media device with usb port => dvd?

[VJ]

Hello,

Perhaps a weird question, but here goes...

If a media device (like e.g. the Acer MG 3001p) has a usb port and claims to support USB mass storage:

http://www.acer.co.uk/acereuro/page9.do?dau34.oid=11939&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=17&CountryISOCtxParam=UK&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&crc=1305126778

is it then possible to connect a USB dvd drive and play back dvds?


Jörg

[lecter]

I'm quite sure it is, honestly haven't tried it myself, but I don't see why not, if it can work with flash memory or hard-disk devices, the DVD-ROM would be the same...but power may be an issue.

[VJ]

Yes, that is my opinion too: why wouldn't it work?

(let's assume if the drive has its own power... )


Jörg

[lecter]

Another issue I could think of is its ability to play .vob files, if it's not expressly supported, they might not even show up in the menu...

[VJ]

My idea is: if there is going to be a problem, it most likely will be in software.

The Acer mentioned above supports:
Audio Format: LPCM, MP3, WMA7/8/9, WAV
Video Format: MPEG1/24, DivX, XViD, WMV9, Quicktime (*.mp4)
Photo Format: JPEG, TIFF (BMP, GIF, PNG Support, Transcoded in PC side
Playlist Format: M3U, PLS

But it says nothing about DVDs, VOB, ...

Hence my question...


Jörg

[VJ]

I mailed the question to Acer. They were quite fast to respond...
While it is possible to connect a DVD drive as a mass storage device, it will only be possible to play back mp3 and photos from a disk; NOT a DVD movie.



Jörg