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How to use apple tv as Time capsule

4

4strings

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2009
10
0
hi

i have an apple tv and i would like to use it as Time capsule.

basically to mount the apple tv hard drive on my macbook.

so this way when i open time machine i will have the apple tv hard drive listed there so i can back up my stuff from the macbook to the hard drive of apple tv. (excatly like Time capsule)

thank you guys in advence!:apple:
 
4strings said:
hi

i have an apple tv and i would like to use it as Time capsule.

basically to mount the apple tv hard drive on my macbook.

so this way when i open time machine i will have the apple tv hard drive listed there so i can back up my stuff from the macbook to the hard drive of apple tv. (excatly like Time capsule)

thank you guys in advence!:apple:
Click to expand...

Are you looking to use this as a Time Capsule AND as an AppleTV?
 
Exactly.

and than allways i will be able to stream media from my macbook to apple tv (this way, i do not need to store anything on apple tv hard drive).

the idea is to use apple tv also as time capsule.

once i open the time machine the apple tv hard drive will be listed there, so i can back up files to my apple tv wireless.

p.s

thank you for the prompt response
 
that what i dont like about apple, they are so smart.

they could make one item that can be: apple tv, time capsule, airport express - all in one machine! but they decieded to make each item for one purpese only so this way we can buy more stuff.

but that behind the point.

the point is how we can make it happen

use apple tv also as time capsule
 
4strings said:
that what i dont like about apple, they are so smart.

they could make one item that can be: apple tv, time capsule, airport express - all in one machine! but they decieded to make each item for one purpese only so this way we can buy more stuff.

but that behind the point.

the point is how we can make it happen

use apple tv also as time capsule
Click to expand...

I can't say for sure, but I'm not sure this can be done. In my head I've been trying to think of ways it might be possible but they all go nowhere.

Unfortunately your best bet might be to get the Time Capsule and keep your iTunes Library on that as a Networked Drive. Downside is that if you're not at home you won't have your iTunes library on your laptop harddrive. I'm struggling with this now. I finally have all of my content sorted, tagged, imported, etc but as it stands I have ~150GB of music in an iTunes library on my laptop and then a second iTunes library on a NAS with about 1.5TB of video content. I would love to move the music onto the NAS but then when I'm away from home I won't have my music on my computer (though it would be on my iPod)... tough problem.

If you had a mobileme account you could use your Time Capsule as the iDisk (I think?), store your entire library on that and then when you were away from you could mount your iDisk and then open your iTunes library that way - but I would think it might be too slow. On top of that, you would still need the AppleTV to serve up the content to your television.
 
4strings said:
that what i dont like about apple, they are so smart.

they could make one item that can be: apple tv, time capsule, airport express - all in one machine! but they decieded to make each item for one purpese only so this way we can buy more stuff.
Click to expand...

On the other hand, by making separate components (though with overlapping functions) people don't have to buy capability they don't need or want. Just sayin'.
 
They’re two different devices that do two completely different things.

Time Capsule = an AirPort Extreme router with a built-in 1TB/2TB hard drive to share files or use as a Time Machine backup drive

Apple TV = an iTunes set top box for your living room with a bulit-in 160GB hard drive

Who wants their router, set top box and backup drive together in one device connected to your living room TV anyway?

This is probably one of the most absurd requests I’ve read on this forum.

No OP, you can’t use your Apple TV’s internal hard drive as a Time Machine backup drive. You would have to install full-blown OS X on the Apple TV because the Apple TV is running a stripped down version of the OS that lacks the proper file sharing capabilities to make it work. Even hacked, it would be a stretch to make it work (networked Time Machine backups require the creation of sparse bundles).

Just buy an AirPort Extreme and connect an external drive to it. You can get a new one for $169 or purchase an older used 802.11n model (like the original non-gigabit model) for around $80.
 
jaw04005 said:
They’re two different devices that do two completely different things.

Time Capsule = an AirPort Extreme router with a built-in 1TB/2TB hard drive to share files or use as a Time Machine backup drive

Apple TV = an iTunes set top box for your living room with a bulit-in 160GB hard drive

Who wants their router, set top box and backup drive together in one device connected to your living room TV anyway?

This is probably one of the most absurd requests I’ve read on this forum.

No OP, you can’t use your Apple TV’s internal hard drive as a Time Machine backup drive. You would have to install full-blown OS X on the Apple TV because the Apple TV is running a stripped down version of the OS that lacks the proper file sharing capabilities to make it work. Even hacked, it would be a stretch to make it work (networked Time Machine backups required the creation of sparse bundles).

Just buy an AirPort Extreme and connect an external drive to it. You can get a new one for $169 or purchase an older used 802.11n model (like the original non-gigabit model) for around $80.
Click to expand...

what if i have air port express - will i be able to connect an external hard drive and use it with time machine?
 
jaw04005 said:
Unfortunately, the current AirPort Express doesn’t support file sharing (known as ‘AirPort Disk') off its USB port.

Now, that’s a feature to request. :D

http://www.apple.com/feedback/airportexpress.html
Click to expand...

Once again, thank you for the quick response.

Apple could make the air port express enabled with file sharing.

simply connect hard drive to airport express via usb and share this hard drive wireless! that excatly what i ment before by saying that apple make us the burys buy more of the product for no reason:apple:
 
i heard that you can mount the external hard drive connected to your apple tv on macbook via MacFuse program

have anybody heard about it ?
 
I really don't think this is as crazy a suggestion as everyone seems to be making out.

My airport base station sits right next to my apple tv, has a hard drive connected to it to use as time capsule like device, why not have them all linked together?

I'm sure you could hack an Airport extreme base station and an appleTv together to form a bespoke time capsule. It would have a tiny amount of storage tho.
 
Shoesy said:
I really don't think this is as crazy a suggestion as everyone seems to be making out.

My airport base station sits right next to my apple tv, has a hard drive connected to it to use as time capsule like device, why not have them all linked together?

I'm sure you could hack an Airport extreme base station and an appleTv together to form a bespoke time capsule. It would have a tiny amount of storage tho.
Click to expand...

"My airport base station sits right next to my apple tv, has a hard drive connected to it to use as time capsule like device" the hard drive connect to what? and how did u do it?
 
Shoesy said:
I really don't think this is as crazy a suggestion as everyone seems to be making out.

My airport base station sits right next to my apple tv, has a hard drive connected to it to use as time capsule like device, why not have them all linked together?

I'm sure you could hack an Airport extreme base station and an appleTv together to form a bespoke time capsule. It would have a tiny amount of storage tho.
Click to expand...

I think a Time Capsule with an Apple tv would be a great idea, if time capsule could read your latest backup and get your most up to date iTunes library to stream over the Apple TV side if your MacBook is in sleep or you dont want to stream from another computer. You could also do basic wireless setup on the tv instead of using a computer.
 
Sure if Apple combined the ATV and Time Capsule you would only need 1 device, but it would cost $700. Is that a win for the consumer or ...?

And then they'd have to carry another model in all their stores and add another model to their inventory. Not saying one model makes or breaks anything, but it would add up quickly. I mean ever shop for a Dell computer? You get alot of choice, but man it can overwhelm and leave you wondering what is what and which is better or worth it. And hard to compare when the choices are changing all he time and no one has the same computer.

Apple is an all-in-one company.

The strength is everything works better together and there's one company to talk when problems happen.

The tradeoff or weakness is lack of choice. They can't go as deep in the product lineup as the other guys.
 
trip1ex said:
Sure if Apple combined the ATV and Time Capsule you would only need 1 device, but it would cost $700. Is that a win for the consumer or ...?

Also Apple actually isn't that big of a company. And they wear many hats. Part of the appeal of Apple is the vertical business model. They do it all.

They do the OS like MS does. They do the hardware like Dell or HP or Sony does. They do the peripherals like Logitech. They do routers and storage devices like LInksys and DLink do. etc.

But the trade-off is they are never going to be as deep as the other guys in each of those areas.

I think they do gains strength from having fewer yet excellent and identifiable products than having a crapload of choices. Part of the Jobs's comeback was to streamline the lineup. And it has worked.

They have to do a few things great and leave it at that. They can't compete on choice and cost with Windows using their vertical business model.
Click to expand...

I think if anything it couldnt be any more than $399 add an Aiport Express to a Apple TV and boom, all done. It could replace the current Apple TV.
 
:rolleyes: guys back to the subject

i have airport express and apple tv

how can i back up my files from macbook via time machine wireless
 
4strings said:
Once again, thank you for the quick response.

Apple could make the air port express enabled with file sharing.

simply connect hard drive to airport express via usb and share this hard drive wireless! that excatly what i ment before by saying that apple make us the burys buy more of the product for no reason:apple:
Click to expand...

They could, but they are not going to - not for the current airport expresses. Unfortunately Apple wants you to get the Extreme. It's not going to work - the USB port on the express is limited to printers.
 
I dont really understand the point, you have at max 160 GB of storage, and you want that to be a backup. I guess if you have a super tiny macbook HD then it could be useful. If you have upgraded your HD in the Apple tv only to try and use it as a Time Capsule you made a mistake. Go buy a 250 bus powered external hardrive for less than 50 bucks and use that instead.
 
TheCheapGeek said:
I dont really understand the point, you have at max 160 GB of storage, and you want that to be a backup. I guess if you have a super tiny macbook HD then it could be useful. If you have upgraded your HD in the Apple tv only to try and use it as a Time Capsule you made a mistake. Go buy a 250 bus powered external hardrive for less than 50 bucks and use that instead.
Click to expand...

i can connect 1tb hard to apple tv which located in the living.

and i can back it up wirelss stright to the hard that connect to apple tv from any where in the house... comprende? conveniently:eek:
 
jaw04005 said:
...
No OP, you can’t use your Apple TV’s internal hard drive as a Time Machine backup drive. You would have to install full-blown OS X on the Apple TV because the Apple TV is running a stripped down version of the OS that lacks the proper file sharing capabilities to make it work.
...
Click to expand...

I thought the Apple TV had a pretty much full blown Mac OS X 10.4 system. If you hack the box, you can get access to the system via ssh and I would think you could enable sharing of the hard drive. Won't Time Machine work with a network attached drive?
 
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