Let me preface my plea for help with the fact that I am a computer/Mac newbie. My wife wants to get all of the components (DVD, Xbox, VHS) out of the great room and just have the plasma TV mounted on the wall.
My current wireless network consists of a TimeCapsule as a basestation on the first floor set up as a WDS network with an AirPort Express (relay)->AirPort Express (remote) upstairs to improve distance and an AirPort Express (relay)-> AirPort Extreme (remote) reaching into the basement.
I want to add an appleTV so I can stream my DVD's which I want to load into a hard drive hooked up with my iMac. I have done some basic search on which program to convert my movies to iTune format (MPEG-4 correct?) and think Handbrake would suit my purposes. Would Handbrake be able to convert movie DVD's that I buy in Target or would they be copy protected in some way?
What settings on Handbrake would you recommend to maintain HD quality, about how big a file size would a typical 2 hour movie require and how long to convert each movie? If this is not easy and fast, since I have alot of movies, it would be a non-starter. Would having 5 wireless devices slow down the wireless transfer rate to make movie watching untenable?
How would I first create an "alias" for iTune so that the files would be stored on an external hard drive hooked up via (firewire or USB2?) connection and not take up space on my computer's hard drive?
Does the movie file have to transfer completely from the hard drive to appleTV before it can start to play or does it buffer a certain amount before it starts and streams the rest?
Would I be able through my plasma screen, using the appleTV remote, access iTunes on my iMac with my list of movies?
Thanks for your patience. Answer whatever part of my long winded inquiry that you can. I have asked Apple some of these questions but they can't comment on third party software and had difficulty with some of the technical questions so I wanted some real experience feedback.
My current wireless network consists of a TimeCapsule as a basestation on the first floor set up as a WDS network with an AirPort Express (relay)->AirPort Express (remote) upstairs to improve distance and an AirPort Express (relay)-> AirPort Extreme (remote) reaching into the basement.
I want to add an appleTV so I can stream my DVD's which I want to load into a hard drive hooked up with my iMac. I have done some basic search on which program to convert my movies to iTune format (MPEG-4 correct?) and think Handbrake would suit my purposes. Would Handbrake be able to convert movie DVD's that I buy in Target or would they be copy protected in some way?
What settings on Handbrake would you recommend to maintain HD quality, about how big a file size would a typical 2 hour movie require and how long to convert each movie? If this is not easy and fast, since I have alot of movies, it would be a non-starter. Would having 5 wireless devices slow down the wireless transfer rate to make movie watching untenable?
How would I first create an "alias" for iTune so that the files would be stored on an external hard drive hooked up via (firewire or USB2?) connection and not take up space on my computer's hard drive?
Does the movie file have to transfer completely from the hard drive to appleTV before it can start to play or does it buffer a certain amount before it starts and streams the rest?
Would I be able through my plasma screen, using the appleTV remote, access iTunes on my iMac with my list of movies?
Thanks for your patience. Answer whatever part of my long winded inquiry that you can. I have asked Apple some of these questions but they can't comment on third party software and had difficulty with some of the technical questions so I wanted some real experience feedback.
