Samsung forum: External USB HDD Compatibility For Samsung TV

secreto11,

While it's true that I can't speak on specific third-party solutions, there's nothing that says that others can't get together and discuss. I think this is a fantastic idea.

Will there be a chart available for, say Google Docs, or are you compiling this yourself?

Also, for those adding devices, please note which region you're inquiring from, since products can vary from region to region.

Let's "sticky" this and see what people recommend.

--HDTech

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We have currently connected a WD MyPassport 1TB usb drive (unpowered) also we have connected a Lexar 8GB flash drive to the tv several times

I'm using the Buffalo MiniStation Cobalt USB 3.0 - HD-PEU3 portable drive with my Samsung UN40B7000 40" LED HDTV.

I've also used SanDisk Cruzer flash drives without any issues.

Also think this is a great idea. I've updated the spreadsheet with my TV and HDD setup. I had to double list the LN46B650 so sorry if I messed up protocol on the spreadsheet. I have used my Kingston 16gb flash drive with my TV for a while now and MKV, AVI, JPG and MP3 files play well on it.

On a side note, does anybody here know if an actual External Hard Drive with a power source will work on the LN46B650? I have a Cavalry CAUM Series 1TB External Hard Drive that I haven't been able get my TV to play nice with. It's an NTFS drive with low power requirements and my TV can't detect it for some reason. Wondering if anyone has had any success with a full on external hard drive with the LN46B650 and if so, what HDD that was?

Thanks!

I have a Seagate GoFlex USB 3.0/2.0 drive. I discovered that if I push the connector all the way into the tv, the drive does not connect. If I pull it out about 1/16", it connects. This is a mess up on Seagate's part. The fingers in the connector don't go all the way back in the usb 3.0 connector. I plugged mine into a 12" extension, pulled it out a hair, then taped it up. Works fine now. Will likely complain to Seagate.
M

I figured it out by fiddling, but it took a farter smeller than I to tell me what was wrong. A computer buddy had looked at the Universal USB 3/2 connector under the microscope to see the problem. It'll be interesting to hear what Seagate has to say about it.

- Does that drive work when connected to a PC/Mac?
- Firewire, USB 2 or USB 3?
- How many partitions on the drive?
- What filesystem on that partitions (Mac, FAT, NTFS)?

Kees

I'm running into that on other machines. 3.0 should be ok, but you can bet you'll find something it won't play on.

You are outside the realm of what I expect to work. I stick to USB 2.0 and single partitions to improve my odds.

Given how cheap drives are, why not another or some Apple TV to stream to ?
Bob

I had the same problem when I tried to connect it to the TV's USB port marked HDD.

You need to connect it to USB Port 3, not the HDD port. For some reason, the HDD USB port isn't powered, so the MyPassport harddrive doesn't spin. To confirm that it's powered, look for the white light on the rear of the harddrive.

Once I plugged it to USB Port 3, the light on the rear of the external hard drive came on, and the "Connected Device" dialog box appeared.

If the 8gb Cruzer Flash Drive works to record from the tv,i am assuming 16 and 32 gb ones work as well? If so,does anyone have any idea of roughly how many hours of tv i can record to 8,16, and 32gb?

But I suggest you post this in the forum and not buried here.

For Samsung TV: HDD or flash must meet following specs--
portable hdd type
usb 2.0
4 gb minimum
read 20mb per sec
write 34 mb per sec
at least 5400 RPM..
...and better to use usb power than d/c/plug i was advised.
Just wondering, about to buy a 32" Samsung... very juicy-looking but to business
There are two format specifications for hard drives, FAT32 and NTFS
For example the drive on a camera I use must be formatted to FAT32 not NTFS - I found eventually
So the HD's format type might be important, try FAT32 first

Use Seagate Free Agent Go 500GB

Why can't samsung do this? I am not suggesting that they test all devices, but they should maintain a compatability list. This would be quite easy to do on their site.