Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

i3iz

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 22, 2005
68
0
My wife and I have 2 Powerbook G4's (1.67 hi res and 1.33). We have an HD tv in the living room along with a DVR, HD DVD, Wii and NAS. Basically all of our HD connections are taken (1 HDMI, 2 Compon. - but 4 composite/SVid are open). In our bedroom we have an old CRT (coax & mono composite input). We like to fall asleep to movies/shows and set the sleep timer. It is a hassle to hook up the powerbooks to the TV at night so we mostly use DVDs, but we would like the content from our laptops.

The Powerbooks are still fully functioning and are great for basic computing and some freelance design. But extremely laggy for video (internet and backup rips) I have a mac pro at work that i can use as a work horse if i need to convert anything. With MWSF around the corner, we are contemplating adding another computer to our home collection. new thin macbook maybe?

Lately it has occurred that with screen sharing on a mac mini in leopard, we could use the mini as a server and the pbooks as clients. The file sharing and screen sharing is so robust and simple in leopard that I feel like the whole argument has changed from when tv was announced.

could a C2D mini breath new life into our old computers and allow us to watch internet based content on our TV(albeit in 1 room), store all of our photos, home movies, files, DVD backups? or is the money better spent on 2 apple TVs and knowing that there is a hassle-free reliability.

Anyone have a c2d mac mini that they screen share with?
 

Jimmdean

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2007
636
627
It's probably not what you want to hear, but it sounds like your biggest issue is that old CRT in your bedroom. They just don't have the input flexibility these modern devices need. With that TV, I would hook up a mini directly to it using the Apple DVI-to-composite adapter. That will give you a good platform for watching standard definition 4:3 material, but that's about it. A newer television would allow for either a Mini or an Apple TV. I always recommend the mini more as it is a bit more flexible with other formats. You could dump iTunes completely and just use VLC to play your content if you wish...

Forgive me if I read your post wrong, but it sounded like you had the idea of watching content over screen-sharing? If so, that won't work - the refresh is nowhere near fast enough. You'd be lucky to get any of the video frames at all.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.