Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Denon 3808 questions.....

My plan was to put a 300GB external hard drive near the receiver, using probably a 2'~3' USB cable and power it via it's AC cord.

I just wasn't sure if the 3808 accepted it directly, as oppossed to the files being hosted on another computer hooked up via Ethernet.

Sounds like you're good to go Mark.

The downside is, once you have that setup, you might not be able to hear yourself making farting noises with your armpits while you read the forums.

Now THAT sounds like a challenge!

Wow - sorry I am late to the party.

YES - ABSOLUTELY you can plug a USB HDD into the 3808 and listen to your stuff.

Some things to think about:
1) The 3808 has a front and a rear USB port. If you are plugged into one, the other won't work. (Don't get me started).

2)This approach kind of limits things for you. If you can plug the HDD into something else (Wii, PS3, DirecTv receiver, Xbox 360)and then into the Denon, other fun stuff opens up (video, pics, streaming your music, etc.)

3) The 3808 is set up to be a wired connection but given the way I am scattered throughout the house, that wasn't going to work. I set up a Linksys WRT-54GL as a wireless router (2nd floor of house, upgraded antennae) and added a WET54G wireless bridge in the basement home theater. I plugged the 3808 into the bridge and it was very happy - it had a plug and therefore, though it was a wired connection. Also plugged a powered 8-port USB hub into the PS3 and plugged a 750GB & 320 GB HDD to the hub. RESULT - everything everywhere.

Answer may be overkill, but the HDD into Denon will work.

Ray

Ray - once plugged into the hub, how are you using these hard drives? Is it music/pictures/etc. that you've copied from another location to the drives and the content remains static for you to use from the PS3, or is it somehow networked like this so that you can add new content, change files, etc. from another computer? I'm thinking that if it's in the hub plugged directly into the PS3, it's only accessible from the PS3, correct?

Thanks,

Jason

Yep, that simple. HDDs plugged into powered hub. Hub plugged into PS3. I really haven't tried to get at the PS3/drives from my wireless laptop, but I suspect it's possible in some form.

On the 320 GB I have music, pictures and DVDs. The 750 GB drive is dedicated to DVDs.

When I turn the PS3 on, each HDD shows up and it's simple navigation after that.

The other thing I like about the solution is that it's a simple thing to move the HDDs between the PCs I have and the PS3. Plus, I can turn off the PCs when I'm not using them. Simpler from a network/media software perspective as well.

Ray, have you ever hooked your hard drive into the USB port on the back of a satellite receiver? I have a Starchoice satellite receiver (obviously Canadian) which has two USB ports on the back of it. I would assume it would be very similar to any other satellite receiver, so I was wondering if you just navigate through the menu to select songs etc? Hopefully I will be able to play movies from the hard drive also. I did look through the manual but it states nothing about the USB ports.

Does anyone else use Starchoice and attach a hard drive to it?

Thanks

I have a DirecTV HD-DVR with USB ports and it unfortunately does not work like this. To do so, it would require a lot of different CODECs to be in the cable box and since they are not built with this functionality in mind, I'm fairly certain it won't work. The PS3 makes it possible because Sony has a lot of the CODECs built in and they've been pretty good about releasing new CODECs over time to address any that change or are missing.

Jason

Since circa 2000 I've owned Ultimate TV, Tivo, Directv, and DirecTV HD DVRs, and the manuals all described the USB ports as "for future use," there never has been a firmware upgrade to activate them and the new Tivos still won't let you use more than one hard drive, as per Weaknees.com, if you add on an external drive, the internal drive is disabled.

From what I've gathered it appears related to DRM issues. I think standalone Tivo 2s or 3s may have usb functionality, however activation of the usb ports may still be the exception rather than the rule with satellite receivers, although I'm in the US, maybe the situation is different in Canada.

Well, I'm not familiar with Starchoice. I DO have the DirecTV receivers and Jason is correct about the USB stuff.

I was able to stream using my DirecTv, the 3808, and the Wii. I found all of them limited and disappointing. The PS3 stands well apart from that group relative to horsepower and capability.

If you have one of the non-PS3 solutions mentioned above, or even look into the Starchioce menu/manual, you may be able to get music from your PC to your speakers in some fashion.