The Droid TV thread

AVSupply said:
Regarding Dolby and DTS support, yes, the M8 supports it
Click to expand...
Yep, can confirm what AVsupply is saying, I run XBMC with passthrough enabled in mboxSettings and XBMC on my Creative amp via coaxial. This is for the MX2 DroidTv and optical passthrough audio for M8:)
 
So I changed the ports on the Droid and made sure the cable is fine but the HD still goes on and off.
Sometimes it's fine for a while an suddenly it starts.
I'm gonna try another cable tomorrow and see if that helps- no movie for me tonight :(
 
@silkman: I think that you are going to need to purchase a dual USB 3 cable like this as mentioned previously. That hard drive needs close to 1A to work reliably according to the specs. A USB 2.0 port is only supposed to supply a maximum of 500mA. I'll look a bit more to see if I can find something locally. Are you anywhere near Johannesburg?
http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-dual-Micro-B-Cable-Black/dp/B005M0ICG2

EDIT: Everything you need to know in here ...
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...-this-cable-USB-3-0-A-Male-to-Micro-B-Y-Cable

I think this combination may work (just check with AVSupply) - the male micro USB connector on the adapter should fit into half of the USB 3 connector on the hard drive and the male mini connector on the dual USB cable should fit into the mini female on the other side of the adapter.
http://www.avsupply.co.za/product_info.php/mini-usb-micro-usb-adapter-p-553
http://www.avsupply.co.za/product_info.php/dual-usb-mini-cable-p-615
 
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How does one navigate Netflix on Android? There is no hardware keyboard included so how would one search for a movie with the included IR remote for example?
 
Yotch said:
@silkman: I think that you are going to need to purchase a dual USB 3 cable like this as mentioned previously. That hard drive needs close to 1A to work reliably according to the specs. A USB 2.0 port is only supposed to supply a maximum of 500mA. I'll look a bit more to see if I can find something locally. Are you anywhere near Johannesburg?
http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-dual-Micro-B-Cable-Black/dp/B005M0ICG2

EDIT: Everything you need to know in here ...
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...-this-cable-USB-3-0-A-Male-to-Micro-B-Y-Cable

I think this combination may work (just check with AVSupply) - the male micro USB connector on the adapter should fit into half of the USB 3 connector on the hard drive and the male mini connector on the dual USB cable should fit into the mini female on the other side of the adapter.
http://www.avsupply.co.za/product_info.php/mini-usb-micro-usb-adapter-p-553
http://www.avsupply.co.za/product_info.php/dual-usb-mini-cable-p-615
Click to expand...

Thanks Bro
So what you saying is my hard drive is a bit too power hungry for the droid?

I am in Jhb btw.
I will try both another cable from work and a micro USB (Didn't know you could do that).
If that doesn't work will have to get that y cable (I was told before that a dual cable would always need more power so am surprised to learn otherwise.) or the solution you suggest from Avsupply.

Just one question if the cable is runnign at USB 2 speeds will HD movies play fine?

Thanks again
 
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Park@82 said:
How does one navigate Netflix on Android? There is no hardware keyboard included so how would one search for a movie with the included IR remote for example?
Click to expand...

Hi Park@82

I imagine it would be a painful experience with the stock remote, which is why a lot of our customers add a Gyrsocopic mouse to their order

I've heard a wireless USB mouse works well, and there's also remote control software for Android phones
 
silkman said:
Thanks Bro
So what you saying is my hard drive is a bit too power hungry for the droid?

I am in Jhb btw.
I will try both another cable from work and a micro USB (Didn't know you could do that).
If that doesn't work will have to get that y cable (I was told before that a dual cable would always need more power so am surprised to learn otherwise.) or the solution you suggest from Avsupply.

Just one question if the cable is runnign at USB 2 speeds will HD movies play fine?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Hi silkman

Sorry to hear you having issues with your drive, hopefully the other cable works. If it doesn't, we're bringing in some Y cables

If you desperate to watch a movie, a USB flash drive will work fine until we find a solution
 
AVSupply said:
Hi silkman

Sorry to hear you having issues with your drive, hopefully the other cable works. If it doesn't, we're bringing in some Y cables

If you desperate to watch a movie, a USB flash drive will work fine until we find a solution
Click to expand...

Thanks man. Will post feedback once tested.
BTW the MX3 is awesome.
 
Park@82 said:
How does one navigate Netflix on Android? There is no hardware keyboard included so how would one search for a movie with the included IR remote for example?
Click to expand...

These media players have an onscreen keyboard which pops up automatically for text entry just like a touchscreen cell phone. I use a T2 air mouse to type on the keyboard which works very well. Some people prefer to use an air mouse with an integrated keyboard like the MX3 or the Mele F10 Pro but I personally find text entry on a keyboard in the dark a bit frustrating. I have tried both the IR remote which came with the DroidTV as well as a mini Rii keyboard and now use the T2 air mouse exclusively.
Onscreen keyboard ...
http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showfull.php?photo=35853
 
@silkman: Here are some datasheets for the latest 1TB hard drives. If you check the required spin-up power for the 1TB Toshiba drive it is 4.5W. This means that the current draw is close to 1A i.e. 5V @ 1A. This is probably why you are having problems. I know one woman was having similar disconnection problems a while back with a Transcend 1TB USB3 drive that went away after she attached it to the USB 3 port on her laptop instead of the USB 2.0 port that she had been using.
http://storage.toshiba.com/techdocs/mq01abdxxx.pdf
http://www.seagate.com/files/staticfiles/support/docs/samsung-ds/100698122c.pdf
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701278.pdf
 
Thanks Yotch -you do know your stuff!
So I tried both the micro USB and another USB cable but it still doesn't work on the Droid.
Where in Jhb can I get 1 of those Y cables?
For now I'm gonna see if I can setup XBMC to stream from my laptop- an ambitious project for me!
 
@silkman: To stream from XBMC just look at Section 4. How to share folders in the Noob Guide - don't worry about anything else.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s2/general/noob-guide-access-windows-pc-files-t1896999

Once you have activated file sharing you should be able to see the files on your PC via XBMC on the DroidTV. This should not take more than a few minutes to set up. I have tested it myself.

You can try HDCabling - just call first. The cable is 3m though which is a bit long.
Shop 1068 (Upper Level, Left side of Toys-R-Us, above Pick-n-Pay)
Heathway Square Mall
Beyers Naude Drive
Blackheath
Cresta
Johannesburg
[email protected]
Tel: 011 476 4991

Takealot: http://www.takealot.com/hama-mini-usb-y-cable-1-0m/PLID26783347

If you have a soldering iron you could make something up using a few connectors. Some of the component suppliers will do it for you for a fee.
http://www.otto.co.za/products/memory-usb-connectors/usb-connectors-cables/
http://shop.rabtron.co.za/catalog/ieee-connectors-c-126_243.html?osCsid=fs23kh6tuf67e4sllms72als34
 
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silkman said:
For now I'm gonna see if I can setup XBMC to stream from my laptop- an ambitious project for me!
Click to expand...
I haven't tried streaming from my PC with my droid box yet, but using Plex on my Roku, I can stream HD from my PC to my TV via wifi, and it doesn't miss a beat. The only downside to Plex is you have to install the app on the droid box and you have to install the server program on your PC, although it is quite easy to install and it runs in the background.
 
Noon question... About to unpack first ext HDD I've ever had. For streaming and backup use. Primarily for DroidTV. Need to format it? In any particular way? Any other advice welcome.
 
They usually come formatted in NTFS which should be fine.
 
The PS3 may be a bit problematic as that usually requires FAT32 which means that you won't be able to store files larger than 4GB. I'll try to find out what other options are available.
 
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