Apple TV and External Hard Drive?

Officially the USB port on AppleTV is for 'servicing/diagnostics'.

You cannot without hacking the onboard software connect an external drive directly to AppleTV to use as a library. I have not been brave enough to try this approach and any future software updates might even cripple (or enable) such functionality introduced by patching the AppleTV OS.

If you have a system capable of streaming and a PC/Mac that is on fairly constantly it is quite possible to stream all your content from an external drive connected to that computer (either by having the whole iTunes library there ir just linking cetain files from that location). It is not an ideal solution for everyone but works well for me. Network attached drives are more hit and miss as there are more links in the data path so to speak - the Mac/PC must have an iTunes instance running to control the streamed media wherever it is stored.

Another point to bear in mind is that AppleTV is not a storage device - you cannot easily get any files off it again (ie dismantling and using a drive enclosure or software hacks).

AC

I have had success streaming. I go through all the hoops to connect the Atvs to my server then use the ITUNES library on the server as the source. It gives you access to everything in Itunes.

As Alley_Cat mentioned, you can't use the USB port on the back of an Apple TV to connect an external hard drive without first taking a hammer and saw to it.

I am using a 500GB USB hard drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station as a network drive for keeping my iTunes library. There has been much discussion here regarding the significance of the speed loss doing it this way but I have never had any significant problems syncing or streaming.

As Alley_Cat mentioned, you can't use the USB port on the back of an Apple TV to connect an external hard drive without first taking a hammer and saw to it.

The USB port has been hacked, you can actually connect an external drive directly to an ATV.

Chris

I'm not so sure we should be endorsing this type of activity quite so vigourously. It's not clear to whether the terms and conditions of use of these forums allow such topics, but generally I don't see it as a problem to acknowledge their existence.

I don't however believe it to be a good idea to openly endorse them as you seem to do. Apart from the notion that you are posting advice on an apple forum which is contrary to Apple's own advice about the tv, there are clearly a number of incidents where people who seem quite at ease with technology have run into problems performing the hacks you are referring to and have lost not only the use of their tv but the right to have it repaired or replaced.

Whilst the tv is essentially a computer, it is intended as a plug and play device and that is in most cases the way the tv is purchased. To encourage users who may or may not have but the most basic knowledge about computers is not a good idea.

As I say I'm not endorsing a denial of such methods but of late your posts have increasingly referred to such methods to the point you appear to be encouraging people to use them.

Winston,

I agree that we should not lightheadedly send people into technological adventures that might be beyond what they can handle. I think I mentioned in most of my posts to that topic that I haven't done it myself, so I can't personally endorse any of the software hacks that are out there. And I think I only mentioned them recently as reply to posts that said that certain things are "impossible".

There's two big differences between these software hacks and other activities that involve opening the ATV case:

1. I don't see that you void the warranty of your device. In my view, if I buy a device, I can alter its software as much as I want (of course limited by the copyright of the software that I add to it).

2. All software changes are reversible by resetting the ATV to its factory settings (which involves that you have to re-sync your media files, but that's not a big deal since you don't have exclusive content on your ATV anyway). Or does someone have information to the contrary?

I don't know if it would be against the terms of this forum to point people to those sources - but let's just see if Apple thinks they should censor posts that do.

ATV is certainly not an "open platform", but the stuff people do with their devices also alerts the developers as to what people might want from future software releases - the YouTube plugin being the first that made it into the official software.

Maybe we can find some common language about these non-Apple software solutions out there, which might be along these lines:

• Yes, people are doing crazy things with their ATV, including playing different file types, attaching hard drives, streaming directly from network volumes.

• The installation of these hacks is far from trivial, at this point in time it still involves the use of the Terminal window and other non-trivial operations.

• These programs are not what you are used to from commercial software - they can make your system crash and other ugly things (which is not to say that commercial software or even ATV's own system never does that).

• As soon as you start adding these things (the first step being to turn your ATV into a computer that runs OS X) you are on your own and can't expect to get support by Apple or even this user forum.

Would that be something you could accept?

Message was edited by: Christoph Drösser

I take your point Chris, I was perhaps a little over-reacting, as I say, mention of these methods is not an issue for me if made in conjunction with cautionary advice. Perhaps I shouldn't have assumed you were encouraging such methods, but perhaps it's a valid point on it's own that I did.

I don't entirely agree with the two points you make though.

2. I have seen posts on this forum where these software hacks have not been reversible and have resulted in essentially dead units.

1. Imagine the position from Apples point of view rather than your own for a minute. You have done something to your purchase which Apple does not intend you to do to it, but they are expected to exchange it or restore it at their own expense, maybe I'm unusual but that doesn't sound very reasonable to me.

Hm, as I said, so far I assumed you could restore the ATV to its pristine condition. Maybe someone has more experience with this!

Of course, if you irreversibly mess up the whole software system, you can't hold Apple responsible for the mess. (But I can't imagine you can really damage the device just with software changes). If the hardware fails, you should be able to.

Of course, if you irreversibly mess up the whole software system, you can't hold Apple responsible for the mess. (But I can't imagine you can really damage the device just with software changes). If the hardware fails, you should be able to.



I do agree with you, but this itself creates a problem if you look at things from Apples point of view. How would they approach a repair to/replacement of, a non working unit if the problem could be either caused by defective hardware or user tinkering.

My opinion:

Use the streaming for now, and max out the hard drive space available, for some of the higher bit rate stuff, if you want.

Why do I say this?

I don't think an external USB drive is something apple would be against, so I think someday they may have an update and enable this feature.

Winston/Christoph

I think you both make highly valid points about unofficial approaches to enhancing AppleTV functionality.

Personally I see no problem with doing what you want with a piece of hardware you've purchased yourself so long as you don't expect Apple to help you out for free if you mess things up. If it messes up they can refuse or charge you to put it right. I've been tempted to buy a second AppleTV to 'play with' - I can afford to do so and as such if I trashed it I'd take it on the chin, and perhaps extract the hard drive for other uses. For some people however it is not just a cheap disposable gadget so we must be cautious in advocating potentially risky enhancements.

We can all argue we have the right to do what we want with what we've purchased but if we choose to follow that path we must accept that the responsibility is ours if things go wrong.

To be honest, rather than buying a second AppleTV I'd be tempted to go straight for a MacMini - although more expensive it wouldn't be such a gamble.

I have no idea how Apple police these forums but I have already had a post deleted for mentioning the name of a piece of software that is mentioned daily here - I have no complaint about that, as these are Apple's forums for them to manage as they see fit.

While I will frequently allude to the presence of unofficial solutions, perhaps if it becomes apparent that such posts are unwelcome or actively discouraged by Apple then we should perhaps publicise that in order that people can adhere to the 'appropriate' spirit of the forums whatever that may be deemed to be.

AC

{quote:title=ibook911 wrote:}I don't think an external USB drive is something apple would be against, so I think someday they may have an update and enable this feature.{quote}
You would think so but then surely they remove sales pitch for different size ATV's so it would be against their interest?
I personally have bought a 1TB lacie ethernet drive and have moved all libraries to it and try to run my imac and g5 like one machine - it works well on those machines but my media libraries are larger than any ATV can handle so I seem to be combining streaming and syncing at the moment though I can't say I've got it completely sussed yet. time to RTFM 🙂
Anybody know how to run Mail folders from a network drive?

I am using the same set up Capaho....an Airport Extreme Base Station with a 1TB hard drive connected to house my iTunes library. However, lately, when watching a movie that is stored on the external network connected hard drive, the movie pauses in 10 second intervals and reloads, then begins playing and then reloading.

Any suggestions on how to resolve this?

I have had the Apple TV from Day 1. I use a couple of Lacie external drives to store my 300+ movie collection created (using Handbrake) from my DVDs. I use an Airport Express router. I have experienced very few problems. There are occasions when the unit disconnects from iTunes; I just reboot the ATV and that clears up the problem. This seems like a breakthrough product for Apple despite the modest sales to date. I think the lack of downloadable content may be the primary reason it has not really caught on. I suppose it is a limited number of users who understand the process of converting DVDs to Apple TV - compliant content. I personally think it is a great product and am shooting for a movie collection of 1000 films to enjoy going forward. That, folks, is very cool...

Best wishes...

Robert, you said that you are using a couple of Lacie external drives. Are they all connected to your Airport Express router at once or do you have to manually plug in each hard drive when you want to use it (I know there is only one usb port on the Airport Express)? I'm debating on weather or not to purchase an Apple TV and your insight would be greatly appreciated. I have two 500gb Lacie external drives and want to stream them to my TV through an Apple TV or some other product.

Also, do you notice any quality issues when streaming? I have a 61" DLP and just purchased a Sony Bravia 5.1 Home Theater system and want to get HD or as near as possible.

Thanks