Advice sought - External USB Media Player 4K

[thegeeman]

Hi

Been so many years on this site and you guys are a godsend. So here goes....I am looking for a fairly inexpensive 4k media player with a USB for an external HDD that will play most formats (video, primarily H265 & H264 and audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital +, DTS, AAC etc). Simply want to plug in my HDD and watch my films....simple as. Not interested in external audio set ups, i.e. surround sound etc. I would love to have Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision but my budget does not support it...but, yes my TV does (also HDR10). I know there are hundreds such players out there but it is what is pretty reliable that counts.

I have seen the MYPIN 4K player at £53.99.....seems ok for my budget. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07X9XMWPR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AQYHPY0BKWKJN&psc=1

Any other decent players for around the £50 (¢65 dollars) budget mark? Reviews aren't too bad for the above but I do know for sure, that on here, you guys blow all the other reviewers away with your knowledge....hence me asking the question.

HUGE thanks in advance.

[fooledagain]

Roku Ultra. On sale regularly for 50 to 60 bucks.

[sum_guy]

Agreed, Roku Ultra, I've got two of them.

[johns0]

The only thing about roku is they won't play any file that is mpeg2 or divx/xvid.

[thegeeman]

Thanks guys. Just had a quick look at the Roku Ultra. The issue I am seeing is that being UK based, I’m struggling to find a compatible model and furthermore, prices are approx £145 ($180-190)…..that’s the UK for you!!

I think I may have to expand my budget to approx £100 ($130). Any opinions on Vero 4K+? Seems to have great write ups.

Thanks

[sum_guy]

It looks like Vero 4K+ has a good warranty, I don't know what the return policy is, could be a good fit for you.

The only thing about roku is they won't play any file that is mpeg2 or divx/xvid

I could be wrong but I'm not aware of any 4k mpeg2/divx/xvid files.

[johns0]

People still keep mpeg2 and divx/xvid if they are family memories or hard to get and 4k players will play those files except for roku.

[sum_guy]

ok I understand, I stream from a Plex server which sends the stream to my Roku, I've never run into something it wouldn't play but I know I don't have any mpeg2 or divx/xvids.

[usually_quiet]

I have seen the MYPIN 4K player at £53.99.....seems ok for my budget. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07X9XMWPR/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AQYHPY0BKWKJN&psc=1

Any other decent players for around the £50 (¢65 dollars) budget mark? Reviews aren't too bad for the above but I do know for sure, that on here, you guys blow all the other reviewers away with your knowledge....hence me asking the question.

HUGE thanks in advance.

If you don't want a 4K media player that can use streaming services or connect to your home network to access files stored on network shares then there are few other choices. You probably can't do better, if that is the case.

[Alwyn]

People still keep mpeg2

Yes, with hard drives are cheap as they are, I see no point in converting all those old DVDs/home movies to MP4. I'm keeping mine as MPEG 2. Crazy Roku won't play them.

[jagabo]

If you can live with your files on a WiFi network share the Chromecast with GoogleTV is the best player for US$50 (often on sale for US$40). I don't know about availability in the UK. Or if you import one from the USA whether the commercial streaming services will work. The only missing codec is AV1. It can play low res AV1 with software decoding but HD AV1 is too much for it.

[usually_quiet]

If you can live with your files on a network share the Chromecast with GoogleTV is the best player for US$50 (often on sale for US$40). I don't know about availability in the UK. Or if you import one from the USA whether the commercial streaming services will work. The only missing codec is AV1. It can play low res AV1 with software decoding but HD AV1 is too much for it.

It is available at Currys, so maybe it is not too hard to find. https://www.currys.co.uk/products/google-chromecast-with-google-tv-snow-10216159.html

[jagabo]

By the way, I don't know of any media player that currently has AV1 decoding hardware. There are rumors that a new version of the Chromecast with GoogleTV will be released soon. It might have AV1 decoding hardware. Google is pushing AV1 pretty hard to get away from paying royalties for AVC and HEVC. So if you aren't in a big hurry it might be worth waiting a while.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AV1

[usually_quiet]

By the way, I don't know of any media player that currently has AV1 decoding hardware. There are rumors that a new version of the Chromecast with GoogleTV will be released soon. It might have AV1 decoding hardware. Google is pushing AV1 pretty hard to get away from paying royalties for AVC and HEVC. So if you aren't in a big hurry it might be worth waiting a while.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AV1

This one is supposed to have the ability to decode AV1: https://www.amazon.com/Mecool-KT1-Certificated-Android-Amlogic/dp/B093T81584/

[Edit]I found some reviews for the Mecool KT1. https://androidpctv.com/review-mecool-kt1/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qe2t3ZlJzQ

There is also an interesting thread on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidTV/comments/nexcoj/mecool_kt1_review_androidtvflavored_digital/

Unfortunately, this device has similar deficiencies to many other Android TV boxes, even if it does run Android TV, not Android for phones. I guess it works OK for file playback with Kodi but it is apparently not approved hardware for at least one very popular streaming service, Netflix. I don't know how many other official apps for streaming services either won't download from Google play or don't work. There are also some problems with its live TV function and the only tuners available are for DVB.

[thegeeman]

Thank you everyone for all of your input. Very much appreciated.

I must admit there is a lot there that has gone totally over my head.......AV1 decoding etc. As for Plex servers then now I am getting even more confused.

In simple terms - all I want is a 4k player with a USB input so I can plug in my HDD and watch whatever films I have stored on it.....that is it.

I know, been a member here for the last 18 years and I am still as thick as p*g s**t

[jagabo]

The biggest shortcoming of the Chromecast is that it has only one USB C port -- and that port is used to power the device. If you want to add USB ports (for your hard drive, mouse, keyboard, game controllers, etc.) to the Chromecast you need a USB C hub with Power Delivery (PD) and a more powerful power supply than the one that comes with the Chromecast. It becomes something of a Frankenstein setup though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMXvPQ-1em8

[dannyboy48888]

The Roku is a solid choice for local usb playback and steaming from a dlna server.. They do play mpeg-2 as long as it's in a mkv container now as all my old 352x480 movies are that format. A firmware update last year enabled it.

[davexnet]

Why not put the movies onto a USB stick and plug them in directly to the TV? Don't all recent TV's have this input?
My 2017 LG has a USB connection at the back for just this

[johns0]

Some people would rather use a media player that outputs sound to a receiver,better sound source than a tv sound output.

[fooledagain]

Seems the easiest solution is to install Plex on a pc then put a Roku/Chromecast on your tv. Easy and no external or USB stick required.

[jack_666]

My suggestion is to use a cheap android 4k player. You can then install apps to play whatever video/audio format you desire. Connect to TV/monitor via HDMI. If you can afford it then I suggest the Nvidia shield.

[sum_guy]

Setup a PC with Plex, add the drive to the library stream to your Roku or another player, stream away, or Nvidia shield

[victoriabears]

Setup a PC with Plex, add the drive to the library stream to your Roku or another player, stream away, or Nvidia shield

Like he said, I struggled and struggles trying to get my semi ancient Synology NAS to stream its files to plex on roku=arrrgghhh, my buddy refurbed my pc for me, I installed plex used he NAS just as storage, over night heaven.

[mammo1789]

I never liked Roku,Apple TV or Chromcast as media players they are to restricted expensive and low performance vs chinese boxes who are cheep very compatible and high performance s905 ( and it variants) s912 soc can all play 4k h265 hdr10 VP9 divx,xvid,even AV1 and they cost from 40-50 $ come with android tv or custom roms and can use any service amazon prime netflix and so on plex or Kodi so you can play any file https://www.androidtv-guide.com/streaming-gaming/av1-androidtv-players/
many come with spidif or optical out so you can connect to your audio systems ( many can decode atmos) so I will suggest them like jack_666

[johns0]

My Xbox one s is great for watching videos on usb and for streaming,it plays most if not all videos.

[lingyi]

Why not put the movies onto a USB stick and plug them in directly to the TV? Don't all recent TV's have this input?
My 2017 LG has a USB connection at the back for just this

The built in media players are cheap and very limited in their video/audio type support. There are numerous posts where someone asks why their particular video doesn't play on their smart TV and my answer is always, get a real standalone media player.

[dellsam34]

nVidia Shield could be the right choice.

[lingyi]

The Nvidia Shield runs customized Android and has the same limitations of all Android based devices. Limited DVD .ISO support* and no Blu-Ray or UHD .ISO playback which requires a license from the Blu-Ray Association and UHD Alliance. Which AFAIK, they've never given to any hardware media player.

I tried KODI on my Android box a long time ago and found the interface clunky and DVD .ISO support spotty. It didn't always work with subtitles correctly, critical for me since I watch Asian videos almost exclusively. I don't know about non-Asian DVDs, but some Asian DVDs don't have a simple subtitle on/off choice on the main menu. Some require you to go into a submenu and choose your subtitle before you start the video. This is where KODI failed for me. It may have been changed since I last used it.

[dellsam34]

I do have the nVidia Shield and never had a problem with ISO DVD's and ISO BD's, Though don't have a lot of titles and the last time I used it was about 2 years ago, I mostly stream from my LG OLED TV, I don't know what the pro version have and what has changed in terms of OS features since the last few years, Mine is stored away and I may have to sell it since I have no use for it.

[lingyi]

When you say you were able to play ISOs, was it just the main movie or being able to navigate the menus for extras and subtitles? This is where I found KODI failed for me.

Again, I don't know about non-Asian discs, but some Asian discs have multi-level nested menus that are difficult to work through even with a software player.

Edit: Some (most?) Blu-Ray and UHD menus use Java, making proper navigation more difficult.