# Playing Movies from a hard drive on an Avtex W169DR



## Dougaitken (Aug 14, 2009)

Does anybody play movies on their W163DR from a hard drive. If you do please explain how and how you download your DVD's to the drive.

Doug


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## boringfrog (Sep 22, 2006)

*DVDs*

You cannot copy DVDs to your device as all DVDs will be copy-write protected. If you have a PVR like a Topfield you can record movies then transfer them to a HDD.


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## Traveller_HA5_3DOM (May 9, 2005)

Doug 
I use a program AutoGK download  I have a Meos 19" Combo unit and the DVD player has stopped working so I was forced down the route of external USB Hard Disc. Conversion is not for the faint hearted as on my first attempts, some had no sound, some no picture but they all played on the laptop. It is just a matter of finding what your player can read and that is a matter of try a film and if it plays OK if no sound or picture try different codec settings and remember which parts worked. I need to frequently consult my 1st line helpdesk (Eldest son) for help. Yes there are copyright issues and you may attract attention from your ISP if you are downloading lots of films, even more if you are uploading. you can download films in MP4 format which may be what will play. But when you get it sorted you get loads of movies all on one compact device with a menu screen to select from.


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## Dougaitken (Aug 14, 2009)

Hi

Thanks for the information so far. Copyright is unlikely to be a problem as I never download films and rarely ever buy them. 

The Avtex manual says that it recognises MPEG4 but if I convert a film to that the TV does not see the file only the folder I have put it in on the Hard Drive.

Doug


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## rolyk (Aug 24, 2007)

My Avtex reads DivX files from a usb hard drive, but the drive must be formatted fat32 (not ntfs) and it needs an external power source, as the usb socket does not provide enough power.

Roly


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

I have ripped a few directly onto my hard drive, but they will only play on the computer, which is why I bought a laptop with an HDMI connection, now I connect that to the telly and I can watch it on the bigger screen.

Olley


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## wanderer2010 (Apr 18, 2010)

I do it all the time with a 8gb stick works a treat just copy what you want to watch to it then plug it in. If you use a large external hard disk the tv cannot read it as it has not got enough power to open it so its best to go small and you do not need another electric point


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## SNandJA (Aug 22, 2008)

There is a device that will use a HDD or SD MMC or other USB devices with FAT FAT32 or NTFS and convert it to a TV output via HDMI or composite AV
Cyclone Micro Multimedia Player Adaptor for just under £20 available from 7DAYSHOP click this link
7DAYSHOP Multimedia Adaptor

It works OK although they are out of stock at the moment. Usually good at restocking. You can read reviews on the product and they all give the adapator 5 stars! Video on the above link shows it
working and how it is setup and how small it is!
Steve


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

For info, I use a lovely FREE program called Handbrake to convert my dvd's to a file format I can use on the computer, such as mpeg/avi etc...

I got it originally to convert dvd to ipod format, but since has found it does a wealth of other formats.


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

SNandJA said:


> There is a device that will use a HDD or SD MMC or other USB devices with FAT FAT32 or NTFS and convert it to a TV output via HDMI or composite AV
> Cyclone Micro Multimedia Player Adaptor for just under £20 available from 7DAYSHOP click this link
> 7DAYSHOP Multimedia Adaptor
> 
> ...


I bought a similar device, its called a Xenta media player, http://www.ebuyer.com/product/175291?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products its got all the same outputs, but it won't play anything with copy protection.

I could rip and copy a movie to a usb drive, and playback through the computer, but connect the drive to the Xenta and it wouldn't play them. I was give a copy of Avatar which had the copy protection removed and it played that fine.

Olley


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## jettdt (Aug 21, 2009)

Snelly said:


> For info, I use a lovely FREE program called Handbrake to convert my dvd's to a file format I can use on the computer, such as mpeg/avi etc...
> 
> I got it originally to convert dvd to ipod format, but since has found it does a wealth of other formats.


Hi Snelly,

I looked up handbrake as it sounds interesting, their site suggests it does not convert copy protected DVD's. Have you found it can convert DVD's as we have ipads and I would love to put some of the kids discs onto it, at the moment we have to buy films from itunes only.


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## Dougaitken (Aug 14, 2009)

Hi

Thank you everyone for the information you have put forward particularly the advice from SNandJA about the Cyclone Micro Multimedia Player Adaptor.

I like many others that have bought one of these adaptors am amazed by this little unit.

I have now successfully played films from a USB stick or hard drive via the HDMI socket on the Avtex W163DR saving me having to take loads of DVD's with us.

Thank you again

Doug


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## StewartJ (Nov 20, 2009)

I have a 19" Avtex bought in September, it recognises most of the folders on my 2.5" hard drive plays DivX movies no problem and I all my photographs

Stewart


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