Biggest capacity 2.5" usb powered HD... With media player capabilities?

cormie · 17-03-2013 4:57pm #1

Not sure if I'm pushing my luck here, but is there any good quality device out there with say a Western Digital HD that's at least 1TB (1.5 or 2 preferably) that would be the same size give or take of the "My passport" WD series? HD quality is important so I'd like to stick to WD as it'll be 99% used for backup, 1% as a media player, would just be willing to pay a little extra if it had basic media playback functionality.

I'm thinking if it was USB powered for when being used with the pc for backup and could then be independently plugged in to be connected to a projector etc too.

I see there's a WD passport on amazon that's 2TB.

Any feedback appreciated

riclad · 17-03-2013 8:20pm

SEE here ,http://www.amazon.com/Media-Center-Gigabit-Network-Reader/dp/B005M1QP7O/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363547502&sr=1-11&keywords=media+player+with+hard+drive

put wd or any drive into it,up to 4tb.
or
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Goflex-Cinema-Multimedia-External/dp/B005IHK9P6#productDetails

Side USB port for connecting an additional USB drive ,

eg buy this ,connect usb drive into side port.
does,nt say if it uses, usb or external power unit.

riclad · 17-03-2013 8:32pm

OR buy this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sumvision-Cyclone-Adapter-Internal-Surround/dp/B0073H7LKA
then plug a 2tb wd usb passport ,into it, when you wanna watch a movie.
i presume it has 2 usb ports,
one for power, one for plugging in a external drive.

riclad · 17-03-2013 8:48pm

That drive has one usb, port,
uses usb power,
YOU,D have to copy movies over,i think, ,before connecting to a tv.
it has hdmi out.
read a review Before you buy it.

cormie · 19-03-2013 12:05am

Cool, thanks a lot for that. Didn't realise there would be things like the media hubs you can just plug an external HD into

Any idea what the deal with the WD 2TB externals is? Are they bigger than a regular 2.5" external hd would you know?

riclad · 19-03-2013 12:10am

the size is listed in specs,amazon,co,uk , i think,.
if a drive works off usb only ,no psu, its 2,5 inch,
maybe 3inch wide ,to account for the plastic drive case around it

that unit has one usb,for power,
see the specification list,and read a review before you buy it.

cormie · 19-03-2013 1:31am

Thanks, so to compare the 2tb to the 500 gb I have now:

2 TB WD My Passport:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Passport-2TB-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B007IA3S22/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1363652129&sr=1-5#productDetails

H21mm L111mm W82mm

500GB WD Passport Elite:
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Passport-Portable-External/dp/B0015LTBG2

H15mm L126mm W80mm

So it actually seems the 2tb one is shorter which is strange, although a little thicker and it's pretty much the same in width. I was reading something about a 2tb capacity 2.5" hd not being able to fit in the space of a regular 2.5" hd so the drive couldn't be used internally etc, but this wouldn't really be an issue for me anyway. So with one of these and then the above media player, I should be able to just plug it in and it could play almost anything off the HD itself? My projector is a little dated so wouldn't have HDMI so will have to try find a media hub with the oul RGB ports or whatever they are called

thanks again for the help

cormie · 19-03-2013 9:08am

This looks like it might do the trick although pretty expensive to the other one suggested: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Hub-Media-Center-1TB/dp/B00466IEXE/ref=cm_cd_f_pb_t

It was released in 2010 so I'm trying to see if there's anything newer that might be even cheaper which has addressed some of the bad points about this.

Torqay · 19-03-2013 10:13am

cormie wrote: »

So it actually seems the 2tb one is shorter which is strange, although a little thicker and it's pretty much the same in width.

Nah, nothing strange here, the difference in length is just a varaiation in the enclosure, but the 2 TB drive itself is thicker (length and width are identical), it won't fit it into a regular enclosure (or 2.5 HDD bay).

HDD form factors

cormie · 19-03-2013 11:52am

Thanks for that. Guess it's no big issue since I'll just be having it stay in the enclosure anyway

Now I just need to find a media hub that will read the WD passport and play it on my projector without HDMI!

Torqay · 19-03-2013 12:49pm

cormie wrote: »

Now I just need to find a media hub that will read the WD passport and play it on my projector without HDMI!

WD TV Live maybe? Besides HDMI, it has S/PDIF and composite video/audio output.

cormie · 19-03-2013 2:38pm

Sorry, I'm a bit of a novice with all this kinda media stuff.

What cable would I need so to connect the WD live to this projector would you know? https://portal.infocus.com/support/Product%20Downloads/InFocus_X6%20X7_Datasheet_en.pdf

and then I'd also need the sound connected to my Boston multimedia speakers with a 3.5 audio jack I think. Just not sure if it's all possible as the projector may be a little outdated with all the latest connections.

Torqay · 19-03-2013 3:17pm

cormie wrote: »

What cable would I need so to connect the WD live to this projector would you know?

According to the spec sheet

you will need the following:

Video: Composite Video

Audio: 3.5mm Stereo > Phono

I'm not 100% sure, but I think, a Composite AV cable is included with the WD TV Live, so all you'd need is an adapter for the audio, something like this:

Edit: Correction, the WD TV Live box doesn't have phono jacks. It has a mini jack and comes with a cable which fans out into 3 lines with phono plugs (yellow for video, red & white for audio, so you'll only need the last adapter to connect it to the audio in of your projector.

cormie · 19-03-2013 4:24pm

Wow, that's very helpful of you! I think I may have ran into that same problem before, the projector isn't connected to the audio at all so I'd be hoping to get the audio from whatever hub I'm using if possible as I don't want wires going everywhere..

I've the speakers against one wall where the image is projected, this is the rear of the subwoofer which takes all the wires for the speakers: http://omg.wthax.org/6gA6Fg.jpg

I'd then have a 3.5-3.5 cable from the speakers to the media hub maybe, then the media hub connecting video feed to the projector which is mounted to the ceiling and wires traced along up the wall.

cormie · 20-03-2013 1:37am

I've drawn this diagram

Hopefully it will better explain. So I have the current set up and looking to replace my current argosy 500gb media player with some sort of hub which I'll be able to connect a WD 2tb external HD to via usb and view the media from that. Whether or not the media hub has any internal space isn't really important, if I can get it cheaper by not having any space and still being able to read from the WD 2tb passport, that would be preferred as all the recent data will be on the WD 2tb, I can't imagine myself using any network methods of transferring files.

Torqay · 20-03-2013 10:44am

So?

Connect the video cable from the media hub to the projector and the audio to the speakers.

cormie · 20-03-2013 11:06am

Great, it's that simple! Just had to double check before buying something I couldn't use, thanks a lot for all the help!

Torqay · 20-03-2013 11:19am

I just had a closer look at your "dated" projector. With a resolution of 800x600/1024x768 (depending on the model) it may not play all that well with a HD media player. These projectors were never meant for home entertainment but rather for business presentations.

cormie · 20-03-2013 11:31am

As far as I know, I've been playing stuff in 800/600, to be honest it's fine and I'm not too fussy on things being in HD, I see from the spec it says:

Resolution (Native / Max) SVGA (800 x 600)
XGA (1024 x 768)

It's been ok playing when connected to my laptop (XPS 15 http://www.dell.com/ie/p/xps-l502x/pd) and my also dated argosy http://www.ibood.com/pl/pl/product_specs/9443/

Do you think there'd actually be trouble getting files to play properly, or that it just wouldn't be as nice as a proper projector?

Torqay · 20-03-2013 11:49am

Model x6 = SVGA (800 x 600)
Model x7 = XGA (1024 x 768)

cormie wrote: »

It's been ok playing when connected to my laptop (XPS 15 http://www.dell.com/ie/p/xps-l502x/pd) and my also dated argosy http://www.ibood.com/pl/pl/product_specs/9443/

Do you think there'd actually be trouble getting files to play properly, or that it just wouldn't be as nice as a proper projector?

You laptop will play fine over the VGA connection and the Argosy supports 4:3 displays.

But modern full HD media players may have problems, they're not designed for this. I seriously can't recommend any "media hub", you'll have to try and see if it works.

The wee WD TV Live box is certainly one of the best there is and good value too, but what good is it to you if it doesn't do what you need it for.

cormie · 20-03-2013 12:13pm

Thanks for that. I guess I'll have to test them out first to be sure so.

Seems to be 3 different types:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Live-Streaming-Media-Player/dp/B005NYOKC2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363777236&sr=8-1#productDetails

Item model number WDBGXT0000NBK-UESN

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Live-Stream-Media-Player/dp/B005MYX33K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1363777236&sr=8-4#productDetails

Item model number WDBGXT0000NBK-EESN

(looks exactly the same but weight is almost 33% lighter and it says it was released a month later (oct 2011)

Then there's the 1TB one which I thought was a much newer version given the look of it and the fact it's got the included HD too. I was thinking I might go for it as it might come in handy to have a HD in it, but strangely enough, that actually states it's a year older than the 2 above, first available in oct 2010: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Hub-Media-Center-1TB/dp/B00466IEXE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363777236&sr=8-2#productDetails

I definitely thought it was the newest addition from what I'd seen of it.

Torqay · 20-03-2013 12:46pm

These are just regional designations.

cormie wrote: »

Item model number WDBGXT0000NBK-UESN

UK

cormie wrote: »

Item model number WDBGXT0000NBK-EESN

EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa)

ozmo · 20-03-2013 1:05pm

cormie wrote: »

It's been ok playing when connected to my laptop (XPS 15 ..

If you have been playing using the VGA cable from the laptop - you might be disappointed with using the composite (single yellow) cable from anything.

Just saying... especially if it’s a long run - you can get muted colours, shadows and wavey lines appearing - better, shielded, cables will help - but single composite cables is just dated 1960's tech.

VGA cables would be better if you can get a source that does VGA - but no substitute for HDMI which pretty much all other devices will support these days.

cormie · 20-03-2013 1:16pm

Thanks again folks!

Actually when I updated to my XPS 15, it didn't have a VGA, so I had to buy an adaptor that would go from VGA to mini display port, maybe I could get something similar, VGA to HDMI?

EDIT: Wow, just seen such cables cost around €60!!! The vga to mini display was only around €8 I think!

Torqay · 20-03-2013 1:24pm

Some old computer might indeed suit your needs better, if you don't have one, 3.0 GHz P4 HT desktops selling for less than 50 yoyos on adverts, get some wireless keyboard/touchpad combo as "remote" for a few quid and you're sorted.

cormie · 20-03-2013 1:51pm

I don't want too much bulk, I was looking at the raspberry pi but it looks a bit too messy, especially if I want it to be somewhat portable too. I might see if I can get my hands on a WD tv live and see how it reacts with my projector. Upgrading my projector is the last resort due to the high price it would end up costing!

Torqay · 20-03-2013 2:03pm

The RPi only does HDMI, no?

cormie · 20-03-2013 2:20pm

I think so, so yeah, that probably wouldn't suit either then

Maybe I can pick up an old WD tv live on ebay or adverts considering they are a few years old now. Wasn't thinking about the fact you can watch stuff direct from youtube so that would be an added plus too

Seems like the one with the 1TB doesn't do WIFI though which is annoying as I was thining it'd be good to have the storage on it too!

20-03-2013 3:41pm

I would go with a small HTPC outputting via VGA, considering the very low resolution of your projector if you can output at the native res it will be a simpler signal path with less scaling and hopefully better video quality.

mordeith · 20-03-2013 3:48pm

Torqay wrote: »

The RPi only does HDMI, no?

The B revision has composite out as well as HDMI. Also has a 3.5mm audio out.

cormie · 20-03-2013 6:56pm

Thanks again everyone.

Looked up the HTPC and saw an android one, but it was pricey enough at £89 and still had the same connections.

Maybe the 1TB WD live would be the best choice considering it has all the outputs. The raspberry PI doesn't look so bad with the 3.5 out and the composite for the video too, I'd just be a little worried it would be overly complicated for the simple task of playing a few videos.

If the WD 1 TB could be used over network it'd probably be much more attractive, I think it can be, but an add on needs to be bought and I'd feat this might complicate things a bit.

I was hoping for something simple, that I wouldn't have to do any customisations with, that would just work out of the box for simple video playback, but I guess my dated projector and separate audio speakers are making it a little sub standard

Biggest capacity 2.5" usb powered HD... With media player capabilities?

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