# External HDD not connecting to TV



## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

I've been trying to get my external HDD to connect to my TV so I can watch movies, but every time I try it doesn't work.

My TV is A Samsung LN40D550K1FXZC that I got in 2010 (or was it 2011 ) and my external hdd is a Western Digital My Passport 1TB.

When I plug the hdd into my tv, the light on turns on, but the tv says nothing is connected. I've tried NTSC and FAT32 formats, with different types of video files (.avi, .mp4, and .mkv). I did some searching online and found that the USB port from the TV might not be able to supply enough power to a 1TB hdd, but I'm not sure if that's my problem. Any ideas?


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## ShadowSoldier (Aug 26, 2013)

Can your tv even play movies? It could just be for pics and music.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

ShadowSoldier said:


> Can your tv even play movies? It could just be for pics and music.


 

Yes, the manual says it can play many different video types, including the ones I posted above.


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## BORTZ (Aug 26, 2013)

Ive heard that a lot of the older (yes i am aware that 2010 is only 3 years ago) Samsung smart TVs had tons of problems like this. I dont really know what to tell you, other than maybe try contacting support?


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

BortzANATOR said:


> Ive heard that a lot of the older (yes i am aware that 2010 is only 3 years ago) Samsung smart TVs had tons of problems like this. I dont really know what to tell you, other than maybe try contacting support?


 
It isn't a smart TV though, just a regular LCD HDTV. I might actually try to contact support. Might be my best bet.


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## BORTZ (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> It isn't a smart TV though, just a regular LCD HDTV. I might actually try to contact support. Might be my best bet.


 
Oh... I just assumed... I had no idea dumb tvs can do stuff like that naively. Cool. And good luck.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

BortzANATOR said:


> Oh... I just assumed... I had no idea dumb tvs can do stuff like that naively. Cool. And good luck.


 
That's probably why it's not working, it's too dumb


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

If you cant get it working if all fails you can pick up a $50 android mini pc and give it an education/ stream from the device.
Not much help but just a last resort type of deal.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk said:


> If you cant get it working if all fails you can pick up a $50 android mini pc and give it an education/ stream from the device.
> Not much help but just a last resort type of deal.


 
I was thinking of trying a USB hub with ac power or just get a thumb drive and play a movie at a time. No need for the storage to be huge anyways if I'm just gonna use it to watch movies. I'll keep your suggestion in mind though.


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> I was thinking of trying a USB hub with ac power or just get a thumb drive and play a movie at a time. No need for the storage to be huge anyways if I'm just gonna use it to watch movies. I'll keep your suggestion in mind though.


 
It does look like your TV supports wireless streaming unless I read it wrong?
I know my TV has a LAN port that allows you to connect to networks, it's not a smart TV and works like shit.

This is what I'm talking about: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A..._Internet_Media_Streamers&hash=item58a09f6ebf

Bonuses with that is that it can do streaming as well as emulation and android gaming. Though there are higher spec ones for $100

I gave up on using streaming functions on TV and just use my 360 anymore Just because a lot are a bitch when it comes to file formats


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## Issac (Aug 26, 2013)

Hmmm, I have an old samsung TV, and I can use it without any problems. However, make sure if there are any USB ports that has more power (look in the manual), because on our new TV (also a Samsung) there's a special USB port for HDD's. Gives more power, while the ones with less power only works with USB memory sticks.

Soo, try a memory stick...


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk said:


> It does look like your TV supports wireless streaming unless I read it wrong?
> I know my TV has a LAN port that allows you to connect to networks, it's not a smart TV and works like shit.
> 
> This is what I'm talking about: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-A..._Internet_Media_Streamers&hash=item58a09f6ebf
> ...


 
Wouldn't I need an android device for that though or can it stream from a PC?


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> Wouldn't I need an android device for that though or can it stream from a PC?


 
Nope, it is a android devive just in the shape of a flash drive, you can download programs like xbmc and stream from your pc, watch some youtube reviews on it.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

Issac said:


> Hmmm, I have an old samsung TV, and I can use it without any problems. However, make sure if there are any USB ports that has more power (look in the manual), because on our new TV (also a Samsung) there's a special USB port for HDD's. Gives more power, while the ones with less power only works with USB memory sticks.
> 
> Soo, try a memory stick...


 
Seems like the cheapest way. Just get an 8 GB stick and load the movie I want. I'm leaning towards it right now.



kenenthk said:


> Nope, it is a android devive just in the shape of a flash drive, you can download programs like xbmc and stream from your pc, watch some youtube reviews on it.


 
Oh cool, I'm definitely going to look it up. It might be worth it if I decide to go beyond videos.


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> Seems like the cheapest way. Just get an 8 GB stick and load the movie I want. I'm leaning towards it right now.
> 
> 
> 
> Oh cool, I'm definitely going to look it up. It might be worth it if I decide to go beyond videos.


 
Though I'd suggest getting one around $100s since they have faster processors/GPUs.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk said:


> Though I'd suggest getting one around $100s since they have faster processors/GPUs.


 
I'd have to be sure that I'm going to use it at that price. Still, I'm going to look it up when I get home.


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> I'd have to be sure that I'm going to use it at that price. Still, I'm going to look it up when I get home.


 
Here a good review for yeah


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk said:


> Here a good review for yeah




Thanks dude, I'll watch it once I get home. No sound at work.


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## Thanatos Telos (Aug 26, 2013)

The USB port on the TV might not be outputting enough power. That AC adapter might do it.
The HDD start to spin, or is it only the light?


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanatos Telos said:


> The USB port on the TV might not be outputting enough power. That AC adapter might do it.
> The HDD start to spin, or is it only the light?


 
When I touch the HDD it's vibrating, but not as much as when plugged into my PC. The light is on as well. Would it be a good idea to get a USB hub that's AC powered or just get a thumb drive?


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Surely the tv can power a 5volt thumb drive


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## Thanatos Telos (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> When I touch the HDD it's vibrating, but not as much as when plugged into my PC. The light is on as well. Would it be a good idea to get a USB hub that's AC powered or just get a thumb drive?


 
If you need the storage, the hub. Otherwise, the thumb drive. The same thing happened with one of my power hungry HDDs.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanatos Telos said:


> If you need the storage, the hub. Otherwise, the thumb drive. The same thing happened with one of my power hungry HDDs.


 
I can store everything on my 1TB HDD, and just transfer 1 or 2 movies at a time that I want to watch to the thumb drive. I wont be watching on a daily basis anyway, maybe once a week or so.


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanatos Telos said:


> If you need the storage, the hub. Otherwise, the thumb drive. The same thing happened with one of my power hungry HDDs.


 
This is why it's just easier to stream from external devices


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk said:


> Surely the tv can power a 5volt thumb drive


 
From what I've read, the USB ports on TVs can't supply that much power. Maybe newer TVs can, but my TV is from 2010 and we all know how technology is with age.

Edit: Scratch that, I thought you were referring to the 1 TB HDD.


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## K3N1 (Aug 26, 2013)

Ethevion said:


> From what I've read, the USB ports on TVs can't supply that much power. Maybe newer TVs can, but my TV is from 2010 and we all know how technology is with age.


 
Yeah thats why I like using external objects. no need to worry about older hdtvs.


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## Ethevion (Aug 26, 2013)

kenenthk Just watched that review and damn, that thing is pretty amazing. The android os on there is really nice and looks so easy to use too. I don't think I'd need all of it's features though.

I want to thank everyone who helped me out here, with suggestions and ideas. I ended up just getting a thumb drive to see if it was a power issue and it turns out that was the problem. So now I have a 32GB thumb drive that I've already loaded with movies and couldn't be happier.


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## tbgtbg (Sep 21, 2013)

I also have an LN40D550 and never had problems with my 1TB HDD, but I use an AC adapter to power it. I know you're using thumbdrives now, but you could also look into a USB cable with an extra connector that plugs into two USB ports to give the HDD that extra juice it needs.

I don't really use the drive with the TV though, it's easier just to just connect the TV to my router via ethernet and just stream the movies from my PC. Only issue is it will play .MKV off HDD, but the exact same .MKV files won't play via streaming, but you can rename .MKV to .AVI to fool it and then they play on the TV just fine via streaming. Clearly just a bug in the TV's firmware that they never bothered fixing.


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