handful of ATV questions...

[mdwsta4]

debating about starting to convert my 170 or so DVDs onto an TV. At the moment, i have about a dozen or so movies ripped just for my ipod/iphone. they are just under a gig each.
So my first question is storage. i've seen the organized thread and some of your collections look massive. have you upgraded the HD beyond the 160gb drive offered?
do you have to keep your movies on your itunes library? my only machine is a MBP and while i recently upgraded it's hard drive to a 320gb model, i'd rather not fill it up with movies. i have an external hard drive as well which i use as a system backup and to store all my RAW photo files. can TV access movies on it? or if i convert a movie then transfer it to the TV, can i delete it off my machine?
what's the average size per movie once encoded for viewing on a tv? how do you organize/sort/view extras from the movie?
i'm also a bit confused on viewing movie selections on the unit itself. is it like front row where it displays an alphabetical list? or can you view a larger list of covers (like the grouped with artwork view in itunes)?
lastly, i know you can hack TV, but what do the hacks mainly do for you?

thanks for the help. was looking for a FAQ, but didn't find one.

Cheers,
M

 

[Cave Man]

So my first question is storage. i've seen the organized thread and some of your collections look massive. have you upgraded the HD beyond the 160gb drive offered?

My ATV has a 500 gig drive. Dynaflash has a 1 TB ATV.

do you have to keep your movies on your itunes library? my only machine is a MBP and while i recently upgraded it's hard drive to a 320gb model, i'd rather not fill it up with movies. i have an external hard drive as well which i use as a system backup and to store all my RAW photo files.

You can delete a sync'd movie from your hard drive, but do not delete its reference from your iTunes library. That way the ATV doesn't know you have deleted it and it will not delete it from the ATV's hard drive.

can TV access movies on it? or if i convert a movie then transfer it to the TV, can i delete it off my machine?

See previous comment.

what's the average size per movie once encoded for viewing on a tv?

A 2 hour movie at 2500 bit rate H.264 with AC3 5.1 and AAC is around 2.5 gb.

how do you organize/sort/view extras from the movie?

I call them "Special 1" blah blah blah. Or "Mike's New Car" or "Boundin'".

i'm also a bit confused on viewing movie selections on the unit itself. is it like front row where it displays an alphabetical list? or can you view a larger list of covers (like the grouped with artwork view in itunes)?

It's a list like Front Row.

lastly, i know you can hack TV, but what do the hacks mainly do for you?

A lot more capacity, worry-free updates, and the ability to ff and rew smooth as silk.

 

[mdwsta4]

thanks for the prompt responses.

iirc, ATV has a 2.5" hd, correct? how can you fit a 500gb or 1tb drive in it?

in regards to the special features of DVD's... do you store them in a separate area? or do you title them 'superbad outtakes', 'superbad deleted scenes', etc and they show up right below the main title? when you buy a movie from the itunes music store does it come with those features?

so i'm guessing no way to change the view then, huh? stuck with the list?

My ATV has a 500 gig drive. Dynaflash has a 1 TB ATV.
You can delete a sync'd movie from your hard drive, but do not delete its reference from your iTunes library. That way the ATV doesn't know you have deleted it and it will not delete it from the ATV's hard drive.

A 2 hour movie at 2500 bit rate H.264 with AC3 5.1 and AAC is around 2.5 gb.

I call them "Special 1" blah blah blah. Or "Mike's New Car" or "Boundin'".

It's a list like Front Row.

A lot more capacity, worry-free updates, and the ability to ff and rew smooth as silk.

 

[Cave Man]

iirc, ATV has a 2.5" hd, correct? how can you fit a 500gb or 1tb drive in it?

A few of us have done a major mod. It's really easy to do and reversible.

in regards to the special features of DVD's... do you store them in a separate area? or do you title them 'superbad outtakes', 'superbad deleted scenes', etc and they show up right below the main title? when you buy a movie from the itunes music store does it come with those features?

I usually set them as TV shows in iTunes, then give them a show name (e.g., "Superbad") and then serialize them 1 through whatever for the order I want them in. It's far from perfect, but there's not many other ways of doing it. People have been complaining about this since version 1.0, but Apple has not responded.

I haven't bought any shows from Apple recently, so I don't know how special features come with them.

so i'm guessing no way to change the view then, huh? stuck with the list?

With out software modding the ATV, no way that I'm aware of. Others may chime in, though.

 

[Donz0r]

You can get a huge external HD for your MBP, then have your movies on there and they will stream to your apple TV.
This is the setup most people use and it works very well.

 

[DoFoT9]

You can get a huge external HD for your MBP, then have your movies on there and they will stream to your apple TV.
This is the setup most people use and it works very well.

yes apparently it helps to stop laggage and whatnot (not to sure though as i dont own one, just read it).

having everything stored on the external HD linked to your MBP/computer would be more accessible IMO, easier and faster for other to reach the computer and able to be edited easier.

 

[mdwsta4]

so i could buy one of these hard drives:
http://www.buy.com/prod/western-dig...-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/206409667.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/iomega-500gb-usb-2-0-7200rpm-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/202930159.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-tita...-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/203400931.html

and simply plug in the USB cable to TV to view movies? i'm guessing i'd have to hack it, which i really don't have a problem with doing.

any reason not to buy a used unit from ebay or someplace else? figure if i do this i could buy the original 40gb and upgrade the firmware, right?

 

[tom1971]

so i could buy one of these hard drives:
http://www.buy.com/prod/western-dig...-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/206409667.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/iomega-500gb-usb-2-0-7200rpm-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/202930159.html

http://www.buy.com/prod/fantom-tita...-external-hard-drive/q/loc/101/203400931.html

and simply plug in the USB cable to TV to view movies? i'm guessing i'd have to hack it, which i really don't have a problem with doing.

any reason not to buy a used unit from ebay or someplace else? figure if i do this i could buy the original 40gb and upgrade the firmware, right?

Yes, you can basically connect every USB drive to it.
You need to hack it, which is not a big deal.

Yes, you can upgrade the firmware to the most recent version 2.02.
With ebay - as usual, be careful and check for sellers ratings...