Apple TV, what hard drive?

[satans worm]

OK, mum and dad are buying me (and the wife ) Apple TV for Christmas.

I currently have a new iMac with a 1tb hard drive, but id like to avoid touching that and get an external hard drive to stick all the films and music on.
The question is, do I go for a Nas drive or just an external plug in one?

Can someone point out the pros and cons for each one so I can decide which to buy please?

Also, is the set up of itunes to the external drive difficult? Any pointers would be appreciated.

And what format do I have to save the DVD in when i rip them to the drive, I seem to remember that some kind of ripping software needs to be used followed by actually trf the DVd to a different file format so iTunes can play it.

Any help/pointers much appreciated

SW

[ScottMc91]

we have the old style apple TV (40gb), an iMac with a 500gb HD and a Lacie Starck 1TB USB HD.

itunes is installed on the imac HD and the USB disk is just used as a backup.

I use Handbrake for ripping DVD's in the H.264 mp4 format (there is a specific preset for apple tv which retains chapters and dolby digital sound).

www.handbrake.fr