[SOLVED] Question About USB HUB connection to 2 tvs or media players - Please Help if you can.

[ste571]

I have a 7 port USB hub with several external hard drives connected and 1 port free.

The main cable of the USB HUB is connected to a media player, and obviously it transfers data (movies)

I thought I would be able to attach and connect throught the empty port/slot of the hub a usb cable male to male and to connect it to another source/tv or media, but my second tv did not recgonize the hub.

So i am a bit confused if i got the right cable in the first place or if its possible to make thios connection so both my tvs can have access to the same USB hub which is connected with the hard drives.

Question 1. Is this the cable fault? Its a typical a USB cable male to Male. I thought those cheap USB to USB A to A cable transfer data too? Or only power?
Question 2. Do the usb ports share data with eachother? Or all the data goes only through the main usb cable of the hub? The one which is linked/attached to the hub i mean?
Question 3 Would it work if i took something like this? F to 2 Male I heard that these types of devices transfer data only in one cable while the other one transfers power only.
Whats my alternative? Also I was thinking to try a usb hub with an ethernet port on it as well. So the ethernet cable can go to one tv, and the usb cable can go to the second one. Would the data be transfered to both simoutenously?

Sorry for the bad english ty.

 

[velocityg4]

1. No, the cable is not at fault. They can be used for power or for USB-A peripherals.

2. No, they don't work the way you are using. A hub typically has one special port for going to your computer and a bunch of ports for peripherals.

3. No, those are only meant for delivering more power than a typical USB slot can provide.

What you want to achieve will not work. Two computers cannot share USB devices simultaneously. There are some alternatives.

• KVM switch: A USB KVM switch will allow you to switch the USB devices between computers. This will not share them simultaneously. Only one computer may use them at a time.
• File Sharing: If your devices support file sharing and one can act as the host. You can setup your drives as shared drives on your network. Then let your other media device connect to it over your home network. Many routers can also act as a basic file server.
• Plex: When people get to the point of serving media on their network. They usually want something which helps with organization. Programs like Plex can serve your media over the network. Get media info from IMDB and other sources (cast, thumbnail, other video info). This is a bit more advanced and requires hardware which can handle transcoding plus properly naming media files. Along with devices which support the client app.

 

[ste571]

Ty for the reply velocityg4.

Well the way you describe it I cannot avoid sharing over ethernet. I was hoping to try the usb connection for both tvs but i Understand now its not possible. I read in another post about KVM but since i want to use them simutaneously i guess that Solution doesnt serve me.I dont intend to switch manually every time...

By the way its 2 tvs not computers. Two televisions who I want them to share the same USB hub and files simoutaneously. I have Kodi allready and it feels like in 1080p content the Samba protocol buffers a lot, Through Kodi at least. I will try tho Plex as well as everyone say its better.

Ty for your input, you cleared the path for me.