Changing player of Portable multimedia hard drive

[captainrizal]

Hi guys! I have one old multimedia hard drive by Lacie which has in built 80GB hard drive. Due to its portability (its is size of external hard drive) I used it extensively while traveling. The condition of the player is very good. I can still connect with TV and watch movies using remote supplied with it or can use it for external hard drive. I had not used it for long time coz I had upgraded to HTPC. Recently I tried it out once again and found to be working in perfect condition. However, the model is discontinued by Lacie and not supported anymore. There is no firmware upgradation. Also it plays only avi and mp4 video formats. Its does not play mkv format. Therefore, is it possible to change the player of the hard drive to something which supports all files and can be upgraded in future? Please suggest.

 

[Amitkg]

Hi guys! I have one old multimedia hard drive by Lacie which has in built 80GB hard drive. Due to its portability (its is size of external hard drive) I used it extensively while traveling. The condition of the player is very good. I can still connect with TV and watch movies using remote supplied with it or can use it for external hard drive. I had not used it for long time coz I had upgraded to HTPC. Recently I tried it out once again and found to be working in perfect condition. However, the model is discontinued by Lacie and not supported anymore. There is no firmware upgradation. Also it plays only avi and mp4 video formats. Its does not play mkv format. Therefore, is it possible to change the player of the hard drive to something which supports all files and can be upgraded in future? Please suggest.

If you want to change the player, change it. Why do you want to change the player of the hard drive? Or do you just want to change the software part only?

Sent from my YU5010 using Tapatalk

 

[captainrizal]

If you want to change the player, change it. Why do you want to change the player of the hard drive? Or do you just want to change the software part only?

Sent from my YU5010 using Tapatalk

Thanks Amit. The software of the player that is installed in the hard drive. It is not reading mkv format and the makers have stopped it's firmware updates.

 

[sam9s]

What player are we talking about here, exact model .... also in all probability you cannot change the player OS and if no firmware upgrade is available you are stuck with what ever you have. Time to purchase a new one. You can get a decent player for around 5K that will play almost all common formats ...

 

[captainrizal]

What player are we talking about here, exact model .... also in all probability you cannot change the player OS and if no firmware upgrade is available you are stuck with what ever you have. Time to purchase a new one. You can get a decent player for around 5K that will play almost all common formats ...

Its Lacie Silverscreen multimedia player I bought long time back. But it is still in very good condition. I have already upgraded to HTPC but since it was lying there idle I thought I might use it. I travel a lot during my course of duty so its very handy to carry. But the sad part is it does not play mkv format. It plays only avi and mp4 format. can I change the player of the hard drive? is it possible to load OS in the inbuilt HDD which is 80Gb and load a player?

 

[sam9s]

^^ In all probability no, these players have embedded OS on ROM and the HDD they have is only used for data and not OS, you can not have access to ROM and change the OS. Only officially upgrade them.

 

[captainrizal]

^^ In all probability no, these players have embedded OS on ROM and the HDD they have is only used for data and not OS, you can not have access to ROM and change the OS. Only officially upgrade them.

Okay Thanks Sam. Officially the model is discontinued by the maker and hence no firmware up gradation.:sad: Can I try to install firmware of another model by same maker? There is separate firmware folder in the hard drive which I can copy and keep safely in case the new firmware doesn't work I can always revert to old firmware. What do you say?

 

[sam9s]

^^ Depends on the OS, like with android you can do that once you root the device. Whether your device OS can let you do that, I seriously doubt, but google is your friend, see if there is any community support, that's the reason I always emphasise on community support before any hardware.

 

[regeHA]

that's the reason I always emphasise on community support before any hardware.

+1.

Why not try using it as external HDD with a Pi?

 

[captainrizal]

^^ Depends on the OS, like with android you can do that once you root the device. Whether your device OS can let you do that, I seriously doubt, but google is your friend, see if there is any community support, that's the reason I always emphasise on community support before any hardware.

I don't know what operating system it has. It is surely not android. I tried googling many times re phrasing the terms to see if I can find any support. The makers site does not provide customer support email id. The makers are well know brand called Lacie. They make hard drive, NAS and multi media players.

 

[captainrizal]

+1.

Why not try using it as external HDD with a Pi?

Thanks regeHA. I don't have Pi.

 

[sam9s]

I don't know what operating system it has. It is surely not android. I tried googling many times re phrasing the terms to see if I can find any support. The makers site does not provide customer support email id. The makers are well know brand called Lacie. They make hard drive, NAS and multi media players.

Then I would say, its time to put curtains on the device my friend. If you want a small portable media player to carry along while travelling, get Rpi3 (rpi 2 will do as well) with a battery pack. Install OpenELEC and enjoy it on the travel..

 

[captainrizal]

Then I would say, its time to put curtains on the device my friend. If you want a small portable media player to carry along while travelling, get Rpi3 (rpi 2 will do as well) with a battery pack. Install OpenELEC and enjoy it on the travel..

Yeah I think that would be better. Why battery pack for Rpi3? I think you get power supply unit in Amazon UK. I will visit UK next month. But I may buy Minix U1 or NVIDIA shield for my HT. Which one you suggest? I am not much into gaming. Reviews say Shield has edge over Minix in terms of PQ, sound and 4K streaming.

 

[sam9s]

U1 and Shield (Q5 and Q10 as well) are elite high end media players, are you sure you wanna spent that much amount on features you might not use, specially Shield, its all targeted towards gaming, and PQ of shield is not that better to be noticed by an avg eye, sure technically shield is said to have a better PQ, but by how much and are you ready to spend that much amount on a difference hardly noticeable.

Battery pack for Pi3 is just to make it more portable, if you can have a power source available then ofcourse battery will not be needed.

 

[captainrizal]

U1 and Shield (Q5 and Q10 as well) are elite high end media players, are you sure you wanna spent that much amount on features you might not use, specially Shield, its all targeted towards gaming, and PQ of shield is not that better to be noticed by an avg eye, sure technically shield is said to have a better PQ, but by how much and are you ready to spend that much amount on a difference hardly noticeable.

Battery pack for Pi3 is just to make it more portable, if you can have a power source available then ofcourse battery will not be needed.

Sam, U1 or Shield I am considering for my dedicated HT (Please refer to my signature below or My set up thread). I have Zotac plus HTPC running now but it seems bit outdated and slow for Kodi. So I am planning to change over to Android. I liked their UI very much. (I am even thinking of changing my car ICE HU also to Android). I checked the demo video of both U1 and Shield in YouTube. I liked shield more than Minix but did not like their game controller to use as remote for media player. They stopped supplying voice remote controller together with Shield. It has to be bought separately and its quite expensive. I am not sure if I can use third party air mouse with Shield.

 

[sam9s]

I understand, if you like android UI, you should go for it, not debating that, just if you really need the top of the line Android Media player. You can do away with second level as well like Himedia H8 Octa or Minix X8-H Plus. Shield will definitely be a waste for you, if you are not in to android gaming.

 

[captainrizal]

I understand, if you like android UI, you should go for it, not debating that, just if you really need the top of the line Android Media player. You can do away with second level as well like Himedia H8 Octa or Minix X8-H Plus. Shield will definitely be a waste for you, if you are not in to android gaming.

I have not checked reviews of Himedia H8 or Minix X8-H plus but I guess the latter is almost same price as Minix U1. But any specific reason for suggesting second level? Why not top of the line and future proof player when the there is hardly any price difference. This will be for my HT with Marantz 7.2 AVR and Epson LED PJ.

 

[sam9s]

If there is no price difference between U1 and X8 (I hardly doubt) then yes U1 is recommended. But H8 is much cheaper then Q10 and hence recommended, its a powerful player hardly any difference and much lesser in price ...

 

[captainrizal]

If there is no price difference between U1 and X8 (I hardly doubt) then yes U1 is recommended. But H8 is much cheaper then Q10 and hence recommended, its a powerful player hardly any difference and much lesser in price ...

Its almost same price for U1 and X8. In fact X8 is 14 pound expensive than U1. Can check these out?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018TIZ...TF8&colid=1VAB0Z7HANQR1&coliid=I2WS3GH6IRJSRI

https://www.amazon.co.uk/X8-H-Plus-..._12?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MX0TGHQSTSTERRD8ZGVM

Which H8 you are talking about? Is it X8? or Himedia H8?

 

[sam9s]

^^ H8 Mimedia ...

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