount of resources when casting video. And as far as I can tell there's no benefit (besides it being wireless) compared to HDMI out dual monitoring... am I missing something or is it really just nothing that special?

codecobalt said:
So, I finally bought a chromecast and after 30 minutes was left wondering "why did I buy this instead of just getting a 15' HDMI cable to dual monitor my laptop on my TV.
It seems like casting from a tab uses more resources, uses double the bandwidth, and has limited features compared to just dual-monitoring.
In order to continue using a VPN and chromecast I have to mod the firmware on the router. chromecast uses a fair amount of resources when casting video. And as far as I can tell there's no benefit (besides it being wireless) compared to HDMI out dual monitoring... am I missing something or is it really just nothing that special?
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Hi Codecobalt,
The main benefit is convenience. There's something just very natural about selecting content from your phone and then having it play on the TV - with how the chromecast connects it's actually the device that creates the connection to the provider and as such there shouldn't be any increased bandwidth usage (only control information is sent via your phone in most cases - excepting applications that pass your data via external services).
If you wish to use a VPN you may have to mod your router however you can normally just add a route or some mechanism to stop it's connection to google DNS servers which will force the device to fall back to locally defined DNS servers if that helps. If you require assistance with the whole router thing let me know (as I've done many of them in many different ways).
Again as I said, the main reason for the device is convienience - I personally although being a tech head don't like the idea of having to launch movies with a mouse and keyboard off a laptop and all the rigmarole that comes with it (since purchasing chromecasts I haven't used my local movie stash in around 3 months).
Well that's my speel about it, if you have any specific requests please do not hesitate to ask and I hope you grow to love the device as much as I do.

I have no real gripes about it, I just don't see the real benefit to me, but I'm a laptop user who always has my laptop in front of me. I can understand though how you like the ability to use your android phone to launch videos wirelessly. I love to use my phone to launch youtube videos on my PS3.
It just seems like so long as you already have an HDMI out connection (and a laptop infront of you at all times) it's more universal to just dual monitor. for instance while casting "Watch ESPN" on my PC to TV, I can't fullscreen the video in the tab so that the video on my TV is fullscreen and still use the PC.. which kind of defeats the purpose. but with dual monitor I can have the video fullscreened on my TV while still using my laptop screen for everything else.
If it were a wireless option to dual monitor I would LOVE IT! but that's not what it was intended to be. I like it being wireless, but since I already have a 15' ethernet cable (just prefer it to wifi when available), usb to mini usb cable to charge my ps3 controller, and a wired headset for my ps3, one extra cable (the hdmi) running across the floor doesn't really bother me too much.
It's cool tech and very affordable for what it is, but it just left me wanting much more... thought I had to be missing the point.
For people without a ps3 or xbox or multiple TV's/chromecasts I can see the advantage.. just not for me I suppose.
I mostly wanted it so that I could watch my comcast xfinity online account (watch espn/2/u, FX, FXX, etc to stream live TV as an alternative to my netflix while I'm away from home and have a real screen. the ps3 doesn't have an xfinity app and I liked the idea of being able to stream only 1 specific tab. but then I have to use the zoom function on the tv to make it fullscreen and still use the laptop.

codecobalt said:
So, I finally bought a chromecast and after 30 minutes was left wondering "why did I buy this instead of just getting a 15' HDMI cable to dual monitor my laptop on my TV.
It seems like casting from a tab uses more resources, uses double the bandwidth, and has limited features compared to just dual-monitoring.
In order to continue using a VPN and chromecast I have to mod the firmware on the router. chromecast uses a fair amount of resources when casting video. And as far as I can tell there's no benefit (besides it being wireless) compared to HDMI out dual monitoring... am I missing something or is it really just nothing that special?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Casting from a tab (or the entire desktop) is not Chromecast's core use case. If that's all you're doing, then you are better off using HDMI or WiDi.
Chromecast's advantage, in addition to the sheer browsing/usage/convenience factor that @Kyonz mentioned, is "offloading" the playback duties. Chromecast's power usage is far less than your laptop, and you're free to take your laptop/phone/tablet and run if you need to while Chromecast continues to play. Someone else in the household can easily take over control of Chromecast from another device as well (there's some annoyance/bad to this too, but it's good as long as everyone plays nicely).
Likewise, I can move where media is being played back in most apps by pausing the playback, and resuming it on another Chromecast. Sadly, it won't turn off the TV though.
The previous paragraph deals solely with Chromecast-native applications, ie, not tab-casting or desktop-casting with the Cast extension from Chrome. Like I said in the beginning, if you're mainly trying to cast your computer's tab or screen, Chromecast is not the ideal solution.

I find the chromecast handy in my TV room... No hdmi cables everywhere. Just pull out my phone or tablet and pull up whatever I want to watch then send it to the chromecast and put the phone down.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

rans0m00 said:
I find the chromecast handy in my TV room... No hdmi cables everywhere. Just pull out my phone or tablet and pull up whatever I want to watch then send it to the chromecast and put the phone down.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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+1
also a nice way to upgrade an older non-smart TV to semi smart......

I never got it to work with my jellybean android phone. installed the app but never saw a chromecast feature in anything... chrome browser, watch espn, gallery nothing... but again didn't really try too hard.. hdmi for me.

codecobalt said:
I never got it to work with my jellybean android phone. installed the app but never saw a chromecast feature in anything... chrome browser, watch espn, gallery nothing... but again didn't really try too hard.. hdmi for me.
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Not all apps have the casting feature. Avia does YouTube does. ESPN and gallery do not
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent BlueTapatalk 2

One of the Advantages is to be able to stream content to TVs in other rooms for Family and Friends without having to tie up your Laptop.
Truth is a Laptop has the fewest options available for using the CCast. None of the CCast compatible Apps will run on a Laptop and the only real benefit is you can launch a Netflix, Hulu and YouTube movie to the CCast from their Webpages.
So you can watch a movie on your TV while you do other things with the Laptop.

In the OP's case a secondary out from the computer doesn't "tie it up" much except for CPU and network usage. Well, launching a full screen game or something would likely jam things up.
Sent from a device with no keyboard. Please forgive typos, they may not be my own.

When using the hdmi out wont the graphics card be stressed also? Using the chromecast eliminates that altogether i thought...i use plex mostly for my entertainment system and debated getting a dedicated graphics card...in the end i chose casting between my devices because i have the bandwidth to support it and no desire to push my graphics card too hard if i chose to watch a 1080 trilogy....hows my logic?

That's reasonable logic too. Chromecast had hardware processing for the (limited) formats it supports, so it uses far less power than a laptop, perhaps even less power than a tablet because it's not also powering a screen. Personally I like the "start it up and let it go" aspect - no worries about what I do on my phone/tablet/computer once it's playing.

htc media link vs chromecast?

Looking for something to stream my content wirelessly. I know htc has their own media link device but the chrome cast is way cheaper. Would I be missing out on anything if I went with the chrome cast vs the media link?
Really I just want to show off videos and photos. I could care less about streaming games.
Does anyone have experience with either device? Thank you

chivamex10 said:
Looking for something to stream my content wirelessly. I know htc has their own media link device but the chrome cast is way cheaper. Would I be missing out on anything if I went with the chrome cast vs the media link?
Really I just want to show off videos and photos. I could care less about streaming games.
Does anyone have experience with either device? Thank you
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They appear to be basically the same other than physical appearance. I don't know how much the HTC Media Link costs but unless it's $35 or less I doubt it makes sense to buy it over chrome cast. Plus the chromecast is just a stick you plug in. No extra wires or nonsense. Just plug and play. Whereas the Media Link has more of an Apple TV feel to it in the way it connects to the tv and requires a power cable.
All that being said, it is a device made by htc for htc devices while the chromecast has to cater to all android, or at least majority of them.
At the end of the I don't think you can go wring with either choice. But are sub $100 and won't break the bank. Both of them do the job they say they'll do. Just your preference as to which to get I suppose.

pretty sure the chromecast, even though it would probably be lower speced, it will be much more sold and therefore, more support with apps and stuff...

Get the chromecast, I've got one and is pretty slick. There will be a ton more compatible apps soon. It does need a hdmi port and a 5v micro usb supply. But your t.v.should have a usb spare. I use it in the bedroom to stream movies etc via plex app.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

if your tv is a smart tv and has dlna you wont need either. The m8 will broadcast to dlna enabled tv's on the same wifi network. I have the media link hd i used for my m7 and my m8. i honestly dont use it anymore because all my tv's have dlna.

It would depend on what you are trying to watch. I don't remember if the medialink does full mirroring by default (it did on my evo 4g lte), but if you don't need to mirror due to a non-chromecast supported streaming app like crunchyroll or xfinityTV, I would recommend the chromecast over the medialink, which in my personal experience had tons of compression and didn't look very good on even a 32 inch 1080 screen. The chromecast, on the other hand, when paired with the Allcast app, can steam pretty much anything you can play locally on your phone to the TV flawlessly. If you're gonna watch netflix/youtube/hulu or any of the officially supported apps, then its a no brainer. I wish i had cancelled my order on my original medialink HD when they told me it was on backorder and asked me what i wanted to do. I used it for a week and then went straight back to MHL because of the compression. When the chromecast came and Allcast was released, I forgot i even had the medialink.

wranglerray said:
if your tv is a smart tv and has dlna you wont need either. The m8 will broadcast to dlna enabled tv's on the same wifi network. I have the media link hd i used for my m7 and my m8. i honestly dont use it anymore because all my tv's have dlna.
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I want to buy the HTC Media link for my M8
wanna install it on my car to stream videos and music. curious on what model your media link is?
I want to buy this one is this the correct one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-HTC..._Internet_Media_Streamers&hash=item43c59cff0b

Z51 said:
I want to buy the HTC Media link for my M8
wanna install it on my car to stream videos and music. curious on what model your media link is?
I want to buy this one is this the correct one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-HTC..._Internet_Media_Streamers&hash=item43c59cff0b
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Media Link & Chromecast are NOT the same. They use different protocols. Media Link uses WiFi Direct. It is what used to be called WiFi p2p networking. It is great for certain things, HD video is not really one of them. The CVhromecast makes its own connection to the internet via WiFi & is only controlled by the device for most uses right now. Wifi Direct is supported in a rudimentary fashion, which will likely improve, but they are most definitely not the same thing.
Media link is better suited for presentations. Chromecast is better suited for entertainment.
Also, if all you want to do is get content to a TV, MHL may work better. It handles 1080p & audio flawlessly & if you are patient, as soon as a real MHL 3.0 device is available, it will support 4K video & 8 audio channels.

GSLEON3 said:
Media Link & Chromecast are NOT the same. They use different protocols. Media Link uses WiFi Direct. It is what used to be called WiFi p2p networking. It is great for certain things, HD video is not really one of them. The CVhromecast makes its own connection to the internet via WiFi & is only controlled by the device for most uses right now. Wifi Direct is supported in a rudimentary fashion, which will likely improve, but they are most definitely not the same thing.
Media link is better suited for presentations. Chromecast is better suited for entertainment.
Also, if all you want to do is get content to a TV, MHL may work better. It handles 1080p & audio flawlessly & if you are patient, as soon as a real MHL 3.0 device is available, it will support 4K video & 8 audio channels.
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I dont need it for my home TV
I need it for my car. I wanna be able to stream music (spotify) to my car. it has the RCA connectors and I have a RCA to HDMI cable so I would use it like so. would it work?

Z51 said:
I dont need it for my home TV
I need it for my car. I wanna be able to stream music (spotify) to my car. it has the RCA connectors and I have a RCA to HDMI cable so I would use it like so. would it work?
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there has to be a wifi network for the media link to work. HTC does have a Bluetooth stereo adapter you can use to stream music wireless to anything with a aux input jack.
http://www.htc.com/us/accessories/htc-bluetooth-stereoclip/
you can find a rca to aux input cable for 3$ at any Walmart or radio shack

wranglerray said:
there has to be a wifi network for the media link to work. HTC does have a Bluetooth stereo adapter you can use to stream music wireless to anything with a aux input jack.
http://www.htc.com/us/accessories/htc-bluetooth-stereoclip/
you can find a rca to aux input cable for 3$ at any Walmart or radio shack
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THERE DOES NOT have to be WiFi for Media Link to work. It is the same thing as the Push2TV from Netgear. It uses WIFi Direct, aka WiFi p2p, it creates it's own network between two devices. Chromecast on the other hand communicates via WiFi, needing a wireless network to get content, the handset acting only as a controller.
MHL will play video, or audio, but I don't know about HDMI to RCA conversion. It does have the least amount of lag, aside from Chromecast, which doesn't really count because it is using it's own seperate Wifi & app interface. With MHL or WiFi Direct, you are literally streaming, screen casting, from your device to your 2nd display. With chromecast, the CC device actually connects to the network & content is played directly on it.
The downside to CC is you need to have a wifi AP. The downside to MHL or WiFi Direct is that you have to have you phone screen on or content will not play.

connect to car's head unit?
Hi,
i am trying to find a solution to get my M8 content mirrorlink to my Honda City 2014.
i don't really intend to stream video on it but all i want is to display the GPS on the 7" screen.
had tried the MHL to HDMI cable but somehow it will just connect audio and nothing else.
would it be better for me to just get a media link or chromecast in this case?
p/s: Honda Malaysia (where i'm from) doesn't supply GPS integrated HU in their vehicles..
p/s: i had also done wire bypass so i'm able to use the HU visuals even when driving.
please help

I love my ChromeCast. If you have the power on a separate source, it turns on your tv automatically with whatever you're casting.

Chromecast takes care of just about every bit of media streaming I do. Definitely recommended.

HTC Media link feature to chromecast
I apologize if I should post this elsewhere, new member, I'm trying to find out if I could use the HTC One M7 three finger swipe feature, which automatically goes to dual screen mode to duplicate screen via a HTC media link HD on TV, with the chromecast instead? I know I can use chromecast with it normally, just would be nice to have three finger swipe feature, cheers in advance