Good day. I’m going to be purchasing a 4k+ for my parents and want to make it as simple as possible.
That said, since they don’t plan on playing heavy duty 4k media, would a portable non powered drive attached via powered USB hub be sufficient?
I want to reduce the amount of cables and clutter as much as I can.
But also want it to be fairly easy to transfer files without going the Nas route or heavy networking.
Thanks!
It might work – but we still recommend using a powered USB hub.
A 3.5" drive definitely will not work.
If you have the drive already, you could test it on your device and see if it works adequately.
Yup was thinking that too but don’t have the hardware yet. And a powered USB hub was always going to be used, so I think something like a WD passport 4tb and a decent powered USB hub should be fine, just thought I’d throw it out here before I started shopping.
Thanks as always, Sam.
If you have not purchased a drive yet I would consider that a 3.5" external hard drive will generally last longer and be much more reliable than a bus powered drive and a powered hub. The powered hub is already going to add a second power brick so the only thing you gain is a bit of size.
If you are using a powered USB hub, you will be fine.
Sam