Develop Bugs

[Q] DLNA

Hi,
One of the features i was looking forward to on the Defy was the built in DLNA functionality.
I am using a PC running XBMC that has my audio collection ripped mainly in FLAC with a little MP3 & OGG. Ideally i would like a way to transcode the FLAC to OGG when tranfering to the phone over DLNA but i will need to work on a solution for that (maybe Coherence? Hadn't heard of it but a little googling has sent me in that direction but will take a bit more homework). In the mean time i am happy to have FLAC on my phone despite the file size as i am expecting a 16GB card but given the weather i think it may take at least a few more days to arrive.
The problem is that when i transfer a FLAC file over DLNA it states that the file is not compatible* and asks me to confirm that i am happy transfer it it, i say yes it downloads the file. That's fine but it asks again with every single file so if you choose to download an album it asks every track so you can't even leave to run whilst you go do something else as it stops transferring at each prompt.
Any idea how to overcome this?
*i have PowerAmp installed which is compatible with FLAC.

i have solved my problem a different way. I just don't use DLNA.
Using Banshee music player i can connect the Defy via USB cable and transfer any audio file to it and Banshee trancodes on-the-fly into .ogg.
Solved.

ZootHornRollo said:
i have solved my problem a different way. I just don't use DLNA.
Using Banshee music player i can connect the Defy via USB cable and transfer any audio file to it and Banshee trancodes on-the-fly into .ogg.
Solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... I agree. But I am connecting to a couple of computers and a Buffalo Link Station over wireless. I can USB through my computer, but would love to find a way around confirming every download I want. I'll ask this question on the T-Mo and Motorola forums which are monitored by Motorola dudes. Really, the DLNA function is so damned convenient.

[Q] Can the Galaxy Nexus stream audio via USB to car deck??

Can the Galaxy Nexus stream audio via USB to a car deck or other docks/usb device??
Im really hoping it can because i used to have an iPhone and i could stream internet radio all day long from "tunein radio" or equivalent app to my car deck via USB.
i plugged the USB in today and it seems like it can only dock as a media device to look for stored media but unable to stream audio from another app??
*well I think i found the answer, it can't. If your deck is compatible with a "mass storage device" which the Galaxy Nexus can turn on to, then you can play stored audio, but you are unable to stream internet radio services through this method.
The only workaround is via bluetooth or aux cable. This really sucks, so im hoping the dev's can develop some kind of mod/tweak to enable audio to stream over the USB connection when docked as a "media device"

Probably uses more juice if and when this happens. And won't be able to charge when doing so.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

@rbiter said:
Probably uses more juice if and when this happens. And won't be able to charge when doing so.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This doesn't bare any relevance, all USB devices are able to transmit data and charge at the same time, irrespective of how much power the phone is consuming.
iPhone streams internet radio fine over USB/iPhone cable while charging.
Im saying right now you CAN play stored songs on the Galaxy Nexus with a car deck (while charging, but thats a given, it's USB),
BUT I can't seem to find a way to route the "streaming media" (eg- pandora, tunein radio apps) to transmit this audio through the USB cable to the deck. There must be a way, even if a tweak or mod has to be created.
Can any dev's chime in?

I'd love to see this too. I have the exact same needs and using the amplified 3.5" headphone as a make **** line out leads to less than optimal sound quality.

[Q] galaxy s3 and 2010 Volkswagen audio

Just bought a 2010 gti.. which I'm loving.. I am excited to have a car with Bluetooth..
I got it paired to the Bluetooth system OK, it plays music as tho I had a headphone jack plugged in..
It will play call audio over the speakers and evidently the microphone, where ever it is, is working because people can hear me..
BUT.. I still need to use my phone to make or answer a call.. I've seen in videos people are using the car to browse their contact list and make a call.. I do not appear to have this functionality.. just curious if I could hit the jackpot here with someone who has had this problem
I'm running a custom ICS touchwiz ROM
Tia if anyone has any info on this
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

bump

Hi! I have a 2012 GTI and just switched 2 days ago from iPhone 4s to GS3. The way I did it I made sure to be in neutral (manual transmission), paired the phone and let it sync address book and everything worked. I suggest you remove the phone from the car and car from phone and try everything again. Im running Blazer ROM[9/23/12][Sup?][LG8][v1.9]

Nice! I knew someone on xda would have one.. do your settings look like this?
The phone audio troubles Me... I feel like it should reference contacts in some way..
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

Don't have gs3 any more. Click those 2 check boxes and see what happens

eurominican said:
Don't have gs3 any more. Click those 2 check boxes and see what happens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In 2010, VW had multiple BT systems. Unfortunately, it sounds like you have the lesser of the 3 (as do I).
I forget the model #'s, but basically there's a top end version that's part of the NAV system which uses the navscreen nicely. Then there is a version used in all the marketing materials that has steering wheel controls and uses the cluster info display for your address book / caller ID. THEN -- there's the real low end, crummy one that just interfaces as an audio cut in with no other integration. This is what I have. You still need your phone for all features except picking up a call (the button on the ceiling can begin / end a call). Lame.
I think your build date determined which BT system is in your car. The good (middle) system was only for very early units. IIRC, there was a class action lawsuit against VW about this - I opted in, still waiting for my check...

DrKaotica said:
Nice! I knew someone on xda would have one.. do your settings look like this?
The phone audio troubles Me... I feel like it should reference contacts in some way..
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is generally covered by media. For example, my 2009 Ford focus has a similar system (SYNC) which will download contacts into a small address book and save them for me but doesn't reference contacts in the bluetooth settings area.

monkeymania said:
In 2010, VW had multiple BT systems. Unfortunately, it sounds like you have the lesser of the 3 (as do I).
I forget the model #'s, but basically there's a top end version that's part of the NAV system which uses the navscreen nicely. Then there is a version used in all the marketing materials that has steering wheel controls and uses the cluster info display for your address book / caller ID. THEN -- there's the real low end, crummy one that just interfaces as an audio cut in with no other integration. This is what I have. You still need your phone for all features except picking up a call (the button on the ceiling can begin / end a call). Lame.
I think your build date determined which BT system is in your car. The good (middle) system was only for very early units. IIRC, there was a class action lawsuit against VW about this - I opted in, still waiting for my check...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the steering wheel phone button.. but yeah it doesn't do anything. When I push it
I appreciate the info.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

I have the base version which is... Basic lol

i am bumping my crazy old thread with another VW GS3 question if anyone has any info:
Based on the reply i got, i definately have the crappy bluetooth.. its just audio output, and it sucks, i still have to use the phone to navigate through music.
the car came with a iOS adaptor.. which does me no good..
i've done some research and have found this: http://www.amazon.com/Newest-interface-Adapter-Volkswagen-Touareg/dp/B004I9CXHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370563911&sr=8-1&keywords=vw+micro+usb
coupled with this: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Inch-Micro-USB-Cable/dp/B003YKX6WM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1370564040&sr=8-6&keywords=usb+micro+usb
i would have a micro USB adaptor that would plug into the propietary mmi port..
our phones don't use USB mass storage however.. has anyone tried this? looking for experiences before i pull the trigger if anyone can help.

DrKaotica said:
i am bumping my crazy old thread with another VW GS3 question if anyone has any info:
Based on the reply i got, i definately have the crappy bluetooth.. its just audio output, and it sucks, i still have to use the phone to navigate through music.
the car came with a iOS adaptor.. which does me no good..
i've done some research and have found this: http://www.amazon.com/Newest-interface-Adapter-Volkswagen-Touareg/dp/B004I9CXHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370563911&sr=8-1&keywords=vw+micro+usb
coupled with this: http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Inch-Micro-USB-Cable/dp/B003YKX6WM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1370564040&sr=8-6&keywords=usb+micro+usb
i would have a micro USB adaptor that would plug into the propietary mmi port..
our phones don't use USB mass storage however.. has anyone tried this? looking for experiences before i pull the trigger if anyone can help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes the bluetooth sounds horrible
Here's what I did, and it works beautifully..
I picked up the MDI USB adapter, fed a 6ft USB>micro USB through the center console to the dash where I fashioned a phone 'mount' from my Otterbox belt clip.
I noticed it was kind of clunky, and very slow (would take up to a minute for the Premium 8 to even recognize the S3) using the stupid MMS mode. It did work however. I did some research on enabling USB mass storage and found this app: SG USB Mass Storage Enablerhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mohammadag.samsungusbmassstorageenabler&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5tb2hhbW1hZGFnLnNhbXN1bmd1c2JtYXNzc3RvcmFnZWVuYWJsZXIiXQ.. It does require root, with Busy Box installed. Now the P8 recognizes the phone in seconds, and is very fast. The app is also nice for syncing content (more on that later). If your phone reboots, you will need to re-enable UMS. I handled that thru Tasker so each time the phone reboots it executes the shortcut that enables UMS. Works seamlessly.. Please note that UMS ONLY works on the S3's external micro sd card. It works great on my S3 but YMMV..
Now as far as syncing content I wanted something as close to iTunes as possible. Part of my mission was to divorce myself from all things "i"- iTunes, iPod, and of course iPhone. But iTunes has always worked well for me in terms of syncing content. Did some more research and found a nice music manager called 'MusicBee'- http://getmusicbee.com/ With UMS enabled it syncs my content very fast.. MMS not so much. On a side note, why they got rid of UMS is beyond me..
Now to handle playlists, and since I primarily use playlists in the car, I use MusicBee to sync those to a standard SD card and plug that into the slot on the P8. Don't use anything larger than 32gig as the P8 only 'sees' 500 folders. There is no limitation when using the MDI port so this limitation doesn't apply the the phone's storage.
One thing I want to mention is that if you want to be able to shuffle across all your folders you need to make sure to put a random MP3 in the root of your devices SD card. Start playing that song first, hit mix and you can shuffle across your entire library.
All browsing is done via the headunit just as you would an iPod. All tag info is displayed on the headunit as well, with the only exception being you can only browse the content of the phone's micro SD- so folder structure is important. The nice thing about this is that you can run other apps (I run Torque) since the MDI is only sees the S3 as a storage device, so hands free calling still works.
It also keeps the phone charged
Here's a few pics of my setup:
Any questions, don't hesitate to ask..

ddiehl said:
Yes the bluetooth sounds horrible
Here's what I did, and it works beautifully..
I picked up the MDI USB adapter, fed a 6ft USB>micro USB through the center console to the dash where I fashioned a phone 'mount' from my Otterbox belt clip.
I noticed it was kind of clunky, and very slow (would take up to a minute for the Premium 8 to even recognize the S3) using the stupid MMS mode. It did work however. I did some research on enabling USB mass storage and found this app: SG USB Mass Storage Enablerhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mohammadag.samsungusbmassstorageenabler&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5tb2hhbW1hZGFnLnNhbXN1bmd1c2JtYXNzc3RvcmFnZWVuYWJsZXIiXQ.. It does require root, with Busy Box installed. Now the P8 recognizes the phone in seconds, and is very fast. The app is also nice for syncing content (more on that later). If your phone reboots, you will need to re-enable UMS. I handled that thru Tasker so each time the phone reboots it executes the shortcut that enables UMS. Works seamlessly.. Please note that UMS ONLY works on the S3's external micro sd card. It works great on my S3 but YMMV..
Now as far as syncing content I wanted something as close to iTunes as possible. Part of my mission was to divorce myself from all things "i"- iTunes, iPod, and of course iPhone. But iTunes has always worked well for me in terms of syncing content. Did some more research and found a nice music manager called 'MusicBee'- http://getmusicbee.com/ With UMS enabled it syncs my content very fast.. MMS not so much. On a side note, why they got rid of UMS is beyond me..
Now to handle playlists, and since I primarily use playlists in the car, I use MusicBee to sync those to a standard SD card and plug that into the slot on the P8. Don't use anything larger than 32gig as the P8 only 'sees' 500 folders. There is no limitation when using the MDI port so this limitation doesn't apply the the phone's storage.
One thing I want to mention is that if you want to be able to shuffle across all your folders you need to make sure to put a random MP3 in the root of your devices SD card. Start playing that song first, hit mix and you can shuffle across your entire library.
All browsing is done via the headunit just as you would an iPod. All tag info is displayed on the headunit as well, with the only exception being you can only browse the content of the phone's micro SD- so folder structure is important. The nice thing about this is that you can run other apps (I run Torque) since the MDI is only sees the S3 as a storage device, so hands free calling still works.
It also keeps the phone charged
Here's a few pics of my setup:
Any questions, don't hesitate to ask..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
first of all, thanks a TON for the detailed reply..
based on your advice i went ahead and grabbed http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I9CXHW/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and a USB http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QE03GK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i run a rooted rom so grabbed busybox and USB MS enabler.. we'll see how it goes! if not, im out 20 bucks.. whatever haha.. either way its very nice to here from someone with the same set up
Grabbed this too as insurance, at least it will sound better than before
i did also find a 16gb sd i had laying around so i threw that in the car yesterday, but my main device for music is my phone so it would be nice to have everything in one place. Even that is very nice to be able to navigate on the head unit as opposed to scrolling through my phone whilst bluetoothing.
if i may be so bold, are you using something like an OBD2 bluetooth adaptor for that torque app? do you have any recomendations for picking 1 vs the other? would be great to hear from a mk6 owner. there are a ton to choose from http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_11?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=bluetooth+obd2&sprefix=bluetooth+o%2Celectronics%2C253

DrKaotica said:
first of all, thanks a TON for the detailed reply..
based on your advice i went ahead and grabbed http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I9CXHW/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and a USB http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QE03GK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i run a rooted rom so grabbed busybox and USB MS enabler.. we'll see how it goes! if not, im out 20 bucks.. whatever haha.. either way its very nice to here from someone with the same set up
Grabbed this too as insurance, at least it will sound better than before
i did also find a 16gb sd i had laying around so i threw that in the car yesterday, but my main device for music is my phone so it would be nice to have everything in one place. Even that is very nice to be able to navigate on the head unit as opposed to scrolling through my phone whilst bluetoothing.
if i may be so bold, are you using something like an OBD2 bluetooth adaptor for that torque app? do you have any recomendations for picking 1 vs the other? would be great to hear from a mk6 owner. there are a ton to choose from http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_11?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=bluetooth+obd2&sprefix=bluetooth+o%2Celectronics%2C253
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me know how it goes, and don't hesitate to ask any questions..
I used this bluetooth adapter, and have had no issues.. http://www.amazon.com/Version-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Interface-Scanner/dp/B008UR7J6I/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370656911&sr=1-3&keywords=bluetooth+obd2

[Q] sgs3 USB communication with my car stereo

I've searched around to different forums and haven't really gotten a clear answer for this. I used to be able to play my music from my iphone simply by connecting it to my usb plug in my car. the sgs3 doesn't do that. I've read it is because it uses mtp instead of ums for data transfer now because there are no partitions in the drive. Supposedly there is a way to use ums by an app that was created for the i9300, but I have the US sprint model and I wonder if that would work on my phone. Plus I would like to know if I use this app, will it even solve my problem? Will I be able to listen to my tunes in my car without connecting the audio aux plug?
Thanks in advance,

Leefordss said:
I've searched around to different forums and haven't really gotten a clear answer for this. I used to be able to play my music from my iphone simply by connecting it to my usb plug in my car. the sgs3 doesn't do that. I've read it is because it uses mtp instead of ums for data transfer now because there are no partitions in the drive. Supposedly there is a way to use ums by an app that was created for the i9300, but I have the US sprint model and I wonder if that would work on my phone. Plus I would like to know if I use this app, will it even solve my problem? Will I be able to listen to my tunes in my car without connecting the audio aux plug?
Thanks in advance,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to know this too, My car radio doesn't have bluetooth support, so it's not an option for me and it doesn't work when I plug the phone in. This is the only thing keeping me from getting rid of my iPod!

I'm curious about this too. I just bought a Sony for its Sirius capabilities and it has Pandora support but I would like to listen to my phone's MP3 catalog too.
sent through the third galaxy

I just replaced my car stereo thinking I could use the USB in, I couldn't get it to work by default.
I'm left with using the aux in, which is nothing more than a stop gap solution.
Hoping that I can get it to work with usb too
Edit :
I forgot to try system >accessories >usb audio
I'll try when I get out of work.
2nd edit :
Didn't work

Sort of the same issue, compounded.
I have a 2012 volt and an S3/I9300 international version. I can't get it to play audio in my car for love or money. No roms, just stock...but bluetooth and auxiliary fails. Bluetooth says it doesn't recognize it, auxiliary jack says everything is hooked up but I get no sound.
I also have a bluetooth soundbar in my home; the phone connects fine but the sound comes through the phone still rather than the speakers. I feel like I'm missing something pretty basic here. Any help/guidance would be much appreciated. If there is an app that will fix this I'm totally game. Also anything to get rid of the samsun apps login that is constantly annoying me, or the German news sides that are preinstalled.
I'm a wreck lol. Love the phone otherwise though (other than ATT delivering my text messages roughly 72 hours after they were sent...all at once, from 3 to 6 am, like clockwork. I switched to t-mobile).

Wrong section dude, you want the international forums, this one is for the sprint variant only

I would suggest searching for usb input on the stereo and making sure its selected as the playback device. My ford fusion has bluetooth and usb but when i use usb i have to select it on the stereo to actually play music from my phone. Hope this helps...:good:

connect external DVD drive to the note 8?

Greetings,
I've been planning on buying an external dvd drive for my laptop. I found an interesting feature in samsung slim drives. For example, the samsung SE-208AB has an AV-Connectivity mode that turns the drive into a sort of external HDD! We know that android and the note 8 can already read flash drives via OTG. If this external DVD drive has this external HDD funcitonality, can we in theory connect it to the note 8 and get external DVD rom functionality? here's a you tube video connecting a samsung drive to the nexus 7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvoyab75QgQ
As an external HDD, the drive is read with files in it so you can't really play the disc as a DVD rom (so no DVD menus I guess) but the VOB and other data files if present can be read. I know that samsung already released a dvd drive (Samsung 218bb) which android devices can detect but the problem there was that there was no app that could recognize DVD, iso formats.
but I recently tried XBMC! and XBMC can read ISO and even NRG images! Tried reading one off of the NAS via WLAN. with this app, is it possible to connect these samsung drives and read them as native roms using XBMC? has anyone tried it?
This is a real deal breaker for me. I don't think that the ASUS or Lite-on external drives have this kind of functionality. If a can get a drive that is read/write for my laptop and potentially "read" (in the least) for the note 8 then this is a no brainer purchase.
So has anyone tried this? Thanks.
UPDATE: after doing some more reading on XDA I found these threads:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2171111
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1086842
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2009186.
There are mixed bits. some say that the note 8 does not support external drives but here there is clearly evidence of external drives being read by android. So is it simply the MHL not supplying enough power in the case of the note 8? in another thread, an external drive with an external power source was suggested while another thread noted that this fried the drive and his note 10? These are all for different devices however. Just want to know if anyone has experience with the note 8 in particular. So far the only video showing this actually works is the you tube video with the nexus 7 shown above.

I own a Samsung Mobile SmartHub <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tsst.app.opticalsmarthub>. It works but in my experience the audio quality SUCKS. Much better to just rip the DVD and stream over standard DLNA.
---------- Post added at 01:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------
Also, I've never had a USB external DVD drive work with any of my devices (as they would a laptop). Not sure if I've tried on my GN8 though.

Spidey01 said:
I own a Samsung Mobile SmartHub <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tsst.app.opticalsmarthub>. It works but in my experience the audio quality SUCKS. Much better to just rip the DVD and stream over standard DLNA.
---------- Post added at 01:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------
Also, I've never had a USB external DVD drive work with any of my devices (as they would a laptop). Not sure if I've tried on my GN8 though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh? Thanks for the reply so iI guess video/audio/media playback has better alternatives. but what about reading and copying files off of the dvd while using the AV-connectivity (External HDD) Drive mode? Sometimes at meetings people still have discs instead of flashdrives, the note 8 is already slowly replacing my laptop but lacks this last functionality: reading/copying files off of a local disk. if it could do this than the laptop stays at home completely as the note 8 almost completely replaces it now for presentations, media serving/control and the like. I'll just bring the external disc drive. It's better than still lugging a laptop. Thanks again.

ProjectER said:
the note 8 is already slowly replacing my laptop but lacks this last functionality: reading/copying files off of a local disk. if it could do this than the laptop stays at home completely as the note 8 almost completely replaces it now for presentations, media serving/control and the like. I'll just bring the external disc drive. It's better than still lugging a laptop. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't say that I've tried it in that mode. Picked up the unit dirt cheap and almost never use it because of the streaming quality. Was so disappointed I basically gave up on it lol.
Using a USB OTG cable it's possible to access FAT and NTFS volumes on USB Mass Storage devices, like flash drives and external HDDs. I'm using the one from my moms Acer A700 but they're quite cheap off Amazon. Sometimes useful. Anything that is exposed like that (class 08h / UMS) should work. Hubs, most HID devices like keyboards and mice also work via the same means. I haven't tried the drive that way, just a little ASUS unit, which doesn't function as a USB mass storage device.
USB OTG works a hell of lot better on my GN8 than my nexuses, and if memory serves tthe optical hub bridges the disc to a FAT based UMS.
At home, rather than use an external hard drive or optical discs, I use DLNA for movies and things like Dropbox/Google Drive for files. I rip my movies with MakeMKV, store them on my server machine (bigger HDDs then my gaming PC), run a DLNA server on that and point an app from my tablet at it. Least pain I've had, give or take Chromecast and video apps. I can get Chromecast to play the content via DLNA as well but where as the Galaxy Note can handle 30 Mbit/s full HD video (Wi-Fi permitting) the Chromecast really should be kept under 3 or 4 Mbit/s.

thanks for the reply
Spidey01 said:
Can't say that I've tried it in that mode. Picked up the unit dirt cheap and almost never use it because of the streaming quality. Was so disappointed I basically gave up on it lol.
Using a USB OTG cable it's possible to access FAT and NTFS volumes on USB Mass Storage devices, like flash drives and external HDDs. I'm using the one from my moms Acer A700 but they're quite cheap off Amazon. Sometimes useful. Anything that is exposed like that (class 08h / UMS) should work. Hubs, most HID devices like keyboards and mice also work via the same means. I haven't tried the drive that way, just a little ASUS unit, which doesn't function as a USB mass storage device.
USB OTG works a hell of lot better on my GN8 than my nexuses, and if memory serves tthe optical hub bridges the disc to a FAT based UMS.
At home, rather than use an external hard drive or optical discs, I use DLNA for movies and things like Dropbox/Google Drive for files. I rip my movies with MakeMKV, store them on my server machine (bigger HDDs then my gaming PC), run a DLNA server on that and point an app from my tablet at it. Least pain I've had, give or take Chromecast and video apps. I can get Chromecast to play the content via DLNA as well but where as the Galaxy Note can handle 30 Mbit/s full HD video (Wi-Fi permitting) the Chromecast really should be kept under 3 or 4 Mbit/s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
so there is hope that it can access data files on the disk. Plan to use it mainly for raw data transfer at work but only for those still not keen on a flashdrive. It's rare but some still use discs...(i guess it's more resistent to viruses and malware...).
Don't plan to use the external drive really for playing media. As you already enumerated, there are a ton of options for that already, The review for that samsung wifi optical disc media hub is that its a great idea introduced way too late and executed too poorly for it to compete with our NAS's and WLAN's. I personally use XBMC for android, it runs on all devices now, android, windows, linux and even iOS i think. Then I have yatze or bubble upnp as well. I realized that with XBMC, don't really need chromecast anymore, although I use "cheap cast" with my android minipc I realized it's simply easier to send the you tube link to xbmc. Instead of having a you tube play list(for chrome cast), I can send the vid to xbmc and play it there and still play another you tube video on the note 8. XBMC now also reads Iso's and NRG's so all those dvd's ripped into images just run on it even via the wlan/upnp/network. Just my take on the whole video streaming option.
But I haven't tried this MakeMKV app you suggested. I hope to compress my stored DVD collection. Is it like handbreak? Can it compress a 4 gig dvd into a smaller MKV file? My NAS is slowly getting filled up. Anyway thanks! More power to XDA!
BTW: Since we're on the topic of streeaming, I'm thinking of starting a thread on the note 8's miracast/ALLSHARE CAST/screen mirroring. I realized that Samsung's screen mirroring is not really miracast compliant (just like the S4) in the sense that it doesn't work with all screen mirroring devices (something with HDCP and samsung proprietary software which i think is just there to "encourage" you to buy they're all sharecast dongle).
Here's the link: http://android-minipc.azurewebsites...ast-fails-to-mirror-samsung-galaxy-s4-screen/
Do you know of a fix for this? or should I start a Q/A thread for it? Thanks...

With regard to MakeMKV, it seems to decrypt the disc and remux the content streams into Matroska (.mkv) files, or at least about as lossless as you can get off the disc. You'll get the same MPEG-2/AC3 stream off a DVD as what's on it. No compression.
I do conversions either via Handbrake on my gaming box or by directly running ffmpeg on my server with about the same options as handbrake uses. My server's faster at it, hehe.For DVD, I normally use H.264 with x264's constant quality set to 22 or 23, and convert the audios; normally stereo with Dolby Pro Logic II downmix and another stream that's AC-3 pass through. Good enough that I don't usually notice quality loss vs the original DVD. DVD's usually end up under 2GB and especially for things like episodes of The Simpsons, can be really small. Sometimes a movie is still like 3~4GB though.
Some of Samsung's devices are certified, never tried them with another dongle. Miracast's latency is high enough that it's more limited then the MHL cable, and my old GS3 tended to soft reboot when using any video output until the 4.1 update lol. One of the CM developers had posted about issues between Samsung, Google, and perhaps a few other implementations. I think they support different HDCP versions but I'm not sure of the details.

I finally baught the samsung external dvd drive se-208. I tried AV connectivity mode so it get's recognized as a fat 32 flash drive. Well my laptop recognizes it (but my laptop recognizes it as a disc as well so that really isn't the point). Tried AV connectivity mode and connected it to my note 8. The drive just keeps spinning but my note 8 never recognizes it. Really sad. I then connected it to my samsung TV which allegedly can play media files off of a USB thumb drive. The drive still isn't recognized. Weird cuz on you tube, they connected it to a samsung TV and it worked. I tried media files and data/doc/pic files, the drive never gets recognized. Only my laptop recognizes it as a "flashdrive." Any suggestions? (I know switching to AV connectivity means pressing the eject butto for 1.5-3 seconds so I'm sure it's in AV connectivity and not in ODD or optical drive mode). Could it be power? but the drive lights up and spins when connected to the note 8 and the TV. Thanks for any suggestions.
BTW, i'm not interested in streaming as i already have a NAS for all my videos. Just want the functionality of an optical drive reader without having to bring a laptop around. The note 8 is already amazingly functional...this would just max it out even more. Thanks.

The bottom line is the device (whether it's the tablet, computer, TV or whatever) needs to have the drivers built in not just to access the optical drive, but also to read the file system on the optical disc (which I think is UDF, but don't quote me on that). You could try to find a custom kernel that has that support, see if there's a program on the Play Store or elsewhere that has that support built-in, or compile your own kernel with that support built in. But usually, when it comes to hardware support, it almost always comes down to driver support (I'm assume there DVD drive plugs into the wall so it's not an issue with lack of power).

Spidey01 said:
Can't say that I've tried it in that mode. Picked up the unit dirt cheap and almost never use it because of the streaming quality. Was so disappointed I basically gave up on it lol.
Using a USB OTG cable it's possible to access FAT and NTFS volumes on USB Mass Storage devices, like flash drives and external HDDs. I'm using the one from my moms Acer A700 but they're quite cheap off Amazon. Sometimes useful. Anything that is exposed like that (class 08h / UMS) should work. Hubs, most HID devices like keyboards and mice also work via the same means. I haven't tried the drive that way, just a little ASUS unit, which doesn't function as a USB mass storage device.
USB OTG works a hell of lot better on my GN8 than my nexuses, and if memory serves tthe optical hub bridges the disc to a FAT based UMS.
At home, rather than use an external hard drive or optical discs, I use DLNA for movies and things like Dropbox/Google Drive for files. I rip my movies with MakeMKV, store them on my server machine (bigger HDDs then my gaming PC), run a DLNA server on that and point an app from my tablet at it. Least pain I've had, give or take Chromecast and video apps. I can get Chromecast to play the content via DLNA as well but where as the Galaxy Note can handle 30 Mbit/s full HD video (Wi-Fi permitting) the Chromecast really should be kept under 3 or 4 Mbit/s.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, have you tried if screen mirroring works between the Note 8.0 and Chromecast? I'm thinking of buying the dongle, but I'm interested mainly for screen mirroring, so I wish to know if it works well.
Thanks

gabripranzo said:
Hi, have you tried if screen mirroring works between the Note 8.0 and Chromecast? I'm thinking of buying the dongle, but I'm interested mainly for screen mirroring, so I wish to know if it works well.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Performance when mirroring to Chromecast sucks but it does work. I would say latency is around 0.75 seconds to 1.20 seconds from when I scroll left or right in Nova Launcher to when I see it finish on the TV. Encoder quality also sucks at rendering transparency or anti aliasing and it tends to peg the CPU to full clockrate most of the time. I haven't tried video on it. I believe my Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 is simularly Crappy. Nexus 5 and Galaxy S5 work better, so it seems like only my Snapdragon 800+ chipsets seem to have decent mirroring performance over Chromecast. I don't think Google has optimized things very well for Exynos & Mali. I can say the GS5 will mirror to it well enough to watch a video not that I'd advise it. Really, Samsung's very crappy AllShare Cast dongle works better in terms of casting performance. Miracast is only useful for videos or stuff like email/websurfing because of the latency (e.g. not gaming) but Chromecast is the worst mirroring I've ever used, and I've even SideSync mirrored my tablets to my PC before. My Amazon Fire TV box works awesome sauce as a Miracast Display to all of my current devices (GN8, GNP12.2, and GS5) in terms of performance but sometimes will not connect; I've yet to determine why, maybe it just hates my monitor/switch more than my TV.
If cash is a primary concern and mostly mirroring: I would suggest a Fire TV Stick (which is Miracast Certified) or some real Miracast adapter like the Netgear PTV3000 ($50) or Belkin Miracast Adapter ($60). Chromecast is great for leaning back and casting video from apps like Netflix, Plex, AllCast, etc but not so awesome at screen mirroring. Perhaps like Chromecast's video decoder it will improve with time but it's just not that awesome for mirroring right now. MHL wired adapters are still better for screen mirroring IMHO.

Well, I wish to use the screen mirroring function mainly to stream videos: sometimes it happens that my Bd player hasn't the right codec for the video, so I wish to stream it directly from tablet to TV.