So, I have an HTPC with a load of hard drives in it in one room. It runs XBMC (Win 7) and outputs to a 720p projector. It stores and downloads all my content (mostly MKV) and works quite nicely.
I then have an Acer Aspire Revo (also XBMC and Windows 7, and they share a database for Watched status of files, etc) in the living room (1080p TV), and it half works. It's wired up on Gigabit network but the menus are very slow, and although it's set up to go to sleep after a bit of inactivity, most of the time when I wake it I have to restart XBMC or all video is choppy.
I also hate the whole scraping/metadata thing and the fact that, for my other half, it is too unreliable to work. I'm happy with a list of file names and don't mind specifying them myself. Artwork is a plus but to be honest, I don't care massively.
I've got a Macbook Pro, an iPhone and an iPad so I want an Apple TV for the living room (for iOS5 mirroring) and I've started wondering about "going entirely Apple" for my HTPC needs. Why? Because after all the faff of going the fully customised route, and never getting it properly working, I'm ready to try jumping through all the hoops I have to get the "it just works" effect. I'll even wed myself to iTunes for the simplicity of also getting my content onto my phone and iPad.
So the thinking is this:
Projector Room
Mac Mini as server and HTPC for that room, running iTunes. External HDs for content. Mainly for viewing of films by me alone. Prepared to have a bit of fiddling on this machine if I have to, but ideally not. 5.1 sound and video via HDMI through amp. Not bothered about uncompressed audio etc. 720p is fine for now.
Living Room
Apple TV 2 in the living room, where we mainly watch TV shows together. Simplicity of interface essential in here. HDMI straight to TV, stereo sound only needed (but 5.1 might be nice down the line). When an ATV3 comes along the ATV2 will go in the bedroom and do the same thing in there.
What I don't want
Excessive faff, complications, unpredictability. I don't want workarounds, hacks, jailbreaks, etc. I want to turn on either machine and have them "just work". Only problem is I have no experience of this set up at all, so I'm not sure of the pitfalls, or the 'workflow' of adding content. Here though are, I think, the questions that would cover it.
The iTunes library. Would be stored on the Mac Mini I assume. But would the content have to be on USB drives, or could I attach it to the Airport Extreme? I don't want the expense or hassle of setting up and maintaining a NAS, but I have plenty of USB hard drives that could connect to either device.
How would I add to the iTunes library (new content, once all my old stuff is in there)? Is there any easy way (Home Sharing, remote access from on Mac to another, etc) to get my new files (which I'll probably still get using my Macbook Pro) into the Mac Mini's iTunes library?
As for iTunes, I'd like the easy option, if I have a movie or TV show in my iTunes library, to sync that to my iPhone or iPad, which might require conversion or might not. So if I'm doing this, would I have to make the Mac Mini the main iTunes installation in my house (with all my music on it), or could I keep all my music on my MBP, and remotely access the video content on the Mac Mini through the MBP's iTunes, and sync that video to my iDevices remotely? Obviously iCloud might change things in terms of music storage, as ideally I'd like my music on both Macs. I'd also really like it if, say, my iPhone is set to have the next 3 unwatched episodes of Modern Family on it, and I then watch an episode of that show on either the Mac Mini or the ATV, to have iTunes mark that episode as watched and so when I next sync my iPhone, it removes that episode and syncs the next one over. Would that happen?
Power management. Is it easy, and reliable, to set the Mac Mini to sleep after 30 mins of inactivity, and wake (presumably from sleep) whenever the ATV tries to access it? Current setup involves Wake On LAN app on my iPhone to wake both PCs, and it's a step too far for the other half.
I have to convert my content (DVDs ripped as VIDEO_TS folders, BluRay rips as 720p MKVs, and some SD content that's mostly DivX/XVid) into a format that iTunes and the ATV will like, and ideally that (at least) the iPad would run. So that's 720p MP4s with 5.1 for the MKVs, which is my main concern. Is there a best way, especially one that doesn't have to re-encode the video?
I could actually live with my DVD rips only being accessible on the Mac Mini. Is there a way to play VIDEO_TS on there, especially bearing in mind this will be a Lion setup so, possibly, no Front Row or equivalent. Aware that's anyone's guess at the moment.
What am I sacrificing? So if I do this, I'm pretty confident I'll have a "just works" setup. But am I massively limiting myself, especially for my projector room where I have a reasonably decent setup? Sure this is all fine for the TV, but my projector supports 720p24 and stuff like that. Do I kiss these things goodbye if I go all iTunes, or can I get pretty much anything I want played by these devices as long as it's in the right file format?
It strikes me that if I fully embrace iTunes and the Apple way, even if I have to jump through some hoops, everything else would just fall into place (like the iPhone episode syncing). At least I hope so.
Apologies for the long post - I'm just trying to find my footing in a new HTPC world!
Thanks all.
Starting to do some research myself (I'm not THAT lazy!) and this looks like it could be a useful tool.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivi/id402279089?mt=12#
I then have an Acer Aspire Revo (also XBMC and Windows 7, and they share a database for Watched status of files, etc) in the living room (1080p TV), and it half works. It's wired up on Gigabit network but the menus are very slow, and although it's set up to go to sleep after a bit of inactivity, most of the time when I wake it I have to restart XBMC or all video is choppy.
I also hate the whole scraping/metadata thing and the fact that, for my other half, it is too unreliable to work. I'm happy with a list of file names and don't mind specifying them myself. Artwork is a plus but to be honest, I don't care massively.
I've got a Macbook Pro, an iPhone and an iPad so I want an Apple TV for the living room (for iOS5 mirroring) and I've started wondering about "going entirely Apple" for my HTPC needs. Why? Because after all the faff of going the fully customised route, and never getting it properly working, I'm ready to try jumping through all the hoops I have to get the "it just works" effect. I'll even wed myself to iTunes for the simplicity of also getting my content onto my phone and iPad.
So the thinking is this:
Projector Room
Mac Mini as server and HTPC for that room, running iTunes. External HDs for content. Mainly for viewing of films by me alone. Prepared to have a bit of fiddling on this machine if I have to, but ideally not. 5.1 sound and video via HDMI through amp. Not bothered about uncompressed audio etc. 720p is fine for now.
Living Room
Apple TV 2 in the living room, where we mainly watch TV shows together. Simplicity of interface essential in here. HDMI straight to TV, stereo sound only needed (but 5.1 might be nice down the line). When an ATV3 comes along the ATV2 will go in the bedroom and do the same thing in there.
What I don't want
Excessive faff, complications, unpredictability. I don't want workarounds, hacks, jailbreaks, etc. I want to turn on either machine and have them "just work". Only problem is I have no experience of this set up at all, so I'm not sure of the pitfalls, or the 'workflow' of adding content. Here though are, I think, the questions that would cover it.
The iTunes library. Would be stored on the Mac Mini I assume. But would the content have to be on USB drives, or could I attach it to the Airport Extreme? I don't want the expense or hassle of setting up and maintaining a NAS, but I have plenty of USB hard drives that could connect to either device.
How would I add to the iTunes library (new content, once all my old stuff is in there)? Is there any easy way (Home Sharing, remote access from on Mac to another, etc) to get my new files (which I'll probably still get using my Macbook Pro) into the Mac Mini's iTunes library?
As for iTunes, I'd like the easy option, if I have a movie or TV show in my iTunes library, to sync that to my iPhone or iPad, which might require conversion or might not. So if I'm doing this, would I have to make the Mac Mini the main iTunes installation in my house (with all my music on it), or could I keep all my music on my MBP, and remotely access the video content on the Mac Mini through the MBP's iTunes, and sync that video to my iDevices remotely? Obviously iCloud might change things in terms of music storage, as ideally I'd like my music on both Macs. I'd also really like it if, say, my iPhone is set to have the next 3 unwatched episodes of Modern Family on it, and I then watch an episode of that show on either the Mac Mini or the ATV, to have iTunes mark that episode as watched and so when I next sync my iPhone, it removes that episode and syncs the next one over. Would that happen?
Power management. Is it easy, and reliable, to set the Mac Mini to sleep after 30 mins of inactivity, and wake (presumably from sleep) whenever the ATV tries to access it? Current setup involves Wake On LAN app on my iPhone to wake both PCs, and it's a step too far for the other half.
I have to convert my content (DVDs ripped as VIDEO_TS folders, BluRay rips as 720p MKVs, and some SD content that's mostly DivX/XVid) into a format that iTunes and the ATV will like, and ideally that (at least) the iPad would run. So that's 720p MP4s with 5.1 for the MKVs, which is my main concern. Is there a best way, especially one that doesn't have to re-encode the video?
I could actually live with my DVD rips only being accessible on the Mac Mini. Is there a way to play VIDEO_TS on there, especially bearing in mind this will be a Lion setup so, possibly, no Front Row or equivalent. Aware that's anyone's guess at the moment.
What am I sacrificing? So if I do this, I'm pretty confident I'll have a "just works" setup. But am I massively limiting myself, especially for my projector room where I have a reasonably decent setup? Sure this is all fine for the TV, but my projector supports 720p24 and stuff like that. Do I kiss these things goodbye if I go all iTunes, or can I get pretty much anything I want played by these devices as long as it's in the right file format?
It strikes me that if I fully embrace iTunes and the Apple way, even if I have to jump through some hoops, everything else would just fall into place (like the iPhone episode syncing). At least I hope so.
Apologies for the long post - I'm just trying to find my footing in a new HTPC world!
Thanks all.
Starting to do some research myself (I'm not THAT lazy!) and this looks like it could be a useful tool.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ivi/id402279089?mt=12#
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