Connecting an External Hard drive to multiple users

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Dann Riungi

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Jul 31, 2013
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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.
 
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Yes. VGA can't do high definition tv. HDMI can so the image with HDMI will be much better.
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Guest

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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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Dann Riungi

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Jul 31, 2013
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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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Guest

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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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Dann Riungi

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Jul 31, 2013
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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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MagicPants

MagicPants

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Jun 16, 2006
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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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Dann Riungi

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Jul 31, 2013
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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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