External hard drive - Xbox 360

[Kier]

Not sure if this is possible, but, I've got a external hard drive that I keep TV shows on, and I would like to be able to plug it into my 360, and then watch it that way, however it wont work, I have to put them onto a USB stick first, which is rather annoying.

Does anyone know how to make it, if its possible, so I can just plug the hard drive in using the usb slots at the front?

Thanks.

 

[custard]

you havent said what format the files are?
how is the hard drive formatted?

 

[Kier]

Files are .avi mostly.

Don't have a clue how it is formatted...how would I find out?

 

[custard]

hook it up to the PC
right click
properties
file format
im guessing it will be NTFS which the 360 wont read

 

[Kier]

If it is NTFS...is it possible to make it so it can be read by the 360?

 

[Eklipze3k]

Yes, but you'd need to store the data elsewhere whilst you reformat the disc to the right file system, which is probably FAT or FAT32

 

[custard]

If it is NTFS...is it possible to make it so it can be read by the 360?

yup you need fat32,however you then hit the 4gb file size limit
is your 360 networked to your PC?

 

[Kier]

yup you need fat32,however you then hit the 4gb file size limit
is your 360 networked to your PC?

Is that 4gb per file, or total? If its per file, think I'll be able to get away with it.

Its not, tried it, but doesn't seem to want to work.

 

[colin79666]

4GB per file.

If your Xbox and PC are network just stream the films to the xbox. You don't need Median Center to do it if you have XP Home or Pro it will also work although the interface is a bit fancier with Media Center (XP/Vista or 7).

 

[Eklipze3k]

Per file, some movies can be bigger depending on quality

 

[custard]

4GB per file.

If your Xbox and PC are network just stream the films to the xbox. You don't need Median Center to do it if you have XP Home or Pro it will also work although the interface is a bit fancier with Media Center (XP/Vista or 7).

if the 360 is networked then this is the solution

http://ps3mediaserver.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3217

no need to worry about formats/file sizes
most of my files are way beyond 4GB per file

 

[custard]

Is that 4gb per file, or total? If its per file, think I'll be able to get away with it.

Its not, tried it, but doesn't seem to want to work.

how is your PC/360 hooked up?
put PSM on your PC from the link i posted
so much easier having all your media on the PC
of course thats if you are happy having the PC on while watching movies

 

[Kier]

I've tried using PSM before, it doesn't seem to pick up my 360 all the time.

I often watch films at night, so don't keep my laptop on.

I've been looking at a Media player hard drive, anyone got any recommendations?

 

[custard]

how about this?

Western Digital TV HD 1080i Mini Media Player: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

never even knew this existed
i was looking at this

Western Digital TV HD 1080P Media Player: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

i see they now even do a net streaming version

Western Digital Live 1080p Internet Media Streamer: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

theres other brands and choices so look around
i wouldnt go too cheap like those sumovision ones though