Freestyle connectivity

[catflap]

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]

I don't live in an English-speaking country and Samsung doesn't allow their chat or telephone support people to speak anything other than the national languages here. Speaking about technical things in a foreign language is not easy for me but they were able to tell me that chat does not support freestyle. So the only way that I can get any help in English is by email and that can take at least a week or longer if they decide to even answer me.

[PaulC59]

It's a special typ of usb expansion port that allows power to go through it and would connect to the USB c port on the freestyle and not the micro HDMI port. You would then plug your power into the USB c port in the hub and if the USB c port allows data then you would just plug your devices into the remaining standard hdmi and usb 3.0 ports. It would also leave the micro HDMI port on your freestyle free for something else. If you need an English reply you could call or email Samsung UK or Samsung US etc to confirm it's ok before buying anything

[PaulC59]

PS a standard usb hub won't work, it has to have power pass through built in which makes them more expensive than standard ones. Hope this helps

[catflap]

Okay! Thank you so much for that. Now I understand what it is. I'll try to find out if it is compatible with the freestyle. And if it is I don't understand why they don't list it as an accessory for the freestyle. If it works then I think that would be the thing I need.

[catflap]

I'm not going to mark this as a solution just yet. Not until I find out if it is actually compatible with the freestyle.

[PaulC59]

Fingers crossed. It's probably aimed at pcs with thunderbolt etc and I suspect using other devices may have not been properly thought through. I have a sneaky feeling it should work but a firmware update would probably resolve it should it not work so well worth speaking to a Samsung IT Tech.

[catflap]

I was able to chat with UK-based support. They say the multiport adapter ee-p5400 is not compatible with the freestyle and they don't have any multiport adapters that are compatible. They also don't have any micro HDMI to HDMI cables or adapters and don't know if they will even work. They also don't have any micro HDMI to USB cables or adapters and don't know if they even exist or even work if indeed they do exist.

It's ridiculous that Samsung doesn't have any appropriate accessories for the $1000 projector more than a year after it came on the market. All they have are skins, cases, external battery/power supply, and socket adapter. Unbelievable!

I'm going to look for a projection tv that has appropriate ports built in.

[PaulC59]

That's a shame, there are others on the market with additional ports, I'm not sure how the compare though. It's worth doing some research and reading some reviews of others who use them. I think people with caravans use them a lot because of portability. I did see one review where they did use an adapter but better checking with Samsung first as it's not worth risking damage. To be honest I'm questioning the advice given as older phones used to come bundled with hdmi to usb adapters etc but they may be micro usb, if you spoke to a tech support advisor they should know.

[PaulC59]

The advice on Samsung website is different to the advice you have summarised follow link https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00090555/

[catflap]

Yes I saw that before, but it doesn't mention external drives.According to the UK support chat I can connect my bluray player with a micro HDMI to HDMI cable or adapter. I've been looking for reviewers of freestyle but none seem to mention external drives. Only game consoles, and I don't play games.

The support suggested that if I can connect the bluray I might be able to access a usb drive plugged into the bluray player. Worth a shot I guess if I can get an adapter or cable.

Honestly, Samsung support is typically terrible. Has been for years and years. I will talk to the knowledgeable technicians from the store i buy most of my electronic goods. Will report back.