Hi all, we've a 32" Samsung QLED TV in our kitchen-diner and we'd like to be able to pause live TV (middle-aged bladders!) so I bought and plugged in a Crucial 2TB external hard drive. The TV recognises it's there but we still can't pause/rewind live TV as the machine says it's not available. I've now reached the limit of my expertise (which was virtually nil to start with) and the internet isn't being a lot of help, can anyone offer any advice/tips please?
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ajlelectronics
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External drives often have to be formatted to suit. There may be a format utility on the TV menu, otherwise just format FAT32 in a PC and try that. It may also have a size limit, which you could test with a USB stick.
Kayos
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I spotted a usb port on my daughter's TV and thought it would be useful for viewing backups of movies etc
The usb stick had to be formatted in situ and could only be used to save TV programs, not pause etc
It is also an odd proprietary file system, couldn't even read it under Linux with a custom kernel that included every filesystem possible
The usb stick had to be formatted in situ and could only be used to save TV programs, not pause etc
It is also an odd proprietary file system, couldn't even read it under Linux with a custom kernel that included every filesystem possible
droopsnoot
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^ I believe some of that is intentional, as a copy-protection system. For example my old BT Youview box is having trouble, the HDMI won't output so to watch anything I have to send it via my old Sony HDD recorder through SCART, then back into the TV. I have acquired an identical Youview box, but I read that I cannot just transfer the drive from one to the other because something is "marked", either on the drive or in each recording, to link it to the device that recorded it. It's annoying, because that's my "main" device, there's a lot of stuff that I haven't watched yet, and I am adding more each week.
Can't help the OP, though. It may well be just that the TV doesn't "like" the drive, or it may be that it's formatted NTFS because of the size. When I added storage to my TVs (to watch stuff, rather than to record or pause), I got USB sticks of a reasonable size rather than hard drives (in case the USB port can't power the drive) and they've been fine, except that every time I take the one from the Toshiba and put it in my Windows PC to add something, it has to "repair" the drive, and every time I get an extra "found" folder that I can't delete.
Can't help the OP, though. It may well be just that the TV doesn't "like" the drive, or it may be that it's formatted NTFS because of the size. When I added storage to my TVs (to watch stuff, rather than to record or pause), I got USB sticks of a reasonable size rather than hard drives (in case the USB port can't power the drive) and they've been fine, except that every time I take the one from the Toshiba and put it in my Windows PC to add something, it has to "repair" the drive, and every time I get an extra "found" folder that I can't delete.
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I've given up with the BT now EE boxes, think I've had 4 replacements now, some channels give an "unable to record" message but will record OK on the +1 channel then all my recordings will show a "failed to record" message so can't be played. Have to do a factory reset which seems to fix it for a couple of weeks, but by then I've lost my recordings.
hotponyshoes
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Try a usb memory stick first and see if the functionality you want is available.
My Samsung TV has more than one USB socket and not all sockets provide all functions (although I don't recall ever trying to use live pause)
If a usb stick works then you may need to power up the external hard drive. My hdd had a wall-wart power supply but even that still needed power splicing in. My guess is that the 12v supply only provides power for the drive motor and that the TV does not provide any (or enough) 5v power via the usb socket to run the drive controller.
My workaround was to run the usb cable through an external powered usb hub.
My Samsung TV has more than one USB socket and not all sockets provide all functions (although I don't recall ever trying to use live pause)
If a usb stick works then you may need to power up the external hard drive. My hdd had a wall-wart power supply but even that still needed power splicing in. My guess is that the 12v supply only provides power for the drive motor and that the TV does not provide any (or enough) 5v power via the usb socket to run the drive controller.
My workaround was to run the usb cable through an external powered usb hub.
iNf
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Has the hard drive got an external power supply or are you powering it just from the USB port?
Edit, didn't read @hotponyshoes reply
Edit, didn't read @hotponyshoes reply
Onoff
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Samsung Smart TV USB Format Handbook – All Things Included
This post tells you what the supported Samsung smart TV USB formats are and tells you how to solve the format problem with 5 methods.
Just from the USB port. It's a Crucial SSD which doesn't have any way of supplying power so I didn't think it would be an issue.Has the hard drive got an external power supply or are you powering it just from the USB port?
Edit, didn't read @hotponyshoes reply
Thanks, I'll have a look at this later.Samsung Smart TV USB Format Handbook – All Things Included
This post tells you what the supported Samsung smart TV USB formats are and tells you how to solve the format problem with 5 methods.www.partitionwizard.com
