Need Advice for tech setup in new room

njsa04playa · Aug 9, 2011

Hey everyone, i wil be moving into a new room in about a month. I have 3 years in it before i move out for college, and dont want to make any permanent changes to the room. It is currently in construction right now, so i will have a totally barebones room to buy stuff for. What i currently have that is going to go into the room is a mbp 13, i have a 23 inch 1080p samsung monitor that i use as an extended desktop. i have the peripherals necessary for the computer as well as an extra netbook and galaxy tab.

I need to know what type of couch/tv/coffee table's would be good in a room that is going to be styled semi contemporary, with dark, blacks and grey tones. (leather)

If anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated.
The room is kind of large and shaped like a square, if someone could do mockups of a diagram i would be deeply appreciative.

Thanks!

Young Spade · Aug 12, 2011

We don't. This is a mac forum, not interior home decorating.

It's your room, go out and look at things first hand and get a feel for what you like. Your room/home is something that I think you should do yourself (or with a spouse); coming here (or online for straight suggestions) is like asking everyone what kind of clothes you should wear.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
We don't. This is a mac forum, not interior home decorating.

It's your room, go out and look at things first hand and get a feel for what you like. Your room/home is something that I think you should do yourself (or with a spouse); coming here (or online for straight suggestions) is like asking everyone what kind of clothes you should wear.

i was asking for a tech setup and how i should setup my multimedia in addition to what pieces would exemplify the traits i specified.

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

njsa04playa said:
i was asking for a tech setup and how i should setup my multimedia in addition to what pieces would exemplify the traits i specified.

I need to know what type of couch/tv/coffee table's would be good in a room that is going to be styled semi contemporary, with dark, blacks and grey tones. (leather)

^That sounds like you want us to find pieces of furniture for your room.

BUT, if you're thinking about the setup itself, put the monitors/computers with the back to a window, that way you won't have the glare and you'll also have a nice view and light as well. That's how pretty much all office desk setups are. Either that or the window is on a side: never behind you.

Multileveled is good as well. In that I mean; currently I have a standard computer desk. It has a sliding keyboard tray, a medium, main (largest) part, and then a top piece to hold stuff.

I like this setup the best because I put my laptop on the keyboard tray (or a keyboard, whatever) and then your external monitors/hard drives/peripherals are on a middle level. You then have a top level to hold the external monitor if you didn't put it on the middle.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
I need to know what type of couch/tv/coffee table's would be good in a room that is going to be styled semi contemporary, with dark, blacks and grey tones. (leather)

^That sounds like you want us to find pieces of furniture for your room.

BUT, if you're thinking about the setup itself, put the monitors/computers with the back to a window, that way you won't have the glare and you'll also have a nice view and light as well. That's how pretty much all office desk setups are. Either that or the window is on a side: never behind you.

Multileveled is good as well. In that I mean; currently I have a standard computer desk. It has a sliding keyboard tray, a medium, main (largest) part, and then a top piece to hold stuff.

I like this setup the best because I put my laptop on the keyboard tray (or a keyboard, whatever) and then your external monitors/hard drives/peripherals are on a middle level. You then have a top level to hold the external monitor if you didn't put it on the middle.

Well currently i have an L-shaped glass desk... a 23 inch samsung monitor, a mbp, and various smaller computing devices. What would be the best way to have a setup so i can watch movies and such from a distance... would it be best to get a larger tv or just use the 23 inch monitor?? Would an apple tv be necessary?

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

njsa04playa said:
Well currently i have an L-shaped glass desk... a 23 inch samsung monitor, a mbp, and various smaller computing devices. What would be the best way to have a setup so i can watch movies and such from a distance... would it be best to get a larger tv or just use the 23 inch monitor?? Would an apple tv be necessary?

Personally, I have seen many setups and, overall, most people position the monitor above the laptop. This enables you to look at both screens quickly with a glance of the eyes; if you put the monitor to the side you're required to turn your head and that is inconvenient and gets tiring after a while.

Now with the Apple TV, you could simply get that, hook it up to the tv on the other side of the room, and steam data from your laptop (that would be on the couch or center table or something) to the tv and eliminate clutter that way.

With this, you could put the monitor above the laptop as stated before or hang it on a wall/put it on a stand. When you wanted to use it, just stream hd content to it through the ATV.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
Personally, I have seen many setups and, overall, most people position the monitor above the laptop. This enables you to look at both screens quickly with a glance of the eyes; if you put the monitor to the side you're required to turn your head and that is inconvenient and gets tiring after a while.

Now if you want to sit back and watch media on that tv/monitor, you could set it up where you have the stuff in front of the window and rotate the monitor somewhat to the left or right, depending on where the couch is.

23 inches isn't the best size for viewing at far distances.... if you wanted to spend the money, you could get an Apple TV or whatever it is you need to stream that data wirelessly to the monitor. Television integration isn't my forte though so I'll let somebody else help you out with that.

Do you recommend getting a larger tv (40"+) and keeping my current monitor for use with the computer or plugging my computer into the television?

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

njsa04playa said:
Do you recommend getting a larger tv (40"+) and keeping my current monitor for use with the computer or plugging my computer into the television?

Just revised that post

But if you have the money, I think a setup where you have your 23 inch above your MBP on the desk, then a larger panel on the wall with an Apple TV would be great; that is IF you don't mind shelling out for it.

You could easily hook it up via a cable but if you're farther away, it would be easier to have your MB on a coffee table or whatever, plugged in, and streaming the data to the TV. You would also be able to access the content on the Apple TV and get whatever you wanted off of that as well.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
Just revised that post

But if you have the money, I think a setup where you have your 23 inch above your MBP on the desk, then a larger panel on the wall with an Apple TV would be great; that is IF you don't mind shelling out for it.

You could easily hook it up via a cable but if you're farther away, it would be easier to have your MB on a coffee table or whatever, plugged in, and streaming the data to the TV. You would also be able to access the content on the Apple TV and get whatever you wanted off of that as well.

okay im liking this idea, i have a few questions, does the ATV produce 1080p quality on the TV or are there other alternatives that can do this?

And what size television do you think would be the sweet spot for a master bedroom?

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

http://www.apple.com/appletv/

There's the link to the Apple TV itself on Apple's site. They should have the specs and features listed there.

And for the TV I don't know. I don't watch much television so I normally just watch whatever movies or TV shows on my external monitor.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
http://www.apple.com/appletv/

There's the link to the Apple TV itself on Apple's site. They should have the specs and features listed there.

And for the TV I don't know. I don't watch much television so I normally just watch whatever movies or TV shows on my external monitor.

Do you know if you are able to stream anything besides netflix wirelessly (hulu... etc)

Thanks for all this help

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

njsa04playa said:
Do you know if you are able to stream anything besides netflix wirelessly (hulu... etc)

Thanks for all this help

Yea I"m 99 percent sure you can stream your own content; I'd highly suggest googling the TV itself and reading reviews and opinions of people who actually have it.

I know my friends have the Apple Router in the house and back when I had my iPad I could stream videos/pictures on it but I never knew where it would go.

Just make sure you do some research and you'll eventually have all of those minor questions answered. Heck, if you're near an Apple store, write down your questions on piece of paper and bring it in and just ask them. They'll be able to walk you through it all.

njsa04playa · Aug 13, 2011

Young Spade said:
Yea I"m 99 percent sure you can stream your own content; I'd highly suggest googling the TV itself and reading reviews and opinions of people who actually have it.

I know my friends have the Apple Router in the house and back when I had my iPad I could stream videos/pictures on it but I never knew where it would go.

Just make sure you do some research and you'll eventually have all of those minor questions answered. Heck, if you're near an Apple store, write down your questions on piece of paper and bring it in and just ask them. They'll be able to walk you through it all.

Also, do you think it is good of me to keep the mbp 13 ? or sell for an imac or mac mini plus ipad? I dont relle need the mobility of the mbp and as it is right now it is more than enough power for my needs

Young Spade · Aug 13, 2011

njsa04playa said:
Also, do you think it is good of me to keep the mbp 13 ? or sell for an imac or mac mini plus ipad? I dont relle need the mobility of the mbp and as it is right now it is more than enough power for my needs

If it's more power than you need... and you already have it, why sell it? Just keep it and use it for years to come?

The iMac is more powerful and the Mini is about the same...(compared to the 2011 MBP) albeit without a screen.... so there's no logical reason to get rid of what you have.

njsa04playa · Aug 14, 2011

Young Spade said:
If it's more power than you need... and you already have it, why sell it? Just keep it and use it for years to come?

The iMac is more powerful and the Mini is about the same...(compared to the 2011 MBP) albeit without a screen.... so there's no logical reason to get rid of what you have.

My reasoning is that the 13inch form factor is not being utilized to me... I wish i had a larger screen, and i do not need the mobility, a 15 or 17 inch would be fine

Young Spade · Aug 14, 2011

njsa04playa said:
My reasoning is that the 13inch form factor is not being utilized to me... I wish i had a larger screen, and i do not need the mobility, a 15 or 17 inch would be fine

Don't you have an external monitor though? If you're getting something like the Mac Mini, you'll have to use it anyway. I'm not saying to not do it, just trying to find out what you're trying to do.

njsa04playa · Aug 14, 2011

Young Spade said:
Don't you have an external monitor though? If you're getting something like the Mac Mini, you'll have to use it anyway. I'm not saying to not do it, just trying to find out what you're trying to do.

instead of a mbp 13 maybe a imac 21 plus an ipad 2 ? im not really sure, i just feel weird always using a 13 inch when im just sitting at my desk most of the time and around the house

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