Looking to see if its worth it to possibly buy a 16gb or 32gb either USB drive or SD Card that I can load up with movies and then insert it into my Macbook air to watch them on so that it doesnt take up any space? Which would be better the USB or the SD Card?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Can I watch movies off of a USB or SD Card?
- Thread starter Smiller4128
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
matbook101
macrumors 6502
halledise
Suspended
I'm kinda not too sure why you'd want to.
surely the simple option would be to drag the movie you want to watch off the removable media and onto your desktop, watch said move and then delete.
you still have the original on your removable media.
I have an external hdd (500gb) with a stack of flix on it and follow that procedure when it's movie time 😉
LordVic
Cancelled
copying to your computer off memory stick is a silly waste of time.
Unles you absolutely cannot have that memory stick attached due to space. just read the movie right off it.
USB has more than enough read speed to keep up with all but the highest res movies
I'm just thinking in terms of saving space. Plus I've heard that there might be some concern with the number of times you can write/read on a SSD before it starts to degrade. And that scares me...but not enough to stop from buying one.
I have TONS of movies (Standard DVD's) already ripped to my 2TB Apple Timecapsule. So When I'm at home its no problem just streaming it over the wifi to a macbook air or iPad, etc.
So I'm just talking about in terms of when I take my macbook air with me on vacation, plane, in airports, etc. Rather than loading up all the movies onto the SSD, put them all on a USB or SD Card, insert it into the air, and just watching them off the card or USB Drive directly.
In this sense, would a USB Drive or an SD Card be a better choice? Which would have faster read speeds or smoother viewing I guess you would say?
I have TONS of movies (Standard DVD's) already ripped to my 2TB Apple Timecapsule. So When I'm at home its no problem just streaming it over the wifi to a macbook air or iPad, etc.
So I'm just talking about in terms of when I take my macbook air with me on vacation, plane, in airports, etc. Rather than loading up all the movies onto the SSD, put them all on a USB or SD Card, insert it into the air, and just watching them off the card or USB Drive directly.
In this sense, would a USB Drive or an SD Card be a better choice? Which would have faster read speeds or smoother viewing I guess you would say?
Techwriter
macrumors regular
Sure you can. I went on vacation and did the exact same thing. I added movies to many SD cards and USB flash drives. I watched directly with the SD card/usb drive attached, never moving them to the Macbook Air's HD, and they all worked great. I didn't notice a difference in speed when viewing, but the SD card was faster when copying and slimmer when attached, depending on the USB flash drive you purchase. I plan on buying more SD cards before my next vacation.
I've also read about issues when re-writing to the SSD but I'm not sure it's true.
I've also read about issues when re-writing to the SSD but I'm not sure it's true.
SD should be a good option. Only sticks out a quarter inch or so making it more space conservative than a USB drive.
I use a 128GB SD for my backups.
I use a 128GB SD for my backups.
halledise
Suspended
your opinion.
and your preference.
some prefer not to have odd things sticking out the side whilst watching a movie 😀
Last edited: