AppleTV with a MacBook + ext HD

CMD is me said:

I'm considering an AppleTV. I have a MacBook Pro and 500gb ext hard drive. Will the AppleTV wake the MBP up from sleep? And does the lid need to stay open (on the MBP)?

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thats a good question. I have MBP + Apple TV + TC.

I will try that out. Give me a sec.

Brain lapse.. Apple TV is synced up to your iTunes at all times so your computer doesnt have to awake.

CMD is me said:

But doesn't your MBP need to be awake to access a connected external drive?

Anyone?

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I think your MB Pro does need to be awake. Otherwise, your AppleTV won't be able to locate your iTunes library.

I have 40GB Apple TV, and my iTunes alone is over 50GB. So I just stream everything to my Apple TV from my MBP. When I come home, I plug in my MBP and leave it on 24/7. Streaming is really fast. Usually you have maybe 1 second of delay but that's about it. I am sure it is the same way if you use external HD.

CMD is me said:

Cool. What do you have your energy saver set to? Never sleep + screen saver on?

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Never sleep + Screen off after 15min. I don't bother with screen savor.

I have this setup and what I do is just let the display sleep. This works perfect. Haven't tried with the whole MBP in sleep mode... I don't think it'd work. In my opinion though just sleeping the display is good enough for my MBP and its not doing any harm really by leaving the computer on a lot while I am home anyway.