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!
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!