Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
no but there is promise of usb otg I believe some people have been able to get it to work
I was bummed about the inability to add memory, but I've discovered some pretty cool workarounds.
For one, USB mass storage is working on several of the ICS ROMS I've tried, such as Hellfire KS and my new favorite SGT7. By using a powered USB hub and an app called "Stick Mount", I've been able to mount a 32GB flash drive. Because it requires a powered hub, it's not portable, but it's still cool to have that option.
What I like even better are some software solutions I've found which let me access my media over my wifi network, eliminating the need for physical storage:
BS Player - It's a general media player which runs many audio and video formats. Put it in LAN mode and you can browse shared folders on your PC. One really cool feature is that if you play an audio file over LAN, it can automatically add all of the other files in that folder to the playlist.
X-Plore - a really well-made dual pane file browser which can access folders via LAN and FTP. This is nice for backing up large files and such. The dual pane feature makes it super easy to transfer files from one location to the other.
Anyway, I hope that's helpful.
esteband said:
X-Plore - a really well-made dual pane file browser which can access folders via LAN and FTP. This is nice for backing up large files and such. The dual pane feature makes it super easy to transfer files from one location to the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
X-plore is awesome, thanks for the tip.
You can add power for OTG with a USB phone charger
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003M9Z5F6
and 2 AAs on a usb y cable and the whole arrangement will fit in your pocket, depending on how tight your pants are.
follolw up question
Lotek said:
X-plore is awesome, thanks for the tip.
You can add power for OTG with a USB phone charger
<Amazon link removed>
and 2 AAs on a usb y cable and the whole arrangement will fit in your pocket, depending on how tight your pants are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is a powered hub needed for any USB device? I've got an OTG cable and a thumb drive is seen by the KF (using StickMount) and I can see the files on it but the drive becomes inaccessible as soon as I try to access any files on it. It seems as if there is just enough power to fire the drive up but not enough to use it.
I like your idea of a battery pack and a Y cable. How do you have the Y cable arranged (i.e. which end of this configuration gets the base of the Y and which ends get the branches)? If you have a link to the Y cable you used that would be a tremendous help as well. I'm searching right now and there are quite a few out there.
boomshnka said:
Is a powered hub needed for any USB device? I've got an OTG cable and a thumb drive is seen by the KF (using StickMount) and I can see the files on it but the drive becomes inaccessible as soon as I try to access any files on it. It seems as if there is just enough power to fire the drive up but not enough to use it.
I like your idea of a battery pack and a Y cable. How do you have the Y cable arranged (i.e. which end of this configuration gets the base of the Y and which ends get the branches)? If you have a link to the Y cable you used that would be a tremendous help as well. I'm searching right now and there are quite a few out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed this guy's setup, probably a member here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFEMh0ZYT5M&feature=youtu.be
Amazon links in the description.
It's pretty self explanatory when you see the y cable, there's a male end which goes to the mini USB otg adapter and the 2 forks of the Y cable end in male and female connectors, battery charger on the male and your portable hub or flash drive or whatever plugs into the female.
Power is not needed for absolutely every USB device, many keyboards work fine without it, but the majority of flash drives and all of them over 8 GB (reportedly) require it.
Thanks Lotek. That's perfect. Can't wait to get this all setup now.
Is there like a network device that I can buy to turn my 2.5" external hard drives into NAS so I can access my movies from Stick TV running XBMC?
hydeah said:
Is there like a network device that I can buy to turn my 2.5" external hard drives into NAS so I can access my movies from Stick TV running XBMC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it myself, but something like this should work: http://www.amazon.com/HooToo-TripMate-Wireless-Pocket-Travel/dp/B00HZWOQZ6/
hydeah said:
Is there like a network device that I can buy to turn my 2.5" external hard drives into NAS so I can access my movies from Stick TV running XBMC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most new wireless routers have usb with media server features.
If you use a separate router that allows you to connect your external HD & wish to keep the Fire TV connected to your current router then I believe you'll have to bridge both routers, if not then you can only connect to one wireless router at a time. The setup itself shouldn't be that hard but it does take some configuration.
Another option would be to purchase a Y-OTG cable that allows you to connect your external HD directly to the stick but I believe your external HD would need an external power source to make it work. Again, I can't confirm if what I wrote would actually work..just throwing some ideas out there.
AFTVnews.com said:
I haven't tried it myself, but something like this should work: http://www.amazon.com/HooToo-TripMate-Wireless-Pocket-Travel/dp/B00HZWOQZ6/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I don't believe this will work because it works as a separate router, if it was a USB to CAT5 hub of some sort, it would be ideal but this does not function like that. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
gottahavit said:
Most new wireless routers have usb with media server features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe they only work with one USB at a time and the one I had (Netgear AC1750) did not work properly, kept dropping connection or just would randomly not see the hard drive, the way it works is not very user friendly. In fact once it even corrupted one of my hard drives, and I freaked! Luckily Wndows was able to correct the issue. It doesn't show the folders as NAS but more like a network device like a PC, so you couldn't easily see the data in there. I now have a TP Link, WDR3600, I believe it works fine with USB Thumb Drives but it won't work with USB hard drives (multiple) but I can at least try to buy a USB HUB and try that to see if it can mount multiple hard drives. As I mentioned above, I am also concerned about corrupting the hard drives when router is finicky.
EL TEJANO said:
If you use a separate router that allows you to connect your external HD & wish to keep the Fire TV connected to your current router then I believe you'll have to bridge both routers, if not then you can only connect to one wireless router at a time. The setup itself shouldn't be that hard but it does take some configuration.
Another option would be to purchase a Y-OTG cable that allows you to connect your external HD directly to the stick but I believe your external HD would need an external power source to make it work. Again, I can't confirm if what I wrote would actually work..just throwing some ideas out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Fire Stick TV has only one USB port for power and power is required to keep it running. With Y-OTG, we won't be able to get power to the 2.5" external drive anyway and also there is no way to mount that drive easily , so network would be best option.
Found this but it has less than stellar reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Addonics-NASU2-NAS-Adapter/dp/B001OC5J9U
you could try a pogo plug, also make sure the hard drive is not going to sleep. i use a netgear router and have not had an issue with the stick seeing my media. i can mount it as a dlna drive or smb. if you are looking to use it with plex then u will need an actual nas drive so u can run the plex server on it. if the router u have only has one port it is prob only going to mount one drive. but with what ever solution u use i would make sure that the sleep function is off on the hard drive as it can cause issues. if i remember correctly on some of the pogo plugs u can install arch linux and then plug a drive into and have it act as an actual nas and not just a hard drive plugged into the router.
hydeah said:
I believe Fire Stick TV has only one USB port for power and power is required to keep it running. With Y-OTG, we won't be able to get power to the 2.5" external drive anyway and also there is no way to mount that drive easily , so network would be best option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, which is why I said the external HD would have to have a separate power supply that is not powered via USB, I do see your point though as most new external drives are powered through the USB.. The Y-OTG cable will still allow you to power your stick & utilize the other connection for data but again if your external HD doesn't have a non-usb connection for power then yes you're out of luck.
I know with the Fire TV Box, people use an app called StickMount to mount external storage, the caveat though is your AFTS has to be Rooted; my guess is with the Y-OTG cable it should allow you to connect your external HD & run the same app but that's if everything I mentioned is in order.
EL TEJANO said:
Correct, which is why I said the external HD would have to have a separate power supply that is not powered via USB, I do see your point though as most new external drives are powered through the USB.. The Y-OTG cable will still allow you to power your stick & utilize the other connection for data but again if your external HD doesn't have a non-usb connection for power then yes you're out of luck.
I know with the Fire TV Box, people use an app called StickMount to mount external storage, the caveat though is your AFTS has to be Rooted; my guess is with the Y-OTG cable it should allow you to connect your external HD & run the same app but that's if everything I mentioned is in order.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought about getting the box since it has better hardware and more ways to "hack" but at $19 I couldn't pass on the Stick which finally allowed me to turn off my computer completely! Now if I can get my XBMC see my storage, i'll be done. Honestly if they charged $50 for stick with USB input or for the actual fire TV box and add USB ports, that would be amazing. I think Apple TV does that, right? But can we get Amazon and XBMC on it?
pbanj said:
you could try a pogo plug, also make sure the hard drive is not going to sleep. i use a netgear router and have not had an issue with the stick seeing my media. i can mount it as a dlna drive or smb. if you are looking to use it with plex then u will need an actual nas drive so u can run the plex server on it. if the router u have only has one port it is prob only going to mount one drive. but with what ever solution u use i would make sure that the sleep function is off on the hard drive as it can cause issues. if i remember correctly on some of the pogo plugs u can install arch linux and then plug a drive into and have it act as an actual nas and not just a hard drive plugged into the router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does Pogo exactly do? I thought it was a hardware for a very specific service to access your files remotely, can you even see the files locally using simple sharing process?
Is this something I can do with Raspberry Pi? I just thought of this, I remember seeing RP units with multiple USB ports and RJ45. If there is a small NAS software, or even a simple linux that allows you to share your drives with other devices, this just might be what I am looking for. I am not sure if RP can power 3 drives simultaneously,
How is something like this?
http://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Ultimate-Starter-Components/dp/B00G1PNG54
Thanks again guys.
hydeah said:
I thought about getting the box since it has better hardware and more ways to "hack" but at $19 I couldn't pass on the Stick which finally allowed me to turn off my computer completely! Now if I can get my XBMC see my storage, i'll be done. Honestly if they charged $50 for stick with USB input or for the actual fire TV box and add USB ports, that would be amazing. I think Apple TV does that, right? But can we get Amazon and XBMC on it?
What does Pogo exactly do? I thought it was a hardware for a very specific service to access your files remotely, can you even see the files locally using simple sharing process?
Is this something I can do with Raspberry Pi? I just thought of this, I remember seeing RP units with multiple USB ports and RJ45. If there is a small NAS software, or even a simple linux that allows you to share your drives with other devices, this just might be what I am looking for. I am not sure if RP can power 3 drives simultaneously,
How is something like this?
http://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Ultimate-Starter-Components/dp/B00G1PNG54
Thanks again guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya you can use minidlna i think it is called for the rpi. a buddy of mine does that, he says its not the best thing in the world but it does work. i think if you got a banana-pi it may work better as it has better specs and still works with all the rpi stuff. as for the pogo plug im not sure how it normally works but i do know people have been putting arch linux on them to use them for dlna stuff and the model for that is under 20$ iirc
this is the banana pi http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...44&cm_re=banana_pi-_-9SIA6DB2337144-_-Product
http://www.amazon.com/EP-3701-Wireless-Access-Drive-Android/dp/B00IR5DJ4E
pbanj said:
ya you can use minidlna i think it is called for the rpi. a buddy of mine does that, he says its not the best thing in the world but it does work. i think if you got a banana-pi it may work better as it has better specs and still works with all the rpi stuff. as for the pogo plug im not sure how it normally works but i do know people have been putting arch linux on them to use them for dlna stuff and the model for that is under 20$ iirc
this is the banana pi http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...44&cm_re=banana_pi-_-9SIA6DB2337144-_-Product
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been checking these, I thought r-pie was about $20 but it seems it will cost a bit more than that if I consider using it as NAS after case, etc it will be $50-$60 or so looks like it. Found this page, btw: http://www.howtogeek.com/139433/how-to-turn-a-raspberry-pi-into-a-low-power-network-storage-device/
krawhitham said:
http://www.amazon.com/EP-3701-Wireless-Access-Drive-Android/dp/B00IR5DJ4E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but I think I need couple of these, one for each drive, also not sure how the drives get their power or how this one is powered. If it is possible to use this with a hub, maybe it might work, but I am not sure.
In case this thing doesn't work as planned (if I can't easily get XBMC to see external drives) what would you guys recommend as a device that I can run Amazon Prime Video AND be able to access my local videos without having to run my PC 24/7 or at least having to run it whenever I want to watch something off-line.
This will allow pass-through of wifi.
http://www.staples.com/Kingston-MobileLite-Wireless-Flash-Reader/product_195697
krawhitham said:
http://www.amazon.com/EP-3701-Wireless-Access-Drive-Android/dp/B00IR5DJ4E
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It do want to point out that these wireless dongles that connect to the external HD need the option to work in infrastructure mode & not in ad-hoc mode (peer to peer).
If they strictly work in ad-hoc mode then you'll only be able to connect to the ad-hoc device (in this case whatever is physically connected to the dongle), which means you won't be able to connect to your home's wireless network at the same. In others words you'll have to disconnect & then reconnect to each different wireless connection as needed.
"An ad hoc network is one where computers connect directly to each other on a one-to-one basis. This is useful for impromptu file sharing between two computers. An infrastructure network is one where computers connect to a shared access point. This kind of connection is useful when sharing a printer, Internet connection, and/or file sharing server." - via Amazons Q&A page.
adfurgerson said:
This will allow pass-through of wifi.
http://www.staples.com/Kingston-MobileLite-Wireless-Flash-Reader/product_195697
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion, but it seems like this is a one-to-one connection. Sort of like how new "wifi" cameras worked until they changed the way they work, they could only act as hotspot so you could get pictures from your camera with direct connection from PC and not via router.
EL TEJANO said:
It do want to point out that these wireless dongles that connect to the external HD need the option to work in infrastructure mode & not in ad-hoc mode (peer to peer).
If they strictly work in ad-hoc mode then you'll only be able to connect to the ad-hoc device (in this case whatever is physically connected to the dongle), which means you won't be able to connect to your home's wireless network at the same. In others words you'll have to disconnect & then reconnect to each different wireless connection as needed.
"An ad hoc network is one where computers connect directly to each other on a one-to-one basis. This is useful for impromptu file sharing between two computers. An infrastructure network is one where computers connect to a shared access point. This kind of connection is useful when sharing a printer, Internet connection, and/or file sharing server." - via Amazons Q&A page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand why they can't just make these devices with an ethernet port instead... That would solve the problem.
hydeah said:
Thanks for the suggestion, but it seems like this is a one-to-one connection. Sort of like how new "wifi" cameras worked until they changed the way they work, they could only act as hotspot so you could get pictures from your camera with direct connection from PC and not via router.
I don't understand why they can't just make these devices with an ethernet port instead... That would solve the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look here for where it says "create an Internet briigde to access the web" http://www.kingston.com/us/wireless/wireless_readers#mlw221
or check out the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kingston.mobilelite&hl=en
or download the user manual
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...g&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNFYGaP4eemi_KkjPmUYtyB_aVr15g
I know this feature works as I have used it myself, but the only storage that I have used are thumb drives and sd cards.
It is supposed to work with USB hard drives up to 1tb but I don't have any to test with.
Edit....the G2 model.has an ethernet port. In the questions section someone replied that the G2 will work with 2tb HD's and I see that up to eight devices can hook to it rather than only three.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KU2E9IW?tag=wwwkingstonco-20
Pogo with archlinux
The Pogoplug e02 hacked with archlinux and minidlna works nice. Cost 20$ on amazon, a bit slow but gets the work done.
adfurgerson said:
Look here for where it says "create an Internet briigde to access the web" http://www.kingston.com/us/wireless/wireless_readers#mlw221
or check out the app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kingston.mobilelite&hl=en
or download the user manual
https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...g&sa=D&usg=AFQjCNFYGaP4eemi_KkjPmUYtyB_aVr15g
I know this feature works as I have used it myself, but the only storage that I have used are thumb drives and sd cards.
It is supposed to work with USB hard drives up to 1tb but I don't have any to test with.
Edit....the G2 model.has an ethernet port. In the questions section someone replied that the G2 will work with 2tb HD's and I see that up to eight devices can hook to it rather than only three.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KU2E9IW?tag=wwwkingstonco-20
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the app only way to change settings or access the device? Does it have SMB or DLNA type file server? Every single device shown on their product page is either a phone or a tablet, how do you get your data on Windows (it lists windows as compatible)?
It also says "For Android and Kindle Fire, video support is limited to 2GB." I believe that doesn't matter if we use XBMC on any device including Android based Fire Stick, right?
Found the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tQ1GRf38e8
Thanks, the G2 model's ethernet port is acting as WAN port to turn wired connection to wireless, so only way to connect with this device locally is still wireless, which is still OK since it seems like this is the only device that can do this. I have 3 devices, varying from 500 to 2TB so it sounds like I definitely need G2.
hydeah said:
Is the app only way to change settings or access the device? Does it have SMB or DLNA type file server? Every single device shown on their product page is either a phone or a tablet, how do you get your data on Windows (it lists windows as compatible)?
It also says "For Android and Kindle Fire, video support is limited to 2GB." I believe that doesn't matter if we use XBMC on any device including Android based Fire Stick, right?
Found the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tQ1GRf38e8
Thanks, the G2 model's ethernet port is acting as WAN port to turn wired connection to wireless, so only way to connect with this device locally is still wireless, which is still OK since it seems like this is the only device that can do this. I have 3 devices, varying from 500 to 2TB so it sounds like I definitely need G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to admit it was an impulse buy from Staples store and other than connecting to it to make sure it worked I haven't used it at all. Sorry I can't answer any more questions, but in the question section of Amazon for the G2 there were responses from a Kingston agent named Jewell and she gave this at the end " For any further assistance, please call us at 1-800-435-0640 (USA and Canada only) M - F 6am - 6pm PT and I or another available Technician will assist you. Thank you for choosing Kingston".
adfurgerson said:
I have to admit it was an impulse buy from Staples store and other than connecting to it to make sure it worked I haven't used it at all. Sorry I can't answer any more questions, but in the question section of Amazon for the G2 there were responses from a Kingston agent named Jewell and she gave this at the end " For any further assistance, please call us at 1-800-435-0640 (USA and Canada only) M - F 6am - 6pm PT and I or another available Technician will assist you. Thank you for choosing Kingston".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry! It sounds like I overwhelmed you with my question, which I admit might have been excessive. :angel:
I'll check out more info on Amazon.
Also found this:
http://www.amazon.com/Cirago-International-NUS2000-CiragoLink-Network/dp/B005C31H34
I have a rooted FireTV with a connected external HD (1.5 TB WD) that I use for watching shows and movies via XBMC. Previously I had the hard drive connected to my laptop that sits next to the FireTV via an ethernet bridge connection, but that became cumbersome and I had to move the laptop to a new area. My router doesn't support connecting the drive as a network drive, so I figured out how to connect the HD directly to the FireTV and none of the buffering issues are present like they are over wifi with the HD connected to my ancient laptop.
Problem is, I'm not sure how to easily connect to the drive (wirelessly) from the laptop to the HD while it is connected to the FireTV so that I can move new media to it. I might be overthinking this, but is there an easy way to do this through Windows 7 on the laptop or will I need to use an FTP service or other program to connect to the HD? The FireTV comes up as a device in Network and Sharing Center but I can't double-click and see the HD like you could for other computers.
Thanks!
For me personally the easiest way I found to move files from pc to the AFTV/AFTVS is to install an app called Web PC Suite. In a nutshell it allows you to move files from your pc's web browser to the Fire TV.
Install the app on your Fire TV, run it & type in the ip & port into your web browser on your pc, accept the connection & move your files. The caveat here is, as to whether this app will recognize external storage but if your run StickMount then theoretically it should, your device has to be rooted though, for StickMount to work.
I have the Stick with no external storage attached but moving files from pc the the internal storage is a breeze.
EL TEJANO said:
For me personally the easiest way I found to move files from pc to the AFTV/AFTVS is to install an app called . In a nutshell it allows you to move files from your pc's web browser to the Fire TV.
Install the app on your Fire TV, run it & type in the ip & port into your web browser on your pc, accept the connection & move your files. The caveat here is, as to whether this app will recognize external storage but if your run then theoretically it should, your device has to be rooted though, for StickMount to work.
I have the Stick with no external storage attached but moving files from pc the the internal storage is a breeze.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked, and I was also able to FTP into there after going through some tutorials I found online for moving items to the internal storage. It took me awhile to find where the USB drive was hiding, but I did finally click through enough folders to find its path and was able to move a video file there over wifi that played via XBMC. It did, however, take about 40 mns to move a 2GB file so I'm not sure that it's best for moving files quickly but it will be nice not to have everything physically plugged into each other. I do have root and I use stickmount to mount the drive; looking forward to adding ROMS this way and using the FireTV as an emulator. I appreciate your help!
Wow, 40 min for 2 gigs? I can't say if that's a limitation on the connection, the Fire Tv or a combo of both but yeah I can see how that can become a nuisance. Anyhow, glad you found a temp. solution for now.
At that rate of transfer, you're probably better off disconnecting the external hdd & connecting it directly to your pc, at least for files that large. Smaller files you should be good to go as is.
So, I cant root the fire tv obviously and I bought it so someone i know can use it offline to watch offline movies instead of dvds. No way around this problem? I sideloaded KodiTV but its no use since I cant even use a flash or HDD
Can you sideload ES Explorer and connect to an SMB share on a NAS or Windows/Linux Server? it sounded like some people are doing that.
lowridincrew said:
So, I cant root the fire tv obviously and I bought it so someone i know can use it offline to watch offline movies instead of dvds. No way around this problem? I sideloaded KodiTV but its no use since I cant even use a flash or HDD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a PC with spare hard drive space on the same network?
Kodi/SPMC/XBMC has the ability to make an SMB connection to a windows file share and play files from it. I do this with my Fire TV (box) and Fire TV stick to connect to my Win2012 server with many hard drives in it (holding all my movies converted from my blurays).
If a "Browse Master" isn't available on the network you wont be able to "browse" to find the computer and shared folder, and will instead have to manually use IP address and folder info for the "server" machine into Kodi/SPMC/XBMC when trying to setup the SMB connection. Extra info see -> http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=133624
Offline usage.
I have this Dane-Elec Media Streamer for hooking USB and SD cards that lets me connect to it through the FireTV's internet menu.
If you can sideload a matching app for one of these streamer doohickies,you should be able to connect straight to one.
There is one downside where it can stupidly auto-connect to a different remembered internet connection when you are using the streamer's connection.
I wonder if there is an offline cloud box for accessing files via "offline internet" or maybe even bluetooth?
She doesnt have a computer. I'm thinking I gotta keep this for myself since I got a few hard drives on my computer
There are quite a few Video Add-ons for XBMC/Kodi that make local storage a thing of the past. Between those and IPTV configs, you may not even notice. Although, most USA ISPs don't like streaming only households. Overages, etc may hurt the pocketbook...