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Hi,
I use my galaxy S 16Gb version as multimedia player on my car. for months I've been using cyanogenmod 7.1 rom without problems.
The problem is when I share mi internal card data as "usb mass storage", whole internal memory is shared (documents, images, files, etc...) and when I plug it on usb car audio, can't find music inside all android stuff.
¿Is ther any way to mount only selected folders where I've music to play in the car?
Thanks.
Regards,
Adrián.
Anyone knows any solution please?
Thanks.
My head unit goes straight back where it left off when I plug or unplg it. It took a minute to find it the first time now itbgoes right there.
Playing music from playlist of Galaxy S / S2 USB port of car Head Unit
hi,
I want to know if Galaxy S/S2 can be used to play music from phones playlist on the USB port on the head unit of cars.
I am interested in using galaxy S as any iPhone can be used on USB port / docking to play songs from the playlist. Dont wanna use the phone as a storage device and access folders to play music.
Have tried connecting a friend's Galaxy S2 on USB port but it could access only the folders on the memory. not able to find a way to play the playlist
Any information on this front would be helpful.
Can you guys not just simply navigate the folders with your music in it? My 6 year old deck does this, so I'm sure yours does to. And if you personally can't navigate folders, then... wow.
Yes folders can be navigated to get to the song but its not easy to do while driving.
Further whats the point buying an expensive device that cannot be user-friendly enough when u need it the most.
Playlists make things simple and if these cannot be accessed then its better to stick to pen drive instead or maybe iPhone that does the job pretty well (atleast this one for sure ;-) )
i am hopeful developers can come up with an easy way to take care of this.
if iPhone can why cant android !!!
Honestly, you're probably just doing some wrong. Set the default folder, move your music folder somewhere not 583 folders from the root drive, etc.
Or just use your iPhone if computers scare you.
This section is flooded with case threads, so I decided to write up some first impressions on a different type of accessory: the Kingston Wi-Drive.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Wi-D...=UTF8&qid=1342506312&sr=8-1&keywords=wi-drive
(I bought it from Best Buy since I had a gift card from there)
Flavors: 16gb, 32gb, and 64gb (I got the 32gb)
Specs: http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/wireless/#wid
Since I'm not too experienced with reviews, I'll post a nice one I read before buying... it has a link to a nice video with it in action: http://androidspin.com/2012/03/27/k...adds-new-features-and-just-plain-works-great/
Because I have the 8gb Nexus 7, I looked for some type of portable external storage... and since there currently isn't a way to play files directly from an OTG + USB drive (edited: looks like OTG+USB drive works for some but not for others... there is a thread in the accessories section that is keeping track of the drives that allow you to play media directly from them... thanks for the heads up mewantnexus7), I wanted to look into a wi-fi drive. As there are a few in the market (Seagate GoFlex Satellite, Transcend Storejet, maybe more), I will give you some of the reasons why I chose this one and my initial impressions of the device.
Reasons for choosing the Wi-Drive over the competition:
1. SSD (Seagate and Transcend have received complaints about the drives quitting on their users... both have HDDs)
2. More portable (very small and light... about the size of the Nexus One maybe... but way thinner. Maybe more comparable to an ipod touch... but haven't handled an ipod, so I don't know.).
3. The app works... according to many, the Seagate software was extremely buggy., and the only way to make it usable was to hack it (see hackseagatesatellite.com). Don't know about Transcends software.
4. Reviews online were overall better for the Wi-Drive
My initial impressions:
Before going into the pros and cons, let me just say that, according to my testing, the wi-drive works the best with Dice Player (I have the free version with ads). In Jelly Bean, video would stutter in the default media player and even MX Player. In ICS (tested on a GNex with CM9) and Gingerbread (tested with a rooted G2), those players may have worked okay, but would bring the video up slower than Dice. Overall, Dice worked the best.... and the only player I found that worked on the N7.
PROS:
1. I love how portable and light it is.
2. Easy for folks to connect. Have them connect to the wi-drive's SSID... then they either go into the android/ios app or put 192.168.200.254 in their fav browser, and they are connected.
3. 3 devices can play content smoothly without hiccups
4. It's possible to connect to both the wi-drive and your own wi-fi network in order to surf the night while connected to your drive.
5. Contrary to what some people may think, it is possible to charge and stream your media (just turn the drive on before charging)
6. The app works well (though it force closes sometimes... usually when disconnected from the wi-drive network).
7. The security features are nice... you can hide your ssid and put some type of encryption (WEP, WPA, WPA2, or mixed).
8. It has a pretty nice range. I used it about 18 ft. away with a wall between me and the wi-drive; it showed about 2 wifi bars on the N7... and the video played perfectly. Of course, success may differ due to many different factors that affect wi-fi.
9. You can transfer media from your device to the wi-drive and vice versa (and delete media) through the app. Haven't tried it through a browser. IOS doesn't have that feature which is weird but doesn't concern me since I don't have an IOS device.
10. Battery Life: I haven't tested it, but those that have said that it lasted over 4 hours, which is comparable to Seagate's drive. Being able to watch a couple of movies on a single charge is pretty nice and is enough for me... and, as mentioned above, you can charge and stream as well.
CONS:
1. It gets HOT... extremely hot when streaming. Leaving it out in the open is definitely recommended... for one, so it doesn't burn you while it's in your pocket (exaggerating a bit, but just a bit), and also to keep your drive as cool as possible.
2. The storage size may not be enough for some (which may be a con for them), but I think choosing an SSD over an HDD is worth it.
3. It takes about 2 min and 15 sec from powering on the drive (1 min 30 sec from connecting to the wi-drive) to be able to see content from the app or the browser. Not super-long... and it may be fast for an accessory like this, but I figured I'd just put it on the con side just in case.
4. There's no way to change the wi-drive's IP address (source: Kingston Wi-Drive FAQ)
5. 3 connected devices may be a con to some...and all connected devices seem to have read/write access to your media (haven't officially tested this, but I did see the copy/delete options on a friend's device).
That's all I can think of right now. Will update if I can think of anything else.
RECOMMENDED? Yes!!
I really enjoy this accessory. I love that I can take it around and access the media on all of my devices... essentially extending the memory not only on my N7, but on all of the devices. I can save storage on my devices for apps and other things and put all media on the wi-drive. I think this is a no-brainer for 8gb N7 owners... but even 16gb N7's could use some extra storage.
Feel free to chime in if you have the wi-drive and let me know if I missed something.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium and ZAGGkeys Flex BT keyboard... I'll write a post about this one next.
There /is/ a way to play files directly from a usb drive. Root, install stickmount, and enjoy.
Thanks for the reply.
I initially rooted my N7 hoping that stickmount would allow me to watch movies directly from the otg cable and USB drive... but it wasn't possible at that time. According to one of the threads on xda, it may be hardware (or USB drive specific). For me and my Transcend 32gb USB drive, I was only able to copy/paste between the USB drive and the N7. But I will update my post. Thanks again!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Thanks for the review, wasn't aware of this one. I use a 500GB Seagate GoFlex Satellite for much the same thing. I think the Seagate probably offers better value for money than Kingston's one here.
Thanks for the review. While I think the wi-drive is a useful bit of tech, it's a unitasker (NAS, essentially) which is also a con. It's one more thing to carry around.
Folks who already carry around an Android phone can potentially look to it in order to provide network access as well as storage without the limitations of the wi-drive. The main limitation will still be the amount of storage for some, though SD cards are getting up there!
Thanks for the review, I was thinking about getting one of these.
File Formats
I am interesting in getting this, however many of the reviews suggest that the file formats that can be streamed are quite limited. If it is acting like a USB flash drive, then I do not see how. It sounds like the software app limits its use?
I can currently play HD WTV file from a USB flash drive plugged into my Droid DNA (via an OTG adaptor), however using this method I cannot use the USB port to charge and I have wires sticking out of the phone.
If I get this Kingston WiDrive, would I be able to fill it with WTV files (Windows 7 MC recorded TV files) and play them with MX Player?
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Like the title says. Anyone know where I could buy a dvd drive that these headunits use or at least some dvd drive model numbers I can try to reference? The headunit I bought came without a dvd drive, and upon taking it apart I learned that I can just get a dvd drive and the cables for it and make it work. I'd just have to cut a hole in the faceplate, but that's the easy part, all the other mounts line up to support it and there's the connector on board. I've got one of the JY units, rk3066, 800x480, most recent Malaysk rom 4.4.4.
Thanks in advance for any leads.
I'd probably try to convince you this is a waste of time considering it's so simple to convert a DVD to something digital and that optical drives have very short lifespans in a car.
It's not really for the dvd portion, but more of the CD portion, for music. I'm aware there's ways to convert things over, but I frequently go to local music shows and I often buy bands cd's to support them. I hate having to wait until I get home to listen to/rip the cd. lol. I went from having a 6cd changer in my car to the android stereo, much better, but I didn't think I'd miss the dvd drive when I bought the stereo a few years ago.
Any chance anyone would know of a method using an external usb disk drive? My stereo's got 2 usb ports I could use. I'd be fine storing it in my glove box until I need it.
Honestly, a simple old skool portable cd player that you might use with headphones pared with an aux input, bluetooth converter or FM transmitter is probably your easiest route.
I was trying out my CD/DVD drive to see how it works with the Tab S8+. Because the Tab S8 series is "productivity" I thought I would re-write and repost a review of my Android CD/DVD player from the Tab S4 Forum. A problem with modern laptops -- and laptop replacements like the Galaxy Tab series tablets -- is that they don't have CD/DVD drives. But I have years of discs laying around my home office. So one evening a few years ago, I had a CD rom disk I wanted to get a data file off of, 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). And came up empty. Most plug-n-play USB devices play pretty well with Android. I had no problems hooking a USB Floppy drive up to Android and pulling files off it with Solid Explorer (Sabrent FL-UDRV). But nothing worked for the CD/DVD drive. I didn't realize this was "hard". I'm really trying 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.
So 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 Hitachi-LG model on Amazon that people report has this support -- otherwise described as TV Connectivity. So I found an LG drive that specifically claimed flash-storage support: The manual says it has TV Connectivity where it acts as a flash drive.
https://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-Portable-External-GP65NB60/dp/B00ODDE33U
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.
Good enough, you can at least read-only DVD’s and CD’s.
Well, I looked a bit more at Hitachi-LG drives and found something even better: a DVD/CD read-write drive compatible with Android! (It also supports TV Connectivity.)
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.
My Model (no longer available):
LG Ultra Slim Portable DVD Writer DVD Disc Playback & DVD- M-DISC™ Support (GP95NW70) | LG USA
Get information on the LG Ultra Slim Portable DVD Writer DVD Disc Playback & DVD- M-DISC™ Support (GP95NW70). Find pictures, reviews, and tech specs.
www.lg.com
https://www.newegg.com/lg-model-gp95nw70-slim-dvd-burner/p/N82E16827136309
The current model:
https://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-GP96Y-External-Android-Windows/dp/B09XT9MF72
A Korea-only true USB C Model (DVD Player + USB Hub)
http://global.gmarket.co.kr/item?goodscode=2107679847
The apps:
UD Link App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.co.hlds.udlink
https://hitachi-lg.com/sw/udlink
Models KP95 / KP95+ / KP96 / KP99 / GP95 / GP96 / GP78Y / UD10 / GPM1
Disc Link Platinum: (Superseded by UD Link)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=kr.co.hlds.disclink.platinum
http://hlds.co.kr/sw
Models KP95 / KP95+ / KP96 / KP99 / GP95 / GP96 / GP78Y / DVRP-UT8ATV
True DVD (Play Video DVD’s)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smedio.hldsusb
http://hlds.co.kr/sw/index.html
Models GPM1 / UD10 / GP95 / KP95
Long first impressions of LG GP95NW70
I received my GP95 from Newegg, it is now out of stock and I don’t see it available anywhere. 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. At the time, was the only available model in the USA and I only found it on Ebay and at Newegg. Hitachi-LG also sold models GP65 & GP60 in the US but neither of these models are listed as compatible with the Android apps you need to access the drives (but had TV Connectivity). Now the Amazon Android model is GPM1NW10.
There are the two apps you need that are published by Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Inc.:
1) The original app was Disk Link. Disk Link Platinum was required for tablet use (allowed app rotation for landscape orientation). It is still supported in several versions in the app store, but has been superseded by UD Link. This is the app used to read/write data DVD and CD’s and play audio CD’s
2) The Video DVD Player is TrueDVD. There are several versions for different models. TrueDVD works with my player and was $0.99 now is $4.49. This pays for the DVD Video codecs used to play DVD Video disks. Well worth it for the increased functionality. Unprotected DVD Video Disks can be played with VLC Player (I haven’t tried other players), but I haven’t tried this. Most store-bought Video DVD’s have copy protection.
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, Disc Link Platinum, and UD Link play store 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:
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.
Connectivity:
When running 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 purchased a USB C to micro USB cable so I can connect directly to the tablet 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, Gracenotes automatically loads CD disk art & audio track information. 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. UD Link appears to function essetially the same as DVD Link Platinum.
TrueDVD is worth the $4.49 (a couple years ago it was $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 copy-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.
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". 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. ?
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. 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 with Gracenotes. 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.
Take care,
Joe