USB DVD or BluRay drive

[oosty]

I am looking for a USB drive that I can connect to my T3 PVR and use the T3 remote to control the Play and even Record if possible. I prefer not to use a DVD player as my wife is upset enough with all the remote controls I have already, I have tried multi remotes and she refuses to use them too.

[MrQuade]

Many USB connected DVD drives will work, but the experience on the Wiz is not great. I would go so far as to say the experience is not even good.
The auto-insert detection does not work correctly, and the experience in some of the DVD menus is less than perfect. The disks will actually play back, but the interface isn't as good as many commercial DVD players.

I have a Buffalo drive that looks like this one successfully, but I am not sure if you can buy that particular model new any more.

I needed to plug the drive into the front USB port on the T3 if I recall correctly, as the back port couldn't supply enough power. If you are looking at trying one out, I would recommend one that you can power externally.

I have tried multi remotes and she refuses to use them too.

What ones have you tried? The ones that require you to manually switch between devices are indeed a pain in the butt, and not much of an improvement over using separate remotes other than simplifying storage.
A Logitech Harmony 650 is an "Activity Based" remote that simplifies all the device juggling for you once you have configured it correctly. I don't know of many people who would consider this a step back for a simple set of AV equipment. The Harmony 350 is a bit of a waste of time (it is more like the manually switched universal remote, and only has a single "activity"). The deluxe Harmony models are also great, but very expensive. The 650 hits a happy entry point price.

(My Harmony Elite controls 11 devices, and my Harmony Ultimate controls 9 devices. Both AV systems operate very smoothly without any undue fussing with the remote)

[prl]

+1 on MrQuade's comments on activity-based remotes. Our Harmony 785 only controls three devices at the moment (TV, home theatre system and Beyonwiz T4), but we've used it on up to six (TV, tuner, DVD, DP-Lite, DP-P2 and HDMI switch). It's 9 years old now and still going strong on the original lithium rechargeable battery, apart from the sliver screenprinting on the VOL+/- buttons being a bit worn.

[oosty]

I own the Logitech Harmony One+ Remote (Yes its long it the tooth, But works well for me.
The Misses has tried many from our Friends and have not been impressed with any of them. Sadly I only know of two of them both Logitech one it the elite and the other I believe is a 300 or 350, With some of them she tried for about a week but the elite was only 5 min ( I think she might have become bias against them), But anyway this is why I am looking for a USB Drive for our few DVD and maybe the hand full of BluRays we have.

[MrQuade]

I own the Logitech Harmony One+ Remote (Yes its long it the tooth, But works well for me.
The Misses has tried many from our Friends and have not been impressed with any of them. Sadly I only know of two of them both Logitech one it the elite and the other I believe is a 300 or 350, With some of them she tried for about a week but the elite was only 5 min ( I think she might have become bias against them),

Ok. The 350 is a waste of time, and I can understand the Elite being an acquired taste with the reduced number of buttons and touchscreen. However, the One Plus is a capable model, so I am surprised. Oh well.

But anyway this is why I am looking for a USB Drive for our few DVD and maybe the hand full of BluRays we have.

The T3 will never be able to play Blurays, so you can forget that part of it entirely.
I also very much doubt that the T3's DVD playback experience will be to your (or your wife's) satisfaction either.

If you only have a few DVDs as you say, then I would recommend that you rip them all to harddisk in .mkv format, and play them back like that on the T3. I think everyone will be happier with that solution.

[prl]

... The Misses has tried many from our Friends and have not been impressed with any of them. ...

De gustibus non est disputandum.

[MrQuade]

However, the One Plus is a capable model, so I am surprised. Oh well.

Actually I take that bit back. I remember now, I specifically bought the 785 remote back in the day because the One lacked colour buttons. That would be a massive drawback for using it with the T series.

But prl is of course correct when dealing in matters of taste.

[oosty]

I thought it was illegal to copy DVD's

[MrQuade]

That's a loaded question. In the strict sense it is not legal.
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/07/f ... r-content/

However, if you own the original media and are ripping for your own personal use, then as far as most people are concerned, you are morally well within your rights. Noone is going to prosecute you for doing this.

[peteru]

If you only have a few DVDs as you say, then I would recommend that you rip them all to harddisk in .mkv format, and play them back like that on the T3. I think everyone will be happier with that solution.

+1 for this approach.

I thought it was illegal to copy DVD's

Nope. If you own the content* and are circumventing copy protection to solve compatibility issues, it's fine.


* You actually don't own the content. What you own is the media that has a copy of the content and comes with a license that allows you to view that content. But it's OK to get it confused - the industry can't get it right, with advertising like "Own it on DVD."

[peteru]

The T3 will never be able to play Blurays

Why?

[MrQuade]

Why?

I'm talking about commercial disks here.
I don't envisage that anyone is rushing out to implement the BD-J required for the disk UI for one.
There is also the matter of circumventing HDCP/AACS/BD+ since I can also not imagine anyone implementing an industry approved DRM compliant set of software.

I really don't know if the hardware is or isn't technically capable of doing a decent job of it, but practically speaking, if the T3 still isn't yet getting DVD right, then Bluray is never going to happen.

[MrQuade]

I have had a crack at using the USB DVD drive on the T4 running the new 17.5 firmware series.
It's possibly not as bad as I recall it being.

I plugged the drive in to the rear ports (used a 2-way USB plug) while the T4 was running.
Inserted a disk, and a message popped up on screen to play the DVD.
I chose to play a simple commercial disk, and the normal disk menu popped up which was nice.
After a bit of poking, I managed to get the menu cursor/pointer to appear and play the movie.
Movie played, and I even tried a few skips and FF as a trial. That all worked.
Press STOP stopped the movie and returned me to live TV, and the audio wasn't working. :-/
Changed channel, and poked the AUDIO button, and nothing.
Checked the main menu, and there was no "DVD Player" entry there (this should appear if there is a DVD drive and disk present).
I ejected the disk and rebooted.

On reboot, the DVDPLayer option was not present in the main menu.
Inserted the Disk again and chose not to play when presented with the popup.
Checked the main menu, and still no "DVD Player" entry.
Ejected and reinserted the disk, got the popup, and played the DVD.
Played the movie again.
Turned on the subtitles, which amazingly worked. I figured they wouldn't since GStreamer doesn't like .sub style subtitles. Interesting result.
Pressed STOP and returned to Live TV. Audio was working this time.

Restarted the GUI.
Checked the main menu, and the "DVD Player" entry was now present since I had started the GUI with a disk present.



So there you go, the experience in a nutshell. It is usable, but not really very pleasant at the moment.

[oosty]

Thank you for all this info, I will be looking for a drive soon.