how to play movies on tv from external hard drive

drmjafri

Hi all,

I have WD my essential 500 gb...have got loads of home videos and movies.....problem is playing them on tv...have to use the laptop

browsing through various websites , i conclude that the best thing is to buy portable external hard drive media player...any suggestions which one?

next query- OR is there a way to play the movies (stored in WD external drive) directly on tv bypassing the laptop

its a confusing world

Thanks

totalsolutions

Er, if they are stored on a hard drive then that is the medium/storage you have decided on then you indeed use a PC / laptop to view them on. Does your laptop have a DVI or HDMI output to connect to the TV, the TV will need a similar socket. Many newer tv's would also have a 15 pin video in socket too. You would also need to send the sound to the TV as well, although the HDMI carries both video and sound. I don't know of any "portable external hard drive media players".

SatanicHare

You could also try picking up an original xbox, game do them for a trade ins for a tenner delivered every so often, softmod it, stick on xbmc, connect it to your network and voila you've got a cheap media centre. It will play almost any file, but will struggle with .mkv or .x264, loads of guides available, google softmodding xbox should sort you out

weegie.geek

+1 for XBMC.

It's not the mkv or x264 that it'll struggle with exactly. If I was to put xvid and mp3 in a mkv container it wouldn't have any problems. Likewise if I ripped a DVD, at the normal kinda resolution and bitrate, to x264 and mp3 or ac3 for example, it wouldn't have a problem with that.

The problem is the processor can't handle high bitrate/high resolution stuff. Anything above DVD resolution and it'll start to have problems, so 720p is a definite no-no. As long as you're planning on watching DVD resolution stuff, or below, you're fine.

If you want to spend more money, a Popcorn Hour will play more or less anything you throw at it, right up to 1080p.

pupmaster

SumVision Phoenix Premium 1080p Upscaling DVD/DIVX player
or a cyclone from eclipse computers, I have the dvd divx and it plays everything you can chuck at it straight from usb

They also sell them on ebay

£34