May I please get some answers in in regards to watching mp4's on this device

[littlelostkiwi]

Hello all.

I am looking for a device to watch some of my TV Shows, as mp4's, primarily for while travelling on the train. I was trying to decide between the Samsung S 10.5 and Sony Xperia Tablet Z2, and after some consideration I have gone for the Samsung device.

I have a couple of questions if that is alright.

1) I assume that it is possible to watch shows of the micro SD card? It would seem like it would be obvious that you can, however I thought I had better check just in case

2) If so, do I need to use 3rd party software to put the mp4's onto the micro SD card, or can I just copy it on from a PC? What I am hoping for is a scenario where I simply copy the mp4's onto the micro SD card via pc, plug the micro SD card into the Tablet, have the tablet automatically detect them and allow me to watch them as I choose. Rinse and repeat as required.

I have two more questions, however these are not as crucial as the first two:

3) Is it possible to plug the device into HDMI inputs using some sort of converter (without loss of quality). For example so that I could plug it into our TV and watch the contents from there

4) Whilst on the train sometime I struggle to hear the shows on my current device, even while at full volume (due to external noise). Is there some sort of App or inbuilt function on the S 10.5 that will allow me to boost listening volume above the standard volume.

And the last question is somewhat circumstantial I guess

5) Based on my questions above, do you think this is the right device for me, or do you have alternative suggestions.

Any answers or clarifications would be highly appreciated.

Many thanks all

 

[Phantasmal Images]

I don't have a Tab S yet, but these are pretty standard answers for just about any Android device.

1. Yes

2. You can just copy it directly. It may give you a warning about needing to convert, but I just ignore it. As for playing with the stock player, it depends... video and audio codecs vary even among various MP4 files. Some work with some players, and others don't. It primarily depends on if the particular player has the codec required. I use three different players (stock and two 3rd party) on my Android devices, and at least one of them has worked with every video file (MP4 or other) that I've tried.

VLC for Android
MX Player

3. You'll need an adapter cable like this one. HDMI Adapter
Cheaper third party adapters are available as well.

Many new TVs have USB ports, and would treat the tablet as an external drive and play videos directly as well. So just a standard microUSB to USB cable would be needed. It depends on the TV. You also may end up with codec issues as described above depending on the TV and whether or not it updates codecs often (smart TV with WiFi connection would be less likely to have this issue)

4. Both of the video player apps above can boost audio above normal, but you're probably better off with a good set of headphones for your scenario.

5. The Tab S is the best that's currently available in my opinion, that's why I'm planning to get one soon myself.

 

[littlelostkiwi]

Thank you for your excellent response. In terms of the codecs, I rip and encode the mp4's myself (from blu-rays I purchase) so the codec is always the same. I use H.264 which is very mainstream, and I know for certain it works on VLC on the PC so the tablet version shouldn't be any different. So hopefully I won't have any issues there.

However you've managed to put to bed any concerns I have for using the device, so thank you again for your great response.

 

[FF22]

One thing I've now been able to do with a Samsung TV is 'screen mirror' and I can wirelessly shoot a tv show mp4 (other formats, too) on the tablet to the TV. Other Smart TV's might also be able to do that. As the Samsung TV can find my Blackberry Z10 and a Twonky hard drive and also display contents wirelessly using my router/network.

I did purchase the hdmi/samsung adapter so can also plug the tab s into the tv's hdmi port.

 

[Phantasmal Images]

I stream from my laptop to my Samsung SmartTV using Samsung Link all the time, works perfectly (even with 5.1 audio) and so much more convenient than when I had to plug in an HDMI cord.

 

[Zain Bin Tariq]

Mx player is gonna work great for u dude u should check it