Avtex TV and hard drive

[grahamw]

Been using an Avtex TV with the USB port to watch the occasional MPEG video. As I have a large number of MPEG videos stored on a system at home it requires a limited number of these to be copied to a USB stick as and when required. It would be nice just to mirror copy the whole lot from my home system onto a USB connected hard drive as it would give excellent choice whilst away and also act as a further backup of files.

 

Does anyone know the specification for a hard drive that can be attached to an Avtex TV via its USB port?. I have a USB connected 1TB Seagate drive that I guess is too large for it to recognise. Have partitioned it into 4 separate drives each less than 250 GB but "device not recognised" is the only response I get.

 

Anyone out there with the knowledge?

 

Graham

[Guest JudgeMental]

I have a tiny shirt pocket size 500 gig drive, cost a little over £50. it has two USB leads and one is for power I think. it would hopefully work on a single USB socket with an adapter but not sure...

 

I use it with laptop, and also use a USB stick for convenience. You can get a 32 gig USB stick for £14 these days.....

[grahamw]

JudgeMental - 2012-08-18 10:30 AM

 

I use it with laptop, and also use a USB stick for convenience. You can get a 32 gig USB stick for £14 these days.....

 

That's true the price of USB sticks has dived - 128 GB sticks now about £70 down from £199 a couple of months ago. Still the same price as a 1TB USB drive though and I really need more than 128 GB if it's going to fulfil the function of a secondary backup of my home system and carry all the MPEG movies I have.

[Guest JudgeMental]

why on earth would you need a mirror image of home drive just to take on holiday 8-)

[Robinhood]

....just a thought.

 

Many of these "non-computer" USB interfaces will only recognise a restricted set of file systems.

 

In particular, NTFS is often not recognised, though FAT and FAT32 usually are. The deafult file system on sticks as suppleid is often FAT32.

 

It might be worthwhile checking how the 1TB volume is formatted (and if the TV won't recognise NTFS, then your original requirement is effectively stymied).

[grahamw]

JudgeMental - 2012-08-18 10:57 AM

 

why on earth would you need a mirror image of home drive just to take on holiday 8-)

 

Just to be clear It's a media drive I would like a mirror image of not drives connected to my computer. As mentioned in my initial post as well as giving access to MPEG movies if required it would also serve the function of a complete backup of home media. It can take a considerable time to put a media collection together comprising of movies, music and photos, it only takes a second or two to loose it! It's not that I would need all of the material on the drive it's just 'killing two birds with one stone'.

 

The essence of the original post is about using a USB connected hard drive in the USB port of the Avtex TV. If anyone has got any hard drive up and running in the USB port I'd be pleased to hear about the configuration of the drive.

[grahamw]

Robinhood - 2012-08-18 11:10 AM

 

Many of these "non-computer" USB interfaces will only recognise a restricted set of file systems.

 

In particular, NTFS is often not recognised, though FAT and FAT32 usually are. The deafult file system on sticks as suppleid is often FAT32..

 

The Avtex documentation makes reference to only supporting FAT with USB 1.1 and not FAT32 or NTFS. The implication being that with USB 2.0 it will support FAT32 and NTFS. But as you point out that may well be an assumtion too far. Currently they are formatted NTFS and I was at the point of trying FAT32 but thought I'd ask about before I clear the drive and start again.

[Guest JudgeMental]

I know exactly what you mean, I lost all my 6 month old Humax saved stuff a few weeks before coming away...I never thought about backing it up to be honest as have never had a HD crash before ( I do back up PC though) Only thing i really miss is my Scandinavian dramas...most other stuff can be downloaded elsewhere.and unwatched movies will be repeated...

[colin]

AFAIK my Panny's dispite being USB2 only reconise the various types of FAT

[lennyhb]

JudgeMental - 2012-08-18 11:44 AM

 

I know exactly what you mean, I lost all my 6 month old Humax saved stuff a few weeks before coming away...I never thought about backing it up to be honest as have never had a HD crash before ( I do back up PC though) Only thing i really miss is my Scandinavian dramas...most other stuff can be downloaded elsewhere.and unwatched movies will be repeated...

 

Blimey Eddie you have been living on borrowed time, run out of hands & feet to count the number of Hard drives I've had die on me. :D

At home now days run a NAS drive with 2 drives with RAID all the PC's in the house save to the NAS.

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-18 11:40 AM

 

The Avtex documentation makes reference to only supporting FAT with USB 1.1 and not FAT32 or NTFS. The implication being that with USB 2.0 it will support FAT32 and NTFS. But as you point out that may well be an assumtion too far. Currently they are formatted NTFS and I was at the point of trying FAT32 but thought I'd ask about before I clear the drive and start again.

 

I have an Avtex 10" and gave up on the USB facility as the sticks I have (2.0) will only format in FAT32/NTFS and Avtex will only accept FAT.

 

I just connect an MP3 player instead.

[grahamw]

Bulletguy - 2012-08-18 7:37 PM

 

I have an Avtex 10" and gave up on the USB facility as the sticks I have (2.0) will only format in FAT32/NTFS and Avtex will only accept FAT.

 

I just connect an MP3 player instead.

 

Have used USB sticks formatted FAT32 without any problem in the Avtex (185DR). Out of interest have tried a USB stick formatted NTFS but the device is just shown as "empty". I think the hard drive issue relates to the fact that unlike a USB stick it is not seen as a "removable device" but as a local disc. The fact that Avtex refers to the use of USB connected drives with their TV's implies that a local disc can be used. When connected to a computer local drives can only be formatted "exFAT" or "NTFS" whereas a removable device adds the options of "FAT" and "FAT32". Using the command line to format a local drive FAT32 ends in failure. I'll ring Avtex and query this issue of using a hard drive with their TV's.

[Robinhood]

grahamw - 2012-08-19 8:15 AM

 

Have used USB sticks formatted FAT32 without any problem in the Avtex (185DR). Out of interest have tried a USB stick formatted NTFS but the device is just shown as "empty". I think the hard drive issue relates to the fact that unlike a USB stick it is not seen as a "removable device" but as a local disc. The fact that Avtex refers to the use of USB connected drives with their TV's implies that a local disc can be used. When connected to a computer local drives can only be formatted "exFAT" or "NTFS" whereas a removable device adds the options of "FAT" and "FAT32". Using the command line to format a local drive FAT32 ends in failure. I'll ring Avtex and query this issue of using a hard drive with their TV's.

 

....if its the 1TB drive youre trying to format, there are documented issues using the command line for NTFS formatting for 1TB and above (and some potential workarounds - tr Google).

 

One thing worth considering, given your proposed use of the volume, is that the maximum filesize on FAT32 is 4GB (-1). AV use may bring files very close to or above this limit - so be careful!

[grahamw]

Have finally got the USB hard drive functioning with the Avtex TV. A price to be paid though. I suspected that the Avtex TV would not support USB drives above a specific size and have set up a variety of partitions on the hard drive to discover a point at which it will work. Using a Windows 7 machine to partition the drive I finally got down to a partition size of 16GB. Interestingly at this size Windows 7 offers the format of FAT32 for the device rather than just exFAT and NTFS and the films play fine on the Avtex.

 

At this partition size though one begins to wonder whether there is any advantage over using a small number of now cheap USB sticks. It also begs the question whether USB sticks are also restricted to a maximum 16 GB size. Anybody know?

[Robinhood]

....AIUI, there is a 32GB documented limit related to the use of the FAT32 format option within Windows itself.

 

The command line option should work above that (with the caveat already posted about problems with 1TB and above).

 

How about trying the command line option on a (say) 100GB partition to see if it will accept FAT32, then trying this on the TV?.

 

If this worked, I'd be inclined to try to progress via the same method to a 999GB and 1GB partition. ;-)

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-19 8:15 AM

 

Bulletguy - 2012-08-18 7:37 PM

 

I have an Avtex 10" and gave up on the USB facility as the sticks I have (2.0) will only format in FAT32/NTFS and Avtex will only accept FAT.

 

I just connect an MP3 player instead.

 

Have used USB sticks formatted FAT32 without any problem in the Avtex (185DR). Out of interest have tried a USB stick formatted NTFS but the device is just shown as "empty". I think the hard drive issue relates to the fact that unlike a USB stick it is not seen as a "removable device" but as a local disc. The fact that Avtex refers to the use of USB connected drives with their TV's implies that a local disc can be used. When connected to a computer local drives can only be formatted "exFAT" or "NTFS" whereas a removable device adds the options of "FAT" and "FAT32". Using the command line to format a local drive FAT32 ends in failure. I'll ring Avtex and query this issue of using a hard drive with their TV's.

 

This is the set I have; http://www.avtex.co.uk/index.php/products/W103D

 

Only disappointment is the audio level has to be on max to get an acceptable volume. I gave up on trying the USB as I couldn't format in FAT.

 

Good luck with contacting Avtex. Maybe I struck on a bad day but I didn't find them particularly helpful.

 

[grahamw]

Just as an update as to what I've found possible with the Avtex TV. The actual size of hard drive that can be accessed by the Avtex is 32 MB. This is because the drive has to be formatted FAT32 and that is the maximum I seem to be able to create. There are fixes (eg. Verbatim FAT32.exe) to create a larger FAT32 partition but this is simply not recognised by a Windows 7 machine so you can't copy files to it. Apparently it will work on a Mac.

 

So I have the 1TB USB drive partitioned into two, a 32MB partition formatted FAT32 which the Avtex can read and run .mpg files from and second partition comprising the remainder which is formatted NTFS. This second partition the Avtex simply doesn't see. I've backed up all my media files to the NTFS partition and placed a selection of .mpg movies in the 32 MB partition. The 32MB partition will hold about a dozen movies. I'll see how it works simply attaching the USB drive to my laptop and copying a fresh selection of movies from the NTFS partition over to the FAT32 partition over time to view on the Avtex. At least I've got all my movies backed up as well as access for the Avtex to all of them with a little transferring. All in a little pocket size hard drive which draws its power from the Avtex - no clutter of cables. Come in handy for the three months of "Winter Sun".

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-19 5:13 PM

 

Just as an update as to what I've found possible with the Avtex TV. The actual size of hard drive that can be accessed by the Avtex is 32 MB...........

 

Are you mixing hard drive with flash drive? Two different things really.

 

No idea what you are trying to do but as mentioned previously, I gave up on mucking around with getting my Avtex to recognise any of my USB flash drives. Easier to hook up an MP3 player. I use a 100gb one and a 30gb, both of which store more than enough movies etc for me.

[grahamw]

 

Are you mixing hard drive with flash drive? Two different things really.

 

.

 

I'm exploring the issue of connecting a USB hard drive via the USB socket on the Avtex TV rather than any other USB device such as "flash drives". When you refer to "hooking up an mp3 player" are you talking about music or video? The file extension .mp3 relates to music rather than video. I have .mp3 files on the hard drive that also play without problem if they are resident on the FAT 32 partition that I mentioned in my previous post but it's the playing of .mpg files that's been taxing me via the USB connector on the Avtex TV.

[Mel B]

We tried to do it with our 16" Avtex TV/DVD combi - gave up in the end and went back to copying stuff to DVD instead! *-)

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-19 10:14 PM

 

 

Are you mixing hard drive with flash drive? Two different things really.

 

.

 

I'm exploring the issue of connecting a USB hard drive via the USB socket on the Avtex TV rather than any other USB device such as "flash drives". When you refer to "hooking up an mp3 player" are you talking about music or video?

 

Well all my music files are vid clips anyway as of course the movies also. I convert them via my pc to run on the players, both of which are Archos. As I explained earlier I gave up on the USB (Avtex) as I couldn't get it to recognise. Contacted Avtex who were rather abrupt on the phone and not particularly helpful. Strange given that the products they market are far from cheap (my 10" Avtex cost almost as much as my 40" domestic flat screen).

 

 

Mel B - 2012-08-19 10:42 PM

 

We tried to do it with our 16" Avtex TV/DVD combi - gave up in the end and went back to copying stuff to DVD instead! *-)

 

Likewise.......it's easier to burn a few DVD's though it doesn't accept D/L media. If space/weight is an issue in a van, then coupling an MP3 player is the way to go....or even a pc.

 

[grahamw]

Bulletguy - 2012-08-20 1:53 PM

 

Likewise.......it's easier to burn a few DVD's though it doesn't accept D/L media. If space/weight is an issue in a van, then coupling an MP3 player is the way to go....or even a pc.

 

If you read my earlier posts you'll see why what you're suggesting is not appropriate for me. I'll repeat - I was looking to "kill two birds with one stone". Firstly I wanted to invest in a high capacity storage device so that I could backup an extensive media collection at home but also use this device to couple to the Avtex to deliver .mpg video/films on the move. Using an mp3 player as a backup device I'm sure you'll agree is probably not a good idea.

 

Judging by the number of people in this thread who have abandoned using the USB port on the Avtex suggest its a feature that initially had some promise but the lack of information from Avtex made its use problematic. To be honest I think the port is purely provided for recording the odd programme and then playing it back. It obviously was never intended to give access to a mass storage device. Until Avtex update the filing system that it uses to NTFS then it always will be limited.

 

I may well eventually go the route as suggested by Judgemental earlier of using a small number of 32GB USB sticks to store video on and just use the hard drive at home for its primary purpose of backup. I now know that formatted FAT32 they do indeed work well in the Avtex.

 

Graham

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-20 4:17 PM

 

If you read my earlier posts you'll see why what you're suggesting is not appropriate for me. I'll repeat - I was looking to "kill two birds with one stone". Firstly I wanted to invest in a high capacity storage device so that I could backup an extensive media collection at home but also use this device to couple to the Avtex to deliver .mpg video/films on the move. Using an mp3 player as a backup device I'm sure you'll agree is probably not a good idea.

 

Laptop with a 2tb drive enough for you? Alternatively a Tablet with 500gb drive.

 

How much 'media' do you want to take away with you? I've been away almost two months now and in that time watched just three movies which take up little more than 1.5gb.

[grahamw]

Bulletguy - 2012-08-20 9:17 PM

 

Laptop with a 2tb drive enough for you? Alternatively a Tablet with 500gb drive.

 

How much 'media' do you want to take away with you? I've been away almost two months now and in that time watched just three movies which take up little more than 1.5gb.

 

These suggestions certainly could be used for backup but hardly a path to go down as they are way too expensive and unecessary. Probably somewhere close to 100GB of storage would be more than enough to give a good choice of movies. As suggested in my last post I'll probably simply use the 1TB hard drive I bought for its original purpose of backing up and simply copy some movies onto 32GB USB sticks which cost about £10 each nowadays.

 

For those folks following this thread who might be interested in using the USB port on the Avtex L185DR for the same purpose but have been frustrated in their attempts I'll just detail the procedure I used:

 

Firstly the USB port will only accept USB sticks up to a maximum of 32GB. This is determined by the formatting of the disc which must be FAT32. A current windows machine will allow USB sticks to be formatted to this. By default all the USB sticks I've bought have always been formatted FAT32. Once formatted .mp3, .mpg and .jpg files can be copied to it. The Avtex TV does not recognise any other file types. Insert the USB stick into the Avtex TV and set the source to DVD. The Avtex will look for a DVD in the slot and report that it is empty - allow it to do this. Now press the button "LIST" under the marked heading "DVD/USB". The screen will indicate "waiting" and then produce a list of accessible files on the USB stick. The cursor keys can be used to navigate the list and into sub directories if required. Pressing the "OK" button will play the selected file.

 

Graham

[Bulletguy]

grahamw - 2012-08-21 6:54 AM

 

These suggestions certainly could be used for backup but hardly a path to go down as they are way too expensive and unecessary. Probably somewhere close to 100GB of storage would be more than enough to give a good choice of movies. As suggested in my last post I'll probably simply use the 1TB hard drive I bought for its original purpose of backing up and simply copy some movies onto 32GB USB sticks which cost about £10 each nowadays.

 

For those folks following this thread who might be interested in using the USB port on the Avtex L185DR for the same purpose but have been frustrated in their attempts I'll just detail the procedure I used:

 

Firstly the USB port will only accept USB sticks up to a maximum of 32GB. This is determined by the formatting of the disc which must be FAT32. A current windows machine will allow USB sticks to be formatted to this. By default all the USB sticks I've bought have always been formatted FAT32. Once formatted .mp3, .mpg and .jpg files can be copied to it. The Avtex TV does not recognise any other file types. Insert the USB stick into the Avtex TV and set the source to DVD. The Avtex will look for a DVD in the slot and report that it is empty - allow it to do this. Now press the button "LIST" under the marked heading "DVD/USB". The screen will indicate "waiting" and then produce a list of accessible files on the USB stick. The cursor keys can be used to navigate the list and into sub directories if required. Pressing the "OK" button will play the selected file.

 

BIB brings me back to what I mentioned re. mp3 players which I know you don't want to do...but it's simple, cheap and quick. OK so I already had a couple of these before I bought the Avtex, but in total they give me 130gb and I simply plug into the TV and choose what to view. Cheap enough to pick up off fleabay if you go for an older model such as AV500.

 

Last 'para' is interesting. I will look at this when I get home and have a few hours to kill on a rainy day!