AirPort and router setup

Question

AirPort and router setup

I'm getting my HD TV in a week, but I do have the Apple TV now. I'm afraid the Apple TV won't be able to share my G5's library because my MacBook Pro can't see the G5, nor can the G5 see the MacBook Pro. The G5, cable modem, and AirPort are all plugged into the router. The MacBook Pro can connect to the Internet (running Leopard), but the computers can't see each other. My media is all on the G5. The store where I bought the Apple TV (Best Buy) says the G5 is simply hardware-incompatible with the network, that I need an Intel Mac. Is this true? Isn't there a configuration that just works as advertised? I can't just copy it all to the Apple TV hard drive, because there's more media than drive, and I need drive space on the Apple TV to rent movies (or do I need insane amounts of free hard drive space on the G5, as well?) Shouldn't I be able to stream music over AirPort and spool rented movies on the Apple TV hard drive? Any suggestions would be MUCH appreciated!

Dual G5, Mac OS X (10.4.8), MacBook Pro

Posted on Sep 12, 2009 8:15 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 13, 2009 6:34 AM in response to Rick Johnson3

I've discovered that the problem is not (only) the AirPort, because I plugged the laptop directly into the cable that went into the AirPort, and the computers couldn't see each other (G5 running Tiger, MacBook Pro on Leopard) with file sharing on and firewalls open. The laptop also couldn't see the ethernet laser printer, which the G5 could. The router is about 20 years old, so maybe I just need to rebuild the network, and would consider one with a media server. So I'd like to reprhrase the question:

What network (hardware) setup is known to work with a G5 as the main computer, AirPort (running ethernet from the office to the living room is not an option), MacBook Pro, Apple TV, ethernet printer, cable modem, and possibly a media server?

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Answer 2

Sep 13, 2009 1:57 PM in response to Rick Johnson3

Your G5 is quite capable of working properly on your network.

Are all your devices on the same subnet. The way you have your hardware connected, it is possible to create two networks, with the wifi being a separate network to the ethernet network, which means that the router will issue addresses to all your ethernet devices and the airport will issue addresses to the wifi devices, some devices can work under these conditions but the tv can't.

Ensure that your airport is set up to bridge your network.

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Answer 3

Sep 13, 2009 3:40 PM in response to Winston Churchill

Winston, you rock! Setting it up as a bridge is exactly what I needed. I don't think using it as a bridge to an existing wired network is at all an unusual setup, and seems to me it should be a more obvious choice in Apple's initial setup. It took a bit of struggling, trying minor deviations from Apple's documentation, but now the MacBook Pro sees the G5 and iTunes is sharing as it should. I fully expect that when my TV and home theater equipment arrive, the Apple TV will work as advertised. Thank you!

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Answer 4

Sep 14, 2009 1:27 AM in response to Rick Johnson3

Rick Johnson3 wrote:
I don't think using it as a bridge to an existing wired network is at all an unusual setup, and seems to me it should be a more obvious choice in Apple's initial setup.

I'm not sure that allowing the apple tv to work over different subnets wouldn't be a problem for Apple. This would potentially open the device up for sharing content where it shouldn't be shared.

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