10-31-2008, 06:52 PM

I'm thinking of buying an Apple TV but wondered if anybody who has one can answer a few questions.

1. External Hard Drives
   
   I have several external hard drives with movies files on them, currently I access them via my laptop and watch them via Quick time. I want to be able to watch these on my TV, can I link an external HD directly to Apple TV and search the external HD using Apple TV?
   
   
2. iTunes
   
   Reading the information on the Apple website it states using Apple TV you can watch anything in your iTunes library. I have too many movies to store in iTunes permanently, I can bring them over one at a time as and when I want to watch them but that seems long winded, especially if I change my mind. Can I set up a second iTunes library with just movies from my external HD?

I'd be interested in peoples thoughts and hope they understand what I'm trying to achieve. If Apple TV is not for me, can you recommend anything else which will allow me to watch my Quick Time files on my external HD on my TV?

Cheers

GP

10-31-2008, 07:17 PM

1) no.

2) Hmm, you say you have too many movies to store in iTunes... I don't see the problem: Just option-drag them into iTunes and they won't be copied into your iTunes library folder and iTunes will just reference them on the external harddrive.

Then you could also sync (i.e. copy) or stream those movies to your Apple TV.

10-31-2008, 07:23 PM

Just option-drag them into iTunes and they won't be copied into your iTunes library folder and iTunes will just reference them on the external harddrive.

Aptmunich, thanks for your reply. Can you explain what you mean by "option-drag" and how come they don't end up in my iTunes folder but stay on the external HD?

I think we could be onto a winner here.

Cheers

GP

10-31-2008, 07:48 PM

Just hold down the option (alt) key on your keyboard and drag your movies onto your iTunes library.

Instead of the regular green "+" icon, you should just see a normal arrow. Then iTunes will remember the location of the movie file without copying it to its own library folder.

10-31-2008, 07:52 PM

That's fantastic, that's exactly what I what to do!

One other question, when streaming from iTunes via a wireless network, is the quality effected?

GP

10-31-2008, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by Ginger Pilot

That's fantastic, that's exactly what I what to do!

One other question, when streaming from iTunes via a wireless network, is the quality effected?

GP

Nope. I'm watching "Stargate Atlantis" on mine right now while Time Machine is running and I'm browsing the internet - no degradation in quality. While you can't attach an external drive to the Apple TV, you can stream video from another Mac with the drive attached to it and iTunes installed. I have ~750GB of video on an external HDD attached to my Mini upstairs. It is one of my users' iTunes librarys (connected via USB 2.0). This is then streamed to my Apple TV with no issues. The only stuff on my Apple TV's HDD are about 7GB of music, a few free TV episodes I downloaded, and about 5GB of iPhoto pictures.

10-31-2008, 08:22 PM

Only stuff on my Apple TV's HDD are about 7GB of music, a few free TV episodes I downloaded, and about 5GB of iPhoto pictures.

Thanks XJ-LInux for your reply, this sounds exactly what I want then. I don't really intend to download much from the iTunes store, I'll be using the Apple TV as a tool to watch my movies on my external HD on my TV, therefore would you recommend getting the 40GB over the 160GB?

GP

10-31-2008, 10:07 PM

Depends on your setup a suppose. If you have a desktop or second laptop you can leave powered on, then the HDD capacity of the Apple TV is mostly moot. You can also just attach the HDD to your laptop when you are ready to watch a movie. The Apple TV is generally not connected to it's streaming video source unless you initiate the connection via the Apple TV or via your computer. It doesn't need to be connected all the time, but when it is not connected it's nice to have some items on the Apple TV HDD to watch.

11-01-2008, 07:00 AM

Originally Posted by Ginger Pilot

That's fantastic, that's exactly what I what to do!

One other question, when streaming from iTunes via a wireless network, is the quality effected?

GP

No, but for high def. content you might want to invest in a 802.11n router if you don't already have one: The Apple TV supports that faster wireless standard which will be less likely to have any lag when streaming video.

But try it with your current setup first...