Avtex USB port power (1 Viewer)

Dec 30, 2014
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Will an Avtex TV/DVDs USB port power an external USB HDD so that you can play films etc recorded on the drive?
 

DJA

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Our Avtex TV's does. Plays USB sticks and a 1tb hardrive.

Doug
 

DuxDeluxe

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Will an Avtex TV/DVDs USB port power an external USB HDD so that you can play films etc recorded on the drive?
Good question.

I tried and it didn't work, but others have done so. What is the trick?

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DJA

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The trick is getting the file formats correct so the TV can play them.
 

DuxDeluxe

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The trick is getting the file formats correct so the TV can play them.
You know what the next question is going to be......... ;)

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DJA

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Hi PaulB

I use a software programme called MagicDVDRipper and I select .avi as the format I want when it copies DVD's. It will copy bought DVD's but not for me as I am to mean to buy them. I get the programmes and films from the TV and store them on a Hardrives so I can view them later when in the motorhome. When you download the software from the website you can also download a DivX file which I recommend you do.

Our Avtex TV has a habit for turning off DivX and if you look on here you will find advise on how to turn it on again.

I use the MagicDVDRipper software, about £40, as I tried several and I could get that one to work. I have used it for many films and TV programmes and it has been well worth it. When I find a simpler method of capturing the films I will be very happy.

The TV requires the Hardrive to be Fat32 formatted like a USB stick. I have got Transcend Hardrives which come Fat32 formatted . However they have to be USB 2 units (orange) which Amazon don't seem to be offering now, not USB 3 (Green). So unless you can get USB2 units I would suggest you get a large USB stick, non USB3 just in case although I think one I have is okay, and load on it the films etc you want to watch from your Hardrive which then can be any format. Please note that we have a Transcend 1tb hardrive and whilst it is supposed to be back compatable with USB 2 the TV cannot see the files properly.
i
A standard film takes up about 1-1.3GB of storage so a 1tb hardrive will store a lots of films.

Hope that helps.

Doug
 
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PaulB
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Hi PaulB

I use a software programme called MagicDVDRipper and I select .avi as the format I want when it copies DVD's. It will copy bought DVD's but not for me as I am to mean to buy them. I get the programmes and films from the TV and store them on a Hardrives so I can view them later when in the motorhome. When you download the software from the website you can also download a DivX file which I recommend you do.

Our Avtex TV has a habit for turning off DivX and if you look on here you will find advise on how to turn it on again.

I use the MagicDVDRipper software, about £40, as I tried several and I could get that one to work. I have used it for many films and TV programmes and it has been well worth it. When I find a simpler method of capturing the films I will be very happy.

The TV requires the Hardrive to be Fat32 formatted like a USB stick. I have got Transcend Hardrives which come Fat32 formatted . However they have to be USB 2 units (orange) which Amazon don't seem to be offering now, not USB 3 (Green). So unless you can get USB2 units I would suggest you get a large USB stick, non USB3 just in case although I think one I have is okay, and load on it the films etc you want to watch from your Hardrive which then can be any format. Please note that we have a Transcend 1tb hardrive and whilst it is supposed to be back compatable with USB 2 the TV cannot see the files properly.
i
A standard film takes up about 1-1.3GB of storage so a 1tb hardrive will store a lots of films.

Hope that helps.

Doug
Is this the one Doug?
Amazon product ASIN B005FA2XRIPaul
 

DJA

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Hi Paul

Thats it. Bit dearer than I remember. It is worth keeping the software that is on it as it includes recovery software which I have used successfully in the past. Not needed it on that hardrive though.

Doug

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taralabradog

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I find it easier to play it through the laptop to the TV using VLC media player via the HDMI port then it doesn't matter what format it is in.
P.S. VLC is free and I haven't yet found a format it won't play
 

Langtoftlad

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I find it easier to play it through the laptop to the TV using VLC media player via the HDMI port then it doesn't matter what format it is in.
...or even a cheap tablet - bizarrely the cheaper ones tend to come with an HD expansion slot & HDMI socket. [plus if only to be used as a player via TV you don't need to worry about expensive bits like screen & processor]
 

hilldweller

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Good question.
I tried and it didn't work, but others have done so. What is the trick?

I have one old 500GB USB drive that refuses to start up in some computers, obviously too power hungry, but it did work in our TV ( not Avtex ).

However 500GB is too small and the TV wears ( as in clipped to the rear ) a 1TB.

If a USB memory stick does not work then it's down to the TV letting you down on file types.

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DuxDeluxe

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I have one old 500GB USB drive that refuses to start up in some computers, obviously too power hungry, but it did work in our TV ( not Avtex ).

However 500GB is too small and the TV wears ( as in clipped to the rear ) a 1TB.

If a USB memory stick does not work then it's down to the TV letting you down on file types.
Thanks Brian. 32gb USB FAT32 works OK, but it doesn't recognise the FAT32 portable hard drive. I just assumed it was too power hungry..........
 

hilldweller

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...or even a cheap tablet - bizarrely the cheaper ones tend to come with an HD expansion slot & HDMI socket. [plus if only to be used as a player via TV you don't need to worry about expensive bits like screen & processor]

So many solutions today. Raspberry Pi is £30 of powerful computer with HDMI out that makes a decent media player for those with a bit of skill to set it up. £30 and far more powerful than the original IBM PC at £5,500 ( I have the receipt ) which did not even have high res graphics. The 5" floppy drives were about £500 each.
 

Langtoftlad

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Some USB HDD need more power than some sockets provide - as you've discovered.
One solution if you have two sockets on your TV, is a double cable eg
61lmY5nUOuL._SX522_.jpg

Example only as much depends on what plug you need for the hard drive.

@hilldweller Raspberry Pi sounds good but I have no electronics skills nor know how to wield a soldering iron.

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Deneb

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Thanks Brian. 32gb USB FAT32 works OK, but it doesn't recognise the FAT32 portable hard drive. I just assumed it was too power hungry..........

I have no experience of this, as like @PaulB I'm new to all this and haven't yet had time to sort it out, but I read a post on another forum where a user had experimented with his Avtex TV playing from media storage and found that 32GB FAT32 was the maximum size USB stick or other storage that the TV would recognise. The solution for larger external hard drives was to format them into a number of separate partitions, each 32GB or less.

Another post recommended the Cyclone multimedia player as an alternative. Another link in the chain, but it plays AV files in a variety of formats, and he stated that by plugging the Cyclone into the Avtex via an HDMI lead, you could plug pretty much any size drive into it and it would play almost anything. The Cyclone seems to be available for about £28 - £32 on various web sites. I've been thinking of getting one.
 

hilldweller

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@hilldweller Raspberry Pi sounds good but I have no electronics skills nor know how to wield a soldering iron.

No soldering. But it is a Linux computer so not what people are used to. You can buy a complete kit, a bit more expensive and all you have to do is come to terms with Linux a bit.

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Langtoftlad

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No soldering. But it is a Linux computer so not what people are used to. You can buy a complete kit, a bit more expensive and all you have to do is come to terms with Linux a bit.

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I had a linux Asus for awhile worked fine.
But how might that be better than say the Cylone Media Player as mentioned above?
Amazon Link
Appreciate the Pi has a lot more flexibility [if you can program it] and the Cyclone is a one trick pony.

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DJA

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Hi Deneb

I have 2 of the Transcend hardrives shown above by @PaulB, One is 1TB and the other is 640GB. Both Hardrives were formatted Fat32 when they were received and all I have done is loaded files onto them. I have not partitioned them in any way. I also have an old hardrive from a previous computer which is Fat32 formatted and that works fine as well.

I can plug these into the USB socket on my 16" W163DR TV which we have had for a few years. The TV recognises the contents of the Hardrives and provided DivX is On in the internal menu it can read the file names and play them.

Doug
 

hilldweller

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I had a linux Asus for awhile worked fine.
But how might that be better than say the Cylone Media Player as mentioned above?
Appreciate the Pi has a lot more flexibility [if you can program it] and the Cyclone is a one trick pony.

You've summed it up perfectly. If the cyclone does just what you want. job done.

But if not then there is a chance the Pi could be loaded with a different player. The Pi is up for Kodi too. And of course emails and internet. What's more it's British, with a British processor though the Japs have just bought ARM for £24,000,000,000.

I have a Pi but I've just not been inspired to do anything special with it. For the MH our standard TV does all the media work we need. Just clipped a 1TB HD on the back with rips of all our DVDs and some off air movies.
 

Deneb

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Hi Deneb

I have 2 of the Transcend hardrives shown above by @PaulB, One is 1TB and the other is 640GB. Both Hardrives were formatted Fat32 when they were received and all I have done is loaded files onto them. I have not partitioned them in any way. I also have an old hardrive from a previous computer which is Fat32 formatted and that works fine as well.

I can plug these into the USB socket on my 16" W163DR TV which we have had for a few years. The TV recognises the contents of the Hardrives and provided DivX is On in the internal menu it can read the file names and play them.

Doug

Thanks Doug,

That's good to know. The post I found was several years old, so perhaps Avtex have updated their firmware since then.

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Big Nick

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Easiest method is to just plug your tablet or laptop into the Avtex and use it just as a monitor, avoids any compatibility issues
 
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I have a WD My passport Ultra drive, USB 3, I think it is 2tb works fine.

Also there are 2 ports on my avtex TV, I use the one at the bottom for the HD, the side one has a USB stick in it. Both appear as USB sources, but some playback access issues using the HD in the side port.
 
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PaulB
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I have no experience of this, as like @PaulB I'm new to all this and haven't yet had time to sort it out, but I read a post on another forum where a user had experimented with his Avtex TV playing from media storage and found that 32GB FAT32 was the maximum size USB stick or other storage that the TV would recognise. The solution for larger external hard drives was to format them into a number of separate partitions, each 32GB or less.

Another post recommended the Cyclone multimedia player as an alternative. Another link in the chain, but it plays AV files in a variety of formats, and he stated that by plugging the Cyclone into the Avtex via an HDMI lead, you could plug pretty much any size drive into it and it would play almost anything. The Cyclone seems to be available for about £28 - £32 on various web sites. I've been thinking of getting one.
Thanks Phil, I will take a look at the Cyclone multimedia player...not too sure exactly how it all works though in practice
In the meantime I'm going to try a USB first and see what happens, I will keep you informed.

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PaulB
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Thanks Phil, I will take a look at the Cyclone multimedia player...not too sure exactly how it all works though in practice
In the meantime I'm going to try a USB first and see what happens, I will keep you informed.
I've had a quick look at the cyclone media player and it looks to me as if it has to be plugged in meaning you could only use it if you have hook up...or am I missing something?
 

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Hi Paul,

It's powered from a micro USB cable according to the reviews I've read, which can either be connected to the supplied power plug for mains use or connected to the USB port on the TV. What I don't know is whether the Cyclone powered from the TV is capable of also powering a HDD also connected to it, or whether the HDD would need a separate power supply.

The Cyclone was mentioned in the same thread I read about the Avtex 32GB limitation, as a workaround solution, but as that restriction no longer seems to be applicable to current Avtex TVs, it may not be as useful as I thought.

When I get the time I will have a play with a direct HDD connection to my TV. You may get to that point well before me though!
 
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PaulB
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Just tried to use my HDD to play a film through the Avtex TV usb port. It will play both .MKV and .MP4 files but only in a small "preview" window
IMG_0026.JPG
. See photo. Any ideas?

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DJA

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Hi PaulB

Not seen anything like that on ours.

We select DVD from Source

It then alternates between trying to read a DVD or a USB.

Press List when it is saying usb on screen.

Then it lists whats on the USB.

Select file or folder required. If a folder then select the file in it.

Doug

ps What model TV is it.
 
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PaulB
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Hi PaulB

Not seen anything like that on ours.

We select DVD from Source

It then alternates between trying to read a DVD or a USB.

Press List when it is saying usb on screen.

Then it lists whats on the USB.

Select file or folder required. If a folder then select the file in it.

Doug

ps What model TV is it.
Hi Doug,

Not sure of the model, its a 21inch TV/DVD, new in a new van.

I had selected USB from Source, why do you select DVD?

When I selected USB the files on the USB HDD were visible, I navigated to the film and pressed select. It started playing but only in part of the screen and there seems no way of going to full screen

Cheers

Paul
 

DuxDeluxe

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Just tried to use my HDD to play a film through the Avtex TV usb port. It will play both .MKV and .MP4 files but only in a small "preview" windowView attachment 128738 . See photo. Any ideas?
That is easy.

Just press the "play" button on the controller......... you will get the thing all over again from the beginning. You are seeing the preview (y)

I still can't get the Avtex to recognise the HDD. I'm selecting USB but neither port will recognise either HDD which are FAT32 formatted

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