iPad: iPad to external Hard Drive file transfer

[SaturnStrobe]

I have a library of films/TV shows on a 1TB external hard drive and have just purchased an iPad 4.

Can I transfer files between the two without having to use a laptop/desktop as the middle man?

[pocketpenguin]

Short answer, no. You need some device in the middle. A PC/Mac is the simplest. You just plug in the drive to the USB port, and your ipad into USB and use itunes to drag files to your ipad.

Long answer, the device in the middle doesn't have to be a PC/Mac. There are other options like your wifi-router, if it has support for USB.

I've got a d-link dir-505 that acts as a wifi router and storage device. It's made for sharing USB sticks and converting hotel wired connections to wifi, but I've managed to also get a portable spinning HD to work by adding enough power to the USB port (dual usb connector) to spin up the disk. I don't recommend using this device. It's OK, but difficult to configure (you must have a PC to configure it via physical ethernet).

Regardless, the experience of adding storage to your ipad is not the best and you really aren't probably going to like any of the available options.

[turbotoes]

Filebrowser will do the job just fine. I use it a lot to transfer stuff to and from my iPads from my nas, my pcs and my MacBook.

Not sure if there is an app that will do the job for free, but filebrowser is worth the money.

[darngooddesign]

If you put them on an external WiFi harddrive you can access them easily.

[MT0227]

Originally Posted by darngooddesign

If you put them on an external WiFi harddrive you can access them easily.

Which app are you using to view/access them? I have a 1TB dive USBed into my Airport extreme which is shared wirelessly with all my desk/laptops.

[darngooddesign]

I think FileBrowser does that.

[MT0227]

Originally Posted by darngooddesign

I think FileBrowser does that.

Thanks...was just curious if you had any alternatives.

[darngooddesign]

Originally Posted by MT0227

Thanks...was just curious if you had any alternatives.

I initially thought you were talking about stand alone drives, at which point I was going to say that Seagate has a companion app for theirs.

[pocketpenguin]

I think the original poster was asking if there is a way to hook ane existing 1tb USB drive to an ipad without an intermediate device. The answer is no.

There are 30-pin to USB flash drive connectors (search eBay for "ipad storage") that kind of allow it for some flash drives, but none have the power to spin up a disk. Also they require a specific folder layout and file naming convention for the ipad to recognize the files. These devices are really for importing photos from camera storage cards, though people have tweaked them with limited success.

I've been searching for a good way to do this as well, and after much research, and gadget purchasing, I've just resorted to my PC and iTunes to transfer files.

[hyteckit]

I just bought a d-link shareport.

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-SharePo...dp/B0095F5ACE/


Use that as the middle man. Plug in your usb hard drives or flash drives.

Also use it as a wifi routher or just a backup battery to charge your iPhone.

[haruhiko]

GoodReader and some media player apps can access SMB servers (Windows File Sharing / Apple AirPort routers disk sharing etc.).

[SaturnStrobe]

Originally Posted by pocketpenguin

Short answer, no. You need some device in the middle. A PC/Mac is the simplest. You just plug in the drive to the USB port, and your ipad into USB and use itunes to drag files to your ipad.

Long answer, the device in the middle doesn't have to be a PC/Mac. There are other options like your wifi-router, if it has support for USB.

I've got a d-link dir-505 that acts as a wifi router and storage device. It's made for sharing USB sticks and converting hotel wired connections to wifi, but I've managed to also get a portable spinning HD to work by adding enough power to the USB port (dual usb connector) to spin up the disk. I don't recommend using this device. It's OK, but difficult to configure (you must have a PC to configure it via physical ethernet).

Regardless, the experience of adding storage to your ipad is not the best and you really aren't probably going to like any of the available options.

Originally Posted by turbotoes

Filebrowser will do the job just fine. I use it a lot to transfer stuff to and from my iPads from my nas, my pcs and my MacBook.

Not sure if there is an app that will do the job for free, but filebrowser is worth the money.

Thanks for the replies guys, that clears it up. The answer is basically no.

My hard drive is a stand alone 1TB drive with no wifi integrated or anything like that so it doesnt sound like filebrowser would work unless I bought airport or had it connected into my macbook all the time.

Even then does it actually allow you to transfer files onto the iPad which you could then take on a trip and watch out of the house or is it more like accessing files for streaimng over the network?