Best way to build a portable wireless (Wifi) hard drive like a My Passport Wireless Pro (link in thread) so I can stream 4k videos easily on my tablet

This a great question. We have one these ugly green things, but it’s great to take to restaurants or something. But I’m afraid the HDD will stop working someday, or the flaky software will stop working eventually.

EDIT: we have the older version apparently. Maybe I need to grab one of these newer versions.
 
an enclosure is almost as much as a prebuilt. so buy whatever you can find because they went out of style years ago....
 
You can get a pretty good deal on an older Intel NUC i7 (7th gen or later) used and then throw an SSD and a 4TB internal HDD. Smaller than a 5.25" external driver and and will have enough power to direct play or transcode multiple streams. Run it headless with Plex installed and you will have a great portable media server.
 
It'd probably be possible to create a NAS with an ad-hoc / routerless Wi-Fi interface but idk what would support doing so via a GUI.

Otherwise you could make a NAS with an ethernet interface going to a tiny portable router with a Wi-Fi interface, or just skipping the separate NAS device altogether and finding some portable device that can be flashed with router firmware that supports NAS functionality for connected USB devices, like OpenWRT firmware does.
 
Okatis said:
It'd probably be possible to create a NAS with an ad-hoc / routerless Wi-Fi interface but idk what would support doing so via a GUI.

Otherwise you could make a NAS with an ethernet interface going to a tiny portable router with a Wi-Fi interface, or just skipping the separate NAS device altogether and finding some portable device that can be flashed with router firmware that supports NAS functionality for connected USB devices, like OpenWRT firmware does.
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If you just want a single stream that you could direct play, you can buy a $50 router with a USB port and plug any USB drive into it. If you want something more full-featured that you can control remotely, is rather secure compared to a $50 chinesium router and can handle multiple streams direct/transcoding (and also run other services like adblocking, VPN and even be a torrent endpoint while you are away on Hotel WiFi then something like the NUC is fast, quiet, small and secure.
 
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I don't get it. An iPad Pro has USB-C and can connect to an external drive. Why would you not just connect something to it with a USB-C cable.

I mean if its for pron and you don't want the USB-C cable to get tangled up then I guess wireless is the way to go lol.
 
Not ever
bluestang said:
I don't get it. An iPad Pro has USB-C and can connect to an external drive. Why would you not just connect something to it with a USB-C cable.

I mean if its for pron and you don't want the USB-C cable to get tangled up then I guess wireless is the way to go lol
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Not every iPad Pro has a USB-C port.
 
mwroobel said:
Not ever


Not every iPad Pro has a USB-C port.
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Ahh, was going off a page I found on Apple's site talking about USB-C external storage access on Ipad Pro Gen 1 and newer...figure that meant them all. Either way, sucks to have Apple I guess in situations like this.
 
mwroobel said:
If you want something more full-featured that you can control remotely
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OP said they wanted something local. They're also used to a device that seemingly does ad hoc wireless (could be mistaken). Most dedicated NAS (that I've seen at least) won't support ad hoc wireless out of the box. OP wanted something portable. Hence it's either you go with NAS device + portable router (gateway, with in-built wireless NIC), be an advanced user and install Proxmox and manage VMs of both on one system, or just combine the two and accept a simpler solution to save some room and complication.

That said OpenWRT can be flashed to a large range of devices, including x86-based. If one actually needs to go the full-fledged NAS route then Lenovo Tiny series with the expandable PCIe slot is a more flexible option in that regard.

Just depends how much the OP wants to tinker. If they want a more feature-rich NAS and want to DIY it they're going to have to invest time and research.
 
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I believe what the OP wants is a fully self contained item that has the following features:

1. Creates its own WiFi network.
2. Can store movies.
3. Be accessible from a mobile device (app).
4. Is self powered.
 
Yes, and like I've been saying the whole time... a small external drive would be perfect and easy to carry around and attach to the iPad with a cable. I used to do it a few years ago with tablet that had no SD Card slot but had a way to attach OTG storage via a simple cable to a small external drive (1TB SSD). KODI plus that and had movies to watch when traveling.
 
Cheap router, used SFF system with a bigger hdd, Ubuntu and plex server. Not all in one, but easy and relatively portable. I do this for a cabin in the woods for the kiddos.
 
bluestang said:
Yes, and like I've been saying the whole time... a small external drive would be perfect and easy to carry around and attach to the iPad with a cable. I used to do it a few years ago with tablet that had no SD Card slot but had a way to attach OTG storage via a simple cable to a small external drive (1TB SSD). KODI plus that and had movies to watch when traveling.
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I hate more wires but still it may be the only way right now.
 
westrock2000 said:
I believe what the OP wants is a fully self contained item that has the following features:

1. Creates its own WiFi network.
2. Can store movies.
3. Be accessible from a mobile device (app).
4. Is self powered.
Click to expand...

Bingo.

I found some things but most do not get good reviews.
 
Looks like another choice similar to the WD just popped up on Amazon. I don't know if it is any good (probably isn't) but here you go!
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
kydsid said:
Cheap router, used SFF system with a bigger hdd, Ubuntu and plex server. Not all in one, but easy and relatively portable. I do this for a cabin in the woods for the kiddos.
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Anyway to power something like that in a car ?
 
ng4ever said:
Bingo.

I found some things but most do not get good reviews.
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One option worth looking at is the GL.iNet GL-XE300, which is a portable gateway (ie: router + modem + wireless access point, though you won't be using the modem part) that supports a microSD card and has its own internal battery.

It runs a custom version of OpenWRT (I prefer flashing them with vanilla OpenWRT but their custom interface is probably a bit easier if one will be using it without the 4G aspect and just via local Wi-Fi).

For how to set up file browsing for phones see their docs page.

Caveat is I can't recall if it supports external USB drives. I don't think the prior model did, though they also have other models available. OpenWRT itself does but the device's USB port is for using external modems not storage devices.
 
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ng4ever said:
Anyway to power something like that in a car ?
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I haven't looked. In the car we use Hotspot wifi and a firetyv with plex. It has access to the home plex server. Gaps in service? Plex allows downloads to pads, etc.
 
kydsid said:
I haven't looked. In the car we use Hotspot wifi and a firetyv with plex. It has access to the home plex server. Gaps in service? Plex allows downloads to pads, etc.
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I am not downloading all the media to the tablet.
 
I wear them so I don't distract anyone else. Like the driver.

Can still hear people though if need be. Beauty of auto transparency!
 
ng4ever said:
I wear them so I don't distract anyone else. Like the driver.

Can still hear people though if need be. Beauty of auto transparency!
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Makes more sense now.

So what do you have your media stored on now? I still say a portable SSD or flash drive is best and easiest way. That iPad Pro has to support OTG media?
 
bluestang said:
Makes more sense now.

So what do you have your media stored on now? I still say a portable SSD or flash drive is best and easiest way. That iPad Pro has to support OTG media?
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My computer's WD Black 4 TB Hard drive. I agree but more cords :( Not sure what you mean ? Sorry.
 
OTG = On The Go

Usually you can plug media into it and it should recognize it. If you have to power something else via a car charger or something then how is a simple Lighting/USB cable any worse? How much drive space you looking to carry around with you? Also, what's the iPad Pro model so we know what it's capable of?
 
bluestang said:
OTG = On The Go

Usually you can plug media into it and it should recognize it. If you have to power something else via a car charger or something then how is a simple Lighting/USB cable any worse? How much drive space you looking to carry around with you? Also, what's the iPad Pro model so we know what it's capable of?
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True. 2 TB to 4 TB. iPad Pro 11 inch (4th generation) 128 GB
 
ng4ever said:
I am not downloading all the media to the tablet.
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You misunderstood I don't download everything, far from it. I have one or two movies downloaded in case of no cell signal en route. As long as there is signal the firetv works and accesses the home plex.

The pads themselves have plex and can access the home server by themselves
 
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