What is the best way to organize and host movies and tv shows through iTunes? I have a lot of movies and tv shows that I did not get from iTunes but I would like to serve them through iTunes so I can access it all from my Apple TV.
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Hosting Movies/TV Shows Through iTunes
- Thread starter Frankied22
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Madmic23
macrumors 6502a
I just drag the files into iTunes. They will show up as "Home Movies," but you can change them to TV Shows or Movies by right clicking on them and selecting "Get Info." I manually add the show name, episode name, description and everything, but I know there are tools out there than can automate this for you.
Once you get everything loaded up into iTunes and categorized, you just need to leave your computer on with iTunes running when you want to watch something. Works great.
Don't the files have to be a certain type though? For instance, I have a lot of .avi files, wouldn't I have to convert them with Handbrake?
you would have to convert them to itunes compatible format. you can use something like ivi or iflicks which will convert and and metadata all in one, or use handbrake to convert than another program to add the metadata
They need to be in m4v format, and they need to be in 64 bit mode if you plan on them being over 4GB per file. In handbrake this is called "Large File Size".
Unfortunately it does require quite a bit of manual labor to get everything displaying perfectly. The ripping is actually the easy part, if your a stickler for all the metadata being filled out, that's the time waster. Also be aware that there are a couple metadata fields that iTunes will not give access to. In particular the "HD" icon as well as the parental ratings. But 3rd party programs will, such as the ones listed below.
I use MetaX on Windows. Subler is popular on OSX.
Also, the way AppleTV works in regards to audio is that you will want to have a stereo AAC channel for Track 1 and then a Dolby Digital 5.1 for Track 2. If you have Dolby Digital enabled on ATV, it will automatically select Track 2, else it will fall back to stereo on track 1. Doing this gives you most compatibility with all devices. I also add a 3rd track with DTS-HD if available, even though ATV does not support DTS, nor any "HD" audio.
Unfortunately it does require quite a bit of manual labor to get everything displaying perfectly. The ripping is actually the easy part, if your a stickler for all the metadata being filled out, that's the time waster. Also be aware that there are a couple metadata fields that iTunes will not give access to. In particular the "HD" icon as well as the parental ratings. But 3rd party programs will, such as the ones listed below.
I use MetaX on Windows. Subler is popular on OSX.
Also, the way AppleTV works in regards to audio is that you will want to have a stereo AAC channel for Track 1 and then a Dolby Digital 5.1 for Track 2. If you have Dolby Digital enabled on ATV, it will automatically select Track 2, else it will fall back to stereo on track 1. Doing this gives you most compatibility with all devices. I also add a 3rd track with DTS-HD if available, even though ATV does not support DTS, nor any "HD" audio.