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AppleTV in my Truck?

SSpiro

SSpiro

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 30, 2007
604
17
Atlanta, GA
I have mobile video setup in my truck.. My headunit has video input.

I was thinking of getting a mac mini and setting up front row in my truck to use for music playback.

Now that Apple TV is out, I wonder if this may be better?

Thoughts? I haven't had a chance to check this out yet, so not sure how it interfaces.. I know it has a HDD, etc.
 
the :apple:TV syncs from the computer anyway, so you would have to have a computer system around for it to stream from.

You might just be better getting an iPod and playing videos and music from that. :)
 
Scarlet Fever said:
the :apple:TV syncs from the computer anyway, so you would have to have a computer system around for it to stream from.

You might just be better getting an iPod and playing videos and music from that. :)
Click to expand...

Although, if you're truck is parked at your house regularly, you could always just sync new material to the Apple TV while it's there (because you would be close enough to connect to your network) and have it stored on your hard drive... it would work, you just couldn't stream while you weren't near your house. AND, because you can upgrade the hard drive now via various hacks, you could dump in a huge hard drive, sync a ton of music and videos and store more than the default 60gb or whatever it is.
The only caution would be if your video input in your truck will accept component or HDMI.
 
JonHimself said:
Although, if you're truck is parked at your house regularly, you could always just sync new material to the Apple TV while it's there (because you would be close enough to connect to your network) and have it stored on your hard drive... it would work, you just couldn't stream while you weren't near your house. AND, because you can upgrade the hard drive now via various hacks, you could dump in a huge hard drive, sync a ton of music and videos and store more than the default 60gb or whatever it is.
The only caution would be if your video input in your truck will accept component or HDMI.
Click to expand...

Hmm.. Those are the only outputs? That sucks. Only accepts composite. I wonder if there are component -> composite cable assemblies..?

I have an 80gb ipod video that I've been doing this with since I've had this setup (about 4 months now). It works, crystal clear, and I love it.

But if I can get this to work, then this would be much better. "Prettier" interface.

I don't care about the streaming. If I can throw in a 300GB HDD or something, that would be pretty SLICK.
 
SSpiro said:
Hmm.. Those are the only outputs? That sucks. Only accepts composite. I wonder if there are component -> composite cable assemblies..?

I have an 80gb ipod video that I've been doing this with since I've had this setup (about 4 months now). It works, crystal clear, and I love it.

But if I can get this to work, then this would be much better. "Prettier" interface.

I don't care about the streaming. If I can throw in a 300GB HDD or something, that would be pretty SLICK.
Click to expand...

There are certainly converters. I don't know how well they work or how big they are or any thing else about them. There have been some links posted on forums that I'm sure you could find.
 
JonHimself said:
Although, if you're truck is parked at your house regularly, you could always just sync new material to the Apple TV while it's there (because you would be close enough to connect to your network) and have it stored on your hard drive... it would work, you just couldn't stream while you weren't near your house. AND, because you can upgrade the hard drive now via various hacks, you could dump in a huge hard drive, sync a ton of music and videos and store more than the default 60gb or whatever it is.
The only caution would be if your video input in your truck will accept component or HDMI.
Click to expand...

JonHimself said:
There are certainly converters. I don't know how well they work or how big they are or any thing else about them. There have been some links posted on forums that I'm sure you could find.
Click to expand...

I'll continue to investigate..

Keep the input coming!
 
Ok, so I was thinking about this for the past little while after you had initially made your post. Using the Apple TV, you could really over come a lot of hurdles that the traditional CarPC would have (Of course assuming that your main interests are using the CarPC for audio and video and not so much for GPS and engine monitoring etc).
If your car deck has an AUX-In and you have a screen, that's pretty much it, aside from the power.. and I assuming that powering the Apple TV has far fewer hassles than powering a Mac Mini.
This of course, leads to the question. What is the smallest LCD tv you can buy that has component or HDMI inputs? Does anyone know this? If you have a monitor already, then it's just a matter of purchasing a converter.
 
JonHimself said:
Ok, so I was thinking about this for the past little while after you had initially made your post. Using the Apple TV, you could really over come a lot of hurdles that the traditional CarPC would have (Of course assuming that your main interests are using the CarPC for audio and video and not so much for GPS and engine monitoring etc).
If your car deck has an AUX-In and you have a screen, that's pretty much it, aside from the power.. and I assuming that powering the Apple TV has far fewer hassles than powering a Mac Mini.
This of course, leads to the question. What is the smallest LCD tv you can buy that has component or HDMI inputs? Does anyone know this? If you have a monitor already, then it's just a matter of purchasing a converter.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thoughts last night. Using the AppleTV (say over the Mac Mini) is perfect out-of-the-box setup, if you think about it.. Powering the device is the only setup, really.. If I could find a converter, seems this would be the way to go. I think I just need to pick one up and give it a shot..
 
Another reason why an :apple:TV would be better over a Mini is the fact you can now run OS X on an :apple:TV. Thus, this enables you to have a $299 (I think that's the US price) Mac in your car. I'd only suggest this as you'd get the extra functionality of OS X in a smaller and cheaper box.
 
Shaduu said:
Another reason why an :apple:TV would be better over a Mini is the fact you can now run OS X on an :apple:TV. Thus, this enables you to have a $299 (I think that's the US price) Mac in your car. I'd only suggest this as you'd get the extra functionality of OS X in a smaller and cheaper box.
Click to expand...

This is true, too..
 
I don't know of any small LCD displays that take HDMI or component... but you might be able to find a LCD that takes DVI and is small enough to work for your needs. Remember that you'll probably need a widescreen LCD because most 4:3 LCD displays don't have settings to letterbox widescreen video.

Then again, since the Mini can do s-video and composite and output 4:3, you might go that route and use some sort of FTP syncing to sync the music libraries when you're parked. Not a slick, but at least it will output video to your existing system.
 
NorCalLights said:
I don't know of any small LCD displays that take HDMI or component... but you might be able to find a LCD that takes DVI and is small enough to work for your needs. Remember that you'll probably need a widescreen LCD because most 4:3 LCD displays don't have settings to letterbox widescreen video.

Then again, since the Mini can do s-video and composite and output 4:3, you might go that route and use some sort of FTP syncing to sync the music libraries when you're parked. Not a slick, but at least it will output video to your existing system.
Click to expand...

Well, the screen I have displays 16:9 widescreen, but doesn't take hdmi or component. Users above have mentioned a component to composite converter, so I'll look into those.

I already have the screen. It's not replaceable since its my headunit (Eclipse AVN5500)
 
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