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Storage Solutions for our OUT-OF-CONTROL iTunes Libraries
- Thread starter fivepoint
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Hey guys... It worked... kind of...
I can load my library in iTunes from External HD via Time Capsule now, and streaming to Apple TV is slow (a little cranky), but it works...
However, if I try to manage any folders, or add files to the drive wirelessly, it doesn`t let me.. it tells me I do not have enough privileges to do this.. how do I work around this?
I can load my library in iTunes from External HD via Time Capsule now, and streaming to Apple TV is slow (a little cranky), but it works...
However, if I try to manage any folders, or add files to the drive wirelessly, it doesn`t let me.. it tells me I do not have enough privileges to do this.. how do I work around this?
Right click on the drive, click "get info", at the bottom... change all users to read/write access.
Yup.. did that right after I posted my last message, and now I'm not being even able to see the drive from the Time Capsule.
I just shut my computer off and will let it cool off for today while I'm at work.. will only look at it when I'm back home.. this is getting very frustrating... It's been more than a week and I just can't get this setup to work.
The reason it's slow, is because the router is being utilized to send the same content over and over again... When you request content from the AppleTV, the request goes from the AppleTV, to the router, to the computer, to the router, to the drive, to thr router, back to the computer, to the router again, and finally back to the AppleTV.
If you want a faster setup with far less lag, connect the drive directly to your machine. The less times you use the router in the process, the faster it will be.
Plug the drive directly into the computer and see if it shows up from there... try to narrow down the problem. Don't hook it back up to the Airport Extreme until it is working perfectly when directly connected.
I think this thread and the "How organized are your movies? - SCREENSHOTS!" threads should be "stickied" at the top of the AppleTV forum. What does everyone else think? It seems like one or two threads get started each week which are just re-hashing this same content. If they were always at the top, all of the newbies could just get the info there.
Does anyone know who to talk to to get this done?
Thanks,
Fivepoint
Does anyone know who to talk to to get this done?
Thanks,
Fivepoint
I think this would be a great idea. Any of the mods could do it, but to be honest I'm still new enough to not know how to get their attention on a specific thread for requests such as this.
So Ive read through this entire thread about 3 times just to make sure I understand everything. Ive talked to fivepoint in another thread too. Because of this thread I ordered a Drobo today along with 3 500gb Seagate drives. I also bought an Airport Extreme n last week and love it so far other than not being able to print.
Anyway, I dont have my mac yet so my question is, when I get my Drobo, I want to plug it into the USB on my AEBSn. However, Ive read if you are using the Drobo on a mac you need to format it to NFS+. Is that also the case if you are plugging it into the AEBSn? I want to get my network, all me media and shared files on the Drobo before I even get the Mac. So when I have it, Ill be ready to roll right away.
Any thoughts on how to prepare the Drobo even though I dont have my mac yet?
Am I mistaken about the NFS+? Drobos website says it can work on all OS without formatting, so why would I need to format to NFS+ then?
Thanks to all in this thread. fivepoint, you are right, it should be stickied. I know it saved me from posting a new thread.
Anyway, I dont have my mac yet so my question is, when I get my Drobo, I want to plug it into the USB on my AEBSn. However, Ive read if you are using the Drobo on a mac you need to format it to NFS+. Is that also the case if you are plugging it into the AEBSn? I want to get my network, all me media and shared files on the Drobo before I even get the Mac. So when I have it, Ill be ready to roll right away.
Any thoughts on how to prepare the Drobo even though I dont have my mac yet?
Am I mistaken about the NFS+? Drobos website says it can work on all OS without formatting, so why would I need to format to NFS+ then?
Thanks to all in this thread. fivepoint, you are right, it should be stickied. I know it saved me from posting a new thread.
I'm not sure what NFS is. NTFS is a Windows format and HFS is the Mac format. From my own past experience, I'd highly recommend making any drives, network or directly connected alike, HFS formatted to avoid difficulties. Being over the network, any PCs you may have would still be able to access it without problems.
As for the AEBS not allowing you to print, what's the problem there? I'm assuming you have a printer plugged into the USB port on the back and will soon be using a hub to have both the printer and drobo connected? I'm sure myself or someone else here could gladly help with just a little more info.
I'm not sure what NFS is. NTFS is a Windows format and HFS is the Mac format. From my own past experience, I'd highly recommend making any drives, network or directly connected alike, HFS formatted to avoid difficulties. Being over the network, any PCs you may have would still be able to access it without problems.
As for the AEBS not allowing you to print, what's the problem there? I'm assuming you have a printer plugged into the USB port on the back and will soon be using a hub to have both the printer and drobo connected? I'm sure myself or someone else here could gladly help with just a little more info.
Thats what I meant, HFS+ sorry about that. So how would I format it HFS without a mac in my hands?? Im sure Windows wont allow me to do that! So if I get the Drobo and get it formatted to HFS+, then plug it into my AEBS, my Windows PCs will still be able to RW to it?
As for the printing thing, I would love some help!! I didnt want to hijack fivepoints thread though. I have a thread going for it here... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/549971/
Any help would be very appriciated!!
Thanks again.
not sure if this helps, but it will tell you more about the format. I just did the same thing. I hung my drobo off my airport extreme.
http://www.drobospace.com/article/10425/Share-Drobo-on-a-Network--Apple-Airport-Extreme/
http://www.drobospace.com/article/10425/Share-Drobo-on-a-Network--Apple-Airport-Extreme/
iMerlin, just so you know... when this quoted article talks about "OS Extended Version," that is the same thing as HFS+. The format just has two different names... that's all.
Personally, I would wait until you got your mac to start with all of this. But I am an impatient being as well, so that is understandable.
Doing so would help you avoid any compatibility problems with the windows stuff. If you want the drive to be able to be accessed from both, you'll have to use "FAT", but I would suggest using HFS+ if that is not a concern. Regardless, when you are ready to setup, I would suggest hooking it up to your computer directly, formatting, making sure it works 100% that way, and THEN hooking it up to your AEBS. Once hooked up to the AEBS, make sure it is working perfectly there, and then hook it BACK up to your computer to make the first file transfer. Large transfers can take DAYS on a wireless connection. After the first transfer is complete, hook it up to the AEBS and you should be good to go.
Make sure you follow the rules in this (VERY HELPFUL) article when moving iTunes libraries:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive/
I decided to just leave it this way right now until Apple gets their airport/Time Capsule issues sorted out... I really think the problem lays on the Time Capsule.
For now, I'll just have the External HD connected directly to my Macbook, and it is working fine this way... Apple TV is streaming from there and my iTunes is not crashing as much. I only loose mobility, since I can't carry my laptop around (the MyBook HD has a power cable and is not very mobile).
Just an update. I'm a few weeks in with the Drobo and its been a fantastic piece of kit. Works a treat with iTunes, is nice and fast over FW800 so is good for streaming to Apple TV and I've got lots and lots of disk space left Just currently ripping all of my CDs and a few TV series, which are the ones which do eat up the disk space.
Can't recommend it enough basically.
Just currently ripping all of my CDs and a few TV series, which are the ones which do eat up the disk space.Can't recommend it enough basically.
my storage and backup solution.
the only thing missing here is chronosync and supersync which i still have to buy. I am still looking at other apps (superduper, synchronix X, TuneRanger, SyncOtune, synk), but those two are the ones i am more inclined to as of now.
I have not included dotMac in this plan as I still do not have a need for it.
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the only thing missing here is chronosync and supersync which i still have to buy. I am still looking at other apps (superduper, synchronix X, TuneRanger, SyncOtune, synk), but those two are the ones i am more inclined to as of now.
I have not included dotMac in this plan as I still do not have a need for it.
That's awesome. I just finished a very similar setup..
50" LCD TV with AppleTV+4TB Drobo attached in the living room which syncs from....
Mac Pro in the office with a FW800 4TB Drobo attached with all media content (500 DVDs, 17,000 songs, and 45-50 full tv show series) and a 2nd FW800 4TB Drobo for production work, documents, etc.
Both drobos have the same library so if one drobo fries, I can pull the media off the other, but mainly so I don't have any lag on the AppleTV in the main room. The Mac Pro also feeds the aTV attached to the 32" LCD in my bedroom over Airport Extreme N (I too have a separate router for the G-speed machines in the house so it doesn't slow down my synching and streaming). Screen sharing is SO nice for a lot of this.
Personally, I would wait until you got your mac to start with all of this. But I am an impatient being as well, so that is understandable.
Regardless, when you are ready to setup, I would suggest hooking it up to your computer directly, formatting, making sure it works 100% that way, and THEN hooking it up to your AEBS. Once hooked up to the AEBS, make sure it is working perfectly there, and then hook it BACK up to your computer to make the first file transfer. Large transfers can take DAYS on a wireless connection. After the first transfer is complete, hook it up to the AEBS and you should be good to go.
Make sure you follow the rules in this (VERY HELPFUL) article when moving iTunes libraries:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive/
Thanks for the link fivepoint, Ill check that out when the time comes.
As for the compatibility, this is what Im confused about and why I ended up going with the Drobo. But now Im still confused. I thought that the Drobo could work with all OS when formatted as HFS+ and hooked up to the AEBS? I cant use FAT, I plan on having some files that are larger than 4gb and FAT cant do it from what I understand. That is why I passed on other external drives because of all the formatting problems.
So, does anyone have a Drobo hung off an AEBS supporting both PC and Mac? I would really love some insight.
Cult, thanks a ton. This confirms what I thought. I will be ok going with HFS+ to support both mac and PC. Now I just have to figure out how to format this sucker before I get my MBP!!
Impatient is an understatement when it comes to me! If I have to sit here looking at this Drobo not hooked up for a month, Ill go nuts!! Im honestly thinking about calling the Apple store to see if they would format it for me!
EDIT: I just noticed page 2 of the walk through from Drobo tells you how to format using a PC. I guess I have to buy macdisk! Thanks again guys.
Does anyone know how long it takes to format the Drobo with about 1.5tb in it?
Our babysitter has a Mac, she is going to bring it Thursday for me to format the Drobo. I knew I would find a way around waiting!! I just want to make sure it isnt going to take 8 hours.
Our babysitter has a Mac, she is going to bring it Thursday for me to format the Drobo. I knew I would find a way around waiting!! I just want to make sure it isnt going to take 8 hours.
Probably about 45 seconds. Good news, huh?
Seriously though, formatting under normal conditions is a VERY fast process. Shouldn't take more than a minute.
Excellent! Its supposed to be here tomorrow. Babysitter's Mac Thursday, shared iTunes library Thursday night! I cant believe Im this excited about a fricken hard drive.
Any special power arrangements I need to make? I already cleared a spot on my desk for it, hopefully I can just plug it into the surge protector I have everything else running off of.
And fivepoint, I know you mentioned in another thread about being careful when having a shared library. Ill just make sure to tell the wife not to open iTunes if Im in it. Ill have to take this approach until I buy TuneRanger or something similar.
Excellent! Its supposed to be here tomorrow. Babysitter's Mac Thursday, shared iTunes library Thursday night! I cant believe Im this excited about a fricken hard drive.
I've heard that some people "complaining" that the Drobo almost worked "too well" for them. The plugged it, got it setup, and never had to worry about it again. They found themselves thinking they didn't even own a new hard drive and it made it seem weird that they had just spend $800 on something like that.
A good problem to have.No, basic plug-in should be fine. I would guess that it takes significantly less power than a computer would.
That is correct. If you access it at the same time, you could very easily corrupt the file and lose EVERYTHING. It's a big gamble.
Video Format
For all you people using iTunes and ripping DVDs... what video format / size etc are you converting to?
Am I right in thinking that if you use a pre-set of Apple TV (either in Handbrake or Elgato H264) then those files wont sync and play on the iPhone?
I obviously want the best possible video quality that will also sync with the iPhone as I dont want to have a big screen version of the file and an iphone version of the file.
Really appreciate any comments or suggestions. This thread has been VERY helpful.
For all you people using iTunes and ripping DVDs... what video format / size etc are you converting to?
Am I right in thinking that if you use a pre-set of Apple TV (either in Handbrake or Elgato H264) then those files wont sync and play on the iPhone?
I obviously want the best possible video quality that will also sync with the iPhone as I dont want to have a big screen version of the file and an iphone version of the file.
Really appreciate any comments or suggestions. This thread has been VERY helpful.
You need to rip the content at the lowest common denominator. If the iPhone is the smallest screen you'll be viewing the content on, and you want full compatibility, then rip the content with the iPhone preset. It won't look top notch on the AppleTV, but it WILL play on both. If you rip it at AppleTV quality, it will NOT play on your iPhone.