Mac in the living room?

[srobert]

I think it could be a good idea to set up a guide about using your "Mac in the living room" as a media center or PVR/DVR.

There are quantities of software and hardware out there. It's hard to know where to start.

What are your thoughts?

Some keywords on top of my head: "HD, TV, Eye TV, Front Row, CenterStage, Airport Express, Airport Extreme, Mac Mini, DVD, iTunes, .mp4, .mov, .avi, .ogg, Quicktime, TV schedule, Miglia TV Mini tuner, Flip4Mac, TiVo, Remote control, Keyspan, Surround sound, Digital input/output, DVI, HDMI, Cable/Satellite provider, SwitchResX, iPod, Bluetooth, Wireless, Storage, Handbrake, FFMpeg, US/International, NTCS/PAL, 480/720p/1080i/1080p, How to, FAQs, etc…

http://guides.macrumors.com/Talk:Mac_in_the_living_room

 

[mdavey]

What are your thoughts?

There are already other successful wikis and websites covering this topic. I suggest just linking to information elsewhere and filling in the gaps. There is no point in duplicating information.

 

[srobert]

That would be good also ^_^ I posted because I couldn't find a good all inclusive or up-to-date website or thread on the subject.

There is a lot of talk in other threads about hooking Minis to TVs. I thought it might have been a good idea to pool our results together.

 

[MacDonaldsd]

Great idea

Im going to be doing the same thing with my mini when I can afford it (in about a month) so will be nice to have a reference

In the mean time does anyone know the good sites to check out ?

 

[mdavey]

In the mean time does anyone know the good sites to check out ?

http://macminicenter.com/
http://www.htmini.com/
http://www.hometheatermac.com/
http://www.machtpc.com/
http://www.centerstageproject.com/
http://www.mac-htpc.com/
http://www.pvrblog.com/
http://macmediacenter.org/
http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/MythOnMacOsx
http://www.monkeymini.co.uk/

Most of the above sites also have a links or directory page linking to even more sites.

 

[bursty]

Heres one of my old threads about setting up a Mac to record TV from cable boxes.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/149394/

 

[baby duck monge]

And here's another pretty decent site to check out (mostly for the DVR aspect of things, though).

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2349&p=3

 

[iPhil]

Heres one of my old threads about setting up a Mac to record TV from cable boxes.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/149394/

Hey bursty, the old thread of yours i got me hungry for the model # of my digital box ..

My Q is: Can the script record thru dvi to Mac or some other way possible ??

My digital box has pvr already but i wanna expand the recording hours and it looks like the box has 4 usb 2.0 ports..

 

[MacEffects]

http://macminicenter.com/
http://www.htmini.com/
http://www.hometheatermac.com/
http://www.machtpc.com/
http://www.centerstageproject.com/
http://www.mac-htpc.com/
http://www.pvrblog.com/
http://macmediacenter.org/
http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/MythOnMacOsx
http://www.monkeymini.co.uk/

Most of the above sites also have a links or directory page linking to even more sites.

Err, they are all missing my DashMini, that is essential for a Settop like box for the Mac Mini

 

[bursty]

Hey bursty, the old thread of yours i got me hungry for the model # of my digital box ..

My Q is: Can the script record thru dvi to Mac or some other way possible ??

My digital box has pvr already but i wanna expand the recording hours and it looks like the box has 4 usb 2.0 ports..

The only way I've gotten it to record is using the firewire, I didnt have any luck using the USB ports.

 

[iPhil]

The only way I've gotten it to record is using the firewire, I didnt have any luck using the USB ports.

Thanks bursty, for confirming the ext. Hdd recording thing .. the cable company here might use the moto 6200 dvr boxes too .. How do i set it up? plug 'n play via fw or does it need scripts on the ext. hdd to work with build - in pvr software ??

 

[bursty]

Thanks bursty, for confirming the ext. Hdd recording thing .. the cable company here might use the moto 6200 dvr boxes too .. How do i set it up? plug 'n play via fw or does it need scripts on the ext. hdd to work with build - in pvr software ??

Read that thread, it gives all the scripts you need and how to configure Virtual DHS. Once its all configured, you just use scripts in iCal to record stuff.