Need help with setup

[PN4]

Hello Apple Fans,

Before "use the search", everyone wants a different setup, and you guys are the experts on what people need for what they want.

I need a little Tech help on setting up my home entertainment system. I'll break it down into what I have and what I want.

What I have
-Wireless
-55" Television
-WDTV
-1TB WD hard drive
-iPhone4
-iPad2
-Macbook Pro

What I want
-I want a "cloud" type system with lots of storage assessable through Wifi on my Mac and television at the same time. (I should be able to drop files into the hard drive from the Mac and watch on the television)
-I want more storage, either by adding hard drives or buying new (i'm open to any hard drive suggestions, wifi? timemachine?)
-I want a nice interface to choose shows/movies/music. I don't really like the WDTV. (i'm open to any system, apple tv?) I don't purchase through iTunes, and dont use netflix.for sake of discussion, I rip these shows from purchased DVDs using handbrake, most are in .avi format
-I would like to be able to access through my iPhone/iPad, but this is not necessary
-I would like to not have to have my Macbook on at all times.
-I would like to be able to access the library on this hard drive from anywhere, not just on my wifi (absolutely not necessary)


Thanks in advance

 

[PN4]

*bump*

 

[DustinT]

Sounds like you just need to connect some storage to your network and buy an Apple TV.

Take a look at Synology NAS unit. Have one of the systems on your network run iTunes which will feed the Apple TV. You'll want to store the iTunes library on the NAS unit so you don't have capacity issues and you can access the data remotely.

There's probably two dozen posts on here about how to do this. Oh, and bumping isn't permitted according to the rules of the forums. Those reasons are probably why you didn't get a response until now. No sweat, just try and remember for next time.

 

[PN4]

Sounds like you just need to connect some storage to your network and buy an Apple TV.

Take a look at Synology NAS unit. Have one of the systems on your network run iTunes which will feed the Apple TV. You'll want to store the iTunes library on the NAS unit so you don't have capacity issues and you can access the data remotely.

There's probably two dozen posts on here about how to do this. Oh, and bumping isn't permitted according to the rules of the forums. Those reasons are probably why you didn't get a response until now. No sweat, just try and remember for next time.

Thanks Dustin, I appreciate your response.
and sorry about the bump, won't happen again.

I have not looked at Synology NAS, so basically I would have to have another mac (mini?) running itunes at all times networked to the Synology NAS unit for the library. Seems simple enough. Sorry I didn't pick that up through search.

- PN4

 

[DustinT]

Ya, thats basically it. I've got that setup running with a Netgear Readynas Ultra 6 which works fine too. The Synology has a pretty impressive remote access system which is why I suggested it to you. You could certainly make what we're talking about work by connecting your existing drives to a Mac Mini to enable local access. If you wanted remote access, the Mac Mini can do it, but there's more config involved than I'm familiar with.

 

[spacepower7]

I don't want to sound like a jerk but can I at least say...

You're doing it wrong

What brand of TV do you have?

With all your apple devices you are much better off using handbrake to rip to m4v or mp4, which are the same. That way all of your apple devices can play the files. and an Appletv2 if you buy one. Many HDTVs can play mp4 files directly from a USB hard drive. The interface isn't great compared to the AppleTV but maybe better than an WDTV.

You can't play avi files on the AppleTV2 unless you jailbreak, or convert the files, or stream from an app on your iPad or iPhone

Unfortunately mp4 takes longer than avi to convert.

I recommend using the AppleTV2 preset in handbrake which will allow your movies to be played on all your devices but optimize file size with hardware requirements.

Also, the AppleTV requires your MBP to be on and running iTunes unless you load a movie on your iPhone or iPad, which can stream directly to the AppleTV when the computer is off.

Hope this helps some as there are many more details to explain when we know more about your situation.

I have a WDTV Live that I rarely use since I have the AppleTV2.