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Netbook only has a 160Gb Capacity Hard drive so considering buying an external one for all my Music, Videos and Documents and like the idea of getting a media player one so I can play the video's directly through the TV without the use of the Laptop, but...

my question regards playability of Video files that require codecs- as the majority of the films I have require codecs on my system so I downloaded a codec pack but will these files work on the external hard drive?

If not can I install a codec pack onto the hard drive so they work? If not its not really worth forking out the extra 50 quid if I cant use it.

Anybody else got one of these? any good?

I'm sure the codec is for the player, not the file.  So it should be fine.

So I can install codecs onto the external player??

Are codecs an application?? I'm a bit dumb with it-just know some videos require it- if so does that mean I can download applications onto the external hard drive??

Thats the bit thats confusing me as i'm assuming these drive aren't the same as base units(and so wont have CPU's) so can applications be downloaded onto them?

with external hard drives can you just swap and change the hard drive inside it,without any hassle??

depends on which type - generally no, they will be sealed. if you want to do that you are best buying an empty 'caddy' and then a hard drive to put in it. for obvious reasons these are easier to work with.

am sure thats the 1 i've got

A codec is required to allow playback software (Windows Media Player, Quicktime, VLC, RealPlayer etc. etc.) to understand a specific media file format (MPEG-4, XviD, AVC, MPEG-1/2, WMV9, MPEG-4, MKV, H.264, MP3, WMA, OGG, PCM WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIF/AIFF, MKA etc. etc. etc.).

The different media players all support a certain subset of formats out of the box but as new/modified formats come along, that's where the codecs - translators if you like - come in.

These combined external HDDD/media players will also support a certain subset of formats out of the box - probably slightly different subsets depending on manufacturer/spec. I'd be very surprised if any of them have the ability to add additional codecs at a later date. The manufacturers *may* release new firmware for them that includes new functionality but being able to download, install and run the latest whizzy codec on demand on what is essentially an appliance is not going to happen IMHO.

So if you're going to buy one, make sure it supports the file formats that the majority of your current library consists of.

If you're just buying an external hard drive as a means to store the video files, and the actual media player (VLC is very good by the way) is installed on your computer, then any codecs will be applied on your computer for the player - not for the files themselves.  So you'll be fine.

If you're buying a hard drive that is a media player itself - that's a different matter, as Longines pointed out.

I got this one http://svp.co.uk/product/freecom_network_mediaplayer_35_320gb_hdd_hw541
plays everything I have put on it!

This is mine  Akasa Integral P2 USB 2.0 which i think is just the housing so can I interchange hard drives??

I recently installed a free media centre app called TVersity onto my main pc. I can now share all video files, music, pics accross my small home network and TV. It can even be set up so I can view my films accross the internet when I'm away. (not tried this yet). This also installed a 'codec pack'.

Not sure if this is any help but thought  it worth mentioning.

Correct. No integrated media playing capability - just a hard drive caddy.

cool cheers