Connecting an external hard drive to two systems through USB

[Alchemist2600]

Hello,

I have searched the internet for an answer to this question and couldn't find anything. So I figured I'd ask here

I want to purchase an external hard drive and connect it to two devices through USB. Namely to my Playstation 3 for videos, and my PC for file storage. Only one of the devices will be running/accessing the hard drive at any time.

Most external hard drives on the market seem to have only one USB port on the back. I was wondering if there was a solution in the form of a specific hard drive enclosure that I can purchase to accomplish this.

I am aware that an NAS drive would serve this purpose well but as those are more expensive than simple external drives I figured I'd ask first.

If NAS is my only option, can someone recommend a model for me that isn't too bad on power usage and will go to sleep mode when not being accessed. Looking to purchase in the 1.5-2 TB range.

Thanks in advance.

 

[sxr7171]

Easiest way IMHO is to connect it to your Windows computer and share the videos out and then watch them on your PS3.

Besides you kind of get screwed up with the PS3 needing FAT32. It's a PITA to format a drive for that system.

 

[Alchemist2600]

This is probably a stupid question. But does fat32 still only support files up to 4GB?

It sounds like I'm better off just putting the money towards a lower end media PC that can play anything.

 

[sxr7171]

This is probably a stupid question. But does fat32 still only support files up to 4GB?

It sounds like I'm better off just putting the money towards a lower end media PC that can play anything.

On Windows, yes AFAIK. But apparently PS3 allows largest sector(?) sizes than Windows and it allows bigger drives. Getting this format using Win 7 involves a couple of 3rd party programs and is generally a pain.

My thought in general is that the PS3 is just a bad media player (just my opinion) and it is very picky about formats and such. So people use real-time transcoding software to get around it. It's just a PITA.

Frankly any little ION mini-itx you build or buy will be much better.

 

[Alchemist2600]

Thanks alot for your help.

I looked up the ION mini-ITX and I like it. So I suppose I'll use the PS3s hard drive or a USB stick for now until I build an ION mini-ITX or a low power micro atx media pc to serve as a desktop replacement for occasion WOW or CSS games along with some video/photoshop editing.

 

[Rifter]

transcoding to the PS3 works great, i would do that if you already own a PS3.

 

[Alchemist2600]

I recently just got the PS3 and I had heard that they improved alot on the supported video format so I thought of using it for all my media. But if I am gonna need to keep the PC on as well to transcode, I may as well just HDMI out to the TV and save energy. Get free Youtube and Hulu to boot.

 

[KeithP]

Is this what you are looking for? $8.50 from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Sha...ref=pd_sim_e_1

-KeithP

 

[sxr7171]

I recently just got the PS3 and I had heard that they improved alot on the supported video format so I thought of using it for all my media. But if I am gonna need to keep the PC on as well to transcode, I may as well just HDMI out to the TV and save energy. Get free Youtube and Hulu to boot.

I think that's better. You can also test PS3 streaming/transcoding. Besides WMC + Hulu + Boxee + XMBC is a good HTPC. I just followed the instructions at wegotserved.com and I've had mine running for a good while.