Buying a new house want it autmoated can this be done?

[dollarbillz]

Hey guys,

So i bought a new house and its one of em smart homes with a network and cable connection all beside a tv microwave etc... haha


Anyway i was thinking of ditching the cable when i move becuase i have the following devices

Ps3, Xbox 360, Wii,

My question is I am planning on getting an apple tv box and a drobo with droboshare


I got a Macbook as well


If I hook up the apple tv to my main tv will drobo stream to apple tv without a computer being on since droboshare is there

and will it stream to a ps3 and xbox if im too lazy to convert to mp4


also i mostly downloaded MKV files, so is there a way to convert a mkv to AVCHD or WMVHD or even High quality APPLETV HD if possible


I want the new house to be fully technological hahah i already have tons of digital photo frames and etc.. so this would just be adding to the WOW factor of family and friends saying DAMN! hahah

and im sick of paying $100 a month for cable when online downloads are better?


I got a PC as well which i use currently as an itunes server for my macbook and bros laptop

So would i need to run the pc with itunes and then the drobo with droboshare for it to be read as an itunes server in AppleTV? will the cover art show on apple tv if its coming from a server i know it doesnt on the laptops

also what is the best wireless route since pc will be the main rig currently got a BELKIN N router should i get an airport base station??

TIA for all your help

 

[mikenike192]

well first you need to have a pc running itunes to use an apple tv even with the drobo, album art I dont think will show up either. For streaming to wii and xbox you can use TVersity which i think will encode videos on the fly so that could work.

Can I say I'm already jealous of your house and what you have planned, I always see myself dreaming of my future apartment or house just all teched out. Cable bills are rediculous and I started using an app called TVshows (rss torrent) and transmission and a couple automator scripts to automatically download and convert The Colbert Report for my apple tv every morning.

 

[dollarbillz]

well first you need to have a pc running itunes to use an apple tv even with the drobo, album art I dont think will show up either. For streaming to wii and xbox you can use TVersity which i think will encode videos on the fly so that could work.

Can I say I'm already jealous of your house and what you have planned, I always see myself dreaming of my future apartment or house just all teched out. Cable bills are rediculous and I started using an app called TVshows (rss torrent) and transmission and a couple automator scripts to automatically download and convert The Colbert Report for my apple tv every morning.

Thanks! but streaming to xbox and ps3 and wii wont be a problem as they support divx and all just not mkv so i would need to find a way to convert em into AVCHD or WMVHD

also.... how do u automate so that once its down downloading it converts em so i dont have too...

i use newsgroups and torrents

and hahah thanks most of my friends are jealous as well! but from my understanding i still need a pc running if i want just an itunes server for drobo if i just store divx or say WMVHD i dont need a comp running just droboshare?

 

[mikenike192]

Thanks! but streaming to xbox and ps3 and wii wont be a problem as they support divx and all just not mkv so i would need to find a way to convert em into AVCHD or WMVHD

also.... how do u automate so that once its down downloading it converts em so i dont have too...

i use newsgroups and torrents

and hahah thanks most of my friends are jealous as well! but from my understanding i still need a pc running if i want just an itunes server for drobo if i just store divx or say WMVHD i dont need a comp running just droboshare?

I got the apple script for using visual hub here
then just messed around with automator making a folder action so when ever a new file is downloaded into this folder it will launch visualhub and convert it. My automator progression was like this Get File>Visual Hub Script>Delete Original. I'm still working out all the bugs in it like when I drop a .flv file in it from youtube it works perfect but then when trying to do the colbert report everynight I have mixed results with converting, but I still have time to convert and watch it any ways before I leave for tennis practice in the morning. I basically just google around and brought together ideas from a bunch of sites to get what I need, once I get it flawlessly working every time I'll load it up on MacRumors

 

[ipedro]

^ Mike, thanks for the suggestion about TVshows. It's awesome!

I will absolutely pay for TV shows if they're available on iTunes but here in Canada, our selection is pretty anemic. Actually, no NBC show is available on iTunes anywhere, period. I need my fix of Conan O'Brien and Heroes when it comes back in the fall.

I look forward to your automator script when you get it working.

 

[Jungle]

^ Mike, thanks for the suggestion about TVshows. It's awesome!

I will absolutely pay for TV shows if they're available on iTunes but here in Canada, our selection is pretty anemic. Actually, no NBC show is available on iTunes anywhere, period. I need my fix of Conan O'Brien and Heroes when it comes back in the fall.

I look forward to your automator script when you get it working.

Dunno if it would help but what we do in Jungle Towers is to sign in to the US iTunes store, allowing us access to far more content. There's a variety of websites where you can buy US iTunes gift certs and they even help you sign up with a US account. I'm currently buying $40 certificates for $38 or less and just applying these to my account.

Hope this helps.

 

[ipedro]

^ I've considered it, however, I have some reservations over using the US store illegally. Also, by signing into a US iTunes account, will I be able to remain also signed into my Canadian account? If not, I won't have access to my previously purchased Canadian content.

I'm considering buying a second TV and installing Leopard on it. I'd then use it as an automated Bit Torrent server which would download, convert and sync TV shows to my main TV.

Anybody with tips on doing that, please contribute to this thread.

 

[notjustjay]

^ I've considered it, however, I have some reservations over using the US store illegally. Also, by signing into a US iTunes account, will I be able to remain also signed into my Canadian account? If not, I won't have access to my previously purchased Canadian content.

Yes, I switch between the two all the time. You just need two different email addresses.

 

[ipedro]

My question is whether you can authenticate both accounts at the same time.

Let's say I bought a single on iTunes Canada and then the rest of the album on iTunes USA. Would I be able to play that album seamlessly without being prompted to authenticate the relevant account when my library has content from both stores?

 

[gadabout]

My question is whether you can authenticate both accounts at the same time.

Let's say I bought a single on iTunes Canada and then the rest of the album on iTunes USA. Would I be able to play that album seamlessly without being prompted to authenticate the relevant account when my library has content from both stores?

you can authenticate as many accounts as you want