Running my .mp4 Movie files from an External Drive

I have quite a few familiy movies etc that I've put together using FCP and I've sent these to itunes as .mp4 files which I then playon our TV through the apple TV module.
However I'd really like to be able to store these home movies on an external drive to save my HD space and also keep them safe.
Is it possible to trasfer all of these .mp4 files in my itunes movies folder onto an external drive and run them from there on my apple TV?
Thanks,
Steve

No, Michael Allbritton's (MA) method just copies the files you have selected to consolidate to the location you have temporarily designated in preferences. MA didn't mean "library" as being the library file (library.itl) but the "collection". Your files would still all be managed from the same iTunes library file on your internal drive but the movie files you selected to consolidate would now be referenced to their new location on the external drive.
Note the difference between these two methods:
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Moving your movies will only apply to your current collection. If you add movies in the future you will need to make sure they are on the external drive, then hold down the option key while dragging the file to iTunes to tell iTunes to not copy it to your internal drive (which has been re-set as the location for your media folder after the move directions).

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In the "from" harddrive I have a folder with a bunch of music files in it and it also has a new file in it called DS_store. When I open this folder and select all, it naturally selects all of my music files and this DS_store file. When I try to drag all of this to the "destination" harddrive I open the folder that I want to drag them to which already has some music and it has the DS_store file too, it won't let me drag the files to it   It says something like there is already a DS_store file there. So I tried deleting that file from each external drive and it just reappears.
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Back up all data.
Select the text on the line below by dragging across it. Don't include the blank space at the end of the line. Only the text should be highlighted.
dot_clean -m
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the page that opens.
Now switch to the Finder and and select the icon of the FAT volume. Drag into the Terminal window. More text will be added to what you entered.
Click in the Terminal window to activate it, then press return.
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mediamagnate03 wrote:
This is my first Mac computer and I have no idea how to move/copy a file from one external hard drive to another? It won't let me drag and drop from one Finder window to another and there is no copy/paste option on the left mouse click.
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My MacBook Pro only has a 500GB hard drive and I currently have all my movies on a 1TB external hard drive. Everything works fine through iTunes, but now since the 1TB is maxed out, I'd like to use my new 2TB external hard drive going forward. I understand that I need to re-route where iTunes finds the movies, but what is the easiest way to make the conversion from the 1TB to the 2TB?
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Thanks Limnos! Really appreciate the help!
To clarify:
- I currently have only movies on the external 1TB drive (which iTunes points too). The downside is that I ALWAYS have to have my external drive plugged in, in order to play on Apple TV (or view on MacBook). I have appx. over 500GBs of movies on my external 1TB.
- All music (appx. 200GBs) is currently on my internal hard disk, but with a 500GB internal hard drive, that's going to fill up quickly (just so you know - I already have about 125GBs of pics in iPhoto AND work in Photoshop regularly so PSDs lessen my internal 500GB space quickly).
Eventhough I HATE having to keep an external drive plugged into my MacBook, I'm just going to have to suck it up and get used to it so I will have more space and my MacBook will run faster.
With that in mind, I was thinking about moving my music (200GBs) onto my 2TB external drive (along with the movies). So that would leave roughly the photos and Photoshop files (and random other things that are small in size) on my internal drive.
I could start all over and delete all movies that are in iTunes (the application - not the folders) and then drag and drop them into iTunes from the new 2TB, but I wasn't sure all the metadata (really the cover artwork) would be attached when I did that? Going that route really doesn't bother me since I've already copied all movies files from my 1TB to my 2TB. Basically, I would be starting over from scratch as if the old 1TB never existed.
Trying to run this through my mind and come up with the best/easiest way. What I don't want to do is try and find cover artwork for the almost 300 movies I have (and all the cover artwork for the CDs I have too if I decide to keep my music on the 2TB external drive).
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Good evening!
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Running my .mp4 Movie files from an External Drive

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