SUGGESTIONS??? HDMI Media Player for TV

[RPJ8707]

I am asking....

 

What is the best "Media Player" to purchase for playing downloaded movies on the in-cabin TV?

 

Goals:

1) To be able to play movies on the TV

2) Does not require use of the ship's WiFi, which I've heard is slowwwwww (I can download movies prior to sailing if needed)

3) Not be very expensive (as my wife says I already spend too much money on cruises. LOL)

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse in December 2015. I was hoping to find an inexpensive (preferably less than $100) way to play movies on the TV inside the cabin. From what I've read there are many methods suggested for activating HDMI ports, getting the TV out of "Hotel" mode, etc. But that's not the sole reason why I'm posting.

 

 

Thanks for your suggestions and tips in advance!

[Flatbush Flyer]

I am asking....

 

 

 

What is the best "Media Player" to purchase for playing downloaded movies on the in-cabin TV?

 

 

 

Goals:

 

1) To be able to play movies on the TV

 

2) Does not require use of the ship's WiFi, which I've heard is slowwwwww (I can download movies prior to sailing if needed)

 

3) Not be very expensive (as my wife says I already spend too much money on cruises. LOL)

 

 

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse in December 2015. I was hoping to find an inexpensive (preferably less than $100) way to play movies on the TV inside the cabin. From what I've read there are many methods suggested for activating HDMI ports, getting the TV out of "Hotel" mode, etc. But that's not the sole reason why I'm posting.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your suggestions and tips in advance!

 

 

iPad/iphone (or laptop) connector with male HDMI to TV. All you'll need is media player app/program on device with stored movies. However, the cabin TV may have inputs deactivated.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[K.T.B.]

Hm, not quite sure I know what the question is.... Could you make the font bigger please?

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, seriously, this is as accurate you can get:

iPad/iphone (or laptop) connector with male HDMI to TV. All you'll need is media player app/program on device with stored movies. However, the cabin TV may have inputs deactivated.

[perditax]

I am asking....

 

What is the best "Media Player" to purchase for playing downloaded movies on the in-cabin TV?

 

Goals:

1) To be able to play movies on the TV

2) Does not require use of the ship's WiFi, which I've heard is slowwwwww (I can download movies prior to sailing if needed)

3) Not be very expensive (as my wife says I already spend too much money on cruises. LOL)

 

My wife and I will be sailing on the Celebrity Eclipse in December 2015. I was hoping to find an inexpensive (preferably less than $100) way to play movies on the TV inside the cabin. From what I've read there are many methods suggested for activating HDMI ports, getting the TV out of "Hotel" mode, etc. But that's not the sole reason why I'm posting.

 

 

Thanks for your suggestions and tips in advance!

 

Can you tell us in what format you will be obtaining these movies?

 

e.g., if you're downloading them and they will be in a format like .avi, .mpg., .mkv, I can give you some sub-$100 solutions.

 

If you're using something like amazon prime's ability to download stuff and play it back later, you will need a device (like a phone or tablet) on which to store it and from which to play it back.

 

If you buy your movies from iTunes, ditto to the above.

 

If you're thinking Netflix, I don't know a way to get their content (legally) without streaming it over the internet.

 

Need more details.

[RPJ8707]

Can you tell us in what format you will be obtaining these movies?

 

e.g., if you're downloading them and they will be in a format like .avi, .mpg., .mkv, I can give you some sub-$100 solutions.

 

If you're using something like amazon prime's ability to download stuff and play it back later, you will need a device (like a phone or tablet) on which to store it and from which to play it back.

 

If you buy your movies from iTunes, ditto to the above.

 

If you're thinking Netflix, I don't know a way to get their content (legally) without streaming it over the internet.

 

Need more details.

 

Perditax:

 

I haven't downloaded any movies yet. Therefore I would be open to downloading movies in whatever format is required for the method suggested. I do have an Amazon Prime membership, which I do use for movies occasionally. Also, if it matters, I have an iPhone 6S.

 

Any other details I should provide? Thanks!

 

 

 

Flatbush Flyer:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have any recommendation on a specific Lightning-to-HDMI connector? Also, would this method prevent me from charging my phone while watching movies? Thanks!!

Edited October 26, 2015 by RPJ8707

[perditax]

Perditax:

 

I haven't downloaded any movies yet. Therefore I would be open to downloading movies in whatever format is required for the method suggested. I do have an Amazon Prime membership, which I do use for movies occasionally. Also, if it matters, I have an iPhone 6S.

 

Well, downloading movies gets into gray areas, so I can't go into that, but there are lots of inexpensive players that will play many file formats, e.g.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Micca-Full-HD-Portable-Digital-Player/dp/B008NO9RRM/

 

But using what you have, you can download the "Amazon Video" app to your phone, download up to I think 20 Prime movies *to the phone* (storage space permitting), and then I suppose play them from phone to the TV. (I say "I suppose" because I haven't done this personally and a quick glance at Amazon makes the adapters look pricey or unreliable. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong stuff and someone else will provide a product link. Be careful when searching, I notice some Amazon vendors are putting the word 'lightning' on products to which it doesn't apply.)

[RPJ8707]

Well, downloading movies gets into gray areas, so I can't go into that, but there are lots of inexpensive players that will play many file formats, e.g.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Micca-Full-HD-Portable-Digital-Player/dp/B008NO9RRM/

 

But using what you have, you can download the "Amazon Video" app to your phone, download up to I think 20 Prime movies *to the phone* (storage space permitting), and then I suppose play them from phone to the TV. (I say "I suppose" because I haven't done this personally and a quick glance at Amazon makes the adapters look pricey or unreliable. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong stuff and someone else will provide a product link. Be careful when searching, I notice some Amazon vendors are putting the word 'lightning' on products to which it doesn't apply.)

 

Perditax: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into the Amazon Prime option to see if I can make that work. Also, it looks like we'll be on the same cruise in December! So I'll let you know how it goes! :):)

[Flatbush Flyer]

Perditax:

 

I haven't downloaded any movies yet. Therefore I would be open to downloading movies in whatever format is required for the method suggested. I do have an Amazon Prime membership, which I do use for movies occasionally. Also, if it matters, I have an iPhone 6S.

 

Any other details I should provide? Thanks!

 

 

 

Flatbush Flyer:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you have any recommendation on a specific Lightning-to-HDMI connector? Also, would this method prevent me from charging my phone while watching movies? Thanks!!

 

 

I'm still using iphone 4 and iPad 2 with old connectors. I have an apple branded connector with both hdmi male and USB for charging at the same time. Check the apple website for what's currently available. Mine was about $35 - but that was a few years ago.

 

AND remember that this all depends on whether the ship has deactivated the aux inputs on the back of the TV. Also, note that some cruise lines (e.g. Oceania) provide DVD players along with the TV in the cabin. Don't know about Celebrity.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[bigbenboys]

At home I just use my laptop with Chromecast. They communicate through bluetooth.

[perditax]

Perditax: Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into the Amazon Prime option to see if I can make that work. Also, it looks like we'll be on the same cruise in December! So I'll let you know how it goes! :):)

 

Hah, at the risk of getting myself into a tech support role, I'll be bringing my Harmony universal remote in case I run into a problem switching the inputs on the televisions, and I'd planned on reporting back on exactly how it works out on the Eclipse televisions. (I had zero luck with the weird brand on NCL Getaway, they have those things locked the heck down. Meanwhile, DCL's tvs give no trouble at all on switching inputs.) I have a HDMI converter cable to output video from my laptop, and while in all honesty I probably won't watch much video, I like knowing I can if I want to. (Tech gadgetry is a pleasurable hobby to me.) I'm a huge television addict IRL, but during travel I usually use my downloaded tv shows to kill time in flight, waiting in terminals, etc. I've only been on two cruises, but once onboard I seem to prefer reading/writing for downtime. But I definitely want the option to be available.

Edited October 26, 2015 by perditax

[RPJ8707]

At home I just use my laptop with Chromecast. They communicate through bluetooth.

 

BigBenBoys: I will definitely look into this option. I was really hoping to avoid taking my laptop (and charger) on the cruise, but will look into it. Thanks again!

 

 

 

Hah, at the risk of getting myself into a tech support role, I'll be bringing my Harmony universal remote in case I run into a problem switching the inputs on the televisions, and I'd planned on reporting back on exactly how it works out on the Eclipse televisions. (I had zero luck with the weird brand on NCL Getaway, they have those things locked the heck down. Meanwhile, DCL's tvs give no trouble at all on switching inputs.) I have a HDMI converter cable to output video from my laptop, and while in all honesty I probably won't watch much video, I like knowing I can if I want to. (Tech gadgetry is a pleasurable hobby to me.) I'm a huge television addict IRL, but during travel I usually use my downloaded tv shows to kill time in flight, waiting in terminals, etc. I've only been on two cruises, but once onboard I seem to prefer reading/writing for downtime. But I definitely want the option to be available.

 

 

Perditax: I understand completely. When I'm cruising I like to be relaxed and unbothered as well. This option is primarily to be used only at bedtime, since my wife has become accustom to falling asleep with a movie on TV. So I'd like to watch a decent movie, rather than stare at the same movie on repeat for the 34th time on the cruise TV. lol

[bigbenboys]

BigBenBoys: I will definitely look into this option. I was really hoping to avoid taking my laptop (and charger) on the cruise, but will look into it. Thanks again!

 

 

I have a chromecast app on my Android phone.