What do i need? Confused....

[anokewee]

Hi guys,

Been reading some of the thread here but the more i read the more confused.

I just bought a Samsung Smart TV and wanted a solution that i can access and play my Bt movies and photos on my new tv. And also need to be able to access it with android phones at home to watch movies. I don't need to access the movies from outside.

Somebody told me i need a NAS like D-link DNS 320L (which i feel is quite affordable). Then i read somewhere i can share a external hard disk to do the job. I have a spare WD external HDD with Firewire + USB2 + HDMI port.

So what do i need? Sorry i just a newbie at these things.....

 

[stay8899]

Most smart tv has capability to:

1. Playback media on usb devices.
2. DLNA compliant

Most NAS has dlna and allows for media playback on tv. In both cases, it also depends on your tv media format such as mkv, avi, wmv, mpg etc that your TV supports. If your media format is not supported, it will not play.

 

[stay8899]

Your wd hdd with hdmi output, is it wd tv? If yes, then just plug the hdmi to your tv and you are done.

 

[IronMac]

The WD HDD may not be accessible with an Android smartphone.

Try what stay899 has suggested, if that does not work then you will have to get a NAS.

I have a Synology NAS with a Samsung Smart TV (5500?) and I can access everything on the NAS from the TV along with my Nexus tablet, iPads, iPhone and Galaxy Note.

 

[micheloving]

Thats why ppl buy cheap android tv usb plug-in in instead of Smart tvs .
Too much of a pain in the ass to work with and not very 'smart' at all.

 

[IronMac]

Too much of a pain in the ass to work with and not very 'smart' at all.

I found mine remarkably easy to work with; the Samsung found the WiFi network, just needed a password and it was off to the races!

 

[jtjt00]

WD TV as well as smart TV can't play movies with DTS audio. So got picture but no sound.

 

[stay8899]

I run Plex media server on my backend and stream content to all frontend devices (TV, tablet, PC/laptop, phones).

So far so good.

 

[anokewee]

I run Plex media server on my backend and stream content to all frontend devices (TV, tablet, PC/laptop, phones).

So far so good.

For plex you need to install the app in your pc and install in the TV right? Does that mean when you want to watch from TV the pc has to be turn on?

 

[stay8899]

Yes, I ran PMS (Plex media server) on my NAS, so no need to switch on PC and media is on NAS and has to be on anyway.

TV that supports DLNA don't need additional software. I'm using LG and haven't encountered DTS audio issue yet (maybe all my movies I screened so far do not have DTS audio, I didn't check)

 

[stay8899]

For TV without smart features, just Chromecast the movie to the TV with your smartphone/tablet.

Note: This feature is currently in beta and one will need Plex pass (premium service). I'm not a plex pass member, so unfortunately cannot test it out.

 

[anokewee]

Yes, I ran PMS (Plex media server) on my NAS, so no need to switch on PC and media is on NAS and has to be on anyway.

TV that supports DLNA don't need additional software. I'm using LG and haven't encountered DTS audio issue yet (maybe all my movies I screened so far do not have DTS audio, I didn't check)

Thanks for the info. Could you share how do you access the NAS from your LG TV?

 

[stay8899]

Thanks for the info. Could you share how do you access the NAS from your LG TV?

I have my TV hardwired, and DLNA media from PMS (which runs on my NAS) automatically shown as folders (not the nice cover flow type).