Anyone using Time Capsule as a NAS? Thinking of getting one...

Hello guys,
I plan to purchase a 2TB TC because I need a NAS. I have a ATV2 which I will JB and install XBMC, an XBOX, A LG LED LM7600 with Smart TV and networking features, a mac book air and 2 iPhones.
I want to be able to stream HD content (movies, music, pictures, etc) stored on the TC to all those devices. Anyone here is able to do that flawlessly?
My main concerns are:
1) Ive heard the TC turns off the HD spinning to save power consumption. This can cause problems as the clients have to reload or remount the TC drive once it has stopped spinning. Is this actually an issue?
2) The TC is not DLNA certified. I will use the ATV2 to stream most of the content, however the ATV2 does not play 1080 movies, but my LED LM7600 does. How do I stream HD content from the TC directly to my TV?
3) The TC cannot act like an iTunes server. I dont really understand what the itunes server is for. Here I plan to setup my iTunes installations on my different computers to point to the TC. Then each itunes could sync separately against the TC. Is this feasible to do? Where would an iTunes server fit here?
4) I dont want to use the TC to backup my computers. I dont mind about that. But I do would like to to back the content ON my TC (all of my media content) maybe to a USB disc attached to the TC. Is this possible?
Thank you!!
Alvaro

Faire84 wrote:
Synology seems a bit expensive... plus I have to get a router too... Which Router and NAS would you recommend to stream HD content and that costs equal as the TC?
There are a number of routers you can plug USB drives into, including the Airport Extreme.. although they do tend to be slow.. and will not offer AFP generally except the Extreme. Lots of netgear, linksys, asus offer the USB with DLNA now.. but won't have ability to handle TM. Some of the ones by WD and Seagate do, but then you discover TM stopped working at Lion.
I use a single disk NAS.. it is made by Zyxel and sold on special by Aldi stores.. and it does TM and DLNA.. it is very reasonable little NAS.. and was $120 for 1.5TB. It does TM fine for Snow Leopard but I have never tried it on Mountain Lion.
Price wise the TC is hard to beat for what it does. For your situation it is a case that it doesn't do all that you want, that is a concern. BTW if you intend streaming HD over wireless.. do a few tests before you start getting into the actual purchasing of equipment. Wireless does not handle streaming particularly well especially if the distance is fairly large and you cannot use the higher speed 5ghz band.

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Can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

Apparently Sonos system can play from the library without needing iTunes running.
In that case yes, the library can be played directly from TC.
See https://discussions.apple.com/message/18562619#18562619
Sonos needs fully compliant SMB file system.. this is important.. and not what the Apple system is using to access the TC.
Moving the library has to be done correctly.
See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
There are plenty of discussions in forums and technical sites.. this seems well worth a read.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/12/how-to-offload-your-itunes-library-to-a-nas /
TC is very non-ideal itunes library location.. unlike a real NAS.
Just so you are aware. If you have TM backups on it.. mixing backups and data is not a good idea.
At least consider moving backups to USB drive. You will need the speed of the TC internal drive for using the library though.
TC has no way to back itself up.
TC is slow to start.. you will get errors as the library is not found.
And quick to spin down drives.. it is not designed to stream media.. it is a backup target for TM.

Anyone use Time Capsule with Itunes

If so any problems. ANy issues

I'm using a 1 TB Time Capsule to run my wireless network and for storage as well.
Honestly, it *****. I came on here to post about if anyone could help me and saw your post. For storage it's incredibly slow, especially with iPhoto, it's completely ridiculous. Other things aren't that bad, like documents and such things. I think it runs my wireless network pretty good, but iPhoto and iTunes not so much.
If there's anyone that has some ideas as to why it would run so slow or what the problem is that would be some greatly appreciated help. I thought TC was supposed to be this "all in one" deal...

Anyone use Time Capsule with Iphoto or Itunes

If so any issues.
What is the overall consensus with Time Capsule...good bad.

I'm using a 1 TB Time Capsule to run my wireless network and for storage as well.
Honestly, it *****. I came on here to post about if anyone could help me and saw your post. For storage it's incredibly slow, especially with iPhoto, it's completely ridiculous. Other things aren't that bad, like documents and such things. I think it runs my wireless network pretty good, but iPhoto and iTunes not so much.
If there's anyone that has some ideas as to why it would run so slow or what the problem is that would be some greatly appreciated help. I thought TC was supposed to be this "all in one" deal...

Anyone use Time Capsule?

I was under the impression that for me to use Time Machine, I had to use it in conjunction with Time Capsule, but from reading the forums, which I should have done BEFORE I bought the Time Capsule, it looks like I only need a regular external HDD. Is this true???
My other question is, if I connect an external HDD to the Time Capsule, will Time Machine recognize the external HDD as part of Time Capsule?
Thanks

I wanted to know the answer to that very same question but unlike most Mac users, I have access to lots of equipment (and 'volunteers') to let me find out the answer. I started with the knowledge that TimeMachine would make a complete backup of the hard drive and then back up the changes that were made to the hard drive once every backup session - a backup session occurring for every one hour of use.
We have four variables: 1) how much of the space is your drive currently using? 2) how frequently do you make changes to your computer? This includes updating programs and the operating system and editing old data files. 3) how much more 'stuff' will you be adding to your computer? This includes new programs, new data files, music and other media. 4) how much time is your computer being used each day? (more use during the day means more backup sessions. A fifth variable is your use, if any, of virtual drives for Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion, or large archival or disk image files that you frequently update. The virtual drives should definitely be excluded from TM backups and if the archive or disk image files are large or frequently changed they should be as well. Also, if you frequently put new stuff on your computer and then delete it later (editing video, for example), TM will keep it in its backup even though you've deleted it from your computer. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
The bottom line is this: for the average user, take the total drive space in use and double it. That is the minimum size for your TM drive and I'd suggest that you consider tripling it. At double the size, depending on the 4 variables above, you should be able to have TM backups for at least a month before TM will need to erase anything.

Use Time Capsule for video...

Has anyone used Time Capsule for video streaming? How to connect to TV if it's pre-digital?

Time Capsule is not a Media Player.. it has zero ability to stream video. It has zero ability to do anything but hold files. It will sit there and hold your video files very happily .. but the dumb as a board hard disk and TC controls can do nothing with it.
You need a media player. And you need one that is able to be hacked or is not Apple. Apple work on itunes, although it is possible to use an Apple TV in the mix if you send video to it from ipad using airplay.
If by pre-digital TV it doesn't have hdmi input, then buy yourself an older media player that has component out.. there is no point buying expensive hdmi to analogue converters. You will eventually replace the TV and will definitely want to go digital. So get an Apple TV 1 that still works from ebay. And use one of the hacking methods. This has component video and you can also get composite out of it. And it will play files stored in the network. Other non-apple players will do the same. Just find one that is older design with component still but ATV1 can still work well. I use one with a crystal acceleration card running crystalbuntu firmware.

Can I use time capsule as nas attached to another wireless router?

my 4 year old time capsule was starting to drop it's connection to the internet intermittently. so I decided to buy a new linksys ea4500 and that's now setup as my main wireless router. can I still salvage my time capsule by attaching it to the new linksys router, using ethernet cable, and using it as a NAS drive? my purpose is to continue using the time capsule as a NAS hdd for time machine backups.
I read somewhere that the time capsule cannot be set up in client mode, so does this mean I can't attach it to non-apple wireless routers?
thanks in advance to anyone who helps

You can connect the Time Capsule using an Ethernet cable to any router that you want. The key is to configure the Time Capsule in Bridge Mode.
Here is an example from a recent post a few minutes ago using a 2-Wire router:
Re: TC + AT&T U-Verse

Using Time Capsule as shared drive?

Every official thing I've read/seen on Time Capsule only mentions backups. Does anyone know if it would be possible to use it as a media storage center? I'd love to dump all my music and videos onto it and have all the Macs in my network access it.

MKayden:
The only way to integrate Time Capsule into your existing network is to cable it to a spare LAN port on the ethernet switch connected to your Verizon wireless router. You would need to turn off the router built into Time Capsule. You would also need to make a decision about what to do with the wireless access point built into Time Capsule - you could turn it off, or you could leave it on and use it to provide an 802.11n-only wireless connection into your LAN in parallel with the 802.11b/g wireless connection provided by your existing Verizon wireless router.
Yes, Time Machine will work just fine regardless of the method (cabled or wireless) that Macs use to connect to your LAN.
You discussed using Time Capsule as a "print hub" for your Macs. It isn't clear to me what you had in mind. Yes, you could connect a USB interface printer to Time Capsule (with the setup I described above) and that printer would be accessible to all computers on your LAN. However, the addition of Time Capsule to your LAN won't change anything about the way you are currently using your existing network printers - which should remain cabled along with your NAS drive to your ethernet switch.
Reading between the lines I'm wondering whether you thought it possible to have Time Capsule connect wirelessly to your existing network - and that isn't possible.

Using time capsule and a PC

I am having a real tough time getting into my mail in MSN using time capsule as my wireless router. I changed to time capsule as I run two MAC laptops and am still transitioning from my old PC. I cannot get into MSN mail with the time capsule router. Is anyone else having this experience??? DogannoMark

Can I use a Time Machine as the storage device for my iTunes library? Can I connect the Time Machine and Mac Mini via Thunderbolt for fast data access? Also, if I can use the Time Machine for storage of the iTunes library, should I consider the iCloud to be my "Back Up" or should I get an additional Time Machine for back up? Also, I use and AirPort Extreme as my wireless router with 2 AirPort Expresses to expand my wifi network. Can I simply add Time Machine to my existing network or will I need to replace the AirPort Extreme with the Time Capsule?
Don't use Time Capsule for media storage.. it is not suitable and although pressed into service it is a pain. (Time Machine is software backup on the computer and is completely unrelated to the TC).
The problem with using Time Capsule to Time Capsule, is simple.. it doesn't have any software to do it.. The TC is a backup device.. not a NAS. Do not try and use it as a NAS.
You can add a TC to the network without doing much.. just bridge the TC and it will work fine plugged into the AEBS.. but again it is expensive waste. You are buying a router with enclosed hard disk drive and turning off the router.. so all you have is a hard disk which is networked.
If you get a mini use firewire external drive.. you can get 2 or 3 TB fairly cheaply and plug it in. Then back up to a TC if you really want, but any NAS with Time Machine extensions will do the job. Or a hard drive in another Mac made available to the network.

Hi can I use Time Capsule 4th generation as a back up at the same time between my iMac and HP PC

HI Just bought a 4th generation Time Capsule and after a bit of trouble, I was able to do the following...
1. Connect TC to my modem via ethernet cable
2. Set up my first time Machine from my iMac to Time Capsule
3. Set up my HP PC via ethernet cable to Time Capsule
4. Set up HP Printer Scanner to USB port in Time Capsule, can now print from my PC and iMac using the same printer.
Here is the question...
Can I use Time Capsule (2TB version, not that this should matter, I think) as an external back up for my HP PC, running Windows 7?
I asked this question at Apple Store and they said YES, now I have my doubts as I cannot see Time Capsule as an external drive when I check my PC and computer part there, can see my C drive, D drive (internal backup drive in my PC), E drive (DVD drive) and that is it.
Installed AirPort utility for Windows, have version 5.5 something. I can see TIme Capsule using this at my PC but can I somehow save my HardDrive to Time Capsule, even manually?
Or is the problem that as I started Time Capsule with Time Machine Backup first, it has formatted Time Capsule to support only Apple version, and this is why I cannot see Time Capsule as an external harddrive?
Any help would be appreciated!
I have already an external HD for my Windows PC, just thought this way I could potentially have all the data in one place and also able to use 1 printer...
Many Thanks

Remember Apple Names are not fully SMB compatible..
Reset the TC and do the setup with all SMB naming.. ie.. short, no spaces, pure alphanumeric.
That means TC name eg TC
Wireless name (different for 5ghz) eg TC24ghz and TC5ghz
And hard disk share name.. eg Data
Make sure all passwords also match that convention.. but you can use more characters.. up to 20 or more if you are paranoid. Pure alphanumeric though.
In the file sharing area. set the right workgroup. And it makes life easier turning on the guest account to read and write.
Then in windows explorer simply type
\\TCname or \\TCIPaddress .. obviously you change the names with the actual name or IP.

I have an Airport Extreme as my router and am using time capsule to extend the network in my new house. My ISP is only providing me 4-5 ip addresses and wants me to set up my router to issue out new ip addresses for all my devices.How do I fix this?Help

I have an Airport Extreme as my router and am using time capsule to extend the network in my new house. My ISP is only providing me 4-5 ip addresses and wants me to set up my router to issue out new ip addresses for all my devices.How do I fix this?Help.
They said I need to change my settings to NAT settings. I haven't been able to figure out or find anything. I have also spoken to Apple Support on the phone for hours without being able to figure out how to do this ( i don't think he knew much either lol.) Please help me because I've got about 15-20 devices in my house that require to be connected to the internet and this is just making things ridiculously slow and painful for me.
Thanks!

It is on DHCP & NAT under router mode yet my isp is still the one issuing ip addresses to my devices instead of the router issuing them

Using time capsule with multiple macs!

hey guys!!
i know time capsule is not out yet as such, but does anyone know or has heard if you can say for e.g a macbook & an imac to back up on the same time capsule please?
i hope its not one for one plus i am also thinking of getting a macbook pro down the line as well
thanks for any info

Bad Monk wrote:
thanks for the replies guys
yeah i was thinking i will just turn on TC once a week, if thats possible, to do a weekly backup as thats what i normally do now, or backup after something important like editing family videos etc or doing business work
i hope TC is user friendly though (as its coming from apple i guess it will be) and its easy to delete unwanted previous backups etc, do you think this will be the case please?
thanks
Currently, to delete anything in Time Machine, you just open it, and navigate to whatever you want to delete, highlight it, then select whether you want to delete it ONLY from that backup, of from ALL backups. I see no reason to believe that Time Machine will behave any differently for the Time Capsule than it does now.
As for deleting a whole backup, one would suspect that you would go into your backup folder and delete it
As for turning it on and off, yes that is an easy option(made even easier by last update 10.5.2). Turn it on, then select backup now, let it finish, tun it off.
As mentioned there is an automation program out, but I have not seen/tried it. I just run Time Machine 24/7 personally.

Using Time Capsule and Mac Mini to replace a PC.

I have 4 macs of various vintage in the house and 1 PC. I use the rather robust PC as the server for my itunes library. I'm fully uploaded to iCloud. I'd like to replace this final PC with a Mac Mini but none have a harddrive large enough to accomodate my iTunes library. (about 785G of music and video) Can I use a Time Machine as the storage device for my iTunes library? Can I connect the Time Machine and Mac Mini via Thunderbolt for fast data access? Also, if I can use the Time Machine for storage of the iTunes library, should I consider the iCloud to be my "Back Up" or should I get an additional Time Machine for back up? Also, I use and AirPort Extreme as my wireless router with 2 AirPort Expresses to expand my wifi network. Can I simply add Time Machine to my existing network or will I need to replace the AirPort Extreme with the Time Capsule?

Can I use a Time Machine as the storage device for my iTunes library? Can I connect the Time Machine and Mac Mini via Thunderbolt for fast data access? Also, if I can use the Time Machine for storage of the iTunes library, should I consider the iCloud to be my "Back Up" or should I get an additional Time Machine for back up? Also, I use and AirPort Extreme as my wireless router with 2 AirPort Expresses to expand my wifi network. Can I simply add Time Machine to my existing network or will I need to replace the AirPort Extreme with the Time Capsule?
Don't use Time Capsule for media storage.. it is not suitable and although pressed into service it is a pain. (Time Machine is software backup on the computer and is completely unrelated to the TC).
The problem with using Time Capsule to Time Capsule, is simple.. it doesn't have any software to do it.. The TC is a backup device.. not a NAS. Do not try and use it as a NAS.
You can add a TC to the network without doing much.. just bridge the TC and it will work fine plugged into the AEBS.. but again it is expensive waste. You are buying a router with enclosed hard disk drive and turning off the router.. so all you have is a hard disk which is networked.
If you get a mini use firewire external drive.. you can get 2 or 3 TB fairly cheaply and plug it in. Then back up to a TC if you really want, but any NAS with Time Machine extensions will do the job. Or a hard drive in another Mac made available to the network.

Using Time Capsule to only as a wireless HD?

This may be a dumb question, but I don't know too much about how Time Capsule works that much, so I'm wondering if its possible to use the wireless backup feature without connecting to a modem. Like just a wireless HD, cause I already have a router. Does TC use the internet connection to do backups? If it does then I guess what I was thinking to do isn't possible.

Several options:
1. You could run an ethernet cable between a spare port on your existing router, and the Time Capsule. The router built into the Time Capsule can then be disabled, as can its radio if you don't want that either. When your Mac connects wirelessly to your existing router, it would then also be able to access Time Capsule.
2. If your Mac is currently cabled to a non-wireless router, you could use the Time Capsule "standalone". Your Mac would get its internet connection via the cabled connection to your router, and at the same time it could wirelessly access Time Capsule.
What you can not do is wirelessly connect your existing router to Time Capsule.

Can i use time capsule as external hard drive for both mac and windows

I have a mac book pro, ipad and iphone and ipod and a windows pc
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?

You cannot access the TC from iOS devices without a browser. eg filebrowser.
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?
Yes, with the following proviso.. the TC is not able to back itself up.. so if you store files on the TC without backups one day you will discover all your files are gone because of a hard drive failure of the TC. TM also cannot backup TC.. so you will need to buy a proper backup software.
It is also much slower than a real NAS..
And windows can be a bit painful.. especially windows 8.. other versions should work if you spend the time getting everything set right.

Anyone using Time Capsule as a NAS? Thinking of getting one...

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