Capacity vs function dilemma

I've recently started downloading my DV tapes onto my macbook (320gb) so i can view them on TV via possibly apple TV in the future or possibly my xbox 360 via connect360 now (from itunes library).

It's quickly becoming clear that 320gb isn't going to hold much (about 18hrs if the counters are to be trusted).
my question is this: I can change the hard drive seemingly quite easily to a 1Tb SATA drive but that would sacrifice the SSD that came with the macbook pro, is the SATA drive much more noisy (i love how quiet the macbook is compared to my clunky windows PC) and would I be sacrificing much in function to gain storage?

If i were to attach a large external drive and store my video there rather, and keep the SSD, can I view the video stored on the external hard drive through apple TV (or does it have to be put into itunes in order for it to be accessed with the apple tv?

sorry if this is a bit disjointed but simply put, i need more storage that allows me to access my videos through apple tv without sacrificing the silent quick running of my lovely macbook... and if anyone has the holy grail as well, please let me know.

thanks
grant

you wont be able to get a 1TB that will fit inside (2.5 in SATA drives at 1TB are generally 12mm thick, and to fit inside the Macbook need to be 9mm in thickness.)

I believe the max is 750GB, unless technology has advanced since i last looked.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751

When you want to choose which iTunes library to direct iTunes to, hold option while launching iTunes.

If you have an airport extreme, you can plug the ext directly into that and stream to the ATV.

gsaps said:

If i were to attach a large external drive and store my video there rather, and keep the SSD, can I view the video stored on the external hard drive through apple TV (or does it have to be put into itunes in order for it to be accessed with the apple tv?

Click to expand...

To watch on the Apple TV, your videos will need to be in iTunes. But that's ok. In iTunes, under Preferences, then Advanced, disable the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder…". Then, with your videos stored on the external drive, just drop them in iTunes. They'll stay put.