External SSD and USB ports on TV's

[MountainDon]

Does anyone own an SSD (solid state harddrive) in an external housing with a USB plug? And do you also have an LCD/LED TV that has a USB port?

If so, can the TV read the SSD in the manner it reads a USB memory stick?

[hpinson]

I guess it would depend on the TV.  If the TV has drivers and software onboard to process some sort of video sourced from an external storage device like a USB memory stick, it is possible.  That is, it would need appropriate drivers to mount the SSD device, and some sort of internal software to playback the stored movie media.

More likely you would need a pc or phone as an intermediary that can mount the drive. Then something like a chromecast device - though what apps Chromecast can and cannot cast seems to vary quite a bit.

No experience with the very newest tvs though.

[MountainDon]

What I have found, is that the present crop of Samsung LED TV's all have the built in capability of viewing content on a memory stick. The new smart TV has 2 USB ports, our older dumb TV has one. They will play a long list of assorted video, audio and still image formats. But they will not, can not recognize content on a HDD or SSD. Those need a computer to decode the disk content.  So I'll need to use USB memory sticks to take content to the cabin.

One odd thing I discovered along this trip of seeking out whether or not a SSD or HDD would work with the TV, is that one of my laptops will not recognize a 128 GB USB 3 memory stick. The other newer computers will but not the oldest Win & machine. It does 8 GB sticks fine. 

[muldoon]

Hey Don, I do not frequent the forums that often anymore .. just saw this.

USB drives are almost universally formatted as fat32, while most of the larger "desktop" drives will be formatted ntfs format.  It could be as simple as reformatting it as fat32.  Also, some of the external enclosures can be powered by the usb, and some require a direct power cable.  Some can do both, it is possible the tv is not providing enough power so if it has the ability to plug a power cable in - try it. 

[carsfigter]

I think it comes from your TV model, there are TVs that support SSD.

[hpinson]

Just saw this:

http://www.fut-science.com/lenovo-windows-10-hdmi-stick-at-129/