Apple TV and External Hard Drive

Clearly this is a difficult hurdle for Apple. Since before the Apple TV came out, the need to play personal content on a TV seems to be a 1+1=2 equation avoided by Apple — with epic investments into sideways solutions that avoid such a capability.

I too have a ridiculous amount of content (photo and videos) that began when my kids were born. Yes, all those DVDs that were played to death (literally) revealed a clear need to back this media up into a format that would survive the riggers of child interactions. However, unlike how iTunes acknowledged a clear need to encode a personal copy of your CD collection (many of which were on the edge of playability due to physical wear and tear), Apple remained silent on the DVD video side.

The best response I've received from Apple on this issue was to use Handbrake and a MacMini (before Apple TV was around). I did just that, but found I needed a keyboard and mouse in the living room instead of a single remote. Along came Apple TV, and I immediately poured over the specs that indicated I could connect my library of media to this new hardware. To this day, Apple continues to avoid this capability with surprising conviction. To that, I'm uncertain what the hurdle is, but were I to guess... legalities might be the culprit. Push aside the fact that LaCie, Western Digital, and countless off-brand companies were able to identify a business case strong enough to develop a hardware solution (without the halo of a store), only deepens the mystery for Apple’s unwavering choice.

I would rather not install a 3rd party solution to get Apple products to work the way that seems elementary to all. I expected (and you can blame Apple for this) the Apple TV to deliver on what is so abundant of all Apple products: a solution to a simple and clear need though a simple and clear offering. Unfortunately, this perspective offers you little insight towards a solution, and for that I apologize on Apple's behalf.

Drexus wrote:

I expected (and you can blame Apple for this) the Apple TV to deliver on what is so abundant of all Apple products: a solution to a simple and clear need though a simple and clear offering. Unfortunately, this perspective offers you little insight towards a solution, and for that I apologize on Apple's behalf.

Then I think you expected something other than what Apple appears to have intended the ATV to do. You can certainly submit feedback to Apple here:

Product Feedback - Apple

The Apple TV doesn't support connections to external hard drives.