Are all external hard drives the same?

I use an Iomega 2T eSATA connected to my OPPO95 SATA port. Much faster that USB. Then I powered it with a linear power supply instead of the included wall wart.

I have the Oppo BDP-103, but have a HTPC connected to it via HDMI and a Drobo FS Network Attached Storage Unit. I have not tried the network connection from the Drobo directly to the Oppo, but it works great through the HTPC for music and movies.

I think the advantages include large capacity (up to 15TB), ease of setup, redundancy, location flexibility via ethernet cable, and potential multi-room options.

Investigate Wiebe Tech harddrives.