Solved: Freestyle connectivity

catflap · ‎19-05-2023

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.

catflap · ‎11-09-2023

I received my Anker 8 in 1 hub today. It works with external drives. depending on the size of the drive and how many files are on it, it can take a few minutes to populate on screen. as far as the hdmi ports, they don't work with the bd player because the freestyle doesn't have the drivers/software for it. I have to get a micro HDMI (Typ D) — HDMI (Typ A) adapter/cable to connect directly to the micro hdmi port on the freestyle. i have ordered a Delock one. i should have it in 1 or 2 days and will report back here.

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catflap · ‎13-09-2023

Okay, after months of trying to figure out how to connect my ext hdds and BD player to the Freestyle (with the help of some Samsung members here, BUT with absolutely NO HELP from Samsung support) and then searching for the right adapters and hub, this is my solution.

To connect the hdds/SD card I bought the Anker 8-in-1 PowerExpand hub which connects to the USB-C port on the Freestyle, and then the power cord of the Freestyle connects to the USB-C port in the Anker hub which will deliver 85 watts (the minimum needed) to power the ext hdds. There are many hubs out there, so if you need it for the Freestyle, make sure it has a minimum capacity of 85 watts.

For my Samsung 3D BD player (yes, I know the Freestyle doesn't have 3D capability), I bought the "DeLock HDMI Cable 4K 60Hz (HDMI Micro-D male to HDMI-A female") adapter. It is 20 cm long which will give your HDMI cable enough slack to reduce stress. DO NOT just get a cheap adapter to cap onto the HDMI cable. I received it today and tested it and it works perfectly.

The prices: about $100 for the Anker hub; about $20 for the DeLock adapter cable.

Thanks to everyone here for their help (EXCEPT Samsung support). I hope you all found this useful information.

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catflap · ‎13-09-2023

To connect the hdds/SD card I bought the Anker 8-in-1 PowerExpand hub which connects to the USB-C port on the Freestyle, and then the power cord of the Freestyle connects to the USB-C port in the Anker hub which will deliver 85 watts (the minimum needed) to power the ext hdds. There are many hubs out there, so if you need it for the Freestyle, make sure it has a minimum capacity of 85 watts.

Also, see my complete solution I detailed here.

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catflap · ‎13-09-2023

To connect the hdds/SD card I bought the Anker 8-in-1 PowerExpand hub which connects to the USB-C port on the Freestyle, and then the power cord of the Freestyle connects to the USB-C port in the Anker hub which will deliver 85 watts (the minimum needed) to power the ext hdds. There are many hubs out there, so if you need it for the Freestyle, make sure it has a minimum capacity of 85 watts.Also, see my complete solution I detailed here.

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nowdeleted · ‎19-05-2023

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.

catflap · ‎19-05-2023

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?

nowdeleted · ‎19-05-2023

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.

catflap · ‎19-05-2023

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.

nowdeleted · ‎19-05-2023

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.

catflap · ‎19-05-2023

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?

Pugs1957 · ‎19-05-2023

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.

catflap · ‎19-05-2023

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.

Pugs1957 · ‎19-05-2023

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.

Freestyle connectivity

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