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Apple TV storage

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  Apple TV storage D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> - 2026-04-26 13:29 +0000
    Re: Apple TV storage Andy H <thewildrover@icloud.com> - 2026-04-26 15:24 +0000
      Re: Apple TV storage TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> - 2026-04-26 15:42 +0000
        Re: Apple TV storage Andy H <thewildrover@icloud.com> - 2026-04-26 15:52 +0000
          Re: Apple TV storage RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> - 2026-04-27 03:39 +0000
            Re: Apple TV storage Andrew Hewitt <thewildrover@icloud.com> - 2026-04-27 05:55 +0100
              Re: Apple TV storage Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2026-04-27 10:15 +0100
                Re: Apple TV storage TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> - 2026-04-27 10:11 +0000
                  Re: Apple TV storage Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2026-04-27 12:02 +0100
                  Re: Apple TV storage Andy H <thewildrover@icloud.com> - 2026-04-27 15:18 +0000
                    Re: Apple TV storage TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> - 2026-04-27 19:32 +0000
                      Re: Apple TV storage Andy H <thewildrover@icloud.com> - 2026-04-27 21:55 +0000
                        Re: Apple TV storage TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> - 2026-04-29 09:17 +0000
                Re: Apple TV storage RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> - 2026-04-27 16:35 +0000
                  Re: Apple TV storage Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> - 2026-04-29 10:17 +0100
    Re: Apple TV storage David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> - 2026-05-04 09:02 +0100
      Re: Apple TV storage RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> - 2026-05-04 08:50 +0000
        Re: Apple TV storage David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> - 2026-05-04 17:11 +0100

#183393 — Apple TV storage

I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
so).

Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
from there? Or is that not the Apple way?

Daniele

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#183394

D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> wrote:
> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
> so).
> 
> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?

Not that I’m aware of. Home Sharing is the only way as far as I know. It is
just a media streamer, much like many others out there, and only stores
apps and cached data.

You can probably use Plex from the Pi though, and possibly VLC too - but
that’s not really gaining much!

-- 
Andy H

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#183395

On 26 Apr 2026 at 4:24:06 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:

> D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> wrote:
>> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
>> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
>> so).
>> 
>> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
>> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
> 
> Not that I’m aware of. Home Sharing is the only way as far as I know. It is
> just a media streamer, much like many others out there, and only stores
> apps and cached data.
> 
> You can probably use Plex from the Pi though, and possibly VLC too - but
> that’s not really gaining much!

Just to add that if Plex is an option, the Apple TV client works pretty
smoothly. (I have the server running elsewhere.)
-- 
TimH
pull tooth to reply by email

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#183396

TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> wrote:
> On 26 Apr 2026 at 4:24:06 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:
> 
>> D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> wrote:
>>> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
>>> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
>>> so).
>>> 
>>> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
>>> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
>> 
>> Not that I’m aware of. Home Sharing is the only way as far as I know. It is
>> just a media streamer, much like many others out there, and only stores
>> apps and cached data.
>> 
>> You can probably use Plex from the Pi though, and possibly VLC too - but
>> that’s not really gaining much!
> 
> Just to add that if Plex is an option, the Apple TV client works pretty
> smoothly. (I have the server running elsewhere.)

I never really got on with Plex, it created a right mess of playlists for
me, and really screws up my metadata - many incorrect movie banners, and
titles in foreign languages, and wouldn’t bring across everything from my
library.

I just stick with serving from my desktop and a media HDD, using Home
Share. If you’re not operating outside the Apple ecosystem’s, I don’t find
much in the way of third party systems that work any better.

Cheers.

-- 
Andy H

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#183398

On 26 Apr 2026 at 16:52:26 BST, Andy H wrote:

> TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> wrote:
>> On 26 Apr 2026 at 4:24:06 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> D.M. Procida <daniele-at-vurt-dot-org@invalid.com> wrote:
>>>> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
>>>> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
>>>> so).
>>>> 
>>>> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
>>>> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
>>> 
>>> Not that I’m aware of. Home Sharing is the only way as far as I know. It is
>>> just a media streamer, much like many others out there, and only stores
>>> apps and cached data.
>>> 
>>> You can probably use Plex from the Pi though, and possibly VLC too - but
>>> that’s not really gaining much!
>> 
>> Just to add that if Plex is an option, the Apple TV client works pretty
>> smoothly. (I have the server running elsewhere.)
> 
> I never really got on with Plex, it created a right mess of playlists for
> me, and really screws up my metadata - many incorrect movie banners, and
> titles in foreign languages, and wouldn’t bring across everything from my
> library.
> 

Plex works fine for me on a 2010 Mac Mini/2024 LG TV - provided (of course)
that file naming conventions are followed. But then most of my media is fairly
mainstream, and while I have had issues in the past, it's been fairly solid
for the past few years.

> I just stick with serving from my desktop and a media HDD, using Home
> Share. If you’re not operating outside the Apple ecosystem’s, I don’t find
> much in the way of third party systems that work any better.

For now, using an old computer tethered directly to the TV works fine. It's a
little laggy scrolling through content, for example, and 4K is very hit/miss,
but I've never been sure whether that's the Mac Mini or the LG TV.

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#183399

On 27/04/2026 04:39, RJH wrote:
> On 26 Apr 2026 at 16:52:26 BST, Andy H wrote:

[..]

>>> Just to add that if Plex is an option, the Apple TV client works pretty
>>> smoothly. (I have the server running elsewhere.)
>>
>> I never really got on with Plex, it created a right mess of playlists for
>> me, and really screws up my metadata - many incorrect movie banners, and
>> titles in foreign languages, and wouldn’t bring across everything from my
>> library.
>>
> 
> Plex works fine for me on a 2010 Mac Mini/2024 LG TV - provided (of course)
> that file naming conventions are followed. But then most of my media is fairly
> mainstream, and while I have had issues in the past, it's been fairly solid
> for the past few years.
> 
>> I just stick with serving from my desktop and a media HDD, using Home
>> Share. If you’re not operating outside the Apple ecosystem’s, I don’t find
>> much in the way of third party systems that work any better.
> 
> For now, using an old computer tethered directly to the TV works fine. It's a
> little laggy scrolling through content, for example, and 4K is very hit/miss,
> but I've never been sure whether that's the Mac Mini or the LG TV.

I'm sure I could get it to work, but it wasn't really doing anything for 
me that wasn't working OK on the Apple only setup.

Plex TV was probably the only part that offered anything, but I found it 
too intrusive with adverts, so that left not a lot of benefit to me.

It was a lot of fixing something that's not broken! ;-)

-- 
Andy H

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#183404

On 27 Apr 2026, Andrew Hewitt wrote
(in article <10smq8d$2471b$1@dont-email.me>):

> Plex TV was probably the only part that offered anything, but I found it
> too intrusive with adverts, so that left not a lot of benefit to me.
>
> It was a lot of fixing something that's not broken! ;-)

They annoyed me sufficiently that I moved to Jellyfin. Open source, didn’t 
take that long to move over, a few different clients around including the 
official one, Swiftfin and one in TestFlight on the AppleTV right now called 
Moonfin.

Might be worth a look.

Ian

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#183405

On 27 Apr 2026 at 10:15:31 am BST, "Ian McCall" <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:

> On 27 Apr 2026, Andrew Hewitt wrote
> (in article <10smq8d$2471b$1@dont-email.me>):
> 
>> Plex TV was probably the only part that offered anything, but I found it
>> too intrusive with adverts, so that left not a lot of benefit to me.
>> 
>> It was a lot of fixing something that's not broken! ;-)
> 
> They annoyed me sufficiently that I moved to Jellyfin. Open source, didn’t
> take that long to move over, a few different clients around including the
> official one, Swiftfin and one in TestFlight on the AppleTV right now called
> Moonfin.

The streaming side is easily switched off though, isn't it? I only use it as a
local server. Though all that stuff is probably a sign of oncoming
enshittification, of course. (I'd probably investigate Jellyfin too if I
hadn't bought a lifetime licence in one of Plex's promotional offers a few
years back.)

-- 
TimH
pull tooth to reply by email

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#183407

On 27 Apr 2026, TimH wrote
(in article <n58r38FjopsU1@mid.individual.net>):

> Though all that stuff is probably a sign of oncoming
> enshittification, of course. (I'd probably investigate Jellyfin too if I
> hadn't bought a lifetime licence in one of Plex's promotional offers a few
> years back.)

Yep - exactly. This is why I did it - to get ahead of all that. I never used 
any commercial part of Plex anyway, Jellyfin I use purely for my own media on 
a NAS.

Ian

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#183409

TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> wrote:
> On 27 Apr 2026 at 10:15:31 am BST, "Ian McCall" <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
> 
>> On 27 Apr 2026, Andrew Hewitt wrote
>> (in article <10smq8d$2471b$1@dont-email.me>):
>> 
>>> Plex TV was probably the only part that offered anything, but I found it
>>> too intrusive with adverts, so that left not a lot of benefit to me.
>>> 
>>> It was a lot of fixing something that's not broken! ;-)
>> 
>> They annoyed me sufficiently that I moved to Jellyfin. Open source, didn’t
>> take that long to move over, a few different clients around including the
>> official one, Swiftfin and one in TestFlight on the AppleTV right now called
>> Moonfin.
> 
> The streaming side is easily switched off though, isn't it? I only use it as a
> local server. Though all that stuff is probably a sign of oncoming
> enshittification, of course. (I'd probably investigate Jellyfin too if I
> hadn't bought a lifetime licence in one of Plex's promotional offers a few
> years back.)

Indeed so, I can ignore the streaming part for sure. However, what’s left
doesn’t offer anything that I don’t get already with Apple TV and Home
Sharing. Other than loads of fiddling around trying to get it to display
correct sets of episodes, the right screen shot, and the right titles.

Might have a look at Jellyfin though. I’m always seeing if I can get away
from Apple’s ecosystem, but try as I might, it’s not actually easy, or even
possible, in some parts.

-- 
Andy H

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#183411

On 27 Apr 2026 at 4:18:00 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:

> Indeed so, I can ignore the streaming part for sure. However, what’s left
> doesn’t offer anything that I don’t get already with Apple TV and Home
> Sharing. Other than loads of fiddling around trying to get it to display
> correct sets of episodes, the right screen shot, and the right titles.

Agree that file labelling can be a bit fiddly; apart from that I don't seem to
have your problems!

You did prompt me to have a look at Home Sharing though, which I realised I
know almost nothing about. Reading

https://support.apple.com/en-us/108958

left me puzzled though: does everyone *really* have to be signed in with the
same AppleID to use a shared library?

> Might have a look at Jellyfin though. I’m always seeing if I can get away
> from Apple’s ecosystem, but try as I might, it’s not actually easy, or even
> possible, in some parts.

As soon as our broadband reaches non-glacial speeds I'll be doing more
investigating of iCloud alternatives.
-- 
TimH
pull tooth to reply by email

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#183413

TimH <thnews@poboxmolar.com.invalid> wrote:
> On 27 Apr 2026 at 4:18:00 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:
> 
>> Indeed so, I can ignore the streaming part for sure. However, what’s left
>> doesn’t offer anything that I don’t get already with Apple TV and Home
>> Sharing. Other than loads of fiddling around trying to get it to display
>> correct sets of episodes, the right screen shot, and the right titles.
> 
> Agree that file labelling can be a bit fiddly; apart from that I don't seem to
> have your problems!
> 
> You did prompt me to have a look at Home Sharing though, which I realised I
> know almost nothing about. Reading
> 
> https://support.apple.com/en-us/108958
> 
> left me puzzled though: does everyone *really* have to be signed in with the
> same AppleID to use a shared library?

Yes, but only for the Home Sharing feature, they still remain logged into
their own accounts otherwise. I guess there has to be a consistent link to
the source media.

>> Might have a look at Jellyfin though. I’m always seeing if I can get away
>> from Apple’s ecosystem, but try as I might, it’s not actually easy, or even
>> possible, in some parts.
> 
> As soon as our broadband reaches non-glacial speeds I'll be doing more
> investigating of iCloud alternatives.

It’s harder than I expected, you can do most of it, the rest I’d have to
completely rethink how I do things. Photos is hard, as it’s a
nondestructive workflow, with a link to Nitro for editing, there’s nothing
else that can do that - at least not for any kind of reasonable effort and
cost.

The media is doable for my locally stored stuff, but I have invested myself
into the Music and TV ecosystems. Again, it can be done, but not without
much effort, and pretty much no cost saving.

When you add up the cost of various subscriptions needed to replace
functions I use a lot now and for something that is realistically as
reliable, secure and private, there’s nothing else that comes close.

I’m just trying to plan for a time when circumstances might dictate my
choices - hopefully it won’t, but I’d like to have at least an escape plan
ready!

-- 
Andy H

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#183420

On 27 Apr 2026 at 10:55:57 pm BST, "Andy H" <thewildrover@icloud.com> wrote:

> It’s harder than I expected, you can do most of it, the rest I’d have to
> completely rethink how I do things. Photos is hard, as it’s a
> nondestructive workflow, with a link to Nitro for editing, there’s nothing
> else that can do that - at least not for any kind of reasonable effort and
> cost.

Immich seems to be the alternative most often mentioned. Looks interesting,
except of course now is not a great time to buying loads of HD storage. And of
course an off-site backup would be nice...
-- 
TimH
pull tooth to reply by email

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#183410

On 27 Apr 2026 at 10:15:31 BST, Ian McCall wrote:

> On 27 Apr 2026, Andrew Hewitt wrote
> (in article <10smq8d$2471b$1@dont-email.me>):
> 
>> Plex TV was probably the only part that offered anything, but I found it
>> too intrusive with adverts, so that left not a lot of benefit to me.
>> 
>> It was a lot of fixing something that's not broken! ;-)
> 
> They annoyed me sufficiently that I moved to Jellyfin. Open source, didn’t
> take that long to move over, a few different clients around including the
> official one, Swiftfin and one in TestFlight on the AppleTV right now called
> Moonfin.
> 
> Might be worth a look.
> 

Just installed Jellyfin on the Mac Mini and LG TV. Needed an old (2021)
version of the server for the ancient (Catalina - already bumped it up a
couple of times with Opensource) Mac OS, but it seems to work well with the up
to date LG client. So far so good. I'll try it over the next few weeks.

-- 
Cheers, Rob
Sheffield, UK

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#183419

On 27 Apr 2026, RJH wrote
(in article <10so38h$2hea5$1@dont-email.me>):

> Just installed Jellyfin on the Mac Mini and LG TV. Needed an old (2021)
> version of the server for the ancient (Catalina - already bumped it up a
> couple of times with Opensource) Mac OS, but it seems to work well with the up
> to date LG client. So far so good. I'll try it over the next few weeks.

Sounds good. I run my server off a Synology NAS in a Docker image, Atom CPU, 
and have clients on the phone, AppleTV and smart TV. Works well, though 
I’ve noticed the odd rotation issue on the phone occasionally. Nothing 
killer.

Obviously with the Atom it means I don’t do any transcoding, I just prepare 
everything in mp4 beforehand.

Ian

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#183440

On 26/04/2026 14:29, D.M. Procida wrote:
> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
> so).
> 
> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
> 
> Daniele
I have everything (music/Audiobooks/video etc) on NAS so it's always available 
for any device.

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#183442

On 4 May 2026 at 09:02:56 BST, David Kennedy wrote:

> On 26/04/2026 14:29, D.M. Procida wrote:
>> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
>> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
>> so).
>> 
>> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
>> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
>> 
>> Daniele
> I have everything (music/Audiobooks/video etc) on NAS so it's always available
> for any device.

That works with Apple TV?

I was under the impression that Home Sharing using 3rd party storage (like a
NAS) was tricky.

-- 
Cheers, Rob
Sheffield, UK

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#183444

On 04/05/2026 09:50, RJH wrote:
> On 4 May 2026 at 09:02:56 BST, David Kennedy wrote:
> 
>> On 26/04/2026 14:29, D.M. Procida wrote:
>>> I got fed up of messing about with Raspberry Pis and unfathamable media/player
>>> systems, so I bought an Apple TV (the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen model from 2021 or
>>> so).
>>>
>>> Very nice. Is there some way I can transfer video files to its storage to play
>>> from there? Or is that not the Apple way?
>>>
>>> Daniele
>> I have everything (music/Audiobooks/video etc) on NAS so it's always available
>> for any device.
> 
> That works with Apple TV?
> 
> I was under the impression that Home Sharing using 3rd party storage (like a
> NAS) was tricky.
> 
Well, it seems to give me my videos etc as and when I need them. No problems 
so far. I am running a 2014 Apple TV so not up to date with the latest OS etc 
but would have thought newer would be better unless they've decided to remove 
the facility. I have a stack of old movies ripped from DVD which work fine.

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