Help! - Home theater set-up with imac

[nortmansdad]

This posting has a number of questions about both hardware and software. I am thinking about getting an imac as my next computer and additionally wanted to use it as the base for a home theater set-up. Here is the set-up I envision:
-imac computer
-cable plug-in to record television onto the computer
-connection from computer to hdtv

First of all, I wanted to know if this is even possible or if there is a much better way to do this.

Here are my additional questions:
-What cable plug-in I should get
-Is there a preferred software program to use for recording television on the computer
-How to convert those files (most likely HDTV) to not be so huge.

 

[Hellhammer]

EyeTV for watching and recording TV on Mac

HandBrake for encoding videos

What you need to connect it to your TV is dependent on the inputs of the TV

 

[jsgreen]

When you look into cables, check out monoprice.com - I've been really happy with their prices and the quality seems just fine.

You will probably want to use the HDMI inputs on your hdtv or AV receiver; however the iMac won't have an HDMI out. If you go this route, consider a cable converter that plugs into both the mini Display port and USB port (or the TOSLINK audio port) on the iMac and converts to a single HDMI (with both video and audio).

Here is a link to the type of converter I'm describing:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2

 

[darkgroove]

Yes this is totally possible. While I cannot link to it directly there is a certain website that deals with Apple based Media Centers...