[SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV?

madoxx · 07-19-2007, 07:50 AM

I have a Thomson LCD TV and a WD (Western Digital) 230GB E-Book.
My TV unfortunately doesn't have a USB-Port and I was wondering if there's another way to connect my harddisk to the TV and watch my movies. Over a DVD Player maybe? I have a QONIX 3939, without USB-Port again..

**TheMatt** · 07-19-2007, 03:20 PM

I would just hook it up to the computer and use the TV-out on your video card.

timruski · 07-07-2008, 03:46 PM

u didnt help me i dont want to take my comp from my room and put it there
cant u put it through s video or something else

**wrench97** · 07-07-2008, 04:48 PM

No because you need a computer to read the data off the hard drive.

computerpol · 07-08-2008, 04:14 PM

Ok, although it’s not the most economical solution, what I currently have setup is an 750 Gb Mybook attached to an Xbox 360 Elite. I have also gotten the Xbox to read files from a flash drive, and a DVD formatted as Data.

I believe that the lower end xbox (arcade version runs about $250) should also run, but I haven’t personally tried it.

As a forewarning, xbox does not currently read .mkv, but it does read most .avi, divx, MP3 & MP4 formats. I plays music, movies, and pictures.

If anyone knows of a cheaper way, please let me know, as I have a second TV that I want to connect a hdd to.

johnnieq · 12-12-2008, 04:23 PM

Try an Iomega® ScreenPlay™ TV Link. They retail around $110 in Canada, about $85 in the USA. You can attach any exernal hard drive to it via USB and the link connects to your TV. It comes with cables and a remote. I set up a friend's today with a one TB drive. He has 1,500 movies available to browse and view. No burning to DVDs, no computer wired to the TV set.

Les1957 · 01-12-2009, 12:01 PM

Johnnie, thanks for that info but what I need to know - I have 6 television sets, will each television set be able to access the hard drive and choose individually what they want to watch? If not, does anybody know of any multimedia drives that I will be able to do so with a wireless network?

07-19-2007, 07:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
madoxx Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 35 OS: Windows Vista Home Edition	[SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? I have a Thomson LCD TV and a WD (Western Digital) 230GB E-Book. My TV unfortunately doesn't have a USB-Port and I was wondering if there's another way to connect my harddisk to the TV and watch my movies. Over a DVD Player maybe? I have a QONIX 3939, without USB-Port again..

07-19-2007, 03:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? I would just hook it up to the computer and use the TV-out on your video card. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

07-07-2008, 03:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
timruski Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1 OS: windows xp pro	Re: [SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? u didnt help me i dont want to take my comp from my room and put it there cant u put it through s video or something else

07-07-2008, 04:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 14,228 OS: XPSP3	Re: [SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? No because you need a computer to read the data off the hard drive. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-08-2008, 04:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
computerpol Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Windows XP	Re: [SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? Ok, although it’s not the most economical solution, what I currently have setup is an 750 Gb Mybook attached to an Xbox 360 Elite. I have also gotten the Xbox to read files from a flash drive, and a DVD formatted as Data. I believe that the lower end xbox (arcade version runs about $250) should also run, but I haven’t personally tried it. As a forewarning, xbox does not currently read .mkv, but it does read most .avi, divx, MP3 & MP4 formats. I plays music, movies, and pictures. If anyone knows of a cheaper way, please let me know, as I have a second TV that I want to connect a hdd to.

12-12-2008, 04:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
johnnieq Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: [SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? Try an Iomega® ScreenPlay™ TV Link. They retail around $110 in Canada, about $85 in the USA. You can attach any exernal hard drive to it via USB and the link connects to your TV. It comes with cables and a remote. I set up a friend's today with a one TB drive. He has 1,500 movies available to browse and view. No burning to DVDs, no computer wired to the TV set.

01-12-2009, 12:01 PM	#7 (permalink)
Les1957 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1 OS: xp 3	Re: [SOLVED] How to connect an external hard drive to your TV? Johnnie, thanks for that info but what I need to know - I have 6 television sets, will each television set be able to access the hard drive and choose individually what they want to watch? If not, does anybody know of any multimedia drives that I will be able to do so with a wireless network?