Which external hard drive for USB use with TV/Blu-ray player?

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Stefanmuller

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Hi

Not sure if I must post this in the TV section or PC harware section.

I recently bought a 42inch LG LCD TV and a LG 3G Blu-Ray Home Theatre System. The DVD system has Wifi connectability, home network, as well as USB input. So for the first time I can put some movies and series onto a external hard drive, and plug it into the Theatre System or TV via USB, and view my movies and HD content from the hard dish directly on the system/TV.

I would like to know which hard drive to buy, and whether they will work (in other words will the Blu-ray/TV be able to read files on the Hard drive?). I saw the Western Digital Elements 1TB hard drive, with external power, for R599 which I am eyeing, but then saw Incredible connection selling the Samsung 1.5TB external hard drive for the same price. How can I be sure if any of these hard drives will work plug and play with my TV or my Blu-Ray system?

Thanks
 
I'd go for the WD elements HDD, for the reason that it has its own powersupply. One never knows if the Multimedia players(HI-FI,Blu Ray, DVD) systems will have enough power for itself, and to power a USB HDD.
 
Brackish said:
I'd go for the WD elements HDD, for the reason that it has its own powersupply. One never knows if the Multimedia players(HI-FI,Blu Ray, DVD) systems will have enough power for itself, and to power a USB HDD.
Click to expand...

Is this the only factor to take into account - the fact that there will be enough power supplied? I also know that sometimes that is the problem. So if the Samsung also has its own powersupply, then both should work?

Another thing I can probably do is to check the specs of my Multimedia player to see what the USB output is, and see if it meets the minimum requirements of the HDD.
 
This is what the user manual says - is says in can play from an external HDD - so I'm just asking people who would know from experience. first time that I would be using a external HDD via USB with a Multimedia system.

"This player supports USB flash drive/external HDD formatted in FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS when accessing files (music, photo, movie). However, for BD-Live and Audio CD recording, only FAT16 and FAT32 formats are supported. Use the USB flash drive/external HDD formatted in either FAT16 or FAT32 when using BD-Live and Audio CD recording.yyThe USB device can be used for the local storage for enjoying BD-Live discs with Internet.yyThis unit can support up to 4 partitions of the USB device.yyDo not extract the USB device during operation (play, etc.). yyA USB device which requires additional program installation when you have connected it to a computer, is not supported.yyUSB device: USB device that supports USB1.1 and USB2.0.yyMovie, music and photo files can be played. For details of operations on each file, refer to relevant pages.yyRegular back up is recommended to prevent data loss.yyIf you use a USB extension cable, USB HUB or USB Multi-reader, the USB device may not be recognized.yySome USB device may not work with this unit.yyDigital camera and mobile phone are not supported.yyUSB Port of the unit cannot be connected to PC. The unit cannot be used as a storage device.,,Note"
 
I own a LG LCD tv and use a WD My Passport Essential SE 1TB and it works great.
No need for powersupply. The usb port gives enough.
The only gripe I have is that the tv does not want to play .mkv files.
.xvid,.divx and .avi plays great.
 
I have a Samsung lcd tv and use a Samsung 320gb external with no add power supply. Works a treat. Tv plays files that my LG dvd player refused.
 
I've got an LG 42" and a Samsung Series 6. Both of them don't have any issues playing from an NTFS formatted HDD (3.5" or 2.5").

@Rockhound are you only having issues with the sound itself of the MKV files? My LG will play everything except push out the 5.1 DTS from the MKV files, but luckily I knew that before purchasing. The Samsung on the other hand plays absolutely everything you throw at it. Very nice!
 
I bought a free agent goflex hard drive with the removable base, I then bought the USB3 base for it as my PC has USB3. So now I have the USB3 base permanently connected to my PC and the original base connected to my TV via our blu ray player... when I want to load media I just swap docks.. it's really convenient and easy
 
Get a 2.5" inch one which does not normally require extra power, but has the option of extra power should it really be necessary. Try going for the USB3 ones for future speed usage, and also the rugged ones for protection as things close to the television are usually quite prone to falling.
 
banjo247 said:
@Rockhound are you only having issues with the sound itself of the MKV files? My LG will play everything except push out the 5.1 DTS from the MKV files, but luckily I knew that before purchasing. The Samsung on the other hand plays absolutely everything you throw at it. Very nice!
Click to expand...

Correct. Does not want to play the sound file. :(

Now I wish I had bought a Samsung. :o
 
Thanks guys. As long as both have external power, I think I will take the bigger one.
What kinda sucks about the LG 42inch TV, is that although it has 3 HDMI inputs, Component in, 2 AV inputs, Optical in, USB in, it has no AV outs. So I cant put a cable from the TV going into my Multimedia system. Which sucks because the Multimedia system only has one AV in, so the DSTV is going in there and now I don't have anywhere to put the XBOX in for cool sound.
 
Samsung takes out the whole need for a separate multimedia player which is so sweet. With that being said I doubt LG wouldn't be able to support the larger capacity externals. Try a mates external first perhaps?
 
Got the samsung 1.5TB drive. Works like a charm, and looks stylish in the tv cabinet. Now to get 1.5TB of media...

Sent from my HTC Hero using MyBroadband Android App
 
It might be a good idea to use a program such as HDDScan or SpeedFan to check the drive temperature (SMART feature) after streaming for several hours. Most of the new Samsung externals have black plastic enclosures with little ventilation. Big LCD TVs also produce a fair amount of heat which could also affect the hard drive temperature. Connect the external drive to a PC immediately after a long session of streaming. You might be able to use a USB fan like this to cool the drive if the temperature is significantly higher than recommended (see SpeedFan Internet database for typical temperatures).
http://rebeltech.co.za/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_83&products_id=5610
 
Thanks. Will check it out, though I dont stream for more than 2hours at a time.

Sent from my HTC Hero using MyBroadband Android App
 
I have a samsung g2 portable plugged into my samsung tv with no problems. Sure LG would be fine, also the heat is less on the samsung tv then my old sinotec

Sent from my U20i using MyBroadband Android App
 
I have the G3 station. Its plugged into the LG multimedia system, so its well clear of any hot devices. It doesnt feel overly warm after a 2 hour session though

Sent from my HTC Hero using MyBroadband Android App
 
The temperature of the enclosure may not provide an accurate indication of the HDD temperature as the drive is insulated from the case using some rubber shock absorbers. HDDScan will supply a much more accurate indication of the internal temperature of the hard drive via an internal temperature sensor ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS0yfEIsPzc
 
Hi, I'm not 'tech savvy' at all.

I have a Samsung J5500 Blu-Ray player and wanted to know if a 1tb Toshiba USB 3.0 Hard Drive is compatible with it.(for movies etc) on my TV.
 
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