Media on hard drive played on audio system?

[nm2285]

I have an external hard drive with all of my music stored on it. I was wondering if there was any hardware that would allow me to play music based on my hard drive over my audio system without a computer in between. I've never seen anything like this and didn't know if it existed.

Nick

 

[Nuglets]

Without some sort of PC to access that HDD it is useless. In order to do anything with the HDD you need an operating system that can access NTFS or FAT32 formatted partitions as well as decode the audio file to play the data as music. I don't think there is a device that can do this with an external HDD other than a PC but maybe someone will enlighten us both. You may be able to get a Home Theatre Media Center and transfer the files to it, or better yet even hook the external hard drive directly to it but I'm not sure, as I have no experience with Media Centers.

 

[furrycute]

Any old PC will do the job. I'm sure you have an old desktop or laptop lying around the house collecting dust. Audio processing doesn't take that much processing power. Even a 6 year old PC is more than adequate for the job. Just make sure the PC fans don't run too loud is your speakers are next to the PC.

 

[MACCA350]

Is this a standard external HDD or a network HDD?

If its Network HDD then there are some receivers that can access it, but they are expensive(eg Denon 4806CI and 5805CI). You can also use a device like the Squeezebox that will access any audio stored on your network and output through analogue or digital connections to your sound system.

If this is a standard External HDD then, as others have stated, you'll need a PC to access it.

cheers

 

[MACCA350]

Actually, for a similar price to the Squeezebox you can get the XBox 360 and have this access and so much more. I'm not sure what requirements the 360 needs to be able to access music files, but I think you'll need a PC running at least Windows XP Service Pack 2.

cheers

 

[nm2285]

Thanks for the responses.
I currently have a digital media streamer in the D-Link DSM-320, but also like to move around the apt with my laptop. It's annoying to not be able to access my music when my external hard drive is in one room and I'm using my laptop in another.

It's not a network laptop. I suspected that my only option was a computer, but was hoping someone would tell me otherwise. Maybe I'll look around ebay for a cheap and older PC.

Nick

 

[masak_aer]

Thanks for the responses.
I currently have a digital media streamer in the D-Link DSM-320, but also like to move around the apt with my laptop. It's annoying to not be able to access my music when my external hard drive is in one room and I'm using my laptop in another.

It's not a network laptop. I suspected that my only option was a computer, but was hoping someone would tell me otherwise. Maybe I'll look around ebay for a cheap and older PC.

Nick

I might have a PC not being used laying around in my place somewhere. It should be similar to the one i use currently as my backup pc (only to access my external drive for my music collection). The spec should be more or less IBM brand, P4 1.3GHz, 256 RAM with a 20Gb Harddrive (I just use external HDD most of the time). I only use the HDD for my OS. If you want it, shoot me a PM and we'll work it out.

 

[Hi Ho]

This isn't much help in your specific situation but the new Yamaha RX-V2700 has a USB port and I believe it can play music files from any storage device that has a USB port, including an external hard drive. The manual doesn't make the exact capabilities really clear but I plan on testing it out at work, where the 2700's just came in.

 

[nm2285]

Is it only on the 2700 and not also the 1700? That's quite an interesting feature for a receiver considering there is no separate product on the market for it. Let us know if it performs as you suspect.

 

[stratman]

Sonos

I don't know your budget, but the Sonos system will work, you'll an NAS though instead of a plain HDD.

 

[Hi Ho]

Is it only on the 2700 and not also the 1700? That's quite an interesting feature for a receiver considering there is no separate product on the market for it. Let us know if it performs as you suspect.

Looking at the Yamaha website, the 1700 doesn't appear to have the USB port. The 2700 supports Yamaha's proprietary IPOD dock and the USB port covers virtually every other player. It will play MP3, WMA, and WAV files. I'm looking forward to fiddling with it. I just might buy one with my employee discount.