Amazon Fire Stick
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Why not just download the movies from Netflix and then play on a connected device to the screens?
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I'd rather have something I could download a bunch of movies on and leave in the vehicle versus taking the iPad with us every time we go somewhere. Since there is a USB outlet in the Pacifica I was thinking it would be a good match.
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You can do that with a USB flash drive. But not with an Amazon Fire Stick.
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Thanks for the clarification!! I have plenty of USB drives - now I just have to figure out how to get movies over to one of them!!:smile2:
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indeed. I wonder if you can download netflix movies onto a thumb drive. I think you can do this with your Google Play library. I know you can for music. I'll have to check it out and test my theory.
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Please do and share! :smile2:I am not super tech savvy!! I can follow directions though! LOL!
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I don't think so. I'm pretty sure you have to be using a Netflix app and they'll only play within that app. Also of note is that you can only download offline content to two devices at any one time. The content does automatically expire too, so it doesn't remain playable forever.
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Okay - thanks for the info!!
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My understanding is that both Amazon and Netflix allow you to download content to watch offline, but you have to watch them via the respective app. So that would probably work OK for a Fire TV stick, plugged in to the HDMI input. But the internal storage on that is only 8 GB and AFAICT it does not allow external storage to be added, so you're limited in how much you can store. To make things worse, you only have ~30 days to watch that content, and once you've started watching a specific show you only have ~48 hours (maybe 24) to finish that show = heartache for kids. So it's really not a good option for evergreen content.
The USB port give you lots more options, but... When you 'download' content from Netflix or Amazon for watching offline that does not give you access to the file in a way that you can move it to USB storage and play it. The DRM (digital rights management) software prevents that, and getting around that would be a Herculean effort.
The 'easiest' option for the USB drive would be to find a service that legally sells mp4 files of the shows you want, but that's almost unheard of, sadly.
The next best option would be to 'rip' DVDs to mp4 files. It's a bit of a pain, but if it's the kiddo's favorite and will be watched for years it might be worth it. It requires the 'protection' on the DVD to be cracked, but that's not too hard with the right software. It might be technically illegal, but I've never heard anyone being prosecuted for that. That said, if you already own the DVDs, why bother ripping them at all, why not just slide them into the DVD player? (maybe the answer is: let the kids control what they watch? or that it takes up less space)
Downloading mp4 files from YouTube is surprisingly easy (google it), so if the content is on there you might consider doing that. It's a violation of the Term of Service, but I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted.
Finally there is the BitTorrent (or similar option). Pretty much every tv show / movie ever made can be downloaded for free from the Internet as an mp4 file, copied onto a USB stick and watched for ever. Typically in doing this you will break some laws, and people do get prosecuted for these, though fairly rarely. There are ways to mitigate those risks, but this is not the place to discuss those. Even ignoring the price difference, its sad that the the industry's best options are still less convenient than the illegal ones. Money and politics...
Wow - that was longer than I intended. To summarize, if you cant stream over 4G etc then your options (order by _my_ preference are):
- use the DVD player
- give the kids an ipad with downloaded content (and dont think about how much you paid for the setback screens)
- download from youtube, place mp4 files on usb stick
- rip DVDs, place mp4 files on usb stick
- bit torrent mp4 files, place on usb stick
- plug Fire TV stick (with downloaded content) into hdmi port
The USB port give you lots more options, but... When you 'download' content from Netflix or Amazon for watching offline that does not give you access to the file in a way that you can move it to USB storage and play it. The DRM (digital rights management) software prevents that, and getting around that would be a Herculean effort.
The 'easiest' option for the USB drive would be to find a service that legally sells mp4 files of the shows you want, but that's almost unheard of, sadly.
The next best option would be to 'rip' DVDs to mp4 files. It's a bit of a pain, but if it's the kiddo's favorite and will be watched for years it might be worth it. It requires the 'protection' on the DVD to be cracked, but that's not too hard with the right software. It might be technically illegal, but I've never heard anyone being prosecuted for that. That said, if you already own the DVDs, why bother ripping them at all, why not just slide them into the DVD player? (maybe the answer is: let the kids control what they watch? or that it takes up less space)
Downloading mp4 files from YouTube is surprisingly easy (google it), so if the content is on there you might consider doing that. It's a violation of the Term of Service, but I've never heard of anyone being prosecuted.
Finally there is the BitTorrent (or similar option). Pretty much every tv show / movie ever made can be downloaded for free from the Internet as an mp4 file, copied onto a USB stick and watched for ever. Typically in doing this you will break some laws, and people do get prosecuted for these, though fairly rarely. There are ways to mitigate those risks, but this is not the place to discuss those. Even ignoring the price difference, its sad that the the industry's best options are still less convenient than the illegal ones. Money and politics...
Wow - that was longer than I intended. To summarize, if you cant stream over 4G etc then your options (order by _my_ preference are):
- use the DVD player
- give the kids an ipad with downloaded content (and dont think about how much you paid for the setback screens)
- download from youtube, place mp4 files on usb stick
- rip DVDs, place mp4 files on usb stick
- bit torrent mp4 files, place on usb stick
- plug Fire TV stick (with downloaded content) into hdmi port
Or play netflix or youtube content to a Chromecast adapter. The chromecast has been great in our Pacifica. Basically just mirrors what is on the phone/tablet to the rear entertainment screens. And the screens can share each other's content, so you only need 1 chromecast, not two.
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Thanks for all of the info - I think DVD's will be just fine for the grandkids! LOL!
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Thank you! I have never heard of a Chromecast adapter so will check it out!
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ha indeed. I found that the kids will literally watch anything in the $2.00 DVD bin at Walmart.
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What about an hdmi converter for your phone? I should be able to play netflix on it and itll mirror to the screens? Leaving on a road trip soon and desperately trying to figure this out. The "OK" button doesnt work for me while the vehicle is in motion so if we start a new movie we cant get out of the main screen from the front seats. Some movies go on forever before you get to the screen (Toy Story 3 has been banned from the car bc I have to sit for 5 minutes clicking forward). I'd much rather control it from an ipad or iphone since the integration is awful from the front seat.
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Yep, that works fine.
I wanted to buy the hdmi/lightning adapter also...but those reviews on apple.com for the adapter are terrible.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter
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