Digital Media Player

[floccinaucini]

Hello Geek-9pm,

I am addressing this directly to you because of our previous communication on this subject. I hope that is in order. I have checked the link you gave me for Amazon.com. They don't ship most of their items to Canada. Amazon.ca has a few items, but the selection is poor, and the same items are far more expensive.

I have selected 4 items from eBay.ca, but I am unable to decide because I don't understand the comprehensive specifications that are posted on the web pages. I cannot attach them because they are HTML. Here are the links to these four. Could you please help by giving your opinion of them.

Best regards.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NBOX-Digital-USB-Disk-SD-MMC-Multi-Media-Player-HD-TV-720P-mp3-JPG-WMA-Divx-/110821083151?pt=Other_MP3_Players&hash=item19cd73880f

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NBOX-Portable-Digital-USB-Hard-Drive-Disk-HDD-SD-MMC-Media-Player-HD-TV-720P-/120855634339?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c238ea1a3

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-1080P-Full-HD-Digital-Media-Player-HDTV-TV-Portable-USB-SD-MMC-HDD-RMVB-/120830231097?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c220b0239

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/SD-Card-USB-Media-Player-TV-Digital-Media-Player-TV-/200698133042?pt=US_Memory_Card_Readers_Adapters&hash=item2eba8a7a32

[Geek-9pm]

First of all, please to not address a post directly to me. This is not my site. I just frequent it.

The first and third links appear to be the same one I got from eBay.

As I mentioned earlier, I recommend buyer for a reputable vendor. These vendors on  eBay, the two I refer to, are  not inside the USA or Canada. They are in China.

So you would be taking a chance. But the price is right..

[floccinaucini]

It is not always easy to know, what one should not do. Please accept my apologies for addressing you directly.

The item in the first link shows 720P, and the one in the second link, 1080P. Does this make an appreciable difference to the video quality?

[Geek-9pm]

The 1080p is better, ,if your TV can do it.

[floccinaucini]

I had to get on the internet to find the specifications of my TV.
The Display Resolution is 720P and the Panel Resolution is 1366(H):768(V)
If I get the media player with 1080P capability would it display a better picture than the player with 720P capability?

[Salmon Trout]

the Panel Resolution is 1366(H):768(V)
If I get the media player with 1080P capability would it display a better picture than the player with 720P capability?

No. Your TV cannot display 1080 pixels vertically. The panel only has 768 vertical pixels.

[floccinaucini]

Thank you.
Best regards.

[floccinaucini]

If I connect the 1080P player to my TV, which has only 768(V), will it not function at all or give a bad picture?

[Geek-9pm]

Apparently not!
The vendor makes no reference to either NTSC or PAL.
When a vendor can not fully describe his product - buyer beware!

[floccinaucini]

The item in my number one link above (720P), says 'compatible with NTSC and PAL'. Is this a better bet?

[Geek-9pm]

I would say yes. I am not sure why they called it 1080p. The never make clear what that means.  So that makes think they don't understand their product. It has to be NTSC or PAL  to be compatible with all TV sets.

[floccinaucini]

Please confirm, either NTSC or PAL makes it compatible with all TV sets.

[Salmon Trout]

I would say yes. I am not sure why they called it 1080p. The never make clear what that means.  So that makes think they don't understand their product. It has to be NTSC or PAL  to be compatible with all TV sets.

There are i-suffix and p-suffix video standards. The number is the vertical pixel count and i means interlaced and p indicates progressive (non-interlaced). I thought it was extremely widely known that 1080p means "1080 progressive", that is, a resolution of 1920 pixels horizontally and 1080 pixels vertically, progressive scan (that is, not interlaced) - TV sets have moved on since the days of the NTSC 525 line (480i) and PAL 625 line (576i) interlaced analog video formats.

[Salmon Trout]

either NTSC or PAL makes it compatible with all TV sets.

That is nonsense.

[floccinaucini]

TV sets have moved on since the days of the NTSC 525 line (480i) and PAL 625 line (576i) interlaced analog video formats.

Could you please explain, if TV sets are no longer NTSC or PAL, what have they changed to?

[Salmon Trout]

Could you please explain, if TV sets are no longer NTSC or PAL, what have they changed to?

TV sets are still capable of displaying the old analog TV material, NTSC (North America & Japan) or PAL (Europe and rest of world) but many countries have gone over to digital TV partly or completely. In particular, digital formats that you play through media players are not PAL or NTSC.

[Geek-9pm]

TV sets are still capable of displaying the old analog TV material, NTSC (North America & Japan) or PAL (Europe and rest of world) but many countries have gone over to digital TV partly or completely. In particular, digital formats that you play through media players are not PAL or NTSC.

Huh?  My media player can output either NTSC or PAL. We were not talking about the input to the player, but the output.  The item in question never stated what output it had. So I suggested that the vendor did not clearly state what his product does. Input is not enough. It as to have output.  As advertised, it converts AVI, MP4 and other formats to nothing. Nada. Zio. If not specified, it must be nothing.

[Salmon Trout]

That link was to eBay.ca - ca means "Canada" so straight away we know we are in North America. We see on that site that it's called an NBOX media player so, if only there was a way of searching for things on the web! Luckily an IT guru  friend once told me of a really clever web site called Goggle or Giggle or Gaggler or something like that. I typed Guggle into Bing and it told me the right name. Now I found a complete description of that player on Amazon and it told me this:

Technical Details

    Supported Video Formats: RM/RMVB, AVI, DIVX, XVID, MPG, DAT, MPEG.
    Support SD/MMC card, USB flash drive, USB External Hard Drive
    Support any traditional CRT TV or the latest LCD/PLASMA HDTV
    Functions include: 720P HD Video Output through component cable; Auto resume from last stop point; Continuous multi-file play; Easy remote control;
    Package includes: NBOX media player, remote control (with battery included), power adapter, AV cable, Component Cable (for 720P HD Output), User Manual

Another thing Guurgle did was find me a picture of the box contents.



See those leads? There's an AV cable, and a component lead. So. We already know the TV is a 720p model. We see in the media player description it is a 720p model. If the TV has component input, the OP is good to go.

[Geek-9pm]

Thank you Salmon Trout for your research. 
Unfortunate that the vendor did not make it more clear.
Some media players might have only component output.
In the photo, Red, Blue and Green are component. .But the yellow , red and while plugs means it also does composite. So it will work on any TV or VCR that has those kind of connectors.

If a real old TV only has antenna input, get an old VCR to do the RF.

[Salmon Trout]

I wouldn't call typing "NBOX media player" into Google 'research', exactly.

[Geek-9pm]

I wouldn't call typing "NBOX media player" into Google 'research', exactly.

Knowing what to type in the box makes a big difference. 

[floccinaucini]

What you are discussing is the first item on my links. The vendors description of the 'packet contents' say, "1xComposite AV Cable. The close up photo of the box shows white and red for audio and yellow for video. If the other blue and red is for Component, where is the green?

[Geek-9pm]

It has all six jacks pr plugs.  For component five cables are used. for composite three are needed.  Even if they ship the wrong colors on the cables, the device has all six outputs. The cables a re just plain AV type cables. Nice when the have the right colors. But they work even when the colors are wrong. They device itself has the six outputs.

[floccinaucini]

Sorry sir. I can only see five outputs. The Composite 3 are easily identifiable. In addition, there are only 2 more (blue and red). If I connect the blue and red Component jacks of the TV to the blue and red of the media box, to what can I connect the green Componenet jack of the TV?  I am not worried about the colours of the cable sockets. Here, I am simply identifying the Component terminals of the TV and the media box.

Regards.

[Geek-9pm]

You are right. I can't count. I have trouble with numbers.
Yes, it does have 5 outputs. apparently one to the outputs shifts when you select the type of output.
My unit has six outputs. So I an thinking of how mine works.

This is, I think, the one I got.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TV-Multi-Media-Player-USB-HD-HDD-SD-MMC-RMVB-MP4-AVI-L6-/320863517552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ab4f4bb70

My guess is they all use the same hardware core.  But I don't know for sure. They are made on the other side of the very big pond. (The Pacific)

[floccinaucini]

I think, the safest thing for me to do, is to order this same thing you have been using for some time. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating!

This is my first time with this type of gadget. Please clarify the following.

1. In the web page you sent, I can clearly see the two sets of cables, Composite and Component (from their colouring). When you are using the Component connection(Y, Pb and Pr), how do you get your audio? Is it from the same audio connection as the Composite or, from a separate audio cable?
2. In the 'Features' it is said "It supports...USB hard disks". No mention is made of USB stick or USB flash drive, although the picture shows what appears to be a USB stick, which they call a Flashdisk.
3. In the same section you find "It supports HD TV, NTSC Composite video and PAL Composite video. No mention of Component video in spite of supplying Component cables separately.
4. In the tabulated specifications section, under "Video: File Formats" it is said, "the file should (be) less than 720*576". Is this in order for watching movies?

Thank you,
Best regards.

[Geek-9pm]

1. Yes, tow sets of cables. I use the audio from composite when using RGB component.  I t was rather slow to catch on. But it works.

2. I have used both USB flash ad a SD in a CF holder. Have not tried USB hard dive yet. I even used a NP3 player to store a AVI movie and it works!

3. Yes, the composite output is either NTSC or PAL. It got stuck on PAL, bu didn't matter if I used component RGB

4. Yes, this unit does not do 1090p, just 720p.  In composite it does whatever composite does.

At to the last item;  My TV has an option so that I can fill the screen anyway. At full screen the images is not as clear. I don't care when I am birdwatching meters  (10 feet) from the screen. But many AVI  (or MP4) files don't have that much resolution. I only download the smallest files be because I pay for my bandwidth when doing downloads for later casual  viewing on my TV instead of my laptop. Watching the TV is something my mate and I can do together in the privacy of our bedroom. Helps make up for the time I spend with just my laptop. I think t he digital media to TV adapter may help save a marriage, if used prudently.

In no way do I represent any of the eBay vendors. In fact, my recommendation is buy fro Amazon, but Amazon does not ship to all places. I bought from eBay because that is where I first say it.

[floccinaucini]

This is great. The wool in my head is getting cleared up. I appreciate your comments about eBay and amazon, but I don't have much choice here. I checked a number of similar items at Amazon, but they don't ship any of them to my address in Ottawa, Canada. The reason is not given. It is rather puzzling. So I am going to take a chance and order this from eBay.

My mate and I also do the same thing, but we are using a VGA cable, and it is quite a nuisance to cart the lap top, along with the power adapter and mouse, switch off everything, make the connections..........I am hoping this gadget will take away the dreary part of it.

When using VGA, some movies that I down load to the lap top automatically take up full screen, when connected to the TV, and it is very nice. Others narrow down vertically or horizontally and some times both vertically and horizontally.
1. What is the reason for this?
2. What can be done about this?
3. Does it also happen when you use the media player?
4. Once you copy a movie to a USB stick, can that be deleted to copy another movie?

Thank you,

Best regards.

[Geek-9pm]

When using VGA, some movies that I down load to the lap top automatically take up full screen, when connected to the TV, and it is very nice. Others narrow down vertically or horizontally and some times both vertically and horizontally.
1. What is the reason for this?
2. What can be done about this?
3. Does it also happen when you use the media player?
4. Once you copy a movie to a USB stick, can that be deleted to copy another movie?

1. See the photo above. All AVI files can have different screen sizes. Chicken Little was a cartoon and is smaller screen. The other is a 720p x 304  movie. (But the movie is not really better quality, it is just different.)
2. Just enjoy the movie as is, or use whatever tools you have to increase the size. The Media player I got from eBay has a zoom, but it is too much, 2x 4x and 8x. They should have had fractional values. So I accept that some AVI movies will not fit the screen. The may have been reduced for a mobile device.
3. Yes, the media player does not try to adjust the screen size on small screnn size AVI, like the one in the photo above.
4. No problem. A goo USB flash drive or SD card will last for a long time with repeated wriltes.

As to USB flash memory, the remark above is for using flash a quasi-permanent memory device. Use a flash memory as a replacement for RAM is NOT a good idea. The R/W cycle is about 10,00 times. But that is no issue fro saving AVI or MP4 to a flash drive. It would take years to reach the 10,000 cycvle life when use for movies. When you play the movie, it couts as one read chycle.

[floccinaucini]

When copying the movie from the computer to the USB drive, what is the typical transfer rate per second that can be expected? Does it depend on the computer processor?

While downloading the movie, can it be copied to the USB drive at the same time?

[Geek-9pm]

When copying the movie from the computer to the USB drive, what is the typical transfer rate per second that can be expected? Does it depend on the computer processor?
While downloading the movie, can it be copied to the USB drive at the same time?

The limitation is the Flash memory used in the USB drive. The CPU is at least two orders of magnitude faster compared to flash memory .
You can download to the flash drive.  The download manager and  OS (Operating System)  take care of any speed problems. This is called 'buffering' and has nothing to do with headache remedies. But one could argue about that.

I always download to hard drive and then later copy the movies that seem suitable to out tastes. Using a player like VLC , I an fast forward the movie ans see if the content is what we like.Only then do I copy it to the Flash drive. On a 4GB Flash I can get four or even five AVI movies that are medium quality.

VLC:  http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html

[floccinaucini]

A big thank you for all the patience and specially for the VLC media player. I have not heard of this before.

Best regards