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.
Related
i use my TD to play music in my car, so i connect it with the USB entrance of my car radio, i have to choose 'DiskDrive' else it doesn't work...
(just to say, sometimes the connection goes dead and i have to reconnect it wich is jdkfjmkdkfjfkjjsfksdkfj...)
now while listening to my music, i also wonna use tomtom, but tomtom is installed in my internal storage (WE map = 1.7 GB) so i can't access it because my TD is connected with my radio as a 'diskdrive'
does anyone know a solution for this???
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/USB-Flash-Drives/Kingston/Kingston-4GB-Data-Traveler-USB-Flash-Drive
just so u know, i allready tried installing tomtom application on my diamond and only the maps on the internal storage...
same result
Davey101 said:
http://www.mymemory.co.uk/USB-Flash-Drives/Kingston/Kingston-4GB-Data-Traveler-USB-Flash-Drive
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Click to collapse
good hint, problem is, i wonna know if this is possible, cuz i just ordered a new car and it doens't have a radio USB input, but i can connect my TD to it with some accessoires, but if i can't play my music and tomtom in the same time i will have to buy an ipod or so
nickgeys said:
good hint, problem is, i wonna know if this is possible, cuz i just ordered a new car and it doens't have a radio USB input, but i can connect my TD to it with some accessoires, but if i can't play my music and tomtom in the same time i will have to buy an ipod or so
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Click to collapse
I don't think it's possible. Even if it were then a separate USB flash drive (plus a Diamond car charger) would always be a better solution.
What accessories? Do you mean an audio cable, feeding the audio out from the diamond to an aux input on the head unit? If that's the case then you don't need access to the internal storage.
As Davey said, if you're using a USB <--> Stereo adapter, then the phone isn't in disk-drive mode, and therefore you can use GPS and Windows Media Player (or whatever) at the same time.
I did this not more than 15 minutes ago.
hexydes said:
As Davey said, if you're using a USB <--> Stereo adapter, then the phone isn't in disk-drive mode, and therefore you can use GPS and Windows Media Player (or whatever) at the same time.
I did this not more than 15 minutes ago.
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lol i doubt that, but i'll try it when i have my new car... when plugged in USB drive i HAVE to use 'disk-drive' cuz it won't work with active sync...
nickgeys said:
lol i doubt that, but i'll try it when i have my new car... when plugged in USB drive i HAVE to use 'disk-drive' cuz it won't work with active sync...
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Click to collapse
You're right in that it probably won't use activesync.
You're wrong in that it probably won't use "disk-drive" either. If it did, you could just use a USB pen drive instead. You certainly couldn't use the Diamond running TomTom, given that this is NOT possible.
As explained, you're probably talking about a simple USB audio cable. Don't expect it to sound very good and don't expect to be able to control the music from your head unit. An iPod may turn out to be a better option seeing as many head units with iPod adapters feature full iPod control. Good luck!
@nickgeys
I've got the same problem as you.
I've put one USB cable beetwen the Diamond and the car radio.
the car radio see an USB storage drive and scan it to find mp3 (5 min for me, my drive is 3/4 full).
So yes, we use "disk-drive" on the diamond in a car.
Perhaps we didn't want to hear "turn left" on the radio, perhaps we want to make a phone call while listening music and following GPS instructions.
Perhaps we didn't want to manage multiple MP3 folder (one on the Diamond, one on the USB card for the car...)
Perhaps we want to use the car remote control on the driving weel to switch between albums..... many reason
I won't buy a USB storage card or an Ipod !!!!! When i go to a car garage to repair my car, i don't expet to hear the mechanic telling me to buy a bike.
I've already use an USB storage card for my wife music (far from my taste)
I want to share on the USB only a folder.
BTW, i understand that the 'disk-drive' function plug the usb directly to the storage for performance reason. When you transfert files by ActiveSync and DriveStorage, we can see different tranferts speed.
Well, if you have a bluetooth enabled car stereo, your problems will be solved
Anyways, do you only have a usb port in your car stereo? Don't you have an AUX (mini-jack, 3,5mm)? Because if you do, I believe you can use an usb to 3,5mm adapter and plug it to your AUX...if I'm not mistaken? Haven't tried this myself tho, cause I got myself a Sony Bluetooth car stereo
Thank you for you help, but this didn't give response to my answer.
I know how to plug à 3.5 mn on my car radio.
but i want tomtom sound (radar alarm) on the phone, and music in the car radio.
With your 3.5mn jack solution, how do you
- use the car remote control ?
- make a phone call while listening music ?
Buy an Ipod ?
Don't you think it's cheaper to burn a CD-rom with mp3 on it ?
The question was : How to limit the usd driver to one folder and not the entire 4gb storage.
For those how read "how to listen music in my car", please re-read the question.
I've got a workmate who has a pretty flash car with a "Pioneer Avic" car stereo head unit in it, now apparently these things are the bees knees when it comes to car stereos, and from what he tells me especially because he bought the thing when it first appeared on the market he paid a hefty price as well. for no one that knows its a dble Din touchscreen unit that has built in hard disk, GPS, plays movies can play tv, if you buy extra attachment, can talk to the car via the "cambus" system...?, and most of the other regular features that can found on things similar to this, He told me he paid 4K AUD for the thing when it first came out, so I would tell him why wouldn't you just build your own car PC for a fraction of the price which does more...!!, he complains to me about the 40 GB hard disk that comes with it, I think this is only for GPS maps and when a CD is inserted it automatically Rips to hard disk, he's looked into getting another harddisk as its just your standard laptop size, but apparently (I assume "Pioneer"), have made this vitually impossible, so if there's no way around that, he asks me is it possable to I assume that there would be a process of flashing a rom of some sort, with say....some version of windows, or maybe linux..... Thanks in advance !!, Nick....
I want to set up my PC as a TV and DVR, what's the best way to do this? I have a cable outlet right beside the PC, I know I could get a TV Tuner card but I know nothing about them at all and there are so many it's confusing. Hauppage(sp?) seems to be the most popular but are they any good? Are there any questions I should be asking myself before I chose? Any help would be much appreciated. Is there a better option altogether? I've searched the internet but it's basically an information overload, no good guides can be found for all the 5 year old junk
tuner you get depends on what software (dvr software) you want to run, what you want to do, and how fast your computer is.
things to know:
some with one tuner and some with 2
some with only OTA and some with QAM (unencrypted cable), some do both
hauppauge has pci/pci-e cards as well as usb
HDhomerun has several models, 2 tuner OTA/QAM, 4* tuner cable card, etc
Ceton has a 4, and a 6?, tuner card
some of these have hardware encoders, some dont (slower computers will need encoding otherwise it will be choppy, audio dropouts)
You should first figure out exactly what type of signal is coming in on that cable. Does your area still have analog cable service (my area does, but I think that's getting more scarce), or is it digital only? Are there any clear-QAM channels (which are usually just the local networks) or is it all encrypted? If it's only digital and encrypted channels that you're interested in, then you need something that can take a CableCARD.
After that, it's all about what software you want to run and how many tuners you require.
You may be better off just using a combo of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Instant Video and Bittorrent.
Otherwise you haven't given us any of your specs to be able you help you out. What type of PC do you have? Windows/Linux/Mac... Processor/RAM/HD, also like others have noted are you going for Over the Air signal, analog or Digital Cable, standard def or HD. Are you going to be using a set top box or going for a cable card(very expensive option). Give us as much detail as possible if you want competent answers.
As for using your PC as a TV and PVR, I'd recommend using XBMC to turn it into a Home Theater PC (HTPC). The site, LifeHacker, does an XBMC/HTPC guide every few months. You would still need to buy hardware like a TV tuner but XBMC does a lot on the software end.
Also, if you use XBMC, you can use your Nook Color (assuming you at least have rooted it and have access to the Andoid Market) to control the XBMC software via the XBMC remote app.
Here is a guide that lifehacker did. It's a little old but the basics are still relevant and correct. http*://lifehacker.*com/5536963/the-ultimate-start-to-finish-guide-to-your-xbmc-media-center (remove the asterisks)
What everyone else has said -- need more info on what you have, also what budget, and what cable setup.
I have an HTPC set up but it's for media streaming, not dvr recording.
One forum I found very helpful is the AVS forum (search in google), they have a sub-forum dedicated entirely to HTPCs.
Sorry for the lack on info didn't know that my PC specs mattered all that much. I am running:
Vista Home Premium, 64bit
Intel Core2 Quad CPU (Q9300 @2.5ghz)
4GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce GT240
Appx. 600gb ofhard-drive space plus a 500gb permanent external USB. I can add more HD space if it becomes a problem.
Not sure if there is any other system info you guys need.
As for my cable I dunno for sure what signal I have, I have COMCAST if that helps anyone. Mainly I want this for recording sports. I can't always watch them live and it'd be nice to DVR them for later. I'd also use it for shows, but those I can always watch online later. Can't really watch sports later though. And I'd also like to be able to just normally watch TV on my computer. I'd like to be able to do something on monitor one while the other plays live TV. Sports or whatever.
Also, to this:
Are you going to be using a set top box or going for a cable card(very expensive option).
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I am not sure what you mean. I was thinking you get the TV Tuner, install it in your PCIE slot, and watch TV on the PC. Do you need another device?
Landara said:
I am not sure what you mean. I was thinking you get the TV Tuner, install it in your PCIE slot, and watch TV on the PC. Do you need another device?
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Click to collapse
A basic TV tuner will only be able to pick up Over The Air signals and basic cable(very limited channel selection). If you want to be able to watch digital cable you'll need either a set top box or a cable card and cable card reader(like this one).
some nice basic tv tuners
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116028
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100049
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116015
I believe you have Windows Media Center included with your Windows version, it's probably going to be your best option for software.
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.
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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.
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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.
So I have xt894 running cm12. I have a windows 7 pc.
What do I need to do to be doing what I could be doing?
Please open my eyes.
Sent from my XT894 using Tapatalk
What is it you expect that you could be doing? :v
The last I checked, CM12 - PC works fine over bluetooth, though you'll need a decent bluetooth adapter (that comes with its own software), as Windows' bluetooth stack doesn't seem to like the $0.99 CSR-based adapters you can buy off eBay.
Alternatively, I guess you could buy a copy of Bluesoleil, since it replaces the Windows stack and makes said cheap adapters properly functional. Might be expensive, though.
i would like to have my pc lock when i walk away.
i would like music on my phone to be played on my computer speakers while within range.
I want my droid 4 to act as a mouse and keyboard.
I want it to be connected to multiple bluetooth enabled computers/devices and be able to select which device to output to using a menu on the droid.
games on my phone with a controller, in addition to other features yet thought of.
Ultimately, this is a very functional device.
have a great day.
thank you for your well formed replies.
Sorry for the late reply, I've been pretty busy with work this week.
I'm not personally familiar with any programs that do this, but it looks like this is what you're looking for.
To pipe music through to your speakers, you'll need an adapter that supports A2DP, or more ideally for sound quality, aptX. I would guess even the cheap adapters support A2DP, since it's older. The Windows bluetooth stack doesn't appear to offer any audio functionality with cheap CSR-based adapters (which more dollar ebay adapters are), but they might be A2DP-capable at least.
Even with the Windows bluetooth stack, you can use your phone as a keyboard/mouse. I used AndroMouse for this purpose a while back, and it (mostly) worked, but there are many apps that should work as well. Most if not all will require you to install a client program on your PC and run it whenever you want to connect.
As with the above, even the Windows stack allows using your phone as a controller; they all use the common Remote Control bluetooth profile. I tried out Ultimate Gamepad, and it seemed to work fine. I only tried playing a Gameboy game with it though, I'm not sure about its responsiveness for more demanding games...
If you shop a bit on ebay, some adapters include a disc with an older version of Bluesoleil, and others might come with a copy of CSR Harmony (they'll have a disc labeled "CSR 4.0" pictured, which could be anything really). If you're willing to spend $10 or so, you can usually find a few listings with adapters by IOGEAR, Insignia, etc other house brands which possibly have up-to-date software you can grab off their sites.
Cheaper than outright buying Bluesoleil, anyway.