# Using Tivo Stream 4k as media server?



## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

Just got my TS4K and set it up without a problem. Now I'm thinking about hooking up external storage. What I'd like is to hook up at least a 2TB portable USB drive that will allow me to playback my own content from that drive like a media server. Is that possible?


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

xberk said:


> Just got my TS4K and set it up without a problem. Now I'm thinking about hooking up external storage. What I'd like is to hook up at least a 2TB portable USB drive that will allow me to playback my own content from that drive like a media server. Is that possible?


I have a usb-c to usb-A adapter (thanks Samsung) with a 128gb thumb drive that has all my workout and spinning vids. I use MXplayer to play them without issue.

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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

Thanks .. that's a start but my content library is closer to 2tb ..


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

xberk said:


> Thanks .. that's a start but my content library is closer to 2tb ..


Then use a bigger drive.... Haha. Just showing you have the ability to use external storage.

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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

xberk said:


> Just got my TS4K and set it up without a problem. Now I'm thinking about hooking up external storage. What I'd like is to hook up at least a 2TB portable USB drive that will allow me to playback my own content from that drive like a media server. Is that possible?


I've answered my own question. Yes. You can hook up an external HDD to your TIVO STREAM 4K and use it as a media server (meaning I can play my own video content like home movies as well as my film library in mpeg or mp4 format). I thought I'd need a powered hub but turns out that just for the external HDD all I needed was (1) an OTG cable (On the Go adapter), (2) the 2Tb portable HDD formatted to exFat and (3) MxPlayer installed on my TS4K. The exFat formatting seems essential as it would not work at all when my external drive was formatted NTSF. The MxPlayer works for me. It saw my folders and subfolders without issue. But You may prefer something else. I did not test other players yet.

This is the OTG I bought at Amazon.

This is the Toshiba portable HDD I used.

So far so good. I am loading my entire library now (nearly 2tb). I will report how it performs with the drive fully loaded.


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## dbpaddler (Sep 25, 2004)

You could've used any usb-c external drive and not needed the otg adapter which was my point above. The fact I used a thumb drive was irrelevant.

This  4tb USB-C drive for $108 would've worked as would the  2tb version for $72.

Or just go with a  3.5" usb-c enclosure for $16 and find the best deal on a drive like the  2tb Seagate for $55.[/]

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## xberk (Dec 3, 2011)

I loaded up my 2TB drive on the exFat formatted drive and tried that with the OTG cable. No go. It did not work for me. I tried MxPlayer, Kodi and VLC with no luck. With a much smaller amount of files on the same drive, MxPlayer was able to handle .. but with 1.8tb of stuff on the drive, NO GO. Kodi seemed the best but I need to figure out the Kodi setup .. It might be that I'm not setting up the video players properly ?????

*dbpaddler* suggested a USB-C drive would do it. I may try that next as I can always use another portable drive. What I did try was using my Toshiba Slim Portable drive straight into the TS4K's USB-C port (no OTG cable). This works fine with exFat thumb drives but did not work (was not recognized) with the fully loaded exFat Toshiba Slim ..


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