A few ATV questions

[kjvi5]

I'm getting closer to purchasing an Apple TV but just want a little more information:

The difference between streaming and syncing:

1)Streaming requires and means that something is running on my imac upstairs, but playing or showing on my Apple TV. Doing this does not store the information on the Apple TV hard drive itself.

2)Syncing means that my imac actually puts the data on the Apple TV itself.
Given this, does ATV let you control what gets synced up? In other words if I have 200gb's worth of music and movies on my itunes drive on my imac, will the ATV let me manually decide what I store on the ATV? Or does it automatically put everything on there until it runs out of space?

3)My imac is upstairs, my tv (and my ATV when I get it) will be downstairs. I am using an Airport express router connected to the imac , and I have an Airport Extreme Base Station plugged in right next to the TV, where the ATV will be going. I know I can do everything wirelessly (stream, sync, etc.) but will my connection to the ATV be better if I run an ethernet cable from the plugged in Base Station or will it not make a bit of difference?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fivepoint]

1)Streaming requires and means that something is running on my imac upstairs, but playing or showing on my Apple TV. Doing this does not store the information on the Apple TV hard drive itself.

That is correct.

2)Syncing means that my imac actually puts the data on the Apple TV itself.
Given this, does ATV let you control what gets synced up? In other words if I have 200gb's worth of music and movies on my itunes drive on my imac, will the ATV let me manually decide what I store on the ATV? Or does it automatically put everything on there until it runs out of space?

Yes, you choose what content is synced. It's just like using your iPod. You select the device from the Sourcelist in iTunes, and tell it what to sync and what not to. Very easy stuff! You can also auto-populate the ATV with the most recent content. It will do so until it is full.

3)My imac is upstairs, my tv (and my ATV when I get it) will be downstairs. I am using an Airport express router connected to the imac , and I have an Airport Extreme Base Station plugged in right next to the TV, where the ATV will be going. I know I can do everything wirelessly (stream, sync, etc.) but will my connection to the ATV be better if I run an ethernet cable from the plugged in Base Station or will it not make a bit of difference?

Thanks in advance.

Your setup is almost identical to mine. You will likely have NO problem streaming content over your wireless connection. The only time you'll have any lag is when you're fast-forwarding or rewinding. Hook it up wirelessly, if you can't stand the lag when scrubbing, then you can try and hardwire it... but I can't speak to how much speed improvement that will provide you with.


Good luck! You're going to LOVE your AppleTV!

 

[basesloaded190]

I'm getting closer to purchasing an Apple TV but just want a little more information:

The difference between streaming and syncing:

1)Streaming requires and means that something is running on my imac upstairs, but playing or showing on my Apple TV. Doing this does not store the information on the Apple TV hard drive itself.

2)Syncing means that my imac actually puts the data on the Apple TV itself.
Given this, does ATV let you control what gets synced up? In other words if I have 200gb's worth of music and movies on my itunes drive on my imac, will the ATV let me manually decide what I store on the ATV? Or does it automatically put everything on there until it runs out of space?

3)My imac is upstairs, my tv (and my ATV when I get it) will be downstairs. I am using an Airport express router connected to the imac , and I have an Airport Extreme Base Station plugged in right next to the TV, where the ATV will be going. I know I can do everything wirelessly (stream, sync, etc.) but will my connection to the ATV be better if I run an ethernet cable from the plugged in Base Station or will it not make a bit of difference?

Thanks in advance.

1. you are correct here.

2.You have the option, just like an ipod to choose what you want synced and what you don't want.

3. wireless works well, but like you i have my apple tv with a hard connection to my router just to make sure nothing would ever happen with the wireless in my apartment.

 

[Mr Kram]

i have an addtional question. i just picked up an apple tv yesterday. i was tinkering around with it a little last night. is there any way you can differentiate between the synced items and the streamed items in the apple tv menu?

 

[fivepoint]

i have an addtional question. i just picked up an apple tv yesterday. i was tinkering around with it a little last night. is there any way you can differentiate between the synced items and the streamed items in the apple tv menu?

No, unfortunately not. The only way to tell is to turn iTunes off on your computer, and navigate through your AppleTV menus to see what still remains.

 

[Mr Kram]

that's what i figured. no big deal i guess. thanks.