Connecting a TV to a Hard Drive – What to Know…

There are many ways you can watch TV. You can use old-school antennas or modern fiber-optic connections. You can even hook it up to your computer to stream content. Modern TVs allow you to connect an external hard disk directly to your TV and watch movies. This is a great option in cases like cough, “unsupervised children,” or cough where streaming is not possible and you want to have more control over what’s displayed on your TV.
First things first

Before you attach your hard drive to your TV, and even before you start loading up content with it, make sure it works with your TV. You can check your manual or manufacturer’s website to find out the minimum specifications you need and then compare them to the hard drive that you are considering. A lot of TVs can only handle a hard drive up to 2TB. This means that if you have a 4TB drive, you would need to partition it into two 2TB spaces. You will need to find out which file-systems your TV supports. Hard drives can also be structured in many ways. Most TVs can handle NTFS. This is the default format Windows 10 uses to format a disk. You will need to format your drive using NTFS if you use a Mac or Linux computer. You can find the instructions in your operating system documentation.

Connect your Hard Disk to the Television

Check out the USB connectors on your TV. There may be more than one USB connector on some TVs. If so, one might be labeled USB/HDD. This is the one you should use for your hard disk. You don’t need to worry if there is only one or none that are specifically designed for your hard drive. Use what you have. You should feel a slight vibration when you plug your hard drive into the USB port. This is because the TV recognizes it and can read it. You may see the light flickering depending on what case it is. You can choose your USB drive with your remote and the TV will allow you to view your content through the built-in file browser. Select the file that you wish to view and then use the remote to select it. The file should start playing.

Choose compatible files

Your TV may not be able recognize all media files. The user manual will tell you what file types your TV recognizes. If you have lost your manual, you can always check the manufacturer’s site. You can always test a clip to see if it works. You’ll need to convert the file so that your TV recognizes it. You can convert most audio and video files using the VLC Media Player, which is free on your computer. It is against U.S. law, to make a copy of a file that is protected by digital rights management (or DRM), it is illegal.

A Few Cautions

Although external TV hard drives can draw power from the USB port, most manufacturers recommend that it be powered by its own power supply. This is a good idea. If your TV is accidentally turned off, it can cause the drive to turn off. Files that are being used at that time could be corrupted. This can’t happen if the drive has its own power. It is a good idea to keep a backup copy of any file that you have on the drive. It’s a very regrettable loss if it’s the only copy of your once-in-a lifetime vacation video.

Limitations for older TVs

While most HDTVs and smart TVs can use external devices with ease, older TVs may have some limitations. They might ask that your drive be formatted in FAT32 format. It might not recognize drives larger than 32GB. If this is the case, you may be better off using a USB thumb drive. Older TVs may not recognize your USB device in some cases. The first TVs with a USB connector were intended to be used as a diagnostic port for service technicians. You will need to use a little more creativity to connect your hard disk to an older TV or one that has HDMI inputs but not a USB port.

Connecting through a separate device

You might need to connect a hard drive to your TV adapter if your TV doesn’t have a functioning USB connection or if the built-in file browser is too limited to be useful. The best option is to use an additional device such as a Roku/PVR. They will usually include a USB connection to connect to your hard drive, an HDMI output to connect to your TV and a file browser. This is your best option if you don’t want to take your computer into your living room to watch a video or movie.