Can Apple TV play videos on TV from NAS Drive?

AppleTVs can't access/navigate NAS drives directly.

You could however store them on a NAS, add the titles to itunes by location reference rather than copying to the iTunes library on the computer, then providing computer and itunes are running they will play.

One caveat, they need to be in an AppleTV compatible format. If they play on a current iPhone when synced to it I would expect them to play, and the new unit will even manage up to 1080p video, though I doubt you'll need anything more than SD quality for VHS transfers.

AC

You can have your itunes library spread across multiple hard drives. The must be imported into Itunes. The actual file do not need to reside on your computer. However, the NAS drive must be connect to your computer running itunes

you need a third party app for the iphone which can access your nas and play the file over airplay

for it to work

if such an app exist I have no idea I would look in app store

if you had the iphone4s or ipad2 you could mirror your screen on the tv but the iphone4 require the app itself to support airplay

As others say, you don't need the actual file to be local. All my files are on my NAS and my iTunes library has a remote reference to them. Using Home Sharing, I can browse and stream anything from my NAS that is included in iTunes, and AirPlay it in my Apple TV.

In regards to accessing from your iPhone, as you said, WD has apps. One is a free app named WD Photos to access your NAS, assuming this is a WD NAS. However, you can only see photos, not videos. WD has also a paid app WD 2 Go to browse your MyBookLive (and only your MyBookLive, doesn't work with MyBookWorld).

All that being said, I use a different app. It's named FileBrowser (http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/filebrowser-access-files-on/id364738545?mt=8). I can access any file on my NAS (and stream any media). You can try a free version named NetPortalLite (http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/netportallite-access-files/id335493278?mt=8) from the same developer. Give it a try and see if you like it.

I'd also advise that you get Flex Player (http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/flex-player/id451024857?mt=8) if you want to open any kind of media, especially FLVs. If it's a paid app, wait and monitor: it goes free once in a while (got it free). FileBrowser can interface FlexPlayer so you can select it when opening a media and FileBrowser will play it.

Hope this helps.

Hi All,

I found a lot of useful info reading through the thread. could someone answer these specific questinos please. would very much appreciate your help .. in deciding which apple tv to buy.

1. All my content are in the NAS drive, which is connected to a gigabit switch for best speed. Apple TV (3rd gen) I am looking to buy (hopefully today!) will also be connected to the switch for gigabit speeds. However my iMac playing iTunes is in a different room and is connected by wireless n. My question is, will the content has to go through iTunes therefore not getting max speed. This will be key for me, because I have tried streaming from my iMac which wasn't fast enough over the wireless and why I bought the NAS in the first place.

2. I have the WD go app which lets me browse and play videos on iphone (doesn't play all file types though) - so if i can play them on the phone, does that mean I can then put that on the tele via apple tv?

3. Will airplay stream HD content? and most of the sites nowadays are non flash, and a lot of videos on website play on iphone/ipad.. will such play at native resolution on tele? (mainly interested in HD)

Many Thanks

Hello affiatati7 (and all others working with a WD MyBook Live Duo NAS)

Good news; you can access Movie files directly from a NAS without using iTunes.

Well, at least I can...

I have a WD MyBook Live Duo NAS. I also have an iPad/iPhone app for to access this NAS (WD 2go Pro).

From my iPad I connect with the NAS, select a movie to play, and stream it to my Apple TV (I think the WD app uses the standard iOS videoplayer, so streaming to AppleTV is supported).

That's all there is to it.

The movies stored on the WD Nas are in .m4v format (MP4) and placed in a share that is capable of streaming (DLNA). Most modern NAS devices let you set up one or more 'shares' for streaming.

I keep my iTunes Library only for music and apps, and is not stored on my NAS.

So I play movies without iTunes and from my NAS.

I don't know how all this technically works, but it works. I can even use the Apple TV remote-control to pause and play the movie, without using the iPad again.

Maybe you should check if your NAS has an accompanying App for smartphone and/or tablet, and trie it out.

p.s.: In my situation it only works with my iPad. I've tried my iPhone, but the WD App crashes as soon as I try to play a movie.

Consider the 8player app. Works brilliantly! Use it with my LaCie and Synology NAS. Plays video, music and photos.

Works with all iOS devices

Some thing wrong with your iMac shouldn't need to manipulate your network for quicker speeds all my devices do just fine streaming with 100mbps and that's with 3d and full hd content