Will Apple TV work with 'server drive' connected to Airport Base Station?

markw10markw10
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
I have a Apple TV on order and the 40 gig HD isn't enough for my iTunes collection but as well I have a Airport Base Station coming. I plan to put at least a 250 gig hard drive on that. My questions:



1. I know how you can copy files to the Apple TV's hard drive and as well connect with up to 5 PC's. Will it connect to a hard drive connected to the Airport Base Station though?



2. I plan to use this hard drive on the base station as a 'server drive'. Is there any way I can get podcasts to automatically go on this server drive as well as other media files such as my videos and music from itunes and photos from iphoto? What I mean is basically have these items from my laptop sync to the appropriate directories on this server drive.



Thanks in advance for any help.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    tednditedndi Posts: 1,921member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markw10 View Post


    I have a Apple TV on order and the 40 gig HD isn't enough for my iTunes collection but as well I have a Airport Base Station coming. I plan to put at least a 250 gig hard drive on that. My questions:



    1. I know how you can copy files to the Apple TV's hard drive and as well connect with up to 5 PC's. Will it connect to a hard drive connected to the Airport Base Station though?



    2. I plan to use this hard drive on the base station as a 'server drive'. Is there any way I can get podcasts to automatically go on this server drive as well as other media files such as my videos and music from itunes and photos from iphoto? What I mean is basically have these items from my laptop sync to the appropriate directories on this server drive.



    Thanks in advance for any help.





    At this point it is anyone's guess.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    dcqdcq Posts: 349member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markw10 View Post


    I have a Apple TV on order and the 40 gig HD isn't enough for my iTunes collection but as well I have a Airport Base Station coming. I plan to put at least a 250 gig hard drive on that. My questions:



    1. I know how you can copy files to the Apple TV's hard drive and as well connect with up to 5 PC's. Will it connect to a hard drive connected to the Airport Base Station though?



    2. I plan to use this hard drive on the base station as a 'server drive'. Is there any way I can get podcasts to automatically go on this server drive as well as other media files such as my videos and music from itunes and photos from iphoto? What I mean is basically have these items from my laptop sync to the appropriate directories on this server drive.



    Thanks in advance for any help.



    You're a brave soul, ordering something before all the details are known.



    As for (1.), it'll be interesting to see. My guess is "yes" if you can configure AppleTV from your TV. If you have to access it/control it from a computer, my guess would be "no." A workaround might be to make the network/server drive the source (or a source) in the iTunes on your computer, and then synch AppleTV to that comp. Actually, this should work, even if there's not a more obvious method from Apple.



    Also, let us know if you can use the USB port on the AppleTV for direct HDD connection. That would be a big plus in my book, but reports are thatit is only for diagnostics...



    (2.) should work too if you set the network/server drive to be your library for iTunes. I don't see why it would work any differently from an external drive hardwired via FW or USB, or a second internal drive. (They wouldn't sync, so much as go directly there without passing Go and without collecting $200.) This would be a problem when you go mobile, obviously--you wouldn't have your stuff with you.



    You could probably create some workaround using Applescript/Automator and Smart folders, like this:



    -Create a dummy folder on your laptop that acts as the source for iTunes. This folder will have an alias in it.



    - When at home, the alias in there would point to the network drive. Use the network drive as your source, and everything goes there automatically.



    - Make this a smart folder that automatically copies anything in the iTunes folder on the network drive into a folder on your laptop drive.



    - Create an Applescript/Automator action that is triggered by the connection to this drive. When this drive disconnects, the script/action would replace the alias to the network drive with an alias to the folder on your laptop that is synched with the network drive. When it reconnects, the Applescript/action changes the alias back to the network drive.



    You might run into problems if the network drive requires a password to connect; this might screw with iTunes.



    You would probably also have to have your laptop on to manage the media being served to AppleTV via the network drive, even though the files aren't on there.



    Let us know how it all works out. I was kind of interested in iTV when it was first announced, but the more I find out, the less impressed I am.



    Mostly I want to be able to connect an HDD to it and use it as an Airport Express/Extreme base station, both of which you can't apparently do. I find a Mac mini infintely more useful as a media server at this point.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    alexluftalexluft Posts: 159member
    Yea markw10, I have this need as well. I think Apple should come out with an equivalent of Windows Homer Server. Besides doing back-ups of networked computers, it can be used to centrally store all of your media.



    So for example:



    @ home: all of your media is downloaded initially to you computer. When new media comes in, it's automatically put onto your Apple Home Server (AHS). After this, you iPhone - through wifi - syncs up to that home server or with your computer.



    @ on the go: if you get your new content from iTS to your iPhone (which you can't do now), it automatically syncs up the new content with the AHS.



    I'll tell ya, if Ms can do it simply, (well, it's not exactly the same, but that's where they're going with it), Apple can do it.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    physguyphysguy Posts: 920member
    As pointed out everything isn't know yet but everything I've seen and read is that ATV will depend entirely on iTunes for its access to media. The good news is this should make it easy to set up what you want as long as you have at least 1 computer on the network. All you would have to do is mount your server on the designated computer and then have the iTunes library reside on that mounted disk. I do that on my laptop now on a portable lacie disk so I don't have my itunes library taking up all the space on the internal disk.
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