topic Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity in Audio & Video

Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 05:00:45 GMT

How do I physically connect my Samsung 3D Blu-ray player as well as external USB drives to my freestyle projection TV? Not wirelessly. Not with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. But actually physically.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

nowdeleted — Fri, 19 May 2023 05:30:20 GMT

I have everything connected through a ethernet switch.
Internet goes in an then pc, TV, cable box, surround system all goes out, I also have 3 ethernet hard drives that I can access from the TV and the pc. I can also play from the pc to TV.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 05:46:33 GMT

Thank you for replying. But I have to know exactly what kind of cables and other equipment that I need. I don't have cable TV. But I do have wired cable internet and Wi-Fi. I believe my internet box has a second ethernet socket. And I don't know what an ethernet switch is. So I need to know exactly what equipment I need as far as HDMI cables and USB hubs and what is an ethernet switch and how do I use it?

Re: Freestyle connectivity

nowdeleted — Fri, 19 May 2023 06:03:37 GMT

I'm not sure of the make of the ethernet box but all cables going in and out are ethernet cables. Pc to external hard drives are usb, as I can move from pc to external hard drive and play on the TV.
I'll check what the ethernet box is when I get home later today.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 06:16:30 GMT

Thanks again for replying. The brand of equipment isn't important to me. I just have to know what I need to buy. My computer is not in the same room as my freestyle, but it is connected by ethernet cable for internet. Except for the computer, I want to be able to connect everything directly to the freestyle: 3D Blu-ray player and external USB drives. Right now my freestyle connects wirelessly to the internet, but if it's possible to also physically connect the freestyle to my internet box that would also be great. Unfortunately the freestyle instruction manual doesn't give any information on how to connect these things and there is only a single HDMI mini or HDMI micro socket in the freestyle and that's just not enough to connect anything. If I want to watch a downloaded video on my freestyle, I can only do it wirelessly with Samsung SmartThings through my phone or tablet, both of which are Samsung. And this is just tedious.

Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

nowdeleted — Fri, 19 May 2023 06:27:58 GMT

The pc is all usb (where needed) and ethernet.TV is ethernet and HDMI (blueray player and soundbar and surround sound speakers.
It's all a bit confusing but all of it works and works well.

Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 07:39:40 GMT

Thanks again for replying. I get what your setup is but it's not what I want to set up. I don't want to stream anything from my phone or tablet, and my laptop because it's in another room. I don't have a tuner on my laptop . I watch TV using the apps from Samsung which includes a TV/DVR App from my provider. I want to be able to connect everything directly to the freestyle: 3D Blu-ray player and external USB drives. I do have a soundbar connected by Bluetooth and if I could connect that physically to the freestyle as well that would be great but it's not as important as everything else. So I still don't know how to connect my Blu-ray player and my external drives physically directly to the freestyle. Can anybody out there help me?

Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

Pugs1957 — Fri, 19 May 2023 13:24:46 GMT

The Blu Ray player will need something like a Micro HDMI to HDMI cable, or a Micro HDMI to USB Type-C cable.
With the lack of connections you will need to keep using Bluetooth for the soundbar.

Turning to HDDs you will need a file manager or media player to view these. I don't know if the projector has these but you still have the lack of USB sockets.

Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 13:51:06 GMT

Thank you for replying. I'm sure the freestyle has a built-in media player because when I stream a video from my tablet or phone I use the freestyles remote to control fast forward rewind play stop pause and which are all shown on screen.

I was hoping someone could tell me if there is any kind of a hub that I connect with HDMI micro to the freestyle which will have USB and HDMI ports in the hub.

I don't have any kind of dedicated NAS server. I just have a bunch of external hard drives ranging from 500 GB to 5 TB. I don't want to connect them all at once, but if I can connect at least two plus Blu-ray DVD player into a hub that's connected to the freestyle that I think would be exactly what I'm looking for but I just don't know if that even is possible or if it exists. I don't want to have to keep transferring videos to my Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet in order to stream it because I don't want to put a lot of wear and tear on it.

I would appreciate it if anyone reading this has the freestyle and was able to set up the way that I have described and can tell me how they did it and if I'm anywhere in the ballpark of how to do it. Thank you.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

Pugs1957 — Fri, 19 May 2023 14:21:26 GMT

Just a thought. I have a wired network. All my HDDs are connected to my PC. Using mains powerline extenders means I connect other devices by cable, in different rooms. That should address accessibility to HDDs.
You should then be left with connecting the DVD player via mini HDMI to HDMI adapter.

I can't find a hub with both HDMI and USB ports to work as above.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Fri, 19 May 2023 14:43:56 GMT

Thanks again for replying. I really don't understand your mains Powerline extenders set up. I don't want my laptop to have to do anything. Having it hardwired for internet is enough for me.

And if there is a separate HDMI hub or cable that I can use for the Blu-ray player and the separate USB hub which can connect to the freestyle that would also be fine. I can only use one device at a time anyway. Of course the ultimate would be having a hub that has USB and HDMI.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

PaulC59 — Fri, 19 May 2023 15:39:58 GMT

Are you trying to create a home network or do you want to plug everything into the same device via the cables e.g USB HDMI etc. This page might give you some useful info https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00090555/#:~:text=Plug%20one%20end%20of%20the,and%20then%20select%20Connected%20Devices.

Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Sat, 20 May 2023 11:04:01 GMT

Thank you for replying. No, I'm not trying to make a network because I don't need one.

But that link was 50% helpful anyway. I will need a micro HDMI adapter or cable to connect my Blu-ray player. But it doesn't have any information that I can find about connecting an external drive. I suppose if I'm able to get an HDMI micro adapter I could try that. In the past I have physically connected an external drive to my tablet, but it uses a lot of battery power to keep it going. So that's why I've had to resort to transferring films to my tablet in order to stream them.

So I would still like to know from anybody whether it is actually possible to connect an external drive with an HDMI micro adapter directly to the freestyle, either singularly or with a hub with several USB ports.

Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

PaulC59 — Sat, 20 May 2023 12:49:15 GMT

It all depends what is compatible with the freestyle and what software it has built in i.e will it recognise and open files from the external device you wish to play media from. I don't have a freestyle so I haven't tried it myself. However if it will output your disk player or TV, laptop etc you could connect your drives and other devices to the laptop, blueray player or TV and run them through the external device so that would mean just one connection to the freestyle device. If you use your laptop you can buy usb hubs or docking stations that enable a multitude of devices to be connected to the laptop so it works like a chain I.e devices connect and run on the laptop and the laptop outputs to the freestyle device. There are several ways to do it so it's a case of trying different methods to see which way works best for you. Hope this helps

Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Sat, 20 May 2023 16:38:49 GMT

Thanks again for your ideas.

I have tried to connect my laptop with Smart Things, Bluetooth, and wi-fi and the only thing I can manage to do is mirror the computer screen and the freestyle remote is not usable. I have the Samsung trio 500 Bluetooth keyboard but that is not paired with my laptop as the trio 500 only allows up to 3 device pairings, and all slots have been taken by my phone, tablet and the Freestyle.

But it's weird I can't use the freestyle remote when I can use it when streaming from my phone or tablet.

Having to keep my laptop in the same room as the freestyle and not be able to use the remote isn't worth the trouble. I'd also have to get another bluetooth/wireless mouse. And as far as physically connecting to the laptop with HDMI, it's possible but I would need an expensive HDMI cable that is 50-60 feet long to reach from the office to the lounge.

So I think I will have to look for micro HDMI adapters/cables/hubs to try and connect external drives directly to the freestyle.

I will definitely get an adapter or cable to connect my bluray player. Except for my current laptop (Acer) I have an older Samsung laptop that doesn't run very well anymore. My BD player, phone, tablet are all Samsung.

I appreciate all of the help and ideas I've received, and I would really like to hear from anyone who has has practical experience physically connecting an external drive(s) directly to the freestyle.

EDIT: I have been able to cast from the laptop-ext drive to the freestyle and use the remote. But cannot access the file/folder tree without going to the computer.

Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

PaulC59 — Sat, 20 May 2023 17:32:39 GMT

Ok no problem. Just for your info if your running media from an external device you would normally use a different remote for the external device as the freestyle remote won't usually work e.g blueray player would have its own remote etc a bit like if you plug a device into your TV, you would usually use a different remote for the device, which is because the media is running from your external device and your freestyle is just a display for the device. You can sometimes use a universal remote for multiple devices but a lot of the functions don't always work. To me a freestyle device is similar to an LCD display panel i.e a screen but with no built in tuner so it relies on either built in apps, running across network or external devices. I'm surprised there aren't port expansion hubs available as an accessory for it and you could put in an internal or external battery which would then free up the USB-C port for devices. It might be worth googling if people have ran into similar issues with a display panel as I suspect the solutions will be very similar. I hope you get sorted best wishes

Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Sat, 20 May 2023 17:57:48 GMT

I don't think Samsung completely thought out the needs of the consumer on this one. There are lots of other projection TVs which have multiple HDMI and USB ports. This one has One USB port which is only for power, either mains or battery pack, and one micro HDMI port for external devices. They should at least have an adapter or hub for the HDMI port available, even as a separate purchase. Or else they're planning to include more connections in the Next Generation which will force many first generation owners to upgrade.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

PaulC59 — Sat, 20 May 2023 18:40:56 GMT

Have you checked whether you can use one of these? https://www.samsung.com/uk/computer-accessories/multiport-adapter-ee-p5400usegww/

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

PaulC59 — Sat, 20 May 2023 18:43:36 GMT

Click chat with an expert to see if the USB c port is data compatible too as a power pass through will allow you to plug your power supply into one of the ports and devices in the others if it's compatible

Re: Re: Re: Re: Freestyle connectivity

catflap — Sat, 20 May 2023 20:20:55 GMT

That one doesn't seem to have a micro HDMI plug to connect to the freestyle. I do have a USB port with four USB sockets. The Hub itself has a USB plug which I have to put a USB C adapter on to connect it to my tablet. But as I said earlier connecting a drive to the tablet uses a lot of battery and so I don't do that anymore. I will have to try to find a hub with the micro HDMA connection or at least a micro HDMI adapter to put on a hub.