10-16-2010, 08:18 AM

I'm looking for Apple TV/WDTV advice.

I shoot corporate videos. I have over 100 of them and they're currently stored both on DVDs and on a hard drive (Firewire, but can transfer them to USB).

I'm not particularly interested in accessing the internet or viewing pictures or other media.

I'd like to be able to play them on my TV directly from my hard drive and access them from my remote control/on-screen menu. However, it's not that straightforward:

The Mac my drive is connected to is in my office, which is out of range of my wifi, so if I have something like Apple TV, it won't have access to my computer wirelessly, and I don't want to buy another computer.

Ideally, I'd be looking for a standalone device – ie, a box that plugs into my TV via HDMI and which either has 1TB of storage built in, or else has USB or Firewire connectors so I can connect an external drive to it without requiring wifi. In essence, an iPod, except with the addition of:

1 Greater storage (1TB or 2TB)
2 A good TV-based menu

Cursory research suggests that WDTV Plus might be more appropriate, but I'm concerned about reports of the poor menu. I don't care what it looks like, but I want sufficient metadata options to be able to search using a variety of criteria.

Any suggestions?

10-16-2010, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by Roger Alwick

... I don't care what it looks like, but I want sufficient metadata options to be able to search using a variety of criteria.

Any suggestions?

What you want is an Explorer / Finder type interface or an app that's going to provide you the options to search based on criteria incl'g title, genre, year, actor/actress, director, last added, etc. - what you're looking for is a HTPC.

You don't want to build yourself a HTPC, then it's time to start researching the devices that are available to find one missing the features you can ultimately live without. It's all about features vs cost. Just not going to find a device out there that will do the chores of a $600-$1000 computer for the $100-$200 price tag.

I spent about 3 months looking at craigslist and finally found a HTPC for $400 - the guy had about $650 in it. It's taken me about another $600+ incl'g the software I wanted to get it up to snuff. I did have fairly high requirements for my box - the $400 of the initial investment would do for a lot of folks.

10-16-2010, 08:48 AM

That's interesting. Thanks for the quick reply. I wouldn't want to build anything myself. I do have one other option. I have an old iMac (about five years old). Currently, it's only running OS9 and it's stuck in a box in a cupboard. But it has iTunes.

If I stuck that behind my TV with a Firewire drive attached, would it connect to Apple TV, and would that work?

10-16-2010, 09:13 AM

OS 9 is way before my time with a Mac, so I have no clue what that would do for you.
OS 9 is over 10 years old and you will need OS X (and I think 10.5.7 or above) in order to have a version of iTunes that would stream to the new Apple TV.

My best guess is that the WD Media player would probably be more applicable to what you're wanting to do, especially if all of your content is not iTunes compatible.
Think we have a few members here with the WD players. Hopefully, they can join in. If not, there are several forums out there related to their media players. It might be advantageous to check them out and ask some questions.