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

To ATV or not to ATV

G

geoffpalmeruk

Cancelled
Original poster
That is my question....

In my house i currently have an old Mac mini G4 running Leopard server connected to airport express via ethernet which in turn talks to my Virgin router and my apple TV3 connected via wifi to the router and then HDMI to the TV (non smart 42 inch plasma)

I have been thinking of ways to reduce this to just one or 2 devices.

All my content is on a 1tb 2.5 inch HDD.

I was thinking of using a roku 3 and connecting my hdd via usb into it?
Or get a raspberry pi and usb content?

Are there any other recommendations? ideally i would like to pay as little as possible as i have a very small budget (under £100)

and i don't really want to go the NAS route.

My main requirements are:

Quiet (this is a must)
Low energy (less than Mac Mini, Apple TV and Airport Express combined)
Direct attachment for usb hdd (don't want buffering over the wifi)
Ethernet port would be nice.
As few devices as possible (hide it behind TV so wife doesn't see!)

Thanks in avdvance.
 
I have two ATVs in my home and run them both via my MBA via a APX. I can stream to one via iTunes while streaming the other via beamer. works great for me.
 
see whilst i like the atv i am getting frustrated with the buffering issues and that i'm using bits of kit to do one job. As my server is on constantly it does use power and i know that there are alternatives out there that would be better suited.

Has anyone seen the cubox or other similar devices?

i just want the cheapest - lowest power solution and i don't think im doing it right...
 
I believe Western Digital makes something like this, too. I have never used the USB feature on my Roku, but I would definitely try to research how these players handle USB (GUI) and how fast they load libraries if I was going this route.

Personally, I would try home plug (power line Ethernet) to get around the wifi issue, but that wouldn't solve your energy issue (unless you had a NAS or computer that woke up only when needed).
 
Thnkas for the feedback. I htink i'll have a look into the WD solution and see if there is anywhere with the roku i can test. 🙂

If only the ATV had a usb port i could use 🙁
 
geoffpalmeruk said:
That is my question....

In my house i currently have an old Mac mini G4 running Leopard server connected to airport express via ethernet which in turn talks to my Virgin router and my apple TV3 connected via wifi to the router and then HDMI to the TV (non smart 42 inch plasma)

I have been thinking of ways to reduce this to just one or 2 devices.

All my content is on a 1tb 2.5 inch HDD.

I was thinking of using a roku 3 and connecting my hdd via usb into it?
Or get a raspberry pi and usb content?

Are there any other recommendations? ideally i would like to pay as little as possible as i have a very small budget (under £100)

and i don't really want to go the NAS route.

My main requirements are:

Quiet (this is a must)
Low energy (less than Mac Mini, Apple TV and Airport Express combined)
Direct attachment for usb hdd (don't want buffering over the wifi)
Ethernet port would be nice.
As few devices as possible (hide it behind TV so wife doesn't see!)

Thanks in avdvance.
Click to expand...

What about installing Plex on the Mac Mini server w/ the HDD attached to that and getting a Roku? The new Roku stick is $50 and the Roku 3 has a USB & Ethernet port if you wanted to use it that way.
 
E3BK said:
What about installing Plex on the Mac Mini server w/ the HDD attached to that and getting a Roku? The new Roku stick is $50 and the Roku 3 has a USB & Ethernet port if you wanted to use it that way.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

the main reason of doing this was to eliminate as much as possible and reduce power usage.

"I have been thinking of ways to reduce this to just one or 2 devices."
"Low energy (less than Mac Mini, Apple TV and Airport Express combined)"

Thus simply changing the ATV for a roku and keep the mini does not fix this. I have decided to go ahead and buy a Raspberry Pi and will move all my content onto a Directly attached 2.5 inch USB HDD.

Then i can remove the Mac Mini, Airport Express and ATV3 and my 3.5inch HDD.

and all for the cost of £35 🙂

Thanks for the advice though.
 
Great choice. RaspBMC is excellent and easy to control with your iPhone. And only running on like 5 watt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back