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Droid Doesn't - Not Yet at Least! - VIDEO OUT
- Thread starter dryan117
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- motorola droid
vincentp
Android Expert
Ok, I'll try to respond without being rude. Before I start, I just want to be clear; I understand that you want this functionality. I am not trying to convince you that you don't want it. I'm just explaining why myself (and others) are debating the necessity of it.
Sure, it would be cool to have. Personally, it is not something I would ever use. These phones are supposed to do a lot, but it already replaces my Dumbphone, my MP3 player, my GPS unit, portable DVD player (I never had one, but they were popular for a while), etc, etc, etc. Same thing with the iPhone, not saying the Droid is the only phone that does these things.
The salesman at Verizon is not necessarily going to know every little thing that the phone does and every little thing that the iPhone does. With all of the functionality of these devices (with apps on top of it) that is far too much to expect. My guess is, even if he knew about the lack of video out, he would not have mentioned it, because it's just not a commonly used feature.
These phones already make countless other devices obsolete, but a phone has not yet replaced my PC/PS3/TV combo for downloading, streaming and watching movies. If you have a strong desire for this feature and will use it a lot, then buy a phone that does it. I just can't imagine that particular shortcoming being a dealbreaker. Personally, I have never even given it a thought, and I've never heard this (from friends or anyone), even as a passing request. Until you just mentioned it today, I had no idea that (or why) anyone would even want to watch a movie from their phone.
In addition, any amount of video (in resolutions high enough to look good on a full size TV) is going to fill your phone's storage relatively quickly. So you're essentially left with a phone that has a small selection of movies on it, that you can carry around to friends' houses, plug into their TVs and watch. Ok, that's nice, but you could also just rent the movie, buy the movie, stream or download the movie on a computer or gaming console. You'd be taking up a lot less useful storage space (relatively speaking) and you would probably have a better quality version of the movie. Or maybe it's for work and you want to use it for presentations. Again, fine, but people use laptops for this, too. It's easier and no less convenient since phones have yet to completely replace laptops.
Again, I'm not expecting to convince you that the option to do this is worthless. If you like it, more power to you. Most people, though, are never going to touch it, and never going to miss it. It can come across as rude (and I'm sorry if I did) because it just sounds like you're being very picky when you say "I love everything the phone does, but oh, it can't do [insert singular uncommon task here]" so I'm not sure I want it anymore. No device is ever going to perfect. The iPhone can do this, sure, but there are a dozen or more things that an iPhone can't or won't do that make so many purchase Android phones instead. Maybe the Passion/Dragon will do TV-Out, and a select few people will choose it for this reason, but a much larger number of people will choose the Droid because hey, it has a real keyboard, and that is a much more common deciding factor.
It just seems to me that this feature (unlike other features that may make or break a phone experience) is just a "fun" feature, and not something that should determine whether a phone is the right fit for you. If portable media is that important to you, then a device specifically suited for that may be a better option.
Meh, I just want to be able to watch my DishNetwork feed, and DVR while in the car.
I feel you about the Moto/USA vibe, current phone is Moto Q, and I tend to prefer Moto's build quality...but most of their 'ish is mfg. in China.
Why didn't you just buy the iphone? It seems like the Iphone fit your needs to begin with.
I've used the IPOD video out feature and no matter how great of a quality I encode the video, since it's composite it still looks like crap. Will never use it or want it. To me this is a mobile device not a mobile home theatre, but if people are looking for this feature they should go to a device that supports it.
I convert my HDTV recordings to 852x480 and play them just fine on the Droid. That's better, resolution wise at least than DVD which is 720x480 and WAY better than VHS.
I agree on a decent sized TV it looks like garbage, but.. I used the video out on my old phone numerous times hooked into the entertainment system of my vehicle.. Made it very easy to carry along a dozen or so kids movies and not have to keep stopping to change DVD's etc on long drives with the kids. On the 9" or so screen they looked very good.
For something like videos in a car, I rather use something like a Popcorn hour or the WD HD Media Player this way you can store as much as movie on a internal HDD and can easily load more. I have a popcorn hour and I load all my dvd iso, mkv, mp4, and divx files in an internal 500GB HDD. fairly light and portable enough, but definitely not pocket size or anything... closer to a small netbook.
Problem using something like that in the situation I have is, I'd still need to stop, because the screen is mounted on the roof behind me. I can't see the screen to select a movie and all of my children are still fairly young and not "remote literate" yet hehe. Plus I'm sure my wife would just love the inverter I'd need to plug one of those into laying around in HER car
Problem using something like that in the situation I have is, I'd still need to stop, because the screen is mounted on the roof behind me. I can't see the screen to select a movie and all of my children are still fairly young and not "remote literate" yet hehe. Plus I'm sure my wife would just love the inverter I'd need to plug one of those into laying around in HER car
ok I hear ya.. hahaha.
ChicagoBob
Newbie
I can totally understand WHY you want video out. In fact there is an enourmous market for this. Motorola/Verizon is missing a huge vertical by not adding this feature. Maybe in the next phone? If they want to know what that vertical is contact and pay me and I would be glad to share. 
Otherwise mums the word. I hope that they add it in version 2 next year along with better battery life. (man the screen killls em quick). It seems like they need to go with OLED tech to make em last longer. BUT with all that said I LOVE THIS PHONE. GEEZ its AMAZING.
Otherwise mums the word. I hope that they add it in version 2 next year along with better battery life. (man the screen killls em quick). It seems like they need to go with OLED tech to make em last longer. BUT with all that said I LOVE THIS PHONE. GEEZ its AMAZING.
scruffziller
Lurker
I would mainly use it for friends who do not have a computer when I go to their place.(I also had a Zune w/ video out cable) I have all the money and they have none, but they are awesome party animals and my phone brings them joy, becasue I can bring up stuff on youtube for them to watch that they request and it would be nice to just have it play on their TV.
Steel Cobra
Newbie
So there is a way to get videos from your Droid to play on your TV. You will need a TV with a USB port on it for media connect features. Plug your Droid into the USB port, mount the Droid and you can not only view photos on your TV, but you can play videos from your Droid. If you don't have a TV with USB ports, then it won't work. The quality isn't breathtaking but I was using it today to watch a workout video. Like I said, I did this today and I have a Vizio 42" TV with a built in USB port.
skunkpbguy
Android Enthusiast
Am I alone in thinking use bluetooth to play video? Now to have a bluetooth on your tv.. like say, PS3?
ttaylor0024
Android Enthusiast
No, you want to do this. Most of us just use a computer, xbox/ps3, dvd player, vcr player, or blu ray player.
So does my watch.
aguillon5
Well-Known Member
Just connected the droid to ps3 via usb. Went to movies in user interface it found device A855 which I selected and went to folder Digital Movie Files which I selected but umm I do not have any recorded. Someone else try and post and please be pro active and quit flaming!!
skunkpbguy
Android Enthusiast
If I had the PS3, we'd already know the answer..Just connected the droid to ps3 via usb. Went to movies in user interface it found device A855 which I selected and went to folder Digital Movie Files which I selected but umm I do not have any recorded. Someone else try and post and please be pro active and quit flaming!!
aguillon5
Well-Known Member
I will not show pictures either. The user interface in the ps3 goes:
Movies>A855>Digital Camera Movies
Pictures>A855>Digital Camera Pictures
I wonder if I have to rename the folders in the sd card and if doing so would screw up paths of other apps. I could not rename the folders in the PS3
Movies>A855>Digital Camera Movies
Pictures>A855>Digital Camera Pictures
I wonder if I have to rename the folders in the sd card and if doing so would screw up paths of other apps. I could not rename the folders in the PS3
Wait a minute. You did your research and spoke to people that owned the Droid? Then how the heck did you come to the conclusion that it supported video out? This was never advertised and never supported. This is so typical of the uninformed consumer whining in a post about a "feature" that was never there.
You would also think that in this world of hi def and blu ray that you wouldn't find someone trying to play LOW RES MOVIES ON THEIR PLASMAS EITHER!
Glad to see you finally made the connection (pardon the pun).
Wow, another piece of the puzzle solved. You might want to take a rest from the "ton of research" you did!
No can do.
marvinrock
Well-Known Member
I stopped reading at about post #28, so this may have already been said. I'm not here to do any bashing or trolling, just pointing out a legitimate use this feature could provide. And yes, I understand that it doesn't exist so get over it, just adding this point as food for thought.
I regularly go to my grandmothers house, who has a TV, but no internet/Xbox/PS3 etc. My whole family comes to visit. It would be useful to have a tv out so I don't have to bring my laptop over for us to watch downloaded movies and things like that. I normally bring a few episodes of a show, or a movie over. Also just being able to show my grandmother some videos I've found on the internet on her TV would be awesome.
Like I said, food for thought.
I regularly go to my grandmothers house, who has a TV, but no internet/Xbox/PS3 etc. My whole family comes to visit. It would be useful to have a tv out so I don't have to bring my laptop over for us to watch downloaded movies and things like that. I normally bring a few episodes of a show, or a movie over. Also just being able to show my grandmother some videos I've found on the internet on her TV would be awesome.
Like I said, food for thought.
I think it was a short sight on software. I have frequently read that Droid hardware does support video out. Due to the speedy release of other android phones I doubt that they are going to add video support for the Moto Droid and the idea of a cable coming out (micro usb or headphone jack) isn't likely to happen either. However the SD card can be mounted as a standard USB mass storage device....
I can use my PS3 to play video from the phone to my TV. Now is there a very portable device that can be carried around that will hook to a tv and support usb mass storage? (I need diversity when sharing my media, not everyone I know has a HDTV yet, so I would need analog output as well)
The way I encode video for my Droid A855 is mp4 720x480 @1500kbps video and 160kbps audio w/ removal of any interlacing artifacts. So far the quality is REALLY good on the phone itself and I can use the same files from a device that upconverts (HDMI) on a 32" screen with hardly any artifacting, exessive blurring or color loss (DVD quality or in some cases a little better). file sizes range from 650mb to 1.4gb (most under 800mb). Pair that with the fact that 32gb micro SD cards are now available... I can load a decent amount of movies on my phone.
There is definitely a want for this type of thing. These devices were made to do more so you can carry less. I wish it did have a video out on it....
I can use my PS3 to play video from the phone to my TV. Now is there a very portable device that can be carried around that will hook to a tv and support usb mass storage? (I need diversity when sharing my media, not everyone I know has a HDTV yet, so I would need analog output as well)
The way I encode video for my Droid A855 is mp4 720x480 @1500kbps video and 160kbps audio w/ removal of any interlacing artifacts. So far the quality is REALLY good on the phone itself and I can use the same files from a device that upconverts (HDMI) on a 32" screen with hardly any artifacting, exessive blurring or color loss (DVD quality or in some cases a little better). file sizes range from 650mb to 1.4gb (most under 800mb). Pair that with the fact that 32gb micro SD cards are now available... I can load a decent amount of movies on my phone.
There is definitely a want for this type of thing. These devices were made to do more so you can carry less. I wish it did have a video out on it....