Apple TV - connect an external hard drive?

[sensei_russ]

Hi,

I bought a 160gb Apple TV last week and I'm generally very impressed. However I have a couple of questions if anyone can help.

1/ Is there a way to connect my 500gb external hard drive directly to the Apple TV via it's USB port? I know there has been a way of doing this in the past (via a hack) but I understand that recent Apple software updates have stopped this from working. Is there a another/new way to connect an external drive? By the way, streaming music from the external drive works well but I don't want to have my laptop on all the time. Also the 160gb Apple TV drive isn't large enough for all my stored music, hence my wanting to attach the external drive directly.

2/ There is an annoying stuttering sound when the Apple TV boots up and the intro plays. The intro music plays in the background but the stuttering noise is loud and annoying. I tried the reset to factory settings option which worked for a while but now the problem has come back. Any ideas?

Many thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

As far as i'm aware you can't connect an external drive. Plus if you could it would look quite bad in the living room IMO.

ÿI just posted this on another post but I have the same problem as you and I have just moved my whole library to Time Capsule 1TB wireless hard drive and its brilliant. Would highly reccomend it.

ÿNot sure about the last question but you shouldnt unplug the apple tv. just put it in standby/sleep mode.ÿ

 

[sensei_russ]

Thanks Shimminator,

Does the Time Capsule communicate directly with Apple TV or would I need my laptop on too?

 

[Anonymous]

i'm not to sure about that one. I'm just in the middle of syncing to the Apple TV but I'll try to stream from time capsule with computer off and will let you know.ÿ

I use loads of smart playlists and normal playlists etc and then I just sync my favorite to the Apple TV.ÿ

The main reason for moving to the time capsule was because my itunes library was growing and I had just over 150 gig so it was nice to reclaim that space back.

ÿAre you running an apple laptop or windows?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Just tried it. The Laptop will need to stay on.ÿ

ÿI'd still go for the time capsule if I was you. its nice to have a wireless hard drive.

ÿlet me know how you get onÿ

 

[sensei_russ]

I'm on Windows Xp. I've done a bit of research on the web and it seems that the time capsule cannot directly connect to apple tv...
Do you know how much space I should keep clear on the apple tv for downloading rental movies from the apple store?
Also, are you syncing via wireless or ethernet? I did this today with an ethernet cable but had to connect the apple tv to my wireless router and then the router to my laptop in order to get the ethernet to work. I've ordered a crossover/patch ethernet cable on amazon so i can plug directly from the laptop into the apple tv.

 

[Anonymous]

I use wireless syncing on the Apple TV I find it works really well and fast. My router is the BT Home Hub.

ÿIn Terms of space for rentals - The standard def stuff takes up just over 1gig or less and the HD rentals take up about 3-4 gigs.

ÿIt shows up in itunes how much space you have on the Apple TV.

At Present I have about 80 gigs of video , 20 Gigs of Music & 2 Gigs of photos sync to the apple TV.

ÿÿ

Hope this helps.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

hey sensei

ÿI just found this program.

http://www.atvflash.com/product_info.php?products_id=27

ÿthis will work and is reccomended on the forums etc and it also enables other video formats etc.

ÿmake sure you DL the pc version.

ÿ

 

[sensei_russ]

Hey Shimminator,

That program looks perfect I will give it a go, thank you!

Now I don't suppose you could help with my other Apple TV query... 🙂

When Apple TV is on (or on standby) I can't change channels/inputs on my tv without it switching back to ATV automatically within around 5 seconds. I've never had this problem with anything else that has been plugged into my AV receiver or tv...

Cheers!