Portable HDD help

[MrFilthy]

I have a 500gb portable HDD and I was wondering if I can plug it in and be able to watch all the videos I have on the HDD on my Acer iconia tab a100? I don't have the right cords to test it myself buy I would like to know before o go out and buy them.

 

[richardd43]

I think I have the correct cable. Will give it a try and let you know

 

[sutekh137]

As far as I know, this requires "USB Host" mode which the A100 lacks (but the A500 possesses).

And also AFAIK, the ICS (Android 4.0) update and recent firmware updates did not change this fact (so it is appears likely that the lack of functionality is hardware based).

It is a shame, as sites like Amazon are vague about the use of USB, mixing terminology for copying files to the Acer itself vs. playing files off an external drive. But I think it simply does not work on the A100, even if the external HDD is fully powered on its own.

I'd love to be proven wrong, so will be subscribing to this thread! *smile*

Thanks,
sutekh137

 

[richardd43]

I tried my 2.5in HDD and it does not work.

This is the same HDD I use on my Transformer.

 

[Vallkar]

Dang! I saw this thread and clicked it hoping I would find a different answer.

 

[zuben el genub]

You can play off a card. I stuck an NFL playoff game I recorded (VOB format) onto the external SD card and it played from there.

You would probably have to get videos or whatever into a cloud service or dropbox. Then you could download and play at your leisure.