[SOLVED] Using External hard drive to play movies through other devices...

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chino3

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I just bought a seagate backup plus slim, and was hoping to use it as a movie storage. I want to plug it into my Bluray player or receiver through the USB port, and pull from there. However, as it stands, my bluray says that the device is not supported or something, and then when running through my receiver it says no connection/signal.

I am operating on an iMac, have a Sony bluray and a Marantz receiver.

I saw this on a "must have" guide to players:

8. USB and Memory Card Connections
Blu-ray players can have connection ports for extra external memory. Sometimes the extra memory is required to access BD-Live, but it also allows the system to play digital files such as photos, music, or videos that are stored on USB or memory cards. Some Blu-ray systems also have a slideshow feature to browse through photos.

This seems like it would indicate that this is a possibility. and my bluray player is a higher end one with all the chit (wifi, online, bd live, multiple USB ports) but it just says this media device is not supported. I have to think its a formatting issue or a limitation of the hard drive itself?

Any ideas? Is there an option for me to format it to what will work, or is this just not an option?
 
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It's formatting. The default format for Mac is "Mac OS Extended" but this is only compatible with Mac's. Windows defualt is NTFS which is similar but for windows. You'll notice that if you every try a Windows formatted device you can only copy the files but not edit or save onto the device. The only format I know that works between both is FAT32. You can reformat the disk using 'Disk Utility' then selecting the erase option. Two downsides to FAT32 are that it is slower than either of the Mac or Windows specific options and that it has a maximum file size of 4gb. Given that most devices are designed around Windows unless specifically mentioned to be Mac compatible, i'd say you're going to have to use FAT32. Your Bluray might have DLNA...

byza

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It's formatting. The default format for Mac is "Mac OS Extended" but this is only compatible with Mac's. Windows defualt is NTFS which is similar but for windows. You'll notice that if you every try a Windows formatted device you can only copy the files but not edit or save onto the device. The only format I know that works between both is FAT32. You can reformat the disk using 'Disk Utility' then selecting the erase option. Two downsides to FAT32 are that it is slower than either of the Mac or Windows specific options and that it has a maximum file size of 4gb. Given that most devices are designed around Windows unless specifically mentioned to be Mac compatible, i'd say you're going to have to use FAT32. Your Bluray might have DLNA which would allow you to stream movies to the player, which would save you some effort.
 
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chino3

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thanks for the info. going the DLNA route, I would be streaming via wifi, right? my internet is painfully slow unfortunately, so I am just really hoping to have a direct option. I will give the FAT32 option a whirl at lunch today. thanks again.

also, any other "Affordable" solutions to do something like this? essentially have a digital library readily available at my entertainment area? I am trying to set something up for my mom as well.
 

byza

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Streaming Over DLNA is affected by your router bandwidth, it has nothing to do with your internet speed.

There are a few different ways to get movies from the PC to TV, it depends on what you currently have available. You can go for a Wireless Display Adapter which mirrors the screen of whatever device you want on the TV, but your device needs to be compatible. You can set up a NAS connected to a DLNA network, again depends on device compatibility and it will also be affected by the bandwidth of the router. If you are on a Mac, Apple TV is an easy solution. It might be worth talking to someone at the local electronics store to see what they would advise.
 
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