I need to know how to watch movies on iPad off portable hard drive
How to watch movies on iPad from portable hard drive
iPad, iPadOS 14
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To watch movies directly from an external hard drive, you will need to (a) use a suitable adapter to connect your external drive to your iPad - and (b) identify an App capable of playing the video file format that was used to encode the video material.
Starting with connecting your HDD to your iPad…:
If your iPad Pro has a Lightning port, you will need to use an Apple Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter to connect USB devices to the iPad. This adapter has both a USB 3.0 Type-A connector and an additional Lightning port to supply power, from your Power Adapter, to both the iPad and connected device. The Power Adapter must be rated at 12W or more.
As the iPad has limited power capabilities, dependent upon the Storage Device, an external power source is often required. For HDD or SSD, an external power source is almost certainly required.
- Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter
https://store.apple.com/uk/xc/product/MK0W2ZM/A
If you have one of the newest iPad Pro models, with a USB-C connector, you may need to utilise a powered USB hub (i.e., it has its own source of power) - connecting both the iPad Pro and the storage device to ports on the hub.
The external storage device will obviously require an appropriate USB3 cable to connect to the USB port of the Lightning to USB3 Camera Adapter, or USB hub if used.
Some additional information can be found here:
Connect external devices or servers with Files on iPhone - Apple Support
https://www.imore.com/how-use-external-hard-drives-your-iphone-or-ipad
As for video player Apps, while some Apps may be able to play directly from external storage, many will require that the video files are first copied to the iPad for playback. Some file manager Apps have the capability of playing many types of video file directly from external storage. One App that comes readily to mind is FileBrowser Professional by Stratospherix:
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/filebrowser-professional/id854618029
You might wish to review the extensive online Manual and help files to determine suitability for your requirements.