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Connecting an External Hard drive to multiple users

Tags:
  • Connection Multiple Usage
  • Computers
  • Storage
  • Connection
  • External Hard Drive
  • Wiring Cables
Last response: in Storage
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December 29, 2013 11:03:01 PM

I want to know if its possible to connect one external hard drive to a computer and another media player like a television at the same time. I have an external Toshiba USB 3.0 HDD that i want to connect to my computer to receive downloading data and also to my television to watch or play media files, both at the same time. But the cable i have is for one use only. Are there cables for multiple uses? If so, please provide me with a link, maybe amazon or ebay. Thanks.

More about : connecting external hard drive multiple users

Anonymous
a b G Storage
December 29, 2013 11:16:03 PM

It's possible but not quite the way you described. Connect the hard drive to the computer and then the computer connects to the tv. You download from the internet through the computer to the hard drive. You can also stream from the hard drive through the computer to the tv.
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December 29, 2013 11:22:09 PM

Anonymous said:
It's possible but not quite the way you described. Connect the hard drive to the computer and then the computer connects to the tv. You download from the internet through the computer to the hard drive. You can also stream from the hard drive through the computer to the tv.


Thanks. I know this method, and I use a VGA cable to connect my computer to the television. Problem is, the quality displayed by my computer is quite low compared to when the Tv directly plays from the hard drive. There isn't a cable to connect the drive the way i described earlier?
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Anonymous
a b G Storage
December 29, 2013 11:31:40 PM

If I understand your question right, you're wanting a split usb cable. 1 end for the drive, the split ends for the comp and tv. I can't say I've ever seen such a cable.

You also mentioned you used VGA to connect pc to tv. VGA does not carry digital signals so the image will not be in HD. Do you have the connections to hook the pc to the tv with HDMI?
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December 29, 2013 11:41:04 PM

Anonymous said:
If I understand your question right, you're wanting a split usb cable. 1 end for the drive, the split ends for the comp and tv. I can't say I've ever seen such a cable.

You also mentioned you used VGA to connect pc to tv. VGA does not carry digital signals so the image will not be in HD. Do you have the connections to hook the pc to the tv with HDMI?


Yes, that's the kind of cable i am looking for. also, No. unfortunately, my laptop is kind of old, doesn't have a HDMI port, just VGA. But anyway, your saying a HDMI cable/port would convey digital signals and produce quality images that a VGA cable wouldn't?
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Best solution

Anonymous
a b G Storage
December 29, 2013 11:45:07 PM

Yes. VGA can't do high definition tv. HDMI can so the image with HDMI will be much better.
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December 29, 2013 11:51:12 PM

Anonymous said:
Yes. VGA can't do high definition tv. HDMI can so the image with HDMI will be much better.


Cool. Thanks.
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December 29, 2013 11:52:43 PM

You can't do this, one computer has to own the drive in order to uphold the data integrity. What you want is NAS, or Network Attached Storage, most smart TVs and media players support this via dlma (digital life media archive?), and sometimes with windows file system support as well.

I have a NAS via a usb port on my router, the router then owns the drive plugged into that port and multiple computers attach to the router via a windows volume.
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December 29, 2013 11:59:07 PM

MagicPants said:
You can't do this, one computer has to own the drive in order to uphold the data integrity. What you want is NAS, or Network Attached Storage, most smart TVs and media players support this via dlma (digital life media archive?), and sometimes with windows file system support as well.

I have a NAS via a usb port on my router, the router then owns the drive plugged into that port and multiple computers attach to the router via a windows volume.


Nice! So with this NAS, i can connect the external hdd to my computer and tv simultaneously? Tell me how to get this NAS, or a link that explains completely. Thanks.
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December 30, 2013 12:20:07 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage

It's generally a little external box to hold a drive with a minimal computer attached. You can achieve a similar effect by attaching the drive to a computer, network sharing it, and mapping it as a network drive, though I'm not sure if windows supports DLMA
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