[UF7Gator]

I am a school teacher and from time to time show a video that reinforces the material we are covering. Any idea if PB will be able to work with an external CDRom drive? I have a projector in my room and would like to use the PB and a CDRom drive to show vids instead of carting my laptop back and forth. Thanks!

[osubass1]

the USB on PlayBook does not currently support external devices.

[kill_9]

If the media you want to present is in DVD format you can copy it to the BlackBerry PlayBook and use the built-in video player application and output the presentation using an HDMI cable connected between the tablet and the projector or monitor.

There are a few streaming applications and server software available if you prefer not to copy the media to the tablet. Kingston has a Wi-Drive but it only works with the Apple iPad which seems rather insane; then again the Wi-Drive only works on the Apple iPad with a special app.

[mandony]

Currently there are no drives compatible with the PB
There is limited connection to a BB phone's microSD card through Bridge.
You can load files onto the PB through the USB to a PC.
Depending upon the type of file, you might have to do a file conversion.
Go to the
blackberry.com
website to download the PB manual which lists the file types used by the native PB apps.

Regarding the projector, the native connection is HTML to HD TV. This is a digital connection.
If your projector requires an analog connection, this might be problematic.
Search this forum for a discussion of a special HP converter that seems to work.

[UF7Gator]

My projector is a new one with hdmi connection. I hope to just be able to plug the PB in and go...

I'm a newbie to PB and to uploading vids from dvd to anything... it would be great to leave the laptop at home.

[kill_9]

My projector is a new one with hdmi connection. I hope to just be able to plug the PB in and go...

I'm a newbie to PB and to uploading vids from dvd to anything... it would be great to leave the laptop at home.

HandBrake makes converting DVDs to playable media on the BlackBerry PlayBook as well as other tablets and computers. Recently bought a boxed set of DVDs for a television series I enjoy and had them on my BlackBerry PlayBook using HandBrake for the conversion and WiFi file transfer from computer to tablet. My recommendation is to use MPEG format and set the compression ratio to the minimum value of 1.

You can buy a HDMI cable for the BlackBerry PlayBook and plug it into an HDMI-capable projector.

[SharpieFiend]

USB host mode is coming in a future update, but an external DVD drive probably won't happen. It would be best to rip your discs and just use them that way.

External CD/DVD drives have that cable with two USB connectors because one USB port doesn't provide enough power to operate the drive. I'm thinking the Playbook USB connector won't provide enough power to operate anything more than a flash drive.

[jaspergrizzly]

External CD/DVD drives have that cable with two USB connectors because one USB port doesn't provide enough power to operate the drive. I'm thinking the Playbook USB connector won't provide enough power to operate anything more than a flash drive.

The 2nd cable is normally to provide enough power for the burner capabilities, playback only requires one cable. I have a BD burner and DVD burner that I use with my netbook, and when i'm watching movies, I only use one cable.

I get the OP's point though, it would be great if you were in a hurry and could just grab your external dvd player and watch or present something that you didn't have a chance to copy over to the PB (in an ideal world)

[UF7Gator]

Jasper, that was my hope... but I have allllllll summer to rip my dvd's for classroom use!