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Apple TV vs. Mini vs, Sonos

I've been reading these forums for a couple weeks trying to figure out the best way to organize a large CD collection (2000 CD's) and to access it wirelessly on two systems. Having a friendly interface for the other family members is important.

At first I was leaning toward a Sonos solution with a NAS attached. Then, I replaced my old IMac with a new one and really like the Front Row feature. I also have an Apple Wi-Fi using Airpport Extreme (the older 801b/g version). Having Front Row available to manage my iTunes library via the video seems like a better solution than Sonos.

He're my questions:

I read that Apple TV won't support web radio. I usually tune in a channel and open it with ITunes, drag it to a Playlist and name it. Whenever I want to listen to it, it's in a playlist. Front Row accesses these easily on the new IMac. I assume they work the same way with Apple TV. Also works for stations accessed through Live365.com, which gives you 10,000 stations to choose from.

I'm not clear why Apple TV has the built in hard drive. Does your ITunes content have to be on the Apple TV drive or can you access your library stored at another location wirelessly, such as a NAS, via Front Row and the Apple TV?

It seems to me that the simplest solution is to use a NAS to store my collection and add an Apple TV to each system, accessing the library via Wi-Fi and connecting the audio via Toslink to a DAC and the video via composite video. Is there a flaw in my thinking? Is there an advantage to using a mini? There's no place in either installation for another screen.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
bbopman
bbopman OP
53 posts
 
Drubin: I am not sure I understand your question, but here is what I have done and it works fine. The Apple TV comes in two versions, one with a 40GB hard drive and the other with 160. If these capacities are sufficient, you can "sync" the Apple TV to your iTunes library and it essentially copies your music files over to the Apple TV (as duplcate files, so the originals are not affected). One can then play the files off the Apple TV without having the computer on (or so I am told).

In my case, because my music files were so much larger than the capacity of the Apple TV, I did't sync them. Instead, the Apple TV accesses the files on the HD attached to the iMac over the Wifi network which streams them to the Apple TV. The downside (not an issue for me) is that the iMac has to remain on.

I hope this answers your question and is of some help.

Regards and best of luck!
bbopman OP
53 posts
 
PS: I have a question for the group as well: Has anyone tried to install the Apple TV without hooking it up to a HD television? I bought a second one over the weekend for my second system which dosn't have room for any sort of TV or monitor. Can I take the Apple TV out of my first stsyem ( i.e. unplug it and move it and still have it work when it is "reinstalled") and then take the new one and go through the usual installation procedure?
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drubin
3,267 posts
 
Bbopman -- thank you, you did answer my question. So you use the Apple TV for streaming instead of storing your music library. Is there an advantage to using it in that way compared to using the less-expensive Airport Express?
bbopman OP
53 posts
 
I like using the Apple TV for a number of reasons. In my main rig where I also have a 60" Sony LCD TV, I can view my photographs from iPhoto as well as YouTube. There are some very cool older TV spots featuring jazz and blues greats. The screen saver feature can be set to either show your photos or your album covers floating radnomly in space. I haven't used Airport Express, but as I understand it, even using the Touch to control it, you have a more limited ability to search your library. Using Apple TV, you can search genres and songs as wells as artists and albums which I can't seem to do using Touch. Maybe I just haven't worked through it completely though since I only bought the Touch on Saturday. I haven't used it to rent movies, but that is an option also. Since I am only streaming, I went with the 40 GB model which is only about $229. I plan to continue to mainly use the remote that came with the Apple TV.
mr_bill
346 posts
 
Bbopman,
Are you tuning in to Pandora on your ITouch and then docking the ITouch to play Pandora through your system?
I didn't quite understand that part and am interested.
Thanks.
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