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Help with Apple TV First Gen question

L

Lane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
12
0
Need some clarification - I have and Apple TV, but I want to be able to play music on a second AV system and I dont want to have to have a computer on with Itunes running. I THINK that a first generation Apple TV will work to do that and I'm looking at some on Ebay but want to make sure.... with the originals stream my music to my system without a computer?
tHANKS
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
You have to first sync the media over, they run hot and don't really have a "low power mode", can be slow/stubborn.
 
Mr Kram

Mr Kram

macrumors 68020
Oct 1, 2008
2,388
1,237
just for clarification. you have to sync the music to the hard drive and you can play the ATV without iTunes. however, you cannot "stream" the music. the atv must be physically hooked up to your stereo system.
 
L

Lane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
12
0
Thanks,
Stream wasn't the right choice of words... I did mean, just that I want to be able to play music through my audio system without having to have a computer on and running Itunes like I have to do with the newer ATV.

It sounds like this will do what I want do do - and I hope that I can control it with my Harmony remote?
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
Lane said:
It sounds like this will do what I want do do - and I hope that I can control it with my Harmony remote?
Click to expand...

I believe you can. I think Harmony remotes have an Apple TV profile. If not, the Apple TV can learn a new remote.
 
MattG

MattG

macrumors 68040
May 27, 2003
3,864
440
Asheville, NC
Lane said:
Thanks,
Stream wasn't the right choice of words... I did mean, just that I want to be able to play music through my audio system without having to have a computer on and running Itunes like I have to do with the newer ATV.

It sounds like this will do what I want do do - and I hope that I can control it with my Harmony remote?
Click to expand...

Yes to both. Once you sync your music to it, you do not need to have a computer on. And I can confirm that it works with a Harmony remote -- both the Gen1 and Gen2 ATVs have worked with mine.
 
L

Lane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
12
0
Great... thanks!

Now - about syncing my current iTunes librarie(s) to the ATV - how is that done? Does the ATV show up as a device and I somehow sych it, or do I need to copy my libraries to it?
 
K

KevinC867

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2007
620
2
Saratoga, CA
Lane said:
Now - about syncing my current iTunes librarie(s) to the ATV - how is that done? Does the ATV show up as a device and I somehow sych it, or do I need to copy my libraries to it?
Click to expand...

It works the same way as syncing content to an iPhone or iPod. The AppleTV shows in the Devices list in iTunes. Then, you click the tabs for Music, Movies, etc. and tell it which items you want it to sync (=copy) to the ATV. Other items in your library which are not synced will be available for streaming when your computer is turned on.
 
L

Lane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
12
0
OK - thanks again...

Now, another question - I have three PCs with iTunes on them. I'm also also pretty iTunes dumb. I need to consolidate the music from all three PCs into one place so I can ponit the ATV to it and get all my music and playlists.

I have googled a ton of instructions about how to consolidate libraries and also how to move everythign to one place (like my external HD). But, as I say, I'm iTunes dumb.... cant figure it out. Is there a simple/straighforward way to do this?
 
Intell

Intell

macrumors P6
Jan 24, 2010
18,955
509
Inside
I've never used it, but I think iTunes Home Sharing could automatically sync your libraries across the network.
 
F

fpnc

macrumors 68000
Oct 30, 2002
1,979
134
San Diego, CA
Intell said:
I've never used it, but I think iTunes Home Sharing could automatically sync your libraries across the network.
Click to expand...
I've used Home Sharing on two Macs and it allows me to sync the iTunes libraries so that I have the same content on both (I use it as a means of backup). However, I'm pretty sure that it periodically misses some files so you MAY want to manually verify that everything has been merged or copied BEFORE you delete anything from either system.
 
L

Lane

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
12
0
Good... thats what I'm hoping to do. I got home sharing set up on all three of my machines. I can see the other libraries, but have not yet figured out how to actually get them to merge into one - or do they?

I wonder if I should be putting all of my files on a separate drive?
 
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