WD My Book Live

[admin_exported]

Hi All,

I run iTunes on a Mac Book Pro. I have a few other devices (iPad & iPhone) which I like to use to control the media on the MacBook and stream it to Apple TV to play music through my AV system. It all works really well.... when the Mac is on...

When the Mac is off I still want to be able to stream music to the Apple TV to the AV using my iPad or iPhone. I have been told that a WD My Book Live can be used to store my media files so that they are always accessable. I am also told it has a built in itunes server.

I am not very technical, so do not understand the ins and outs of this yet. Can anyone out there, with real experience, explain how this works in reality? I thought the 'library' files have to stay on the Mac hard drive even if the media is on an external drive. If this is true, how would I access the media on the WD drive via my iPad if all the playlists etc are off line (on my Mac which is 'off')?

Can you move the library files too? or would this 'mess up' the Mac access?

 

[bigboss]

Of course you can move all library files as well into the NAS. That's what a NAS is meant to do.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network-attached_storage

Which version of Apple TV have you got? Apple TV 1 & 2 can be jail broken easily so it can directly read off a NAS.

 

[professorhat]

Unfortunately, with an out of the box Apple TV, you can't stream music to it without iTunes on - this means your Mac has to be on for this to work (as you've discovered). The iTunes Server function doesn't replace this - all it does is share any music stored on the WD My Book to an iTunes instance (so it appears within iTunes under the Shared section). You can store your iTunes Library on the WD My Book Live, but you would still need the Mac on to access this via the Apple TV.

Now, if you have an Apple TV 1 or 2, you could jail break it and this would give you some more options. I'm not really an expert on this, so hopefully someone else can wade in and take over!

 

[chebby]

I have a WD My Book for backing up my iMac and it has always had quite a loud hum when in use. I only use it for about 15 minutes twice a month for an incremental backup so the noise doesn't bother me.

If I had to use it for music it would have to be in another room to the hi-fi.

Sorry to not address your specific technical qestions, but I thought you should know about the noise.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your replies. I'm getting some mixed messages though. I have the 2nd Gen Apple TV.

If I have to keep the library file on my Mac and therefore keep my Mac on to make iTunes media on the NAS to work then I see no point in a NAS drive as my Mac has lots of GB space left.

If I have that wrong please let me know.

 

[bigboss]

I have a 2nd generation Apple TV as well. I jail broke it using Firecore:

firecore.com

I have stored all my media including movies on my NAS drive. The jail broken Apple TV reads directly off my NAS without me having to switch my PC /MacBook on.

Without jail breaking, you will have to switch your MacBook on.

 

[professorhat]

Without jail breaking, you will have to switch your MacBook on.

That's the crux of it.

 

[Anonymous]

OK... so good argument for jailbreaking Apple TV then.

I get that I will be able to stream music directly after that. What about playlists (on Mac library) etc... ? can you only play by built in methods... by that I mean by song, album, artist etc...?

 

[bigboss]

OK... so good argument for jailbreaking Apple TV then.

Yes. 🙂

You cannot get a second hand Apple TV (2nd generation) without paying a ridiculous price, while the latest Apple TV 3 is already available at a significant discount (20-25% discount on Amazon). The reason is, because the latest Apple TV cannot be jailbroken as yet.

I get that I will be able to stream music directly after that.

Yes.

What about playlists (on Mac library) etc... ? can you only play by built in methods... by that I mean by song, album, artist etc...?

Not sure about playlists as I don't have any. You can browse by album, song or artist.

 

[bigboss]

Another option is to subscribe to iTunes Match service & transfer your music to the cloud. Apple TV will then be able to stream music from the cloud.

If you're not bothered about the other features of the NAS drive (like backing up your computer) & only want to be able to stream music from your library, and have a good internet connection, iTunes Match may be a cheaper option.

 

[TitusG]

Hello

I am currently using the WD My Book Live with iTunes.

It has an app, that I'm using with my ipod touch, to allow you to access your music files and stream it over airplay from anywhere with a wifi signal.

The great thing is that I don't have to have the computer on to listen to music. The downside is there is no gapless playback, no artwork, and you have to stop tracks to browse through different albums.

I do use it alot but for a good listen I always have itunes opened on the computer.

 

[AnotherJoe]

Does your AV system not support DLNA? Then you could just play your music straight off the NAS, or controlled by your phone.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah its an Onkyo 515, it has everything on it. I've had a lot of so called DLNA/wifi connected devices like bluray etc over the years which have never performed as promised. I assumed the tech was not up to scratch yet. I could give it another go with the new AV system hooked up to MyBookLive I guess.

 

[AnotherJoe]

Yeah its an Onkyo 515, it has everything on it. I've had a lot of so called DLNA/wifi connected devices like bluray etc over the years which have never performed as promised. I assumed the tech was not up to scratch yet. I could give it another go with the new AV system hooked up to MyBookLive I guess.

If you have modern dlna kit then you dont need to mess around with ATV or the like.

Just download the Onkyo remote app for your iphone (or android) and you should be good to go.

http://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/applications/iphone02.html