I have a lot of DVDs and small kids and want to set up a media server using AppleTV. Previously, I used Handbrake for Mac (which also already has an AppleTV preset) and converted them to MPEGs and copied them to my PlayStation 3 hard drive, but when my PS3 went up in smoke and I lost them, I decided to go the Apple route instead. I’d like to have a dedicated hard drive/computer to store them, separate from my iMac and current iTunes library. What are some suggestions for how to accomplish this?
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Lou Valencia
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What’s the Best Way To Set Up an AppleTV As a Media Server?
Comments: 3 Responses to “What’s the Best Way To Set Up an AppleTV As a Media Server?”
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An Apple TV by itself is sort of the opposite of a media server. It is a media player. It has no storage, so it can't "serve" anything. But it is good at playing content that is stored on Macs on your network, or content from the Internet.
The idea of a dedicated computer to store your media, and Apple TVs to play the media, is the right way to go, I think. A Mac mini is probably the right machine for that job. You can store all of your media there, and it can run iTunes at all times to serve up the media to your Apple TV and other devices.
I've had great success with my apple TV using an Airport extreme with a hard drive connected directly to it. I put all my media on my hard drive, separated into Movies, TV, etc. and use XBMC on the Apple TV. Of course, I had to Jail Break the Apple TV, since this method doesn't use iTunes at all. If you don't want to jailbreak, or have an Apple TV v3, I think the Mac Mini is the best route.
Lou,
I am attempting to accomplish the same thing. I have read several different posts and curious if you had accomplished your mission.