Comments on: My Idea for an Apple Living Room Experience

By: links for 2008-04-18 | MyHTPC.TV

links for 2008-04-18 | MyHTPC.TV — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:06:21 +0000

[...] My Idea for an Apple Living Room Experience – The Apple Blog I plan on purchasing an Apple TV, 40 gig (to save money at first). Then by hacking it, get it to run OS X. Understandably a bit slower then most Macs, the Apple TV will at least be able to run core applications within the OS. (tags: AppleTV) [...]

By: links for 2008-04-18 | MyHTPC.TV

links for 2008-04-18 | MyHTPC.TV — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:06:21 +0000

By: Sala Apple de cinema e entretenimento

Sala Apple de cinema e entretenimento — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:45:46 +0000

[...] no TAB um artigo similar a este que escrevi sobre o pensamento do Arvin sobre o mesmo tema. Compare preços [...]

By: kj

kj — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:52:29 +0000

Oh, here are some more details on my setup if you’re interested:

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17874&highlight=

My post is johnzy9493, about halfway down the page.

By: kj

kj — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:36:01 +0000

Just adding a “here-here!” for the Mini. Your ATV idea is just asking for trouble — hacking a very closed/limited system to work a certain way … a system that might not have enough power and/or might break with the next software update. When making a ‘cost’ decision, you *have* to keep that in mind.

With a mini, you are paying more for a system designed to do just about anything without being hacked. You’ll be customizing a relatively open system instead of ‘breaking’ a pretty closed system.

I have a mini hooked up to my HDTV and just use Front Row to interface with everything I’ve loaded into iTunes. It is wonderful, and I have the side benefit of a real computer to use in the living room should I want to do so. I love it, no hacking or voided warranties, should serve me for a few years.

Keep an eye on refurb minis in the apple store to save some bucks!

By: davedownunder

davedownunder — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:51:31 +0000

been trying to do exactly the same thing for a while. havent taken the plunge yet as didnt want to completely toast my working ATV. from the research I have done it does look possible but that the ATV is very slow and may not be up to the job of grabbing the content with the eyetv stick. Please, please follow up on progress of this as I am reluctant to purchase a Mac mini at this stage (which seems to be the easiest way to achieve this)

By: Arvin Dang

Arvin Dang — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:16:08 +0000

I think it’s kind of coincidental, but Lifehacker just posted something about Mac Mini’s as an entertainment center, so I thought I’d post here as well: http://lifehacker.com/381695/roll-a-mac-mini-media-center-with-leopard

They cover some of the things you guys have all said in the comments. Seems almost collective that the Mac Mini should be it. How many of you actually use Elgato EyeTV or something similar? Or is it mainly on demand content (just download what you watch?)

By: RFrye

RFrye — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:03:36 +0000

Like many others here I would stay away from the AppleTV for what you are trying to accomplish. Just not enough guts. I have a MacMini plugged directly into my plasma TV with a DVI – HDMI cable, and optical audio running through my surround sound system. As a stand alone this system worked great for quite awhile until my libraries started to get bigger and I was starting to run 1080p resolution images. The MacMini just doesn’t have the graphics ability to draw that many pixels. I now have a MacPro (yes it is more expensive, but using it helps me pay my bills) that holds all my content. I then mount my iTunes hard drive on my Mini which is still connected to my TV. Now Im not limited on space for my content and just use FrontRow to access everything. It’s good, not great, but does everything I really need it to do. As far as running my 1080p content I’m just about to buy a new graphics card so I can power everything off my Pro. (both stock DVI ports are connected to Cinema Displays)

Long answer but I just don’t think AppleTV has the power…

By: muzo

muzo — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:53:23 +0000

First of all, the software should work properly. Anyone who tried to watch a movie with subtitles in Leopard’s Front Row would agree.. The fact that this is still not fixed is outrageous and very un-Apple-like..

You can find a post on my blog about this issue with instructions to downgrade to Tiger’s Front Row…

By: Arvin Dang

Arvin Dang — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 06:47:54 +0000

I love the Mac Mini, don’t get me wrong. I agree that it’s a solid entertainment fixture, but like NT says, it really came down to cost and working with the ATV if possible.

A lot of good feedback was given though, I hadn’t heard of PyeTV before and I’m interested in using it a bit more. I’ll see if any refurb Mac Mini’s come out soon, or maybe I’ll just stick with an ATV and push content to it (recording on my Macbook and copy it over).

Out of curiosity, since you all seem to either use XBMC or a Mac Mini what do you think Apple could possibly change in order to fulfill this market? It seems like we can already create what we need, so why would they need to provide anything new? I’ve always been vocal in my ideal hopes for a subscription rental model with new tv shows, and the ability to watch a vast source of archived material, which Hulu is now beginning to take up. But what else do you guys want to see in devices?

By: jon.christopher

jon.christopher — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:23:37 +0000

Ok, I’m biased because I wrote PyeTV (http://code.google.com/p/pyetv/), but I’d just go with a Mac Mini + EyeTV and use PyeTV to access TV recordings from directly within Front Row.

That’s the setup I have in my living room, and it works perfectly. A real Mac OSX computer (no hacking required) as well as Front Row for an excellent media center experience.

By: Phil Bowell

Phil Bowell — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:18:33 +0000

Just to clarify why I recommended getting a Mini over the ATV. Yes the ATV is cheaper, but the processes Arvin was looking to go through are risky (warranty will be void) and as he described his process it made it sound like he wanted to use it as more than just a “movie” player.

I recommend the Mini because it has higher specs, can play HD content, is more likely to last longer and with Tiger it can use the ATV interface.

By: muzo

muzo — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:50:02 +0000

@Arvin: if you have all your content in iTunes, then I guess an ATV would do… Especially, if you aren’t looking to do 1080p .mkv. But you might wanna keep in mind that most content you are going to get in the near future will most probably need the extra horsepower and the ATV will be commisioned to the bedroom then.. ;)

By: Project HTPC » Blog Archive » links for 2008-04-18

Project HTPC » Blog Archive » links for 2008-04-18 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:37:24 +0000

By: DJFelix

DJFelix — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:35:58 +0000

The biggest hurdle I had hacking my AppleTV was building the patchstick. The good news is that with a patchstick, you can hack the AppleTV without cracking the case and voiding the warranty.

I didn’t replace the menu on the ATV, but I did add Perian. I have a 1TB NAS that I mount via NFS where I keep about 300GB of TV shows that I download via RSS feed / torrent. I also have a 500GB time capsule, so I have the benefit of N speed wireless.

I used to run an old-school Xbox with XBMC to view all my videos on the big screen downstairs. The ATV beats it hands-down.

A mini is overkill unless you -*must*- browse on the TV, which I don’t. I have a macbook pro for browsing and such. If you just want something that will hook-up and play your recorded videos, the ATV is the best option. I haven’t considered adding an HDTV tuner to it, although that would be pretty cool. If it had cablecard and downloadable schedules, I could ditch the DVR I’m renting from the cable co.

Post a follow-up when you pull the trigger. I’m curious.

By: alangenh

alangenh — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:35:57 +0000

My living room has a 1st gen macbook hooked up to an external hard drive and my TV. It is powerful enough to download multimedia and keep it all organized. It is plugged into my cable modem too, and sharing internet with the rest of the house, since my very old airport base station stopped working. This actually gives me fewer problems than I’d anticipated.

I like Sofa Control over Remote Buddy; that’s what I purchased and it’s working great for me. I use that for most interaction with it; I don’t use Front Row often.

By: Merrin

Merrin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:35:50 +0000

@Arvin: Any particular reason not to go go with the ATV?

Well, you want to hack ATV to install OSX, Perian, plug USB tuner. With a Mac Mini you don’t need this. Mini starts at 80 gig drive, faster processor enables you to play 1080p HD content. Even you can install ATV4mac and you have ATV in a Mac. Mini is easier to upgrade than ATV.

ATV is slimmer and cheaper, yes, but I think that this difference is worth.

By: Sachin Patel

Sachin Patel — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:10:58 +0000

Don’t forget that the Apple TV software still can’t run on Leopard, so you’d need to install Tiger on it. Unless it’s been updated, that is.

By: John

John — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:03:41 +0000

Why don’t you just get a Microsoft Media Center machine, tt comes with Vista Home Premium. Plug in a tuner card and a IR remote. You’re done. MCE’s features are pretty decent. It’s a matured product. Without starting a flame war, why go through all this trouble to do something that has already been done?

By: NT

NT — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:02:46 +0000

Guys- can we deal with what the author actually wrote instead of just telling him to buy a mini? I think it was made pretty clear in the article that he was buying an ATV to save money. The cheapest mini is triple the price- we’re not talking about an incremental difference.

That said, all my research about hacking an ATV leads me to believe that it is dicey at best…difficult even for extreme nerds. Have others heard differently?