Help! AVI movies -> iTunes -> synced to AppleTV

[fok]

I am trying to play avi movies on AppleTV. I am aware of several apple tv hacks that allow this, but I want to use the tagging features in iTunes to organize my movies. I do not want to re-encode them into mp4.

I have already moved my avi (xvid, also mkv) movies to iTunes by opening them with quicktime pro, then saving as a self contained movie which puts the file in a .mov container. This only takes 30 seconds and is not a re-encode. This allows them to be tagged and imported into iTunes. They play fine on my computer with perian, but I cannot figure out how to get them synced to play on the ATV.

I want to use apple's interface and player on the apple tv rather than use boxee or browsing through a folder containing the movies.

Does anybody know how I can do this? I really appreciate any tips!

 

[hitekalex]

Apple TV won't natively accept MOV containers with non H.264/AAC streams.

There are hacks out there that prepend small H.264 files onto non-native formats, which may trick Apple TV into accepting the title. Google for "Apple TV Fooler" for more details. You obviously also need to patch your Apple TV and install Perian to play back XviD/DiVX content.

 

[fok]

I am aware this is not possible natively. I installed the patchstick (http://code.google.com/p/atvusb-creator/) that puts boxee and xbmc on the apple tv. That did not work.

I attempted to install perian but I'm not sure if I did it right. I used SSH to copy the perian component to /Library/Quicktime on the ATV. What am I doing wrong?

 

[fok]

Ok, I got the Apple TV fooler working, and perian is installed! Thanks, that was the most important thing!

I have three more questions:

I would also like to be able to browse and play a few files that are on a folder on my networked computer without using appletv fooler. Is this possible within the AppleTV interface, without using boxee? How do I do this?

What's the easiest way to add an external USB Hard drive to the ATV for extra storage? All of the hacks I've found require opening the ATV.

Is there a patchstick that only installs perian (or SSH so I can install perian myself)? I'd rather not have boxee and xbmc on the ATV since I don't intend to use them.

Thanks again, I really appreciate any help with any of the above.

 

[hitekalex]

I would also like to be able to browse and play a few files that are on a folder on my networked computer without using appletv fooler. Is this possible within the AppleTV interface, without using boxee? How do I do this?

Yes, you need ATV Files. That's what I use to play non-native content, as "atv fooler" approach is a cludge, and Boxee is horrible.

What's the easiest way to add an external USB Hard drive to the ATV for extra storage? All of the hacks I've found require opening the ATV.

I haven't done this myslef, as I stream from a central server.. But there are published methods to add USB storage - do some research on awkwardTV or AppletvHacks.

Is there a patchstick that only installs perian (or SSH so I can install perian myself)? I'd rather not have boxee and xbmc on the ATV since I don't intend to use them.

The USBpatchstick gives you an option to exclude Boxee/XBMC on the install. Then you can add Perian yourself via SSH, it's a 2 minute step.

 

[Keebler]

I am trying to play avi movies on AppleTV. I am aware of several apple tv hacks that allow this, but I want to use the tagging features in iTunes to organize my movies. I do not want to re-encode them into mp4.

I have already moved my avi (xvid, also mkv) movies to iTunes by opening them with quicktime pro, then saving as a self contained movie which puts the file in a .mov container. This only takes 30 seconds and is not a re-encode. This allows them to be tagged and imported into iTunes. They play fine on my computer with perian, but I cannot figure out how to get them synced to play on the ATV.

I want to use apple's interface and player on the apple tv rather than use boxee or browsing through a folder containing the movies.

Does anybody know how I can do this? I really appreciate any tips!

Hi Fok,

Can I ask why you don't want to re-encode into mp4? I did that with an avi I had and it didn't take very long and the quality was outstanding. I'm curious as I'm trying to solidify some processes.

Cheers,
keebler

 

[fok]

Hi Fok,

Can I ask why you don't want to re-encode into mp4? I did that with an avi I had and it didn't take very long and the quality was outstanding. I'm curious as I'm trying to solidify some processes.

Cheers,
keebler

That's an easy answer... Over the years I have accumulated a collection of hundreds of movies and countless episodes of tv shows. Re-encoding everything would be an extremely major undertaking.