VLC on the Galaxy Player 5.0 Part 1

Actually this is just a post to introduce the next, one for documentation: I installed an Alpha of VLC for Android on the Galaxy Player 5.0 via an APK available at xda-developers.com and it runs surprisingly well. It does not play all video flawlessly, sadly, but the interface is beautiful, other functions work pretty well... couldn't wait until the Beta which, it turns out, was not, (and has not been), released for the American market at the same time (or yet).

Looking forward to getting it running, nonetheless, however, it being GPL and all. Perhaps not to become the primary multimedia tool given that Meridian already works spectacularly well.VLC would be great for streaming, though, and perhaps this is a forlorn hope, but for re-encoding things on-the-go.

Let's hope for something like command-line access and control, though perhaps one can already do that with FFMPEG? HEY, IT TURNS OUT ONE CAN!!!.

Successfully Getting Kies to Work with Samsung Devices

by J. Bradley Bulsterbaum

This is yet another method to make Samsung Kies work, among others online. The real trick, however, is that it wasn't a problem with Kies per se, but miscommunication on Samsung's part: or failure to communicate at all. As with nearly all on this particular blog, it is written a little hastily and personally, because this is a Q&D howto scratchpad for me and the world, or whatever portion thereof which can benefit from this information.

Put another way, this is a fix for a Kies connection issues. Note that the specific device I am using is not a phone but the Galaxy Player 5.0, which has the same internals as a Galaxy S minus the cellular component as far as I know: one can even change its Device ID to that of a Galaxy S to make the Play Store stop mistaking it as incompatible with many Galaxy S apps. Another attempted fix online, which works for some is here, http://www.careace.net/2010/08/25/how-to-fix-samsung-kies-connection-problem/ But seriously, try my little guide below first: if it works for you, it'll be far easier, save time, and address the root of the problem!

In many forums where people complain they can't use Kies with their Samsung Device, the message is the same one I dealt with: 

reconnect the device in Samsung kies(pc studio) pc studio mode. current connection mode not supported by kies.

I found that this could be dealt with rather simply, if one knows what, exactly, that mode has to do with: it seems this is a case of company in-speak, and Samsung never communicated the meaning of this to their now largely incensed (me included) customer base:

"PC Studio" actually refers to a USB mode, which can be reached by:

(1) Hitting the "Menu" button on the device from the "desktop" screen (i.e. not while an app is open),
(2) pushing "Settings" on the little menu that appears,
(3) selecting "Wireless Networks"
(4) selecting "USB settings", and
(5) then selecting "Samsung Kies".

If (1) a USB cable is plugged in, or (2) "USB Debugging" is turned on (for whatever reason), it won't be possible to change the USB mode until turning off "USB Debugging", which is accomplished by:

(1) Hitting the "Menu" button from the "desktop".
(2) pushing "settings" on the little menu that appears,
(3) the "settings" screen appears, and one selects "Applications",
(4) hitting "Development" in the resultant "Applications" screen,
(5) toggling (by a push) "USB debugging" to off (unchecked) if the green checkmark is present in the grey box to the right of "USB Debugging". (If it's not, don't touch it.)

Once that's done, return to the USB Settings screen and choose "Samsung Kies".

[After figuring the "S. Kies" and "USB Debugging" issues out, I found that "take out of debugging mode" (it  seems) is among the most common fix howto's online, http://www.careace.net/2010/08/25/how-to-fix-samsung-kies-connection-problem/, though I have note seen mention that "S. Kies" is a USB mode and that "PC Studio" is simply a distraction.]

With "S. Kies" setting selected:

(1) run Kies on your computer,
(2) kill all applications on the Android device (should work just by going to the "desktop", but to really be sure you can

(a) hit and hold "home",
(b) push "Task Manager",
(c) hit "Ram" near the top of the screen,
(d) Under "Ram Manager" push "Clear Memory" to kill running applications, then hit the device's physical "Home" button/sensor again), and

(3) plug the USB end of the cable into the computer, and the microSD end into your Samsung device.

In my case, though Kies takes a long time in "connecting", this solved the issue. Now it would be nice to know why the device was in USB "Mass Storage" to begin with, (though I only ever plugged it into a Linux box to browse around before getting Windows again).

Remember the different USB modes, and even the debugging option, for later too: these can be useful for other purposes, e.g. knowing about Debugging is necessary to root the device and make it more useful and flexible, and to remove the useless Samsung crapware installed by default. (Unless, of course, you have a bunch of Samsung hardware to use it with, which probably can be controlled with other more versatile apps by someone else anyways!) Also be aware that rooting is said to void your warranty: I haven't actually decided on whether I care about rooting or not myself. : )

[Note that I moderate comments, not to prohibit criticism or other POVs, but because of the spammers who kept leaving links a la kink in Simplified Chinese.]

--

Updates

1. a few minutes after initial post!):
I found some old posts online which mention the USB mode change necessary, though not in connection, it seems, with the "PC Studio" message or mentioning how to disable debugging mode. Here, http://samsunggalaxysforums.com/showthread.php/400-Samsung-Kies-will-not-connect-to-phone-any-suggestions?p=2111&viewfull=1#post2111 
And, though very far down in the content, here, http://lymond.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Connect-Samsung-Galaxy-S-with-Kies-on-your-PC

I will leave this post up due owing that it seems this solution just doesn't get mentioned enough online. 

2. A few months later: slight clarifying revisions, cleaning-up the languaged, and added a line for one missing step on reaching "Samsung Kies".