Apple Tv Vs Mac Mini

[lc25]

I currently have a readynas 1100 in my loft which has got 8tb worth of storage currently filled with dvd's and tv shows, I have a poly macbook from 2007 and a macbook pro ( only a few months old ) currently all my music for itunes is on the pro as i need to take it with me and i just share it through itunes on the poly mac which is connected my amp and tv set up so all music and films run through that. I want to take the poly mac out of the equation and simply pull music from the pro and video from the readynas in my loft. Can someone shed some light onto what would be the best way for this to happen ?, the way i understand it is i have to leave my pro on for apple tv to work ?. What i do like about the apple tv is the interface is just like a vast library of covers making navigation very nice but is it the most practical ? i don't mind having my pro online all the time as it would be anyways for most of the day only goes off at night when i wouldn't be using apple tv. Any idea's welcome


Thanks in advance Lc

 

[MagpieX]

I would get the apple TV and then use a Patchstick on it, this should allow you to connect a HDD to play media or to load media from a network location IE your NAS.

 

[dekinseattle]

either works - I have both at the house myself - mainly since I dropped my cable DVR box and bought EyeTV and Mini to replace it - I use Plex on the Mini for all my rips (movies/TV Shows) and it has a simple navagation of movie posters - the upside with Plex is you just load the file in to the directory that Plex is set to for say Movies and it goes out and scrubs for all the IMBD information, movie posters and fan art (where as for rip in iTunes I was having to go find this info) ... personally I perfer Plex over TV for ease of use - once I got it all set up it has been easy to maintain - Plex can use TheTVDatebase for TV Show titles - I just have to name the file - TVShow S01E01 and so on and it does all the rest for me ... REALLY SWEET!!! - heck the interface even plays a bunch of the show's themes ... really impressive for showing off to friends

now I just use TV to stream my iTunes content (which Plex could do with a app add in I believe - I just chose not to go this direction since I have the TV device on hand already)

 

[srexy]

either works - I have both at the house myself - mainly since I dropped my cable DVR box and bought EyeTV and Mini to replace it - I use Plex on the Mini for all my rips (movies/TV Shows) and it has a simple navagation of movie posters - the upside with Plex is you just load the file in to the directory that Plex is set to for say Movies and it goes out and scrubs for all the IMBD information, movie posters and fan art (where as for rip in iTunes I was having to go find this info) ... personally I perfer Plex over TV for ease of use - once I got it all set up it has been easy to maintain - Plex can use TheTVDatebase for TV Show titles - I just have to name the file - TVShow S01E01 and so on and it does all the rest for me ... REALLY SWEET!!! - heck the interface even plays a bunch of the show's themes ... really impressive for showing off to friends

now I just use TV to stream my iTunes content (which Plex could do with a app add in I believe - I just chose not to go this direction since I have the TV device on hand already)

If you don't mind hacking your tv you can get XBMC to do all of the scraping/sorting stuff that Plex does also. The biggest drawback to the TV is its inability to play most HD content without a significant amount of hacking/hardware upgrading.

If you're interested in any kind of "future-proofing" (as limited as this really is) a Mini (or for the price of an tv, the Acer Aspire Revo) might be a better bet.

 

[dekinseattle]

I admit - I took the easiest path ... I seriously thought about hacking the TV with some option from the web (not AppleFlash - that I might have gone for!!) but opted to go the easy way esp since I knew too I would be upgrading my external harddrive option - so I just bit the bullet and went Mini ... SWEET set up so very happy I did!!!

Too I use the Mini as a DVR which I so prefer over the Motorola unit from my cable provider

 

[srexy]

I admit - I took the easiest path ... I seriously thought about hacking the TV with some option from the web (not AppleFlash - that I might have gone for!!) but opted to go the easy way esp since I knew too I would be upgrading my external harddrive option - so I just bit the bullet and went Mini ... SWEET set up so very happy I did!!!

Too I use the Mini as a DVR which I so prefer over the Motorola unit from my cable provider

Sorry for the thread hijack but what do you use for your DVR tuner & software? What's the best forum to find out about all of this?

 

[ReggaeFire]

Sorry for the thread hijack but what do you use for your DVR tuner & software? What's the best forum to find out about all of this?

I think the vast majority of people using Mini's (such as myself) use EyeTV as their DVR software. It's also possible to use it as a MythTV frontend or to boot it into Windows and use something like WMC or Sage.

 

[HE15MAN]

The way I looked at it, there is nothing the Apple TV can do that the Mac Mini cannot..But there are many things the Mini can do that the Apple TV cannot..

I bought the Mini and run Plex and it has been great. Next is adding a Hauppauge HD PVR !

 

[dekinseattle]

Sorry for the thread hijack but what do you use for your DVR tuner & software? What's the best forum to find out about all of this?

I'm using EyeTV from Elgato - just the little Hybrid USB stick - works great with the included software - I'm using a digital over the air antenna but cable could easily be used instead - getting HD over the air broadcasts here in Seattle no problem - and no cable bill!! - this purchase comes with a 1-year script to a TV guide service that I'll renew next year - allows for point and click recording set up and works with the Harmony Remote

 

[Cave Man]

The way I looked at it, there is nothing the Apple TV can do that the Mac Mini cannot..But there are many things the Mini can do that the Apple TV cannot..

The Apple TV has 3 audio-out ports, the Mini just has one.

 

[Eclipse278]

The mac mini also can't be found for $150ish

With rtorrent and xbmc, i can't live without my appletv anymore

 

[srexy]

I'm using EyeTV from Elgato - just the little Hybrid USB stick - works great with the included software - I'm using a digital over the air antenna but cable could easily be used instead - getting HD over the air broadcasts here in Seattle no problem - and no cable bill!! - this purchase comes with a 1-year script to a TV guide service that I'll renew next year - allows for point and click recording set up and works with the Harmony Remote

Is the EyeTV forum over at the EyeTV lounge the best place to compare setups?

 

[macadam212]

The way I looked at it, there is nothing the Apple TV can do that the Mac Mini cannot..But there are many things the Mini can do that the Apple TV cannot..

I bought the Mini and run Plex and it has been great. Next is adding a Hauppauge HD PVR !

Sorry but doesn't the Mac Mini run Snow Leopard, an OS that requires a keyboard and mouse? Surely it takes longer to boot up than an AppleTV. I also don't remember seeing ports like HDMI, Component video and Optical audio on a Mac Mini. Also the Apple TV looks far more advanced than Front Row.

 

[Cave Man]

I also don't remember seeing ports like HDMI, Component video and Optical audio on a Mac Mini. Also the Apple TV looks far more advanced than Front Row.

The Mini does have optical audio out. And FR on the ATV is indeed better than FR on the Mac. When my ATV was on the fritz I ran a Mini in its place for a couple of days. The ATV's interface is much more "family friendly" than is FR, Plex or XBMC on the Mini. I just wish Apple would update its hardware. I'd buy one on the first day.

 

[randy98mtu]

Sorry but doesn't the Mac Mini run Snow Leopard, an OS that requires a keyboard and mouse? Surely it takes longer to boot up than an AppleTV. I also don't remember seeing ports like HDMI, Component video and Optical audio on a Mac Mini. Also the Apple TV looks far more advanced than Front Row.

Depends on your setup. I just bought my mini last week. I set it up on the kitchen counter with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. After 15 minutes I had done the "initial setup" and went in and turned on screen sharing. Then I plugged it in next to the TV (I didn't have my MiniDisplay Port to HDMI adapter yet) and turned it on. Walked over to my iMac, opened screen sharing and continued setting up my Mini. There was nothing but a power cable running to it and the machine booted and ran just fine. The only down side is you need another Mac. Now that I've got my adapter, I just use the Apple Remote to control Plex. You can either leave Plex running or use something like Rowmote to launch it from your iPhone when you want to use it.

On the other hand, I had been considering an iPad to replace one of our Dell laptops when one dies. Now I'm going to get a MacBook since I can hop onto either of my other computers from my laptop then if I want to make adjustments or check something from the couch that is on another computer.