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Playing iTunes Movies from an external storage drive

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mrmarts

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
1,051
1
Melbourne Australia
Hey guys

As the title suggests is it possible to play itunes from an external hard disk as I have recently sold my iMac and my Macbook's SSD is to tiny to fit all the movies and tv shows I have purchased. I have been exploring iTunes preferences and noticed you can change the drive where you want the iTunes library to be located will this work. If so will I be able to stream iTunes movies from this drive to a apple tv using a lacie 3tb cloud box any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
 
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stridemat

stridemat

Moderator
Staff member
Apr 2, 2008
11,362
855
UK
Yes you can do that.

You will need to have iTunes open on the MacBook but it should work great.
 
P

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
it works, this is how my Mac Mini is set up. I have an external 2TB that stores all my iTunes on it. I also stream movies/music from the Mini to 2 Apple TV 3's with no problem. One suggestion is to go with the fastest data transfer speed you can get. (Firewire 800, USB 3, etc.).
 
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M

mrmarts

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
1,051
1
Melbourne Australia
Primejimbo said:
it works, this is how my Mac Mini is set up. I have an external 2TB that stores all my iTunes on it. I also stream movies/music from the Mini to 2 Apple TV 3's with no problem. One suggestion is to go with the fastest data transfer speed you can get. (Firewire 800, USB 3, etc.).
Click to expand...

The external hard disk I am thinking of buying is a Lacie Cloud box which is a network hdd, it connects only via ethernet to the router and uses wi fi to stream content. http://www.lacie.com/au/products/product.htm?id=10597 is this ok, or is it better to have a physical connection to the Macbook.
 
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mic j

macrumors 68030
Mar 15, 2012
2,659
152
mrmarts said:
Hypothetically speaking if I don't want to buy another drive as i already own a time capsule, can i watch films on icloud?
Click to expand...
Not quite understanding why you would want the cloud functionality of the Lacie drive. You have to have iTunes for the aTV, so why wouldn't you just use the Apple iCloud? $149 for a 1TB drive is not that great of a price. You can get a 2TB external drive for typically around $100 and I've seen them as low as $80.

Just curious as to your reasoning on the Lacie.
 
A

arbogast777

macrumors regular
Sep 4, 2010
240
24
I kind of had the same question too, as I would like the ability to watch movies on the AppleTV if no Internet connection is present.

Am I correct in saying that the OP would connect an external HD to his MacBook, tell the MacBook that the iTunes library should be found on the HD, then basically just keep the computer on so the AppleTV can access it?

Also, how about hooking up an external to an AirPort Extreme? How would you go about doing that?
 
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mic j

macrumors 68030
Mar 15, 2012
2,659
152
arbogast777 said:
I kind of had the same question too, as I would like the ability to watch movies on the AppleTV if no Internet connection is present.

Am I correct in saying that the OP would connect an external HD to his MacBook, tell the MacBook that the iTunes library should be found on the HD, then basically just keep the computer on so the AppleTV can access it?

Also, how about hooking up an external to an AirPort Extreme? How would you go about doing that?
Click to expand...
Answer to question 1: yes, that is what you would do.
Answer to question 2: Just plug the drive into the AEBS and tell iTunes the library is located on that attached drive. That is exactly how I have my system configured and it works perfectly. Movies load within seconds (and I have my AEBS in the basement near the tv/aTV and my MBP running iTunes on the first floor).
 
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arbogast777

macrumors regular
Sep 4, 2010
240
24
^ Thanks for the response. One question though - is there any difference in functionality if you were to hook up the external HD to the AirPort Extreme vs. just hooking it up to your MacBook?
 
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mic j

macrumors 68030
Mar 15, 2012
2,659
152
arbogast777 said:
^ Thanks for the response. One question though - is there any difference in functionality if you were to hook up the external HD to the AirPort Extreme vs. just hooking it up to your MacBook?
Click to expand...

No difference in functionality. The only thing you might notices is a slight (very slight) lag loading a song or movie on your MB. But that is really dependent on the quality of your wifi system and drive speed.
 
L

linds15

macrumors 6502a
Oct 16, 2012
535
1
Great White North
arbogast777 said:
^ Thanks for the response. One question though - is there any difference in functionality if you were to hook up the external HD to the AirPort Extreme vs. just hooking it up to your MacBook?
Click to expand...

i had it hooked up to my airport for a bit and couldnt stand it, the time it took to load the file, and the times it buffered bothered me much more than just plugging it directly to my mbp. its also a pain when you're transferring BR rips to the hard drive, takes forever over wifi as opposed to it just being plugged in.
 
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mic j

macrumors 68030
Mar 15, 2012
2,659
152
linds15 said:
i had it hooked up to my airport for a bit and couldnt stand it, the time it took to load the file, and the times it buffered bothered me much more than just plugging it directly to my mbp. its also a pain when you're transferring BR rips to the hard drive, takes forever over wifi as opposed to it just being plugged in.
Click to expand...
As I said, how well it works depends a lot on the quality of your wifi. For me, seconds to load a BR, no buffering and around 40m to transfer a BR main movie rip to the networked HDD.
 
P

Primejimbo

macrumors 68040
Aug 10, 2008
3,295
131
Around
mrmarts said:
Hypothetically speaking if I don't want to buy another drive as i already own a time capsule, can i watch films on icloud?
Click to expand...

You can, the ones you buy from iTunes, BUT I have read people who lost movies from Apple. I would always download them to a hard drive to have.
 
M

mrmarts

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 6, 2009
1,051
1
Melbourne Australia
mic j said:
Not quite understanding why you would want the cloud functionality of the Lacie drive. You have to have iTunes for the aTV, so why wouldn't you just use the Apple iCloud? $149 for a 1TB drive is not that great of a price. You can get a 2TB external drive for typically around $100 and I've seen them as low as $80.

Just curious as to your reasoning on the Lacie.
Click to expand...

I was recommended, but I might settle a seagate 3tb or 4tb hdd which is much cheaper.

"You can, the ones you buy from iTunes, BUT I have read people who lost movies from Apple. I would always download them to a hard drive to have".

i guess cloud is out of the question, i felt cheap for that moment and did not want to clutter my desk with hard disks, however i do not want to lose my movies and tv shows which i bought from itunes, so i will pickup a portable hdd.
 
M

mic j

macrumors 68030
Mar 15, 2012
2,659
152
mrmarts said:
I was recommended, but I might settle a seagate 3tb or 4tb hdd which is much cheaper.

"You can, the ones you buy from iTunes, BUT I have read people who lost movies from Apple. I would always download them to a hard drive to have".

i guess cloud is out of the question, i felt cheap for that moment and did not want to clutter my desk with hard disks, however i do not want to lose my movies and tv shows which i bought from itunes, so i will pickup a portable hdd.
Click to expand...
I'll play devils advocate here. Yes, there is a very small chance that some particular movie you purchase through iTunes (and stored in the cloud) might become unavailable in the future. It is also probable, that at some point your external HDD will crap out and you will lose everything on it. Unless of course you buy 2 drives and use one for backup. Nothings perfect. You might want to consider a drive just large enough to hold your most desirable movies. The classics that you would never want to lose and back those up. Then rely on the cloud to store all the other stuff and take the chance that you might lose access to Smokey and the Bandit IV. Just food for thought.
 
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