AppleTV + Video_TS

[mlx52]

I have been using an AppleTV since it came out (now running the updated software 2.3.1, I believe). I recently purchased a Mac Mini and imported all of my DVD's using CloneDVD (Windows program). I'm going to connect this Mac Mini to my main Home Theater TV (62 inch plasma). Front Row can play the Video_TS files (I have them aliased in the movies folder, with the actual files sitting on a Western Digital 2TB drive). I will be moving the AppleTV into my bedroom and would like to somehow stream the movies using the AppleTV, I've used Handbrake to convert a test movie, however, the quality isn't up to par and I'm thinking about keeping them as just Video_TS files (46 inch LCD). I know the AppleTV can't, out of the box, play these files, however it looks like it is possible using something like ATVFlash. My proposed setup would be, keep the files on the 2TB drive connected to the MacMini and somehow be able to access them on the AppleTV. Can I set the MacMini to wake on LAN every time the ATV tries to access the 2TB drive, how would I tell it where the movie files are? Is this at all possible, would ATVFlash do what I am looking for?

Network is all gigabit Ethernet, with the AppleTV being 100 only.

I'm not super skilled in "hacking" which is why the ATV Flash seemed appealing.

Thank you and I apologize for the long post.

 

[roidy]

Using Handbrake 0.93 and the ATV preset with a CQ of about 62 or 63 should give you a video file about 4 to 5 times small than the DVD with no noticable loss of quality. I`ve converted stacks of DVD`s using Handbrake and I carn`t tell the difference. Make sure your using the latest version of Handbrake and that the ATV preset is uptodate. I know it`s a lot of work converting them but the space saving alone makes it worth it.

 

[JBaughb]

Thanks for the reply roidy.

I know this isnt my thread, but I am interested in the discussion. Could we switch back to what the OP was originally interested in (playing video_ts files on the TV)
There are other reasons to be interested in video_ts over an encoded video file. Some would be the bonus videos, commentary tracks, multiple audio streams, optional subtitles, ect. Plus the saved hard drive space isnt very important these days since its so cheap. And, if you ever need to encode a movie in a special format for a particular device you'll have the master copy without having to re-rip it.

Switching back to the topic, I would also like a more elegant way to watching my dvd rips. I'm currently testing out boxee....but i hate switching from the apple tv interface to the boxee interface.

Can someone chime in with their thoughts on atv flash?