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Apr 12, 2017
9:19:03am
Pete Demotivator
HooToo router and USB drive with videos
https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot/dp/B00HZWOQZ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1492009424&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=hootoo&psc=1

This is the BEST way to get quiet in your car. I have 6 kids ranging in age from 17-7. We had a DVD player in the car but the older kids never wanted to watch what the younger kids wanted and we really couldn't play anything for the older ones since there may be content inappropriate and mostly just not interesting to the younger ones. Also, playing a DVD in the car was loud for everyone and even with headphones in, the older kids had to pump up the volume on their devices to drown out the sound.

When our DVD player died, I asked around here and was referred to the HooToo. For less than $20 I tried it out and have been very happy with it. Here's how I use it: First, everyone in my house has a device. From cheap 2nd gen kindle fires to iPhone 6s's. All devices whether old or new, Android (including Amazon) OS to iOS can run the VLC app. Make sure everyone has the app on their device. Next I have a fairly large collection of DVDs that I own that I've ripped to mp4 format. I put those on a USB thumb drive. Mine is 128 GB and I have about 80 GB of kids movies and about 45 GB of not for little kid movies on the drive. They are simply separated into 2 folders on the drive. I have the drive plugged into the HooToo and the HooToo is powered by a micro USB connection to a USB battery pack. The pack I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/KMASHI-10000mAh-Portable-Power-Output/dp/B00JM59JPG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1492009896&sr=1-1&keywords=kmashi+10000mah I use a portable power pack for 2 reasons. One is that when you power it to a USB outlet on my car, it restarts the router, and breaks the connection. The 2nd is that if I had a permanent power link to the car, I don't have to worry about draining the car battery. The 10000mah battery is less than half drained by a 12 hour drive. That means that I can leave it on all day for my drive, charge it overnight and it's good to go again the next day. The kindles I use are especially finicky with the wifi connection to the HooToo, so the less drops when we stop and start the car, the better. I've simultaneously streamed to 8 devices from one USB 2.0 flash drive. There is no hiccups or pixelating when they are all streaming. There can be short glitches if people stop and start or jump from one movie to another or different points in the same video. This is only while the buffers catch up and generally isn't an issue.

The bottom line is that all 6 kids can watch whatever they want at a given moment on their own device with their own screen and headphones. Younger kids need over the ear headphones and not earbuds. And since everyone is on their own device with their own headphones, my wife and I can have casual conversation or even listen to our own music on just the front speakers of the car or even use our own headphones to listen to whatever we want.
Pete
Previous username
azcougar
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Pete
Joined
May 1, 2003
Last login
May 2, 2024
Total posts
29,820 (8,686 FO)
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Time
4/12/17 9:15am

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