Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How to use Apple TV storage

G

GWIM2

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 21, 2011
56
4
Scotland
So, I buy an Apple TV unit, hook it to my HDTV and my braodband connection, and stream content ( quite slowly, my broadband download seems to be about 7Mb / sec on my ADSL line )

I know it has some local storage, but surely if I am buying ( as opposed to renting ) content I'd need to store it locally to avoid long repeated streaming downloads of the same thing?

So, buy an Apple TV, an HDMI interface cable, and what else to store the content locally?. I don't need a lot of computer backup, but it might be useful, but how about local HDTV content storage? Apple product, another vendor? Options?

Gordon
Scotland
 
Last edited:
the appletv have no user accessible storage, it has 8GB flash storage for temporary caching of streamed content.

any purchased content would naturally reside in your itunes library on your pc/laptop. you would then either stream it from your itunes library, or via the cloud if applicable.
 
Thanks, and ...

chenks said:
the appletv have no user accessible storage, it has 8GB flash storage for temporary caching of streamed content.

any purchased content would naturally reside in your itunes library on your pc/laptop. you would then either stream it from your itunes library, or via the cloud if applicable.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. In the location I'd be using it I'd have only a MBAir with limited storage capacity and an antique PC, which does have a couple of hard discs in it with about 100 Gb free space at the minute.

Given those restrictions ( limited storage in MBA and 7Mb/sec download speed which would probably give unsatisfactory streaming on HD ) What can I plug into the Apple TV to increase my local storage capacity then?

I'd prefer an Apple product for ease of setup, but any alternatives would be worth hearing about if noticeably cheaper and performing almost the same.
 
You can't connect any storage devices to the Apple TV.

It can access an iTunes library on your network, but cannot access a storage device because there is no storage controller on board.

You can get a Mac Mini if you really want internal storage. Or an old Apple TV (1st Gen) and do some modifications to it.

This is the reason why the Apple TV is so cheap. I recommend you use your old PC as a server and store it in a closet or something. Add more storage to it and organize your iTunes library and just hide it in the closet.

I just got an HP MicroServer (very quiet with 4 storage slots) and will be using this to make a home server. Gonna store it in the closet since it's so tiny and energy efficient...running 24/7. Then I will use my Apple TV as an Airplay device and iTunes device. Hopefully a new jailbreak will come out soon so I can also play non MP4 files.
 
external hard drive

Just plug an external hard drive into your computer. Any brand will be fine, most are made in Thailand anyways. Format it MacOS Journald to work on your Mac, or FAT32 to be able to switch back and forth between Mac an PC. With FAT32 you will have a 'cap' of 4 gig for each file.
 
Bikerdawg said:
Just plug an external hard drive into your computer. Any brand will be fine, most are made in Thailand anyways. Format it MacOS Journald to work on your Mac, or FAT32 to be able to switch back and forth between Mac an PC. With FAT32 you will have a 'cap' of 4 gig for each file.
Click to expand...

This....or you can just get 2 internal HD's and just RAID 1 them just to be safe.
 
Thanks again

That's moving me forward again, thanks.

So Apple TV connected to local network with I Tunes library and stream from there - got it.

The existing PC is quite slow and noisy, and I've have big reservations about leaving it on all the time ( to stream from )

Any mileage in the idea of an apple Time Capsule or external drive as local network storage ? I know that isn't what Time Capsule is designed for, but I have to ask.

If I got a Mac Mini for storage, I'd still need an Apple TV as well - correct?

Other option would be to bin the old PC and swap to a Mac Mini + Apple TV - any benefits / drawbacks with that apart from the startup costs?

Thanks again, still getting my head round most of this.

Gordon
 
GWIM2 said:
That's moving me forward again, thanks.

So Apple TV connected to local network with I Tunes library and stream from there - got it.

The existing PC is quite slow and noisy, and I've have big reservations about leaving it on all the time ( to stream from )

Any mileage in the idea of an apple Time Capsule or external drive as local network storage ? I know that isn't what Time Capsule is designed for, but I have to ask.

If I got a Mac Mini for storage, I'd still need an Apple TV as well - correct?

Other option would be to bin the old PC and swap to a Mac Mini + Apple TV - any benefits / drawbacks with that apart from the startup costs?

Thanks again, still getting my head round most of this.

Gordon
Click to expand...
I currently have a 1TB usb drive connected to my TC for use with the aTV. Works like a charm. Only downside is that you have to have a computer running to run iTunes. For me, that's not a big deal. I just never close my MBP.
 
GWIM2 said:
Any mileage in the idea of an apple Time Capsule or external drive as local network storage ? I know that isn't what Time Capsule is designed for, but I have to ask.

If I got a Mac Mini for storage, I'd still need an Apple TV as well - correct?

Other option would be to bin the old PC and swap to a Mac Mini + Apple TV - any benefits / drawbacks with that apart from the startup costs?

Thanks again, still getting my head round most of this.

Gordon
Click to expand...

The Time Capsule could only be used at the storage location, so you'd still need a pc/laptop running with iTunes open.

You could connect the Mac Mini direct to the TV and use Plex (or equivalent) front-end software - this would negate the need for an appletv if you simply want to play content that is already in your itunes library.
 
mic j said:
I currently have a 1TB usb drive connected to my TC for use with the aTV. Works like a charm. Only downside is that you have to have a computer running to run iTunes. For me, that's not a big deal. I just never close my MBP.
Click to expand...

I'm doing much the same except I'm using a Synology NAS.
 
Sorry for seemingly hijacking the treat ... but what if one uses NAS that works as iTunes server? Does one still need a computer to stream to aTV? I believe Linux file server can also act as an iTunes server (using LDAP I believe).

If iTunes-enabled NAS works without a computer it might be the best solution; you could use it for storing content for aTV as well as your back up disk(s).

Radek

blueroom said:
I'm doing much the same except I'm using a Synology NAS.
Click to expand...
 
radek42 said:
Sorry for seemingly hijacking the treat ... but what if one uses NAS that works as iTunes server? Does one still need a computer to stream to aTV?
Click to expand...

yes you do still need a "real" iTunes instance running on a pc/laptop/mac.
these "iTunes servers" are not real instances of iTunes and don't support Home Sharing, which is what is required to stream to the AppleTV.
 
GWIM2 said:
That's moving me forward again, thanks.

So Apple TV connected to local network with I Tunes library and stream from there - got it.

The existing PC is quite slow and noisy, and I've have big reservations about leaving it on all the time ( to stream from )

Any mileage in the idea of an apple Time Capsule or external drive as local network storage ? I know that isn't what Time Capsule is designed for, but I have to ask.

If I got a Mac Mini for storage, I'd still need an Apple TV as well - correct?

Other option would be to bin the old PC and swap to a Mac Mini + Apple TV - any benefits / drawbacks with that apart from the startup costs?

Thanks again, still getting my head round most of this.

Gordon
Click to expand...

If you get a Mac Mini, no you won't need an Apple TV. You can just connect it straight to your TV. It is just a computer and you can do other tasks with it too. You can also connect USB/Firewire storage to the unit and share those files as well. I recommend a used Mac Mini if you don't want to spend too much money.

I like the Apple TV + Server route because everyone in my home has an iPhone now and I would like to use a central server to store movies, music, photos and other things. Nice thing is I can just add more Apple TV's to the home and I don't have to mess with the server. All the iOS devices can read from the server as well, no issues. The only downside is I'll be running Windows Home Server, but I'm not touching it anyway so I don't care about the operating system. The upside of using a server is that you can setup a RAID 1 (Mirroring) so all your data is safe. For example, in the HP MicroServer you can setup upto 8TB of storage internally.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/e...16-4237917-4237917-4248009-5163346.html?dnr=1

Look out for deals on this bad boy. Got one for $180 when it went on sale a week ago. Keep checking slickdeals.net. Maybe you can sell your old PC for a low price and get some money back. That's what I did.

Mac Mini + Apple TV (or more) is a nice combo, but a downside is that the Mac Mini has limited storage space and it's quite expensive, even a used one. Also you can remotely log on into it and add new stuff to your library or just do it with a BT mouse and keyboard on your TV. I like the fact that if I just have a Windows server, I can just login and transfer files to it via gigabit LAN or N wireless from my laptop and copy files to the huge raid without having to worry about other things. Quick copying and importing of new DVD rips or music, photos, etc.
 
SDAVE said:
Also you can remotely log on into it and add new stuff to your library or just do it with a BT mouse and keyboard on your TV. I like the fact that if I just have a Windows server, I can just login and transfer files to it via gigabit LAN or N wireless from my laptop and copy files to the huge raid without having to worry about other things. Quick copying and importing of new DVD rips or music, photos, etc.
Click to expand...

you can do all that with a mac mini too (that's what i do).
and remember, if you're just using it as a server, then you run it "headless", and it doesn't even have to be a recent model as spec is irrelevant when it comes to just running iTunes to share content.
 
chenks said:
you can do all that with a mac mini too (that's what i do).
and remember, if you're just using it as a server, then you run it "headless", and it doesn't even have to be a recent model as spec is irrelevant when it comes to just running iTunes to share content.
Click to expand...

Yes, I mentioned that. You can login with Screen Sharing and do the same. My point was that the Mac Mini is a bit more expensive even if you get an older one. Also there is not enough space to put in 5 drives. You have to run an external drive along with it. I was actually thinking of doing that, but I'd rather have a central server and use Apple TV's around the house.
 
I just hoped one could run with just iTunes server on NAS and avoid extra computer. If you cannot I think that the next best thing is to get a pc based on Intel Atom/AMD low power mobo, add hard drives to heart's content and run iTunes on that. R>

SDAVE said:
Yes, I mentioned that. You can login with Screen Sharing and do the same. My point was that the Mac Mini is a bit more expensive even if you get an older one. Also there is not enough space to put in 5 drives. You have to run an external drive along with it. I was actually thinking of doing that, but I'd rather have a central server and use Apple TV's around the house.
Click to expand...
 
radek42 said:
I just hoped one could run with just iTunes server on NAS and avoid extra computer. If you cannot I think that the next best thing is to get a pc based on Intel Atom/AMD low power mobo, add hard drives to heart's content and run iTunes on that. R>
Click to expand...

As mentioned, you have to run a real copy of iTunes to share the library. On the Windows side, you don't have to as there are NAS servers out there (or even routers) that allow USB connections and enable DNLA (which Xbox support, etc). But if you need the Apple ecosystem, you definitely need a computer that runs iTunes and homesharing enabled. I think you can setup a nice 8TB setup with around $500-600 and never have to worry about it. It's definitely worth it if you have a lot of people living in your home and have a lot of music, movies, pictures to share. You can set it up in a way where anyone can copy new music, videos, etc to the server with proper copy (and no deletion) privileges.

One other thing you can do is if you have lets say an iMac or a Mac Pro already you can just let it run 24/7....if you just have an MBP, I don't think you'd want to do that because you might take the laptop with you and other people won't be able to access it during that time...on top of that, hard drive space becomes an issue. What if you have 4TB worth of movies you ripped from your DVD collection and your own CDs and iTunes music? Much easier to share from a central computer and not worry about it.
 
OK for now

Dropped in the Apple store in Aberdeen today and picked up an A-TV3 plus the obligatory HDMI lead. Took the network cable out the back of the TV and plugged it in the A-Tv, added power and HDMI lead, and off it went. Slick setup process I'd have to say.

I can use the 100 Gb of so in the local PC as storage for now - of course I'd have to switch it on while I wanted to use it, but no big deal.

I think the future will hold another Mac and maybe a Time Capsule, possibly with a Tb drive as storage.

Thanks again.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back