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Apple TV streaming options

M

MattieD

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 19, 2012
23
0
Hey guys I'm new to the forum so hopefully there aren't 20 threads about this.
I bought an ATV to stream my daughter's Disney Movies bc she can't reach the blu-ray player but she can use the remote so I don't have to change Blu-rays all the time she can just have access to whatever movies she wants through streaming but I only have a Macbook Pro.

Needless to say that all my harddrive space was quickly used up and it's making my computer so slow. Over half my drive is movie files.

My question is there anyway I can store these files on a network drive or something to free up space on my hard drive that will stream with the ATV or do I just have to wait until I get an iMac with a huge drive to stream from?
 
Putting the files on an external drive and 'syncing' them in to iTunes will still enable them to be played on the ATV
 
I actually moved my entire iTunes library to my external HDD. Hold down Option when you open iTunes and point it to the library sitting on the external.
 
So there isn't any way to have them on a network drive? So anytime I want to stream a movie I have to hook up the hard drive. That isn't very user friendly. I guess until I get an iMac or mac mini I won't be able to do it conveniently. I hate the fact now that I have to wake my laptop and open iTunes in order to stream.
 
MattieD said:
So there isn't any way to have them on a network drive? So anytime I want to stream a movie I have to hook up the hard drive. That isn't very user friendly. I guess until I get an iMac or mac mini I won't be able to do it conveniently. I hate the fact now that I have to wake my laptop and open iTunes in order to stream.
Click to expand...
You can have your media on a network drive, no problem. I have mine set up that way. I just leave the laptop sitting open with iTunes running. I have the MBP set to never sleep and the display to sleep after 30 minutes. The usb HDD with the media is connected to the AEBS.
 
So Mic J do you have your itunes library on the external disk? Do you just send the video via airplay or does the ATV actually see the media through your Macbook?
 
if the files are on the network drive and computer is on, itunes is open then you can do everything like normal.

If the files are on a network drive, but comp is off. The files are invisible to the ATV

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MattieD said:
So Mic J do you have your itunes library on the external disk? Do you just send the video via airplay or does the ATV actually see the media through your Macbook?
Click to expand...

i believe it can do both, certainly the airplay part
 
Pretty much yep, if you're going to have an iTunes server you want a silent always on PC/Mac like a Mini unless you want all of your files on your computer with iTunes running in the background.

I find you really need a dedicated always on computer to get the most out of an iTunes server, but that's just me. I don't like the compromise of having "background" services running on my computer to get it running and more often than not I multitask. Unless I'm really vegging out, I'll want to use my MacBook at one point or another.

I also use the term "background" because iTunes is not that... it really needs to be split into its server and client services and hopefully iTunes 10.7 will address this.

So long as your iTunes "server" is open (i.e. a running copy of iTunes on the machine with home sharing turned on) your Apple TV will be able to see the contents on it, as soon as you close iTunes, no more server regardless of whether the server is on,off, on the moon somewhere, or bricked into a wall (don't laugh the last one actually happens).
 
Last edited:
I think you just need a simple NAS.

I use this one to stream movies to blueray, mac and our macbook pros use it as a time machine backup.

http://wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=280

There are several versions, just find the one you need. I can also daisy chain 12TB to it if I need the extra space ( not quite yet, but maybe for Christmas ).

just trying to help
 
This might be a dumb question but is there a way to keep your iTunes music files on your macbook(to have for travel) but then keep your movies on the external hard drive and have them work in unison or will I have to change my library every time I want to access my movies?
 
MattieD said:
This might be a dumb question but is there a way to keep your iTunes music files on your macbook(to have for travel) but then keep your movies on the external hard drive and have them work in unison or will I have to change my library every time I want to access my movies?
Click to expand...
Yes. Copy the movies to the external drive, then navigate to their location in Finder. Drag the movie files onto the iTunes window while holding down the option / alt key on the keyboard. The movies will show up in iTunes but the actual files will remain on the external HDD.
 
EJG1980 said:
Yes. Copy the movies to the external drive, then navigate to their location in Finder. Drag the movie files onto the iTunes window while holding down the option / alt key on the keyboard. The movies will show up in iTunes but the actual files will remain on the external HDD.
Click to expand...

iTunes is only a file viewer - the files can be anywhere....
 
MattieD said:
So Mic J do you have your itunes library on the external disk? Do you just send the video via airplay or does the ATV actually see the media through your Macbook?
Click to expand...
I only have the files on the external. The library is on the MBP. I find it to be a little more responsive with that configuration. It sees my media through the MBP.
 
EJG1980 said:
Yes. Copy the movies to the external drive, then navigate to their location in Finder. Drag the movie files onto the iTunes window while holding down the option / alt key on the keyboard. The movies will show up in iTunes but the actual files will remain on the external HDD.
Click to expand...

That's how I've done it in the past. Just one thing to add: I find shutting off the "Copy to media folder" option in iTunes settings helps to prevent accidental copying to the host machine when adding files from a network location.
 
I've been thinking about ripping blu-rays how large are the files generally when you rip a blu-ray. Right now my DVD rips are around 2.5-3GB bc I'm a quality nut. I bump up bitrate and try and get the best looking rip. So far even DVD's look great on my 50" Panny plasma
 
mattied said:
i've been thinking about ripping blu-rays how large are the files generally when you rip a blu-ray. Right now my dvd rips are around 2.5-3gb bc i'm a quality nut. I bump up bitrate and try and get the best looking rip. So far even dvd's look great on my 50" panny plasma
Click to expand...

6-10gb
 
Anyone have any suggestions for a high performance router? Trying to decide whether to upgrade my router and attach an external drive or just get a NAS from Synology

Anyone have any opinions of Synology NAS systems
 
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