Downloading movies to watch on board

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Fletcher500

Fletcher500

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I know enough to be dangerous about this subject.

I would like to download movies at home, to watch aboard on the Smart Tv I have. I have an Amazon Prime account.

A few questions:

-Is the best way to download movies at home with a Firestick?

-Does the Firestick plug directly in to the TVs USB plug on the boat?

-Or, is an HDMI connection needed to feed the TV on the boat from a Firestick?

Any feedback on other options would also be appreciated.
 
Before a cruise I go to Wal-Mart to their big boxes where they dump movies for $3.34- $4.99 and buy about 20 or 30. Play them off the Blu Ray. No muss, no fuss.
 
I have a Firestick. It plugs into a HDMI port on your tv or bluray/dvd player/recorder. It also needs 120v for it's power supply or a small inverter. It's wireless and connects to my wireless internet. I use it to manage all my internet based tv - Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube. A menu comes up and the first time you use it, you program in your accounts. A 70+ old geezer can do it.
You can record anything your tv or player/recorder sees. Also, you can talk to it. I don't. I talk to myself.
 
The Firestick is designed to _stream_ movies to any TV with an HDMI connection. It is not intended to enable you to download videos so you can watch them offline, which I think is what you are looking for. The Firestick has _both_ an HDMI and a USB connector. The HDMI connector feeds video to your TV, while the USB connection provides power from the TV to the Firestick.

If you are happy with streaming (not offline) videos and don't mind needing a wireless network connection when watching movies, then the Firestick should work just fine!

You may find that your TV supports playing movies directly off a USB thumb drive or external USB harddisk. It would depend on your specific model and it would depend on the type of video files you have to use.

There are also options that would make it easy to play movies from a laptop or phone on your TV via miracast, chromecast, or probably some Apple solution if that better fits your existing devices.

I've been very happy with a custom Raspberry Pi setup using RasPlex and a giant disk of movies, if you are comfortable with a more DIY approach.

Another thought, if your TV doesn't support playing videos directly from external USB storage, many DVD and Blu-Ray players do. So you may be able to use a player you already have or pick up something fairly easily that would work for you.

I am sure others will have more suggestions for you. Good luck!
 
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I just upgraded my 5 year old android stick to one of these for under $50
Works a treat and simply plug a hard drive loaded with series and movies into it.

Well worth getting that keyboard remote so as to use it as a mini PC as well.

s-l500.jpg


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2018-MX...trksid=p2385738.c100677.m4598&redirect=mobile
 
We use a rather large tablet to watch movies/videos on our boat. It does require some forethought. Netflix lets you download movies to mobile devices. The tablet we have isn't all that mobile, but apparently Netflix thinks so. We also get DVDs and transfer them to the tablet. We have Tivo at home and if a program can be transferred off Tivo to PC (not all of them can be) then it can be put on the tablet. There is free software to do this. However, the conversion can take some time so you have to plan a head a bit.

If you are somewhere with decent wifi, you can replenish your Neltflix selections as you go by downloading new stuff when you need to.

Our tablet does not allow us to watch anything over the air and we don't have a data plan for it.
 
Lots of options.... but nothing great. For playing movies I've got a few terra bites of movies, tv shows, etc that I can play of a big HD. Down load to a thumb drive and play, using some video player.

Also use Netflix for streaming movies/TV, displayed on the Ipad. works well.

For current stuff, it's a PITA. Either put up with the ADs or have some recording box plus you need some subscription. You can do a screen recording for replay, also a pita.

Don't have a perfect solution.
 
Friends with movies are great. Blue Ray quality onto a hard drive. I have (probably) more movies than I'll ever watch downloaded just by trading friends for movies.

To answer your question:

Firestick - No. Great if you are in a marina with good WiFi. Otherwise no you are streaming everything using big bandwidth.

A big hard drive and some friends will get you much more than a sporadic streaming connection.
 
Let me go back to the subject line, which is about downloading movies.


What solutions have people found for getting movies and shows onto a hard drive.


- From DVD to a file on a hard drive?


- From some streaming service to a file on a hard drive?


- From some other source?


Once a show is in a file and on a disk, there are lots of easy ways to play it. The challenge seems to be how to get the show into a file in the first place.


What works?
 
twistedtree said:
Let me go back to the subject line, which is about downloading movies.

What solutions have people found for getting movies and shows onto a hard drive.

- From DVD to a file on a hard drive?

- From some streaming service to a file on a hard drive?

- From some other source?

Once a show is in a file and on a disk, there are lots of easy ways to play it. The challenge seems to be how to get the show into a file in the first place.

What works?
Click to expand...

What he said.

One of the reasons i've ended up watching so many Korean dramas over the last few years, is that I can download them.

Finding downloadable movies is difficult.
For me, Netflix doesn't allow my tablet to download, though Amazon Prime does.
 
Finding downloadable movies is not difficult, it just depends if you want to stay legal or not... And legally, except if you bought it you cannot keep a movie on your hard drive. One way would be to buy a dvd, rip it and make a file from it, not difficult, but even then it is not legal as you infringe copy protection.

L
 
Amazon Prime, Netflix and MHz Choice will allow downloads to your phone, but I don’t know of any other apps that will. If anyone does, please post information here since we are always looking for new content.
 
twistedtree said:
Let me go back to the subject line, which is about downloading movies.


What solutions have people found for getting movies and shows onto a hard drive.


- From DVD to a file on a hard drive?


- From some streaming service to a file on a hard drive?


- From some other source?


Once a show is in a file and on a disk, there are lots of easy ways to play it. The challenge seems to be how to get the show into a file in the first place.


What works?
Click to expand...

We mostly watch programming we brought with us as we are usually in area with spotty cell service.


We use MakeMKV (https://makemkv.com) and Handbrake (https://handbrake.fr) to convert Blu Ray and DVD's to an mp4 file. Handbrake can do the DVD's, but MakeMKV is needed first for Blu Ray discs. We use Plex
(https://www.plex.tv) on a laptop to play the movies on the TV.

If Blu Ray, use MakeMKV to create an mkv file. Then use handbrake to convert the mkv file to an mp4 file. (On Mac and Linux, handbrake can be configured to use MakeMKV's libraries to do this in one step.) If not a Blu Ray disc, Handbrake will take care of it in one pass. Copy to Plex.

Plex automatically sees any new files and looks up the appropriate information about the movie or TV show. The display on the TV is similar to Amazon Prime or Netflix. It is very easy to use.

MakeMKV is not free. Handbrake is free. Plex can be free, but most of the value comes from paying for the service. About $39 a year or $119 for a lifetime license.

We have about 500 movies and another 50 TV series on a 2 TB portable drive. We stream from the laptop to the TV via an Apple TV box. It will also work fine with a HDMI connection from the laptop. With a Plex server running on the laptop and connected to wifi on the boat, multiple people can watch what they want on whatever device they brought with them.

With enough upload bandwidth, Plex can also be an internet movie server. Clients are available for most platforms. At home, we have Plex installed on a Netgear NAS box and can stream the content to our own devices anywhere.

Hope that helps!

Oh! And we own all the original discs we copied ...
 
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nvida stealth, connect a 4 tbyte usb drive and KODI.... fairly low cost, great video and easy...
 
Isn’t it use amazon app to download to your phone, then Apple TV to stream it over to your screen?
 
Wxx3 said:
... For me, Netflix doesn't allow my tablet to download, though Amazon Prime does.
Click to expand...

Not all movies and shows on Netflix are downloadable.

Netflix downloads have to be renewed after a time period by connecting to the Netflix service. After a certain number of renewals you cannot renew anymore (but you delete and redownload the movie/show).

If a selection is removed from the Netflix service you cannot renew it, even if it was previously downloaded to your device.

You can argue that converting and transferring a DVD you own to your own mobile device is fair use as long as you don't share or resell the file you create.
 
I use Itunes for my movies.

I have a laptop that travels with me and my itunes movies are all stored on an external hard drive.

On the boat I have a Apple TV. The Apple TV can see my laptop and the hundreds of movies on it..

Easy peasy.

I also have a high speed low cost network on the boat. When in cell range I just download movies or stream netflix.
 
Send Crusty a PM. He used an external hard drive to store movies and has thousands of movies. Handy when we were off grid. He can give you some advice on how to set up a similar system.
 
Lou_tribal said:
Finding downloadable movies is not difficult, it just depends if you want to stay legal or not... And legally, except if you bought it you cannot keep a movie on your hard drive. One way would be to buy a dvd, rip it and make a file from it, not difficult, but even then it is not legal as you infringe copy protection.

L
Click to expand...

If you down load a movie from anywhere to your HD or disc for your personal use, it's not illegal. If you sell or distribute it, could be. You paid for the right to use it, you should be able to display it on your viewer the way you want.

However, it's awful nice to view from a file, not streaming.

Agree on the friend with movies, and you'll end up with more than you can watch.

Would like to find an easy inexpensive way to record current TV, and play back the next day and skip the ads. Any ideas?
 
Lots of great ideas here, thanks for the input. I am reading through all of them and trying to figure out the best option for our use. My main goal is not to stream, but to download at home and then bring the movies to the boat.
 
ssobol said:
You can argue that converting and transferring a DVD you own to your own mobile device is fair use as long as you don't share or resell the file you create.
Click to expand...
More than just "argue" it, it is absolutely legal for you to make a copy of a movie (song, whatever) that you bought, for your own use. Only when you sell it, or trade it with other people, would you be violating the copyrights.


Seevee said:
If you down load a movie from anywhere to your HD or disc for your personal use, it's not illegal.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily true. There are a lot of pirated copies of movies and TV shows out there on the internet. If you download one of those -- even if only for personal use -- you have violated the copyright laws. If you borrow a DVD from a friend and rip a copy of the movie -- even if only for your personal use -- you have violated the copyright laws.


A lot of people mistakenly think that the copyright laws are only violated if you copy something and then sell it. That is, of course, a violation of copyrights. But you can, and many people do, also violate copyrights by copying works that you do not own.
 
Numerous sticks (Firestick, Roku, Chromecast, etc) as well as some smart tvs allow you to cast (mirror) your mobile device (phone or tablet) directly to your TV. If I know I'll be out of good cell range, I download Amazon Prime / Netflix videos to my phone before I leave. Then just cast them to the TV and watch them that way.
 
Seevee said:
...
Would like to find an easy inexpensive way to record current TV, and play back the next day and skip the ads. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Depends on your definition of "inexpensive". However, we have Tivo (2 actually) it is the only way we watch TV. Before Tivo, we recorded everything by VCR and then watched the tapes the next day. In addition to not having to watch the ads, you'll spend 1/3 less time watching TV.
 
denverd0n said:
More than just "argue" it, it is absolutely legal for you to make a copy of a movie (song, whatever) that you bought, for your own use. Only when you sell it, or trade it with other people, would you be violating the copyrights. ...
Click to expand...

But that depends on actually purchasing the movie (song, whatever) outright. More and more these days you are licensing it for your use and there may be conditions on that license. While most people don't read the EULA associated with products like movies and songs, you may find the some lawyer did.

Granted the chances of having an issue with copying things you believe you bought are small.
 
denverd0n said:
More than just "argue" it, it is absolutely legal for you to make a copy of a movie (song, whatever) that you bought, for your own use. Only when you sell it, or trade it with other people, would you be violating the copyrights.



Not necessarily true. There are a lot of pirated copies of movies and TV shows out there on the internet. If you download one of those -- even if only for personal use -- you have violated the copyright laws. If you borrow a DVD from a friend and rip a copy of the movie -- even if only for your personal use -- you have violated the copyright laws.


A lot of people mistakenly think that the copyright laws are only violated if you copy something and then sell it. That is, of course, a violation of copyrights. But you can, and many people do, also violate copyrights by copying works that you do not own.
Click to expand...



Making a copy of a DVD imply bypassing the copy and zone protection and of this dvd and thus makes it illegal, even for your own usage. The DVD you buy comes in a box with a copyright label that makes illegal any copy for whatever reason, personal or not.

L
 
Rusty said:
We mostly watch programming we brought with us as we are usually in area with spotty cell service.


We use MakeMKV (https://makemkv.com) and Handbrake (https://handbrake.fr) to convert Blu Ray and DVD's to an mp4 file. Handbrake can do the DVD's, but MakeMKV is needed first for Blu Ray discs. We use Plex
(https://www.plex.tv) on a laptop to play the movies on the TV.

If Blu Ray, use MakeMKV to create an mkv file. Then use handbrake to convert the mkv file to an mp4 file. (On Mac and Linux, handbrake can be configured to use MakeMKV's libraries to do this in one step.) If not a Blu Ray disc, Handbrake will take care of it in one pass. Copy to Plex.

Plex automatically sees any new files and looks up the appropriate information about the movie or TV show. The display on the TV is similar to Amazon Prime or Netflix. It is very easy to use.

MakeMKV is not free. Handbrake is free. Plex can be free, but most of the value comes from paying for the service. About $39 a year or $119 for a lifetime license.

We have about 500 movies and another 50 TV series on a 2 TB portable drive. We stream from the laptop to the TV via an Apple TV box. It will also work fine with a HDMI connection from the laptop. With a Plex server running on the laptop and connected to wifi on the boat, multiple people can watch what they want on whatever device they brought with them.

With enough upload bandwidth, Plex can also be an internet movie server. Clients are available for most platforms. At home, we have Plex installed on a Netgear NAS box and can stream the content to our own devices anywhere.

Hope that helps!

Oh! And we own all the original discs we copied ...
Click to expand...


That's almost identical to what I've been doing for my own DVDs, except I haven't used Plex. I did try it very early on and my recollection was that it wanted network access to work properly. Is that only a one-time thing to collect metadata for newly loaded movies, or does it need/want it all the time? We are often without internet, or without internet that I would want Plex to use.


In place of Plex, I have been using iTunes and playing back via an AppleTv. It works well except for one annoying thing. Even when playing back movies that are not downloaded from Apple and subject to their licensing, the Apple TV seems to want to phone the mother ship every time you start a movie. When there is no internet, it sits there with the wheel of death for anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes while it tries to phone home. Of course it ultimately fails, and the moving aways then plays fine, but it's a very annoying delay to stat a show.


If Plex didn't do that and was otherwise equivalent, I'd give it another serious look. What I like about the iTunes/AppleTv combination is that it does a nice job of displaying the movie artwork, synopsis, actors, etc.. Plus it groups things by genre. I'm pretty sure there is a Plex player for the Apple TV as well.
 
ssobol said:
Not all movies and shows on Netflix are downloadable.

Netflix downloads have to be renewed after a time period by connecting to the Netflix service. After a certain number of renewals you cannot renew anymore (but you delete and redownload the movie/show).

If a selection is removed from the Netflix service you cannot renew it, even if it was previously downloaded to your device.

You can argue that converting and transferring a DVD you own to your own mobile device is fair use as long as you don't share or resell the file you create.
Click to expand...


This suggests that the player needs to be able to access Netflix to play the movie, and I need something that can play movies with no internet once they are downloaded.
 
Lou_tribal said:
Making a copy of a DVD imply bypassing the copy and zone protection and of this dvd and thus makes it illegal, even for your own usage.
Click to expand...
No, it doesn't. Just because they put copy-protection software on their DVD, that alone does not make it illegal for you to copy it.

An analogy would be going to a movie theater where they have a rule that you cannot bring outside food. If you bypass the rule and manage to bring food into the theater, you have not violated any laws. You violated their policy. They can toss you out if they catch you. But you aren't ever going to be arrested for it.

It is specifically spelled out in the copyright laws of the United States that you can make "archival" copies of works that you own. You can legally make a copy of any DVD that you own. The idea is that if the original DVD becomes damaged, you will still have a legal copy of the work that you paid for. But the law does not prohibit you from stashing away the original, and using the copy for viewing.

Of course, if you sell, or give away, the original then the law would require you to destroy the copy.

Lou_tribal said:
The DVD you buy comes in a box with a copyright label that makes illegal any copy for whatever reason, personal or not.
Click to expand...

Again, doesn't matter. They can put whatever they want on the box, but the law is the law. You have a legal right to make a copy of any DVD that you have bought.

The comment by ssobol is correct, and relevant to movies you might download from Netflix, or other services, or borrow from a library, friend, whatever (does Netflix still mail DVDs if you want them to?). In general you are only licensing those for your viewing. You don't own that copy of the movie. But if you buy an actual, physical DVD from a legitimate source, the law always allows you to make a copy of that for personal use.
 
Last edited:
denverd0n said:
No, it doesn't. Just because they put copy-protection software on their DVD, that alone does not make it illegal for you to copy it.

An analogy would be going to a movie theater where they have a rule that you cannot bring outside food. If you bypass the rule and manage to bring food into the theater, you have not violated any laws. You violated their policy. They can toss you out if they catch you. But you aren't ever going to be arrested for it.

It is specifically spelled out in the copyright laws of the United States that you can make "archival" copies of works that you own. You can legally make a copy of any DVD that you own. The idea is that if the original DVD becomes damaged, you will still have a legal copy of the work that you paid for. But the law does not prohibit you from stashing away the original, and using the copy for viewing.

Of course, if you sell, or give away, the original then the law would require you to destroy the copy.



Again, doesn't matter. They can put whatever they want on the box, but the law is the law. You have a legal right to make a copy of any DVD that you have bought.

The comment by ssobol is correct, and relevant to movies you might download from Netflix, or other services, or borrow from a library, friend, whatever (does Netflix still mail DVDs if you want them to?). In general you are only licensing those for your viewing. You don't own that copy of the movie. But if you buy an actual, physical DVD from a legitimate source, the law always allows you to make a copy of that for personal use.
Click to expand...


Lou is in Canada so the laws there may be different.


I think this comes down to the so-called fair use laws that, for example, permit making copies of music CDs for your own use, just as you would use the CD. But last I looked there was a specific carve-out in the Fair Use law excluding DVDs, and reaffirming that any copying whatsoever is illegal.
 
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