I have a Samsung TV, which I can use to stream media from my computer. I also have a Western Digital My Book Essential external hard drive connected via my router.
I was wondering if it was possible to access media on that drive, even when the computer is off (that’s the goal here).
Would this drive connect to a USB port in the router? Is it therefore accessible by any PC on your LAN ? I get that you have attached a wireless dongle to the TV and yes that is the equivalent of running a LAN cable to the router.
Here’s the wiki description of NAS : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Networ…
Such a device can be regarded as a type of server but only in a cut-down manner. It is only a file-server. A storage repository for fast ready network access to shared files. It cannot have the samsung software installed on it so your WD drive is in a sense a simple NAS device. Your TV would have no greater success accessing files on a “Proper” NAS than it does on your WD. The TV does not reach out for the files. It simply displays whatever is fed to it. Feeding it requires the software running in a suitable environment ( a PC )
Goin’ Fishin’ (Some day)