Philips DVP5960 and USB

[lets]

I kwow this model has a USB connector. Does it mean that I can connect my external Hard Drive with divx files and watch them on TV?

[ntngod]

According to the DVP-5960 manual (page 16), that USB 1.1 port will support USB hard drives (and other types of USB devices), but only for MP3/WMA/JPEG...

[Bodyslide]

I am getting one tomorrow, and plan on testing the usb out. I read on one page that it also will read divx as well. Info here:

There’s also a USB port on the front, which can be used to display JPEGs and DivX files as well as to play back MP3 files, from a USB thumbdrive.

http://www.hdtvlounge.net/hd-dvd/philips-dvp596037

[lets]

There’s also a USB port on the front, which can be used to display JPEGs and DivX files as well as to play back MP3 files, from a USB thumbdrive.

I think it means you can only see that they are there.

[Bodyslide]

Just hooked the Player up. All NTSC and PAL DVD's play with no issue. The PAL DVD's that I own are all region free. I also played mp3's, jpg's, divx and avi files from a small usb 512mb jump drive. All the files played with no issue. I would think you can hook up an external usb drive and stream from it with no issues. I will try that over the weekend.

I have also played divx files from both a cd and dvd with no issues. The only bad thing is the files played the titles only show up with the first 7 or 8 letters only. The unit I bought came from Circuit City for 75.00, the unit has a Build date of April 2006.

So far for what I need it for looks like a really sweet player.

[FulciLives]

Just hooked the Player up. All NTSC and PAL DVD's play with no issue. The PAL DVD's that I own are all region free. I also played mp3's, jpg's, divx and avi files from a small usb 512mb jump drive. All the files played with no issue. I would think you can hook up an external usb drive and stream from it with no issues. I will try that over the weekend.

I have also played divx files from both a cd and dvd with no issues. The only bad thing is the files played the titles only show up with the first 7 or 8 letters only. The unit I bought came from Circuit City for 75.00, the unit has a Build date of April 2006.

So far for what I need it for looks like a really sweet player.

Did you ever own the Philips DVP 642 and if so how do you think the Philips DVP 5960 compares?

I had a DVP 642 and was thrilled that it could do DivX and XviD but normal DVD playback was subpar and it's ability to do PAL to NTSC (from a PAL DVD) was also very poor.

BTW there is a region free hack for this if you look in the "DVD Hacks" section of the website.

Oh and last but not least ... any "up conversion" for MPEG-4 files or is that only for MPEG-2 files?

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[jliles]

Hi,

Any way you can check to see if it will play nero digital files in the mp4 container?

Thanks,

Julie

[Bodyslide]

Never owned the 642. The DVD seems fine I'm only playing it on a 27 inch TV. The PAL DVD looked fine no stuttering or ill effects at all. I'm also not sure about the Up Conversion. If you have any test clips you need me to try send them to my bodyslide@gmail.com email and I'll test them with my usb drive I have.

[FulciLives]

Never owned the 642. The DVD seems fine I'm only playing it on a 27 inch TV. The PAL DVD looked fine no stuttering or ill effects at all. I'm also not sure about the Up Conversion. If you have any test clips you need me to try send them to my bodyslide@gmail.com email and I'll test them with my usb drive I have.

When I had the DVP 642 I had a 27" TV and the PAL to NTSC looked very bad. There was a huge amount of anti-alasing garbage due to poor resizing from PAL to NTSC. The image was "smooth" in terms of frames per second though.

Now I have a 51" 16x9 WS TV so something that looks bad on a 27" will look even worse LOL

BTW the one thing I noticed with the DVP 642 is that (using the picture adjustments in the set up menu) the image was either way too dark or way too bright. Very annoying.

Also gradient colors (including shadows) had a "banding" effect instead of a "smooth" gradient look.

However the DVP-642 used a shit old ass chipset and my understanding is that the DVP 5960 uses a much newer and better chipset ... so really there should be no comparrison.

But I had to ask

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Bodyslide]

I compared both a PAL DVD and an NTSC DVD all the colors looked good. I can perform Any tests to answer people questions....

[lets]

I got mine today. So far so good. Video quality is better, loading time is quicker, and less noise compared to 642.
USB is not good for external hard drives (3.5" & 2.5"), but does a good job with thumbdrives and even with my digital camera, which has 1GB xD card.

[Bodyslide]

I have downloaded a few Nero trailers to try when I get home, will report back on them over the weekend. I will also try a 20gb 2.5 External HD and an external 3.5 External HD as well.

[Bodyslide]

None of the Nero Trailers work so those are out of the question.

[Bodyslide]

I tested an external HD to the USB and it didn't work. The drive is formatted to NTFS. I am going to find a spare HD and format it to just FAT and FAT 32 to see if I can view files then. Will update later in the week.

[SingSing]

External FAT32 drive is most likely what the player is setup for.

[Bodyslide]

I'll check both just to make sure. The Drive's I will be using are only 10 gb. Thanks

[handyguy]

Isn't usb 1.1 too slow for that?

"Did you ever own the Philips DVP 642 and if so how do you think the Philips DVP 5960 compares? "

5960 or 5140 both play divx 6 & support more subtitle formats. You can download manuals on the net.

[Bodyslide]

Never had the 642. I am hoping to test the external drive this weekend.

[ytsejam]

I went out and picked up a DVP-5960 today, just to test the USB capabilities. It will not a read a portable USB hard drive. No matter if it is formatted with FAT. However, it will read an Ipod or any other USB MP3 device. Basically, if Windows (My Computer) sees the device as a Hard Disk the 5960 will not read it, if Windows sees it as removable storage you are good to go. If anyone knows of a 2.5" enclosure that Windows will recognize as Removable Storage and not a Hard Disk, please post a link.

For the Ipod test, it was a 30GB Video Ipod. I made a folder called DivX and put a movie in it and it played without a hitch. I did all of this through Windows Explorer, no need to get Itunes involved.

For the portable Hard Drives, I used a 2.5" 30GB Fujitsu Drive with this enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817155704) I also used a 2.5" 100GB Samsung Drive with this enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855182001). I tried FAT32 and NTFS on both drives using FAT32FORMATTER from (http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk) since you cannot format any drive larger than 32Gb with XP.

[handyguy]

"It will not a read a portable USB hard drive."

That's odd because the manual states that it can.

[ytsejam]

I know, I saw that. But the manual also shows the remote as having a MUTE option when that has been replaced by the USB option. The manual also says you can only read JPG and MP3 from the USB device when in fact it will play AVIs from the USB.

Take this device for example http://www.upgradenation.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=USB-USB4G
It's labeled as a Portable Hard Drive when in fact it is a Portable Flash Drive. Windows would probably recognize this as Removable Storage and so would the 5960. It all really depends on what type of firmware is on the device and how it is recognized.

[Bodyslide]

I tested 2 external notebook HD's. One 10 gig and one 20 gig. Both are FAT32. Played a few mp3's and Divx files. No issues. The case is labeled HotDrive. I am still planning on testing an external 3.5 HD as soon as I can find a spare one.

[ytsejam]

I tested 2 external notebook HD's. One 10 gig and one 20 gig. Both are FAT32. Played a few mp3's and Divx files. No issues. The case is labeled HotDrive. I am still planning on testing an external 3.5 HD as soon as I can find a spare one.

In XP, how do these drives show up as Hard Disks or Removable Storage? What operating system were these drives formatted in? Also, is this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145329) the enclosure?

[ytsejam]

Finally I have had success in getting an external hard drive to work. I tried a different enclosure and a different hard drive. The 30GB I had originally tried was a 4200RPM and the USB port on the 5960 was not providing enough juice. It seems the slower spinning hard drives require a little more voltage. I tried a 5400RPM and it worked like a charm. Thanks for the heads up Bodyslide.

[Bodyslide]

In XP, how do these drives show up as Hard Disks or Removable Storage? What operating system were these drives formatted in? Also, is this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145329) the enclosure?

That is the one I used, had the second USB plug attached to the laptop for the extra power. Still trying to figure out how to make a Normal external drive readable.

Drives in XP show up as Removable Storage...

[horo]

What kind of HDD are used? can you lay out the details to see which are working and arent i would really like to get this dvd player if i can get a HDD to work with it.

I would mainly watch fansubbed anime and I have the 642 and i think its great except for the fact that it cuts off some of the subs would this player fix that?

[jmikeh]

Headsup to prospective 5960 buyers. Circuit City now has this player for $69.99USD. I just picked one up last Thu for $79.99. So I will be making a price match trip this week to pickup my 10 bux.

My prelim reports are that this is a wonderful player. I have used a Lexar thumbdrive/card reader loaded with xd and sd memory and it worked great playing mp3, jpg and yes, divx(Xvid) files without a hitch. I wanted to use my Corsair Flash Voyager 1GB thumber but the player said device not supported. I can't figure that one out. If anyone has a clue please let me know..

[Bodyslide]

I am using a 10 gb and 20 gb seagate 2.5 HD, Formatted to fat32, using this enclosure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817145329

[sushix]

This one supprt USB 2.0 and memory cards but no HDMI.

[horo]

Basically, if Windows (My Computer) sees the device as a Hard Disk the 5960 will not read it, if Windows sees it as removable storage you are good to go.

Can you or anyone confirm this or anyone else?
My brother has an 200 gig seagate external drives which he says is recongized as a removable device so it would work?