Can someone please answer a very specific question for me regarding the Apple TV 2?

[chrono1081]

Hi guys.

Can someone please tell me if this is possible on the new Apple TV. I think it is but I can't find any difinitive information on it.


If I have a folder on my computer called "Movies" but is not connected to iTunes, can I still stream the contents of that folder (all mp4 files) to my Apple TV 2?

 

[agentphish]

Not at this time. They must all be in iTunes. iTunes is the go-between for the AppleTV to find the content on your computer.

Unless someone like the company who makes Connect360 or Rivet (thelittleappfactory) makes a 3rd party app to make it so you can choose a folder and have that folder broadcast on the network as an iTunes share then we will always need iTunes as the go-between.

I am in the same boat. I am having to convert with Handbrake and import stuff into itunes then stream it to ATV.

Loving it so far though.

 

[chrono1081]

Thanks so much! Its no big deal for me I just will need to move my iTunes library to an external drive.

 

[newagemac]

You might be able to create an alias to your Movies folder and then place it in iTunes. That way, you won't have to move anything.

 

[tripjammer]

Apple TV is for your itunes library...but remember once apps come on this baby, then you will will be using AIRVideo app, VLC app, and PlayON app to stream from your other libraries.

 

[NEBaghead]

I've used several media pc/streaming options including Original Apple TV, XBMC, Windows MCE7 and Boxee. While the limitation of video playback types sucks with the "Out of the Box" Apple TV software, the simplicity of it just working is nice. My wife hated all the different media center solutions I came up with and just wanted the Apple TV back. My biggest problem with that was the original Apple TV hardware couldn't handle my Blu Ray encodes.

Now with that in mind, the new Apple TV hardware handles all my encodes flawlessly and the picture quality is better then what I was getting from several different configurations. Also, the response is snappy in the menus and with chapter skips and my wife can easily navigate to the movies and doesn't have to worry about any weird work arounds or having to reboot the media center to get the movie to play.

I have a media server running windows 2008 at the moment and will likely install WHS Veil when the final release is made so running itunes as a service all the time doesn't bother me and I have the process scripted to add new encodes to the iTunes library but I understand the pain of people who want a cheap NAS and don't want to have a computer running all the time to stream the music. Hopefully, Apple will release some iTune streaming alternatives for Time Capsule or someone might come up with a linux based server app that can run on those NAS Appliances.

I am very happy so far with the new ATV and Can't wait to see what Apps come out for it or options that become available via Jail Breaks.