Can I connect an external HDD to a DVD player? Maybe with a USB hub?

[Kelemvor]

So most BluRay player have the USB port in them where you can connect a flash drive. I assume I could also use that to connect an actual external HDD. However, do they put out enough power to actually make the USB HDD work since it only has 1 port and not 2?

Assuming the answer is No, would it work to get a powered USB hub, connect that to the BR player and then just plug the HDD into the hub? Otherwise I guess I'd have to get an actual HDD that had its own power supply with it and not the double USB connection?

Thanks.

 

[Schfifty Five]

So most BluRay player have the USB port in them where you can connect a flash drive. I assume I could also use that to connect an actual external HDD. However, do they put out enough power to actually make the USB HDD work since it only has 1 port and not 2?

Assuming the answer is No, would it work to get a powered USB hub, connect that to the BR player and then just plug the HDD into the hub? Otherwise I guess I'd have to get an actual HDD that had its own power supply with it and not the double USB connection?

Thanks.

Did you already try plugging your external USB HDD in and see what happens?

I'm not sure what a double USB connection HDD is.

 

[Kelemvor]

Most self powered Hard Drives I see these days have two USB ports on one end so it can take up two USB slots in the PC which provides extra power to the device. I don't know if DVD Player put out the same type of power through their USB ports as a PC does to know if it would work or not.

I haven't tried anything yet as I just got my BR player last week and haven't had time to test it yet.

 

[smitbret]

Not sure what you're looking at. I have never owned an external that had more than 1 USB connection so I went to NewEgg and looked them up. Checked the 1st 4 External HDDs that popped up and of those, only 1 required 2 USB connections.

To avoid it altogether, just get a 3.5" External HDD instead of a 2.5". It'll have its own power supply and just one USB connection. It'll probably be cheaper and faster, too.

The next thing you should look into is the type of files that are supported by your BR player. There is no universal format and each device seems to have its own level of finicky. What BR player are you trying to use for playback?

 

[Kelemvor]

I have the file types just fine as MKV files. Just looking for alternatives to a flash drive since they are small. Every 2.5" enclosure I have has the 2 USB port thing. I guess I'll just try one and see what happens.

 

[Gillbot]

Most self powered Hard Drives I see these days have two USB ports on one end so it can take up two USB slots in the PC which provides extra power to the device. I don't know if DVD Player put out the same type of power through their USB ports as a PC does to know if it would work or not.

I haven't tried anything yet as I just got my BR player last week and haven't had time to test it yet.

I have many of the dual USB cords and most of the time I only need to plug in one. Try it.

 

[Childs]

I dont think this is an issue on modern players. I bought a bunch of LG blu-ray players for my mom, and gave her a portable 2.5" USB3 hard drive. She can just plug it into the player and watch all the movies on it. It uses a single USB port.