Streaming/TV devices

LARK

Sorry, really didn't know what that pole that comes with it was called. That j pole is mounted at home inside my window seal. When I go camping I simply unscrew the wing nuts from the back of the antenna and then attach it to the painters pole at campsite. 

mickietucs

That answers my question Lark! I figured the J pole would be used elsewhere and the antenna is mounted right to a painter pole - just wanted to verify that's how you did it. Thank you.

skwhee

Verna,
We are still wandering (and are not lost). In the moment we are in northern Ohio. Just went to an awesome DDay reenactment with 1500 re-enacting and 30,000 spectators on the shores of Lake Erie. Now we are in the middle of a vineyard relaxing with a glass of wine and a cheese plate. 

Back to the question at hand. We use HandBrake on the laptop to convert DVDs to .mp4 files then use a video converter program to convert the files to mp1s (.mpg). Then we can move the files to a flash drive stick. This is the format that the John Wayne movie was in that entertained Sunny Day! (As an alternative, we can play the .mp4s on the laptop and connect to the TV in the T@B with anUSB to HDMI cable.)

larrygon

Verna said:

I am going to have to find the name of the program that will copy movies to a flash drive or hard drive. 

I also use free Handbrake located here https://handbrake.fr/ It is available for all computer platforms.
It will output MKV and MP4 formats that most programs and hardware such as my ROKU and BlueRay player can play.

bgualtieri said:

We use a USB to HDMI video out adaptor for an iPad (or MacBook Air) and play movies saved on whichever device is attached. It also works for Netflix (or other streaming) if the cell connection is good and if data use isn't an issue. I think PXL does something similar

The Android on a stick (AKA android TV) is only about $40 if you do not have an Ipad or laptop.

Verna

skwhee said:

Verna,
We are still wandering (and are not lost). In the moment we are in northern Ohio. Just went to an awesome DDay reenactment with 1500 re-enacting and 30,000 spectators on the shores of Lake Erie. Now we are in the middle of a vineyard relaxing with a glass of wine and a cheese plate. 

Back to the question at hand. We use HandBrake on the laptop to convert DVDs to .mp4 files then use a video converter program to convert the files to mp1s (.mpg). Then we can move the files to a flash drive stick. This is the format that the John Wayne movie was in that entertained Sunny Day! (As an alternative, we can play the .mp4s on the laptop and connect to the TV in the T@B with anUSB to HDMI cable.)

Thanks, Steve and Karen! I couldn't remember the name of the program!.  After I get the kitchen DNR, it's on to trying this so I won't have to carry all of those DVD 's.  Glad you're having fun. 

Nomad

Newer Macs don't have optical drives so I can't tell if this works for DVDs or not but I use "Smart Converter Pro" to convert from one vid format to another so I can add them to my iPad.

mash2

If you have a superdrive, or other dvd recorder/player,  you can rip dvd's on a MAC  I find the generic dvd recorder (LG has some good ones), works better than the mac superdrive.   While handbrake works on the Mac, it cannot rip commercial dvds.  My understanding is that MacX DVD ripper Mac Free Addition works well, converting to MP4 format  (I think it is good for 99 rips). 

rwade

When hooking up all these various antennas, what size coaxial connector is used?  The male end mounted on the exterior of the T@B seems is smaller than the off the shelf coaxial cables.

pthomas745

My ordinary co-ax cable connected fine.....it is a standard F-connector.

Ratkity

Verna, I'll find the PC Windows/Mac DVD/Bluray ripper program for you - it's not pricy and the dvd/bluray player software is free. I have a bluray disk player device for the tablet/comp, but it consumes a lot of power and uses 2 usb plugs. It takes a while to convert each movie, so I just picked my favorite ones. Movies you purchase on Amazon only work on certain devices and technically, you don't "own" them like a dvd (and watch them on a non-Apple, non iOS, non Amazon device). If you have those devices, you can download them onto them for offline watching.

I've been digitizing a few of my fav movies. The program I use won't pull all the "extras" from the disks or the "menu" items. Tis just da movie.

Keep in mind the Fire Stick still needs 110V power unless you buy a special cable that can plug into any extra usb port (the fire stick plugs into hdmi). 

V, I'm surprised you could watch a movie on the usb port on your tv. Most tv usb ports are for slideshow playback of photos (at least the ones I've been looking at via Amazon). I was looking at combo TVs.. not the one that could connect to the Jensen, so that could be the issue.

Ratkity

The software is Leawo bluray and dvd watcher (free). Both my Surface Pro and my MacBook pro don't have native players built in for bluray players. My bluray player is generic and works on both Surface Pro and on Mac. Mac software came with the player when I bought it (MacnGo-something similar). On my Surface Pro, I tried handbrake and I got all sorts of errors. I ended up buying a lifetime license for Leawo DVD/Bluray ripper. 

Currently, I'm taking my old beloved DVDs that I've watched several times and digitizing them. I didn't realize I had so many! I was bummed to find out that "Perception" was only released on season 1 on DVD and only 2 and 3 are streamed through Amazon/Apple devices. I'm sure if I do more research, I could capture a streaming video like we used to do with audio in the old days.

I've never been at a KOA campground where wifi was strong enough for any streaming. The ones I've stayed at were barely strong enough at the campground office to send an email. It's ok though!

My idea to use the Surface Pro for videos was that it had a long lasting battery for video playback. I normally use my ipad for music pdfs and run ForScore on it to organize pdfs of sheet music. It works great and I have a bluetooth pedal that I can use to change the page. I don't use either one for surfing the web or hanging on forums much. The memory is limited on both. I haven't tested the play back of movies on the 3.0 usb sticks yet vs having them on the hd. My Surface Pro has a sim card slot. Right now I'm putting music on it there. It's just an experiment. My truck only plays mp3s. The way it sets up a playlist is bizarre. And it sets up singers, albums and such a strange way too. One of the quirks of the 2015 GMC Canyon. I think they fixed it in the 16's and up. 

Verna

Thank you, @Ratkity!

Ratkity

A little more info....

The software player I used is called Leawo. The software player for both mac and pc is free and plays both blu-ray and DVD. It's simple and I have had not errors (yet). Of course, you must have the blu-ray hardware to play a blu-ray disc. I've had no issues with the software player for DVD or blu-rays with my hardware.  Please always go to the official website (www.leawo.net) to obtain any free software.

As far as digitizing discs I own, I only purchased the Leawo Blu-ray ripper (which comes with the DVD ripper by default) - it was ~$45. There's an Ultimate Converter version that runs about $25 more.

At the time, I was extremely annoyed because I had purchased another software pdt that gave me errors and crashed my Surface Pro so that I had to re-install the operating system (Win 10). Good thing not much was on that device.

The Leawo ripper software is doing well. My hardware (just a cheapo external dvd player) has to opened and closed for it to read multiple title DVDs (like a TV series - e.g. four titles on one disk). A little finicky. The digitizing is slow for a regular DVD and even slower for a blu-ray. As I said before, you will get the movie ONLY, none of the menus or extras will be included in your digitized version. Slow = about 30 min for an 1.5h DVD movie.

I have no affiliation with the software company. It ended up having the most stable software I tried.