How to expand AppleTV HD?

[JRod993]

I'm thinking about getting a 40gb AppleTV just because it's cheaper than the 160gb, but the problem is I have more than 160gb in content on iTunes! So, is there anyway I can buy an external hard drive & connect it to the USB port on the back of AppleTV to add more storage space?

[cwazytech]

I'm thinking about getting a 40gb AppleTV just because it's cheaper than the 160gb, but the problem is I have more than 160gb in content on iTunes! So, is there anyway I can buy an external hard drive & connect it to the USB port on the back of AppleTV to add more storage space?

Actually there are 4 things u can do.

1. Buy a bigger HD, format it for the Apple TV, and install it yourself. There are places on the internet that show and tell you how to do that.

2. You can buy an already formatted larger HD off ebay and install it. It's as simple as a plug n play. I thought this route was easier and more cost efficient.

3. Or you can find and buy an ATV off ebay that someone has already modified. I found a 500Gig ATV but I thought it was too pricey.
I'm sure all 3 of these things would void the ATV warranty though.

4. I think there is also a patch that you could install on the ATV so you could hook up a USB HD.

[Cave Man]

Actually there are 4 things u can do.

You missed the 5th and best of all - the eSATA Apple TV. ;)

[11thIndian]

There is another alternative that doesn't necessitate you investing in any more space. If you have more than one Mac in the house, synch your AppleTV to the Mac with a smaller library, and then just stream all the content from your primary machine. Practically, I can't say I've tried to stream HD movies from another machine in the network, but music certainly works without a hitch. Perhaps someone else can speak to experience of streaming movies not actually on the AppleTV HD. I've got to assume most of what you have is movies and TV, as that would be a heck of a lot of music!

[tom1971]

I'm thinking about getting a 40gb AppleTV just because it's cheaper than the 160gb, but the problem is I have more than 160gb in content on iTunes! So, is there anyway I can buy an external hard drive & connect it to the USB port on the back of AppleTV to add more storage space?

The easiest solution is to hack your ATV and enable the USB port. It is done in no time and does not void your warranty.

[cwazytech]

You missed the 5th and best of all - the eSATA Apple TV. ;)

Haven't heard of that. How'd you get that one?

[Tallest Skil]

Haven't heard of that. How'd you get that one?

He made it himself.

[JRod993]

The easiest solution is to hack your ATV and enable the USB port. It is done in no time and does not void your warranty.

How do u do that?

[aprofetto]

One word... stream.

I have over 300 gigs worth of movies in my iTunes. I just stream it to my 40gig AppleTV, problem solved. :)

[Mr Kram]

How do u do that?

there's a thread on here about a 750GB atv. do a search.

[paduck]

Here's a link to a thread I wrote on how to upgrade your hard drive in Apple TV. I put together a bunch of sources on the web, plus listed what you type in the console. Should help.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=589208 (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=589208&highlight=paduck)

The steps in the post listed above CLEARLY will void your warranty. I would recommend buying a used 40GB ATV off eBay. That's what I did.

Bear in mind that the maximum sized internal hard drive you can use with the Apple TV's PATA connection is 250GB. Microcenter has then for $85 now.

Anything larger than 250GB is using a SATA-PATA converter. Nothing wrong with that, but more components to master. There are people who have gotten significantly larger than 250GB if they are willing to make more hardware changes to the system. Caveman has done a nice job, although I think his drive has another external box on it. You can get away with a 2.5" SATA inside the ATV case, but it is a tight squeeze with the converter.

[paduck]

there's a thread on here about a 750GB atv. do a search.

This is what you want:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=438073

[Cave Man]

This is what you want:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=438073

And to emphasize that 750 gb is not the limit, I even connected a 1.5 TB drive (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=6310754&postcount=17) to my Apple TV and it worked fine, too.