Which external hard drive > usb2 or firewire 800 for video

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Level 1

4 points

Which external hard drive > usb2 or firewire 800 for video

Hi,

Putting my dvd's on external hard drive. Have it down to Western Digital usb 2 or Western Digital firewire 800. I have a mid 2011 27" imac so I can use eihter one. I called Apple support and they said either one would work. But just want to get another opinion. I will use the external only for dvd to view on Apple TV. I am purchasing a 3 TB > any idea how many dvd's I can put on 3 TB? I have about 500 dvd in my collection.

Thank you

VPH

Imac, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 3:55 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

BGreg

Level 6

17,552 points

Sep 28, 2012 4:40 AM in response to vph1252q

Personally, I wouldn't get a WD external hard drive, as there have been a number of posts about bad electronics that fail in the box. I use, and would recommend, an external hard drive from OWC, as many of the cases use Oxford chipsets which work well with macs.

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Answer 2

roam

Level 6

13,631 points

Sep 28, 2012 4:48 AM in response to vph1252q

I can watch 1280x720p HD video from a Firewire 400 on an external drive with no problem, so you should be fine with the later model USB2 or Firewire 800.

You certainly have an extensive DVD collection.

PS. I am just talking about conection speeds here, not brands of hardware, as I stay neutral in that area.

Message was edited by: roam

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Answer 3

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Sep 28, 2012 4:46 AM in response to vph1252q

I agree completely with BGreg, but he forgot to add: go for Firewire! 🙂

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Answer 4

vph1252q Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 28, 2012 4:51 AM in response to Klaus1

Klaus1,

Firewire or usb2 is the question. Is there any difference between the two in playing a dvd back to Apple TV? The price is higher for firewire. If no difference in quality then I would opt for the usb2.

Thank you

VPH

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Answer 5

Klaus1

Level 9

52,749 points

Sep 28, 2012 5:00 AM in response to vph1252q

vph1252q wrote:

Klaus1,

Firewire or usb2 is the question. Is there any difference between the two in playing a dvd back to Apple TV?

Probably not, but are you quite sure that that is all you will ever use that HD for?

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Answer 6

roam

Level 6

13,631 points

Sep 28, 2012 5:08 AM in response to vph1252q

The numbers at least theoretically are:

USB2 has a theoretical maximum of 480M/sec similar to Firewire 400, and Firewire 800 is approximately twice as fast.

When it comes to transferring data, (such as backing up or downloading), e.g., a photo album, the transfer speed from a FW800 drive is noticably so much quicker than a FW400.

This will not affect your video viewing, but as mentioned by Klaus, one day the drive may be used for another purpose. Ah, decisions!

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