Well, I don’t have an external HD right now, if I were to purchase one, where should I buy it from and what kind?
This is my plan, I want to copy my DVDs to a external HD, then connect that to my TV so I can just watch movies via the harddrive…
I know this is possible but I’m not sure the best way to go about it…
i didn’t know this was possible. it seems like a computer would have to be involved in the process.
i don’t know a lot about computers/electronics, but it seems like you wouldn’t be able to just plug an external hard drive into a tv and watch movies.
if you are implying running it from a computer to a tv, the type of the external hd is almost irrelevant, as long as it has the memory space you require.
edit: i could be entirely wrong, i was just tossing out my opinion.
You’ll need a media center of some sorts.
Most of them aren’t cheap.
Or like previously stated you can use your computer.
Which type of external HD doesn’t really matter. Just find one that uses USB (pretty much all of them nowadays) and figure out how much memory you want.
Your provider may offer some sort of interface into their equipment as well. Dish Network receivers for example can be connected directly to an external HD and you can move content back and forth.
I’m sure Direct has something similar as well. TW and Verizon, I’m not so sure.
my friend has some Apple TV type thing? would that work?
western digital makes a box to do this. under 100 bucks.
Get something you have full access to. A actual PC connected to your TV will give you access to anything you want to watch. Netflix, Hulu, Boxee, etc. You can build them pretty cheap now. I think my friend built his for about $400 and the only reason it was that much was becuase he had to have a $149 case.
^ Fuck building a computer to do it and constantly dealing with codec issues and stutters. Get that, plug it in, play any format you’ll ever find. Stream stuff straight from a computer or slap a big hard drive in it and store movies right on the popcornhour.
tyler even walmart has a dvd player now for i think $39 with the divX usb port on the front. i have one on my suround sound and have like a 250gig HD atached to it, works awesome. just the more movies on the HD the longer it takes to read it all at start up
I have a home built Mac running Xbox Media Center. It is fucking FLAWLESS. I’ve been through a lot of setups and this one is by far the MOST solid.
Ya def build your own. Dont lock your self into a pre boxed configuration of a dvd player. PC or Mac build can run ANYTHING you decide to play.
i was just saying for the cheap… and some people dont have wireless to run a slingbox. how much would a pc build cost for video on the tv. i might be doing this soon
I can guarantee more than the $215 for a popcornhour that will do the same thing.
I use a DVI to HDMI cable for video from my laptop to my HDTV and an m/m audio cable to have the sound coming from the tv.
(Similar cable, I bought one from Radioshack)
The DVI to HDMI cable was like $35 works great and looks awesome. The only better option was if I had an HDMI output on my laptop, which I don’t.
I use a Seagate GoDrive 500GB to store my movies. It is small and doesn’t need a power cord. Picked it up on ebay for like $120.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Sealed-Seagate-FreeAgent-Go-500GB-Portable-Drive_W0QQitemZ260448163783QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item3ca3eb97c7&_trksid=p4295.c0.m313&_trkparms=|293%3A1|294%3A0
(Similar auction, looks cheaper now)
100% accurate truth.
i’m running a LOW END mac mini with xbox media center and it is perfect even running full 1080p bluray rips.
it runs better than my high end laptop trying to play then direct through anything like vlc/mplayer/media player etc.
edit: you can run xbox media center on a windows box as well… i just use the mac mini due to the built in remote and small form factor.
is there like a “doing this type of shit for dummies” website?
I’m so computer illiterate, but i’d really like to set something like this up
I simply hook up my macbook using HDMI + optical out for audio… when I buy my next laptop I’ll make the current one a full time media center / torrent downloader.
If you want cheap, you will need to have some knowledge of how to assemble a PC and what you are looking for.
If you want something prebuilt, your best bet is to find something with a HDMI output. That is what I do for mine. I have a gateway laptop with a HDMI output that I can plug right into my TV when I want to watch something.
You could def pay someone to buy the parts for this and build it: http://www.wetwired.org/2009/01/12/creating-a-budget-media-center-pc-2009/
I know I give you shit a lot, but really, I’m giving you some good advice here. 
I don’t know if this sounds dumb or not but here is what I’d like to do…
I’d like to put movies on an external harddrive…i’d probably pick up a 1TB hd, then connect that to my TV and be able to flip through the harddrive and watch a movie…
I know my friends set up, he had an Apple TV box, and he connected his HD to the Apple TV box and used that to watch movies…
The Apple TV is only $220…plus prob $80 for the HD…and a few $ for the cables.
Am I on the right track?
are you looking to play high definition videos?
I’ve used the apple software and it cannot handle most of the popular high definition formats.