Apple TV with non iTunes media

[Mfnd]

Hi

I am looking at getting an apple TV but have read rumours on line that it won't play music or video added to iTunes from CDs or DVDs. Is this true and is there a simple work around? Vy little of my iTunes content is from the iTunes store so it seems fairly useless to me if this is true?

Cheers

 

[vrDrew]

Hi

I am looking at getting an apple TV but have read rumours on line that it won't play music or video added to iTunes from CDs or DVDs.

Definitely not true. I just got done watching (on my AppleTV) a bootlegged copy of the latest Downton Abbey episode that some kind British soul ripped and uploaded to the internets.

Video content needs to be in mp4 format. Just select the appropriate file and choose "open with iTunes" and it will start copying it to the library. You will have to manually edit the metadata and put it in the correct genre, etc. But if you are ambitious and enterprising enough to rip your DVD collections, that won't be much of a challenge, will it?

PS: Adding music from CDs is even easier. Just stick the disc in a drive, and it will walk you right through the whole process.

 

[sulliweb]

Not entirely true... You're locked into Apple's minimal number of codecs if you don't jailbreak, but anything that is in your iTunes library will play.

For DVDs, you'll have to pull the video off of it into a compatible format such as mp4 or m4v. Music is pretty much music, so it should all play if iTunes plays it now.

 

[Mfnd]

Thanks for that, so if anything that currently plays through iTunes will work then I should be ok should I?

I use handbrake to rip DVDs into iTunes and they play fine on my computer iTunes and iPad. Also I have lots of music ripped into iTunes from CDs. This should all play fine on apple TV should it? I'm not looking to stream from anywhere bu iTunes, just thought I had read that it had to be purchased through the apple iTunes store.

Cheers.

 

[Bernard SG]

Thanks for that, so if anything that currently plays through iTunes will work then I should be ok should I?

I use handbrake to rip DVDs into iTunes and they play fine on my computer iTunes and iPad. Also I have lots of music ripped into iTunes from CDs. This should all play fine on apple TV should it? I'm not looking to stream from anywhere bu iTunes, just thought I had read that it had to be purchased through the apple iTunes store.

Cheers.

Shhhh!
That's not legal!
(but I do it too )

 

[Caliber26]

Thanks for that, so if anything that currently plays through iTunes will work then I should be ok should I?

I use handbrake to rip DVDs into iTunes and they play fine on my computer iTunes and iPad. Also I have lots of music ripped into iTunes from CDs. This should all play fine on apple TV should it? I'm not looking to stream from anywhere bu iTunes, just thought I had read that it had to be purchased through the apple iTunes store.

Cheers.

Yes. Anything and everything in iTunes will play on Apple TV, even if it was not purchased from the iTunes Store.

 

[chenks]

Yes. Anything and everything in iTunes will play on Apple TV, even if it was not purchased from the iTunes Store.

not true. just because it is in itunes library does not automatically mean it will play on the appletv.

you can have content in itunes that is way out the scope that the appletv can play.

 

[Mfnd]

Ok cheers, and by the way, ripping CDs and DVDs is technically not illegal if for personal use. You are allowed to keep an electronic back up of any DVD or cd you buy asking as you the don't go and distribute or sell them or allow someone to use the original whilst you use the electronic etc.

So would you recommend the apply TV or am I gonna get it and be disappointed as half my stuff won't work on it?

 

[tiptopp]

Do you have an iPad or iPhone? If so, you can use something like AirVideo to play non-Apple compliant videos, even if they're not in the iTunes library, using Airplay. AirVideo converts as it streams. It works well!

Tiptopp

 

[Mfnd]

I have the VLC ap which streams content to my iPad and then onto the tv, but problem is that it won't stream DRM content so can't view stuff bought from iTunes! Am really looking for a solution which will do both.

 

[From A Buick 8]

Ok cheers, and by the way, ripping CDs and DVDs is technically not illegal if for personal use. You are allowed to keep an electronic back up of any DVD or cd you buy asking as you the don't go and distribute or sell them or allow someone to use the original whilst you use the electronic etc.

So would you recommend the apply TV or am I gonna get it and be disappointed as half my stuff won't work on it?

All of your stuff will work on it. You just need to rip them and then encode for the ATV. The best way to do that (IMHO) is to use Handbrake to encode the ripped file (use the ATV preset) and then use a tagging program ( I use identify) to tag the encoded file and add it to iTunes.

Very easy to do, i have done this with my 600 DVD collection and have been 100% successful, except for a few user errors which I worked my way through (with help from MR).