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caryatid62

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 2, 2010
3
0
First post, thought I'd start with a question.

I've recently decided to cut the cable and go full Mac home theatre. Basically, my watching habit consist of:

1. Netflix streaming
2. Hulu (for network shows and mindless watching)
3. ITunes (for the cable shows I watch by season)

My question is this:

Given my watching habits, am I better off splurging for a Mac Mini, installing Plex, and living with the wonkiness of having to switch to Front Row every time I want to watch an ITunes show, or would it be better for me to wait and pick up an AppleTV, jailbreak it and/or wait for 3rd party apps (of which hopefully Hulu will be one).

It seems like AppleTV would be the cost-effective solution, but it might be awhile before I can implement Hulu (and my wife uses Hulu constantly). The Mac Mini would be a more sure-fire solution, but is much more costly and not necessarily as user-friendly for those who aren't as computer savvy.


So, any suggestions or advice?
 

gilford

macrumors member
Mar 15, 2010
67
0
I'd go for a Mini for the streaming alone :)

It does cost a lot more but it does so much more, I dont know what I would do without mine now.

The ATV is good if all you want to do is extend your iTunes library but that is as far as it goes, and dont put any hope in the fact they may or may not release added "apps", I personally cant see it?
 

aibo

macrumors 6502a
Jan 17, 2008
506
114
Southern California
Go for a Mini + Plex. It's infinitely more useful. The only thing Plex won't do is play your iTunes DRM'd videos. Think of that an indicator to stick with universally playable file formats — and not as an indicator to invest even more into Apple's proprietary system (TV).
 

netdog

macrumors 603
Feb 6, 2006
5,760
38
London
If there's no huge rush, I'd wait to see what develops on the ATV once the App Store and AirPlay actually launch.

I've been wrestling with how to set up my TV (beyond the old 1st gen Apple TVs I have now), and my conclusion is that we aren't quite at the point where there is a clear direction.

It seems to me that the Mini is big overkill, but I am still not sure what the AppleTV will deliver. There is obviously a lot of potential in AirPlay, and I expect that Hulu will be in the AppStore at launch. Of course, when that launch is, nobody knows, but I'd at least wait for the launch of iOS 4.2 and see where we are then.

All signs are pointing to an event on November 9th.
 
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