External Hard Drive Video Playback

[RoyA2015]

Ok, so it's summer 2016, and I looked and can't find an answer to my question on Google.

How can I playback videos on a 5TB External Hard drive, like something like the Seagate Backup plus. Which doesn't require a power source. Even if it were something like the Seagate Expansion, I want to know how it's possible.

Obviously, there's things like the Micca Speck G2, but that's 2TB, and I can't find any information if it can play back hard drives.

I'm also aware of WD TV Media Player, which can playback hard drives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBqI1EEwCLE

So.. were in a digital age nowadays, and you can get your hands on any piece of media online.

BluRay players can playback videos on SanDisk flash drives.

I honestly don't think I could care any less about streaming stuff on the device. I can do that with my PC. I want a device to playback video files from a very large hard drive. I don't care about Fire HD, NetFix, YouTube, etc. etc.

I have the media, now I want to play it on a TV, without using my desktop or laptop connected to a TV.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, RoyA2015.

Since portable drives (2.5" ones) are the only ones that don't have to be externally powered you'll have to either compromise with the capacity of the drive or get a media box. You should also make sure that the TV will have no issue with the drive's size, since some TVs can't recognize larger HDDs or may have problems with powering them up properly.

Another option would be to get a NAS (Network Attached Storage) which you'll be able to use with all the devices in your network. However, this is only an option if the TV can be connected to your network, i.e. has DLNA and/or WiFi.

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD