An external HDD will not play direct to your TV, that is why you need a media player which is basically a HDD with an extra bit of hardware and software so it can be connected directly to your TV or monitor. To use your HDD you would have to play it through a laptop using the TV as a second monitor. You can also buy a gismo which combined with your HDD will act as a media player, I don't know how well these work. Hope this helps.