General
Q. What is a HDD based multimedia player?
A. It is a multimedia player that can play movies, music, photos, and also store data like an external portable hard drive.
It is different from other portable MP3 players as it uses a normal PC hard drive rather than flash memory to store your data. This allows you to upgrade and/or install your own hard drive - just like in your home or laptop computer. Some models don't even need a hard drive installed if it supports a network function.
Q. Is any hard drive type and/or brand compatible?
A. Both Parallel ATA (also known as IDE or PATA) and Serial ATA (SATA) type of hard drives are compatible depending on the model you choose. The majority of models take a 3.5” size but some of the small more portable models take a 2.5” size. No multimedia players are brand specific however we always get better results from brand names like Seagate, Samsung, Hitachi and Western Digital.
Q. What storage size do I need on my hard drive and how many movies can be stored on it?
A. A typical commercial length DivX movie is about 650MB. The biggest hard drive available in the market is 2000GB or 2TB. That means you can store around 200 movies on your Multimedia Player's hard drive. Naturally if you have a smaller hard drive capacity the number of movies able to be stored will decrease. As a comparison, a non DivX movie is around 5GB in size, meaning you could only store around 400 movies on the same 2000GB or 2TB hard drive.
Q. Is the hard drive supplied formatted and ready to go?
A. YES - If you select this option at checkout. When you buy a Hard Drive from Media Players and More we will format it ready to go. Our website has this option. Alternatively like other suppliers may simply send you the hard drive and the media player as two components and you have to assemble it and format it ready for use.
This means the media player is ready to be used when it arrives, saving you valuable time in formatting. You can then simply copy and paste your media files from your PC before connecting to your TV.
Q. What do I get when I order a HDD-based multimedia player ?
A. Normally it includes the player unit, a remote control (with batteries), a power cable (converter), a USB cable, A/V cable, a manual and screws. Some brands or models include a bag, a composite cable, an S-video cable, and even a screw driver. Newer models can include DVI or HDMI cables.
Q. How long it take for the delivery?
A. Normally we keep most items in stock. Most orders received before 2:00 PM are despatched on the same day however due to workloads and assembly times I cannot guarantee your order can be despatched the same day. I nthese cases your order is normally sent the next day. The majority of orders are received in 1-2 days however remote areas can take a little longer. We use Australia Post to get your order to you quickly. The eparcel sevice provides a track and trace facility so you can track your order online.
Q. Is there any warranty?
A. YES. We provide a 1 year RTB Warranty on the majority of our Multimedia Players as well as a DOA policy.
Q. Are there any restrictions on regions or copyright in storing commercial DVD movies etc ?
A. There is no restriction on playing different DVD regions, but your need to be aware of your countries laws on Copyright. We recommend that you check your own countries laws for further clarification. In Australia you can visit www.copyright.org.au or download the information sheets below for further clarification
Q. Can I watch TV programs recorded onto a DVD recorder with a Multimedia Player?
A. Yes depending on the format that the DVD recorder records the file as. Sometimes you may be required to convert the format for it to play on your Multimedia Player not all file formats are supported on every model.
Q. Can I record TV and/or Radio with a Multimedia Player?
A. Yes The TVIX range of media players has the ability to record TV as they have optional TV Tuner. They still cannot record Radio.
Q. Can I use my iPod with the Multimedia Player and transfer songs onto it?
A. Provided the Multimedia player has a USB Host function then you can connect your USB device or iPod to the Multimedia player and it will read your files directly from your USB device or iPod. It will normally show this as a secondary hard drive attached to your Multimedia Player. Provided your iPod music files are AAC (non Digital Rights Managed) files, then we have a number of models that support AAC files and you can copy these to the Multimedia Player's hard drive.
Q. Do I need any special software to transfer my files onto the Multimedia Player?
A. No. As your Multimedia Player acts as a USB storage or External Hard Drive when connected to a computer through the USB cable, the device will show as another hard drive in Windows File Explorer. You simply drag and drop or copy and paste your files.
Q. What is the “firmware” that I keep reading about?
A. The 'firmware' is the program or software required that makes the unit work. Most models have the ability to upgrade the firmware when technology changes or to fix a file format incomparability problem or to simply make the unit perform better. Most manufacturers have links on their websites to download this.
Q. How do I upgrade the firmware?
A. Please look at the manual you received with your Multimedia. It explains how to download and update the new firmware. Whilst the instructions may make this seem daunting, it really is very simple.
Q. I have a question that is not listed in this page. What should I do ?
A. Please feel free to send us an e-mail or telephone or use the Live Help on the website. We will do our best to answer your question as soon as possible. Most common questions are answered here in this FAQ. For any complicated or more technical questions, we will ask the manufacturer on your behalf.
Q. Can I use my Multimedia Player in the car?
A. YES. You can purchase for most models a car power adapter that will you to use the cigarette lighter socket in your car as a safe power supply to power your device. You may need an IR Remote Extender to help boost the remote signal depending on the placement of your Multimedia Player. Some models have built in FM transmitter that will allow you to wirelessly transmit your audio signal to a spare radio station and play your music through your car radio and its speakers.
Q. Can I watch videos from my Multimedia Player in the car?
A. Yes provided you have a sound output source and a screen, all models have standard A/V connection plugs.
Support
For Networked Media Tank Support we recommend these sites
eGreat - Networked Media Tank Forum or MPC Club Forum
Popcorn Hour - Networked Media Tank Forum or MPC Club Forum
HDX - HDX Forum or Networked Media Tank or MPC Club
Also these WIKI's have a wealth of information
Popcorn Hour - Wiki
HDX - Wiki
Q. My Multimedia Player does not show as another hard drive when connected to my computer via the USB cable.
A. We find that this is common if you use Windows Disk Management to format your drive. We always use a format tool provided by the hard drive manufacturers and have found this to fix these problems 100% of the time. You can find these as free downloads on the hard drive manufacturers websites.
Q. My video files won’t play on the Multimedia Player?
A. Often the particular files format is not supported by the particular model of Multimedia Player. Please double check the formats supported for your model in the instruction booklet. If the file is supported but still will not play, in 99% of cases there is an encoding error in the file. Re-encode the original file and try again.
Q. My Multimedia Player is recognised by my computer but it doesn’t allow me to add files.
A. Please check you have formatted your hard drive correctly. Also check your USB connection from your PC to your Multimedia Player. Often this may have worked loose or simply disconnecting and reconnecting can fix it.
Q. How do I return a Multimedia Player under warranty?
A. Please go to our Returns and Warranty page. All the details are there.
Should your support question not be answered here please email us and we will attend to it.
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