Hack to convert USB/DIVX DVD player to read from the Network

[thrutnut]

I just picked up my first DVD player. A no namer (ELZE E900) with DIVX, USB, Card reader, MP4, component, optical for about $60. What I do now is download my shows, put them on a thumb drive, portable laptop drive or burn a DVD. Then I plug any of those into the DVD player and use the DVD's super basic management screen to choose my file and play it.

What I want know is if there is a way to play files off my network via the usb port? I know there must be some way to pull it off. If possible, it turns a $60 DVD player into a cheap network video player. Something like this http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/drives/8e50/ Mvix Wireless HD Media Center.

Anyone have any idea where to look for work in this area?



Just found that this topic is being discussed in the middle of another thread (Philips DVP5960 and USB): https://forum.videohelp.com/topic301465-390.html#1642162 about a USB Switch which seems to be a workable solution.

As this will apply to more than the Philips DVP5960 (there were at least 5 other brands with usb/divx support) maybe this deserves it's own thread?

[RabidDog]

This will not work, much like the orcish invasion of middle earth!

[nic2k4]

I see no reason for the USB switch idea not to work.

[jagabo]

The post you linked to was simply using a switchbox to switch an external drive between two devices. This is the equivalent of unplugging the USB drive from one device then plugging it into the other. It's not the same as "pulling files" off a network. Network file sharing protocols are very different from low level block read/write protocols used to access a drive.

[thrutnut]

Right.. but it's a start. The (very lazy) goal I would like to achive is not having to walk a portable drive from your computer to the DVD player every time you want to watch a show.

How about this, is there anyway to partition a section of your disk, to be seen as removable storage. It's possible to make a virtual CD/DVD image off your hard drive so why not a virtual thumb drive?

Like for instance, I have heard on a Mac, you can see the HD via USB as an external drive when it's not booted up. Could I have a section of my HD or NAS to be seen the same way by my DVD player?

Or are there NAS boxes that can bee seen as a USB external drive as well?

[jagabo]

I believe there are NAS drives that can be used as USB drives -- but only one at a time. The problem is that USB drive access is at a low level, raw blocks of data, no files folders, etc. They require an operating system to handle the organization. Two operating systems can't access a block device at the same time (although, in theory, they could both read the device at the same time) because they would be unware of what the other O/S was doing. There are no protocols at that level for one O/S to tell the other what it's doing to the drive.

In theory, someone could write an application that emulated a block device from a folder (or possibly even a physical drive) on a computer and presented that on a USB port as a read only device. But I'm not aware of anyone having done this. It might be an interesting (and financially rewarding) project though.

[supersonicl2]

Well... me being me, I would just buy a Xbox, softmod it, put XBMC on it, plug network cable in then just easily copy the files onto it and watch them from there. That's what I do since mine's outta warranty.

[Krispy Kritter]

The problem is that the OS/firmware of the dvd player is only written to read data from the USB port. It does not know how to handle communicating across a network. There is no "hack" or short cut to fix. The unit was not designed for it.

There are other devices that can do what you want, but they aren't cheap. Laziness comes at a price.

[nic2k4]

There are other devices that can do what you want, but they aren't cheap. Laziness comes at a price.

Quite right! If you're gonna spend the money on a NAS enclosure don't forget the 5960 is fussy as to what it will read from. If you look at your situation from a different angle, the Eureka 351 isn't much more expensive than a NAS (I've seen it for less):

http://www.onlybestrated.com/multimedia-centers-standard-definition-media-center-c-24_40.html

Instead of streaming from your PC, look at the media player as external storage for your PC.