Move iTunes to Separate Drive on Network, Not Physically Connected?

[NateRichardson]

I have a large (4 -5 TB) collection of movies I've taped on TiVo and converted to iTunes format. Until now I've always kept it on my MacBook Pro, which means I had to get tons of storage. It's nice having the MacBook Pro (2019) when it comes time to convert (using the cTivo app) movies from TiVo format to .mp4, for this is a processor intensive operation.

But I've been thinking of getting a new MacBook Air when it gets announced (next week?) and move into Apple Silicon to get away from fan noise and heat. If I did that, I'd have to move my movie collection to a separate drive (much cheaper than buying Apple storage). I know you can have iTunes on a separate drive. I've been wondering how this would work:

1. I tape the movie on my TiVo
2. Using my MacBook Air, I retrieve it from TiVo with the cTivo app and convert to .mp4
3. I have the cTivo app automatically populate the result in iTunes, which means on the separate drive

My problem is I don't want to hook the drive up to my MacBook Air. What I'd like to do is hook the drive to my router and to my Apple TV 4K box, and have my MacBook Air see it on the network, not physically connected to the laptop.

My questions:

• Is this possible to read a drive that is on the network, not physically connected?
• Would it be much slower to convert videos on the new, Apple silicon-chipped MacBook Air compared to my 2019 MBP?
• Would I be able to see my movie library in the Apple TV app where I look for my computer? In other words, does it look for the iTunes library, or only to a computer?

 

[Boyd01]

Sorry, don't know anything about TiVo. But you can move your iTunes library to a network disk and it should work. You would need to have the network disk mounted on a Mac with media sharing enabled however, there is no way for an Apple TV to directly access files on a network disk with the Computers app. I believe there are other AppleTV apps that can do this but no experience with them myself.

Also, you mention iTunes but, of course, that was discontinued in Catalina (IIRC) and replaced with the TV and Music apps which have their own quirks. For example, I have not been able to get shared video playlists to work in the TV app although they work fine in iTunes and two Apple TV's.

If you do put the media library on a shared drive, you should also manually move the database file to the same drive. It defaults to the media folder on your Mac, even if you specify a different disk for the actual media. And this can create a serious problem with a network drive (as I learned the hard way with iTunes). When iTunes starts, it reads the database and looks for your media. If it's not found (because the disk isn't mounted) then it can corrupt the database. Made a big mess for me, but this was almost 10 years ago with iTunes, so maybe the TV and Music apps handle this better now?

Anyway, I was not happy with the shared disk setup and ended up getting a mini for a dedicated server and have all my media on an external SSD there. I am still running Mojave on that mini along with iTunes homesharing. You could do the same thing on newer versions of MacOS with media sharing however.

 

[NateRichardson]

Yes, I should have said the TV app (old habits). Thanks.

So, good point, I need to put it on a Mac Mini with an external SSD. I set up the Mac Mini and SSD near the router, and also hook it up to my Apple TV 4K.

I could even hook the Mac Mini to the TiVo and do the conversion right on the Mini and then the library is right there physically connected. Media sharing puts that content on all my devices.

Does that make sense?

 

[Boyd01]

A little confused by this part: "...set up the Mac Mini and SSD near the router, and also hook it up to my Apple TV 4K." The Mini would just be another Mac on your network with media sharing enabled and the AppleTV would see it in the Computers app, like your laptop now. You could also access it as a shared library in the TV app on any Mac or iOS device on your local network. You can also access it with filesharing and screen sharing from your laptop for copying files, etc.

 

[NateRichardson]

I tend to hook my stuff up with cables rather than relying on WiFi when dealing with video transfers.

 

[Boyd01]

So do I, the mini that I use as a media server is connected to my LAN via hard-wired gigabit ethernet as are my primary Mac, a fileserver and two Apple TV's. The only thing I use wifi for is my iPhone and iPad. What did you mean when you said you would connect it "directly" to the Apple TV?

 

[NateRichardson]

So do I, the mini that I use as a media server is connected to my LAN via hard-wired gigabit ethernet as are my primary Mac, a fileserver and two Apple TV's. The only thing I use wifi for is my iPhone and iPad. What did you mean when you said you would connect it "directly" to the Apple TV?

Well, when I want to play some on my Apple TV from my movie library, it would be nice to read it via ethernet instead of WiFi.

 

[JamesMay82]

That sounds like a lot of hassle for some movies! do you not use streaming services? I'd be tempted to just wait for iTunes promotions and buy them so they live in your cloud account and none of the hassle of converting or storage needs etc. plus it will be better quality

 

[NateRichardson]

That sounds like a lot of hassle for some movies! do you not use streaming services? I'd be tempted to just wait for iTunes promotions and buy them so they live in your cloud account and none of the hassle of converting or storage needs etc. plus it will be better quality

Some of my movies have been purchased on iTunes promotion, but most of them are not available on any streaming services (of which I subscribe to most). Most of my movies are classic films not available except as they get put on TV from time to time.

It's not much hassle. I just did it over many years a little at a time. And before anyone asks, it really is only for my own enjoyment. I do not share this material.

 

[0339327]

I have a large (4 -5 TB) collection of movies I've taped on TiVo and converted to iTunes format. Until now I've always kept it on my MacBook Pro, which means I had to get tons of storage. It's nice having the MacBook Pro (2019) when it comes time to convert (using the cTivo app) movies from TiVo format to .mp4, for this is a processor intensive operation.

But I've been thinking of getting a new MacBook Air when it gets announced (next week?) and move into Apple Silicon to get away from fan noise and heat. If I did that, I'd have to move my movie collection to a separate drive (much cheaper than buying Apple storage). I know you can have iTunes on a separate drive. I've been wondering how this would work:

1. I tape the movie on my TiVo
2. Using my MacBook Air, I retrieve it from TiVo with the cTivo app and convert to .mp4
3. I have the cTivo app automatically populate the result in iTunes, which means on the separate drive

My problem is I don't want to hook the drive up to my MacBook Air. What I'd like to do is hook the drive to my router and to my Apple TV 4K box, and have my MacBook Air see it on the network, not physically connected to the laptop.

My questions:

• Is this possible to read a drive that is on the network, not physically connected?
• Would it be much slower to convert videos on the new, Apple silicon-chipped MacBook Air compared to my 2019 MBP?
• Would I be able to see my movie library in the Apple TV app where I look for my computer? In other words, does it look for the iTunes library, or only to a computer?

The network drive should work in theory as you can point your iTunes library anywhere you can browse to in Finder. However, I would not recommend what you're trying to do. I think you'd be much better off with an external drive, even over USB-A, then something on a network. I've been doing this for years and, even now, I don't keep my music on my main SSD. I have a second HDD that I use for my music and photo libraries.

 

[JamesMay82]

Some of my movies have been purchased on iTunes promotion, but most of them are not available on any streaming services (of which I subscribe to most). Most of my movies are classic films not available except as they get put on TV from time to time.

It's not much hassle. I just did it over many years a little at a time. And before anyone asks, it really is only for my own enjoyment. I do not share this material.

fair enough then.. although if you are a big fan of classic films you should buy the dvd/Blu Ray to help support the indy labels that release these films. its really tough for them at the moment and helps them invest in bringing and restoring the classics.

 

[NateRichardson]

The network drive should work in theory as you can point your iTunes library anywhere you can browse to in Finder. However, I would not recommend what you're trying to do. I think you'd be much better off with an external drive, even over USB-A, then something on a network. I've been doing this for years and, even now, I don't keep my music on my main SSD. I have a second HDD that I use for my music and photo libraries.

Can you please give me the full end-to-end picture of the approach you find works best?

 

[0339327]

Can you please give me the full end-to-end picture of the approach you find works best?

External drive. Move library to the external drive. Open library from the file so iTunes knows not to create a new library in your user folder.

Also make sure this drive is backed up by Time Machine.

 

[Boyd01]

External drive. Move library to the external drive.

But that is not going to accomplish what the OP wants....

My problem is I don't want to hook the drive up to my MacBook Air.

I was suggesting putting the library on a Mac Mini and sharing it on his network. It will then be available as a shared library for all the Macs, AppleTVs and iOS devices in the house. It can be "headless" and a pretty low-spec machine. I am using a base 2014 1.4ghz dual core i5/4gb Mini with the library on a 4tb external SSD, for example.

 

[0339327]

But that is not going to accomplish what the OP wants....



I was suggesting putting the library on a Mac Mini and sharing it on his network. It will then be available as a shared library for all the Macs, AppleTVs and iOS devices in the house. It can be "headless" and a pretty low-spec machine. I am using a base 2014 1.4ghz dual core i5/4gb Mini with the library on a 4tb external SSD, for example.

The OP already responded asking me how to do this as it’s easy and inexpensive.

Yes, purchasing another computer is an option but y people aren’t interested in spending another $1K to make this happen. I did, when Monterey killed my Quickbooks server; we setup a MM with Big Sur, but for most, that’s not an option.

 

[Boyd01]

I understood your point and it was well-taken, but apparently the OP doesn't want a disk hanging off his laptop. And I certainly wasn't suggesting spending $1000! You can get a used 2014 Mini (like the one I am using) for $119 from OWC (aka MacSales) with a warranty (probably under $100 from a private seller). If you want something newer/faster, they have 2018 Mini's starting at $329 or the M1 for $649. Of course, there are other sources for used Macs as well.

And it's not really like setting up a "server". It's just a Mac - add your media to the TV and Music apps and enable media sharing in the control panel (along with file and screen sharing if you go "headless"). Now, I'll agree this may not be the path for everyone to take. But it seems to accomplish what the OP wants, with their large library available to all Apple devices in the home.

 

[mcnallym]

not exactly the same as you as I use a NAS folder for my library location.

I then have set my Mac Studio up so that when login then automount the folder location which opens up a finder window of the location and an icon appears on desktop.

I then manually start tv app and mounts the library no problem.

I use HDHomeRun for my recorder so download the recording from NAS folder (also automounted) edit and then import to tv app which copies over to he NAS folder.

i also use plex to save having Mac Studio on as the NAS is on 24/7 and point Plex at tv app folders.

with AppleTV then requires a Mac with tv app still to stream your library so will need to leave the Mac on. Hence why I use Plex on Nas and stream iTunes purchases, so don’t need my Studio on to watch movies.

however I don’t see why cannot substitute NAS shared folder for a shared folder on a drive shared from a Router if the Router supports that.

ctivo 3.6 appears to be Apple silicon native as notes refer to M1 hardware acceleration in handbrake for encoding with ctivo indicating m1 hardware works with the app.

all M1/M2 Mac have media engine for hw encode/decode of h.264/h.265 so MacBook Air should not have problem encoding using handbrake from ctivo.

I use videotoolbox settings in handbrake to use the media engine.
i output to a 1080p 27” tv so the quality is perfectly fine, however there are people that find the quality not good enough.

basically do you find quicksync encodes on your mbpro fine or do you need to do cpu encoding to get satisfactory quality output.
possibly MacBook Air / low end Intel mini not upto encoding if not using quicksync or media engine on M series SoC or I may just be impatient and if happening in background May not be an issue for.

 

[NateRichardson]

not exactly the same as you as I use a NAS folder for my library location.

I then have set my Mac Studio up so that when login then automount the folder location which opens up a finder window of the location and an icon appears on desktop.

I then manually start tv app and mounts the library no problem.

I use HDHomeRun for my recorder so download the recording from NAS folder (also automounted) edit and then import to tv app which copies over to he NAS folder.

i also use plex to save having Mac Studio on as the NAS is on 24/7 and point Plex at tv app folders.

with AppleTV then requires a Mac with tv app still to stream your library so will need to leave the Mac on. Hence why I use Plex on Nas and stream iTunes purchases, so don’t need my Studio on to watch movies.

however I don’t see why cannot substitute NAS shared folder for a shared folder on a drive shared from a Router if the Router supports that.

ctivo 3.6 appears to be Apple silicon native as notes refer to M1 hardware acceleration in handbrake for encoding with ctivo indicating m1 hardware works with the app.

all M1/M2 Mac have media engine for hw encode/decode of h.264/h.265 so MacBook Air should not have problem encoding using handbrake from ctivo.

I use videotoolbox settings in handbrake to use the media engine.
i output to a 1080p 27” tv so the quality is perfectly fine, however there are people that find the quality not good enough.

basically do you find quicksync encodes on your mbpro fine or do you need to do cpu encoding to get satisfactory quality output.
possibly MacBook Air / low end Intel mini not upto encoding if not using quicksync or media engine on M series SoC or I may just be impatient and if happening in background May not be an issue for.

So if I have my TV app movie collection on a Mac Mini, Ethernet connected to my router, and Ethernet connected to my Apple TV 4K, and HDMI connected to my television:

1. Will I leave the Mac Mini on all the time?
2. Will I have to wake the Mac Mini before I can see it in the Computer tab on Apple TV?

 

[Boyd01]

I leave my Mini on all the time, set not to sleep. But that's a holdover from when my media was on a hard disk and I didn't want to wait for it to spin up if the computer went to sleep. Now that everything is on an SSD, that might not be needed as long as you have the Mini set to wake on network access. Have not tried that.

 

[flaubert]

If you go the NAS route you might look into setting up a Plex server to serve up media.

Plex Media Server Requirements

Whether you want to run your Plex Media Server on your every-day computer, you’re looking to use a dedicated computer,...

support.plex.tv

 

[mcnallym]

So if I have my TV app movie collection on a Mac Mini, Ethernet connected to my router, and Ethernet connected to my Apple TV 4K, and HDMI connected to my television:

1. Will I leave the Mac Mini on all the time?
2. Will I have to wake the Mac Mini before I can see it in the Computer tab on Apple TV?

If tv app running on the mini then the mini should wake from sleep when startup the tv app on apple tv and it attempts to connect to library.

 

[NateRichardson]

UPDATE: Thank you all for your advice. I bought a Mac Mini and a separate 8TB SSD drive to plug into the Mac Mini.

QUESTION: what is the best approach to getting my movie library from my old MBP to the new separate SSD drive? I know how to move my TV library to a new location, so to transfer to the drive is easy. But then I will be setting up my Mac Mini elsewhere, and plugging the drive into that. At that point, where does, for example, my old MBP find my movies? It’s no longer connected by Thunderbolt to my MBP, it’s now connected to my Mac Mini elsewhere on the network. I’m guessing there are sharing settings on the Mac Mini I have to set.

 

[Boyd01]

If you are no longer connecting a disk with the library to the laptop then you need to create a new library (presumably in the default location on the internal disk) and set the preference with the TV/Music/iTunes app(s). You could then populate it with any media you want to store locally on the laptop - I would just drag the files I wanted to the "automatically add to.." folder in those apps.

Apparently Apple really doesn't want us to use shared librarys, because they hide the option very well. In the TV app you would click the Library button at the top right of the window. Then click "Library" at the top left and it should drop down with a menu that includes "My Library" (the local one on your laptop) and also an entry for whatever you are calling your Mini. Mine is called "iTunes Server" and looks like this.

 

[NateRichardson]

So I change my preferences twice?

1. When I copy my movies to the drive connected to my MBP
2. When I set up my Mac Mini, with the dive connected to it