Using a Network Drive With Apple TV

Yes, many people have successfully moved their iTunes libraries to network or external hard drives. The problem with streaming from a network drive to an ATV, however, is that iTunes must manage the stream for the ATV, so it must pass through your computer on its way to the ATV, which could result in degraded streaming performance.

Where possible, I'd physically connect a large external drive to your computer and let iTunes stream content from there. As mentioned above, this would take some of the strain off the network as data only has to travel from the computer to the the Apple TV rather than NAS > Computer > Apple TV.

You'll also benefit from way faster read/write times to the disk when you are copying media to it.

With regards to Iomega drives, I'd steer clear - I've had two fail within weeks of each other (mine were 500GB) I think the network versions of these drives would also be fairly cheaply put together. Do a little Googling for reviews of the particular model you are looking at before you commit.

Message was edited by: Easybourne

FWIW, i have had positive experiences with Iomega drives so far. LaCie would be another maker i'd recommend. i have two of these (one main, holding my iTunes library, the other as backup). these drives are very quiet.

I would say that the Lacie drive you linked to is superior in terms of construction than the Iomega drives.

In my case, the problem with both of my Iomega drives was the USB interface which just plain stopped working. The actual hard disks inside were Seagates which continue to operate flawlessly inside their new enclosures.

Per GB, the Lacie drive is nearly three times as expensive as the Iomegas that I had, and I think the reason is more robust construction.

I bought the Iomegas because they were cheap and got burned.

I am now happily using a couple of Lacies.

However, I completely understand your point that 'Your Mileage May Vary'.

Easybourne wrote:
I would say that the Lacie drive you linked to is superior in terms of construction than the Iomega drives.

possibly. i had a 1 TB Iomega UltraMax before i got the two 2 TB LaCie's. i still have one Iomega USB drive and another Iomega FW 400 drive and those are at least 5 years old - never gave me any trouble.

Per GB, the Lacie drive is nearly three times as expensive as the Iomegas that I had, and I think the reason is more robust construction.

true. however, i'm happy to spend that kind of $$$ in order to keep my precious media files safe.

happy computing, Y'all ...

You can still use iTunes sharing if the library is on an external drive or a network drive. You can even make the iTunes folder a public folder so that other computers can access it directly.

Steppenwolf323 wrote:
Is it possible to put my iTunes library on the 2nd time capsule which is connected wirelessly to the base station?

yes, but you still need an itunes library to control the data.
the appletv cannot take content from the TC without itunes being involved.