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Question

Connecting Blu-ray player to Samsung TV

Jan 14, 2015 7:25AM PST

I just bought the Samsung 50" UHD TV (UE50HU6900S) and am in the process of setting it up.

A short time ago I had purchased the Samsung SE-506CB/RSWD portable Blu-ray writer, more for it's M disc writing capability (archival storage of work/photos on DVD media) than for Blu-ray, but connecting it to my computer I do enjoy the quality of movies on Blu-ray. It connects using USB2 and has no external power source - it gets juice from the computer.

I seem to recall that this model can also be connected to a TV to view Blu-ray movies, and tried - unsuccessfully - to do that yesterday. I connected it to one of the 3 USB2 ports on the back of the TV ( the middle one) and put in a Blu-ray movie disc. Saw the small blue light on the player so assumed that it was powered by the USB outlet, but no matter what I chose as source, I couldn't get it to play. Is it possible that one needs an independently powered DVD player for it to work with this TV?

Another problem is choosing the source. While on the screen there are icons for TV, HTMI 1-4 and EXT, there aren't any for USB. So which source should I choose? EXT? I have another multi zone DVD player connected using a SCART plug and that seems to work. That player has its own power source. And the TV seems to recognise when that DVD player is on and automatically chooses the correct source, whatever that may be.

Sorry for that may be banal questions, but I am new to setting up flat screen TVs with other devices.

thanks for any suggestions or advice.

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Samsung.com
Jan 14, 2015 7:02PM PST

Your internet connection seems to be working. Is samsung.com, down or blocked in your country? Have you tried searching the manufacturers website to see the requirements for connecting this device to other equipment? Did you loose the manual that came with your device?

Or is this question just for reaching out to other people?

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Clarification request
Jan 14, 2015 10:20PM PST

Yes, my high speed fiber optics Internet connection is working.
Far as I know, Samsung.com is not blocked here in France.
Curiously, I can't find this model on the Samsung sites - except for the German one (I don't speak German). I bought it online from M Disc since my original and principle purpose for the purchase was to make archival M disc copies of photo work, which I now have on normal DVDs. The M disc web site had a list of compatible burners, and this was one of them. As I originally purchased it to work with my Mac (and it does) and at the time didn't own a flat screen TV, I didn't pay much attention to those specs, but if I recall correctly, somewhere I read that it could be connected to a TV to view Blu-Ray movies on the larger screen.
No manual came with the device, only a CD with some software and the manual...but only for Windows. I looked online and can't find the manual. I could only find several sites that sell this model.

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Samsung.com
Jan 15, 2015 7:57AM PST

You should really check with Samsung. The rep on here only supports items sold in the USA.

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Samsung,com
Jan 15, 2015 5:30PM PST

That is the first place I looked, but I can't find any support - email or otherwise - at all on the Samsung site.

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Re: player
Jan 15, 2015 6:25PM PST

Usually, DVD-player to TV uses HDMI for video and sound, not USB. A burner isn't a player, as you noticed already. The common solution is to buy a BR-player or use your computer as such, using the TV as a monitor.

But it might be possible to use an app on the TV to play the movie on a disk in the burner, like it does play movies from a USB-stick or an external hard disk. That should be in the user manual of your TV, or such an app might be in the Samsung app shop for your TV.

Kees

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Re: player
Jan 15, 2015 11:25PM PST

"Usually, DVD-player to TV uses HDMI for video and sound, not USB. A burner isn't a player, as you noticed already. The common solution is to buy a BR-player or use your computer as such, using the TV as a monitor."

Yeah, I finally figured that out, and today I bought a Samsung Blu-Ray player BDH6500 which connects with HDMI.

Unfortunately I don't know if I can use my computer, since it is a Mac. From what the shop person told me, though in theory one can also connect a USB flash drive or HD to a USB port and see the contents on the TV screen, it must be formatted for Windoze, not Mac, or the peripheral isn't recognized. Bad, Samsung, very bad. Lots of people use Macs and iPhones etc. nowadays.I am afraid the same holds true for my Ethernet connection to the router. The TV shows up on my Mac as PC though with a TV icon, and I can't figure out how to connect. Maybe need to configure something on the TV but I know not what.

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Never heard it was formatted for Windows.
Jan 15, 2015 11:29PM PST

Even Apple supports formatting USB sticks to FAT32 and such.

Configuring is still not simple enough today. Much of your complaint is common as folk learn about everything.
Bob