Help me build my home theatre!

[Hellhammer]

So if you guys had to choose between:
1. Mac Mini
2. WD TV + PS3 for Netflix and Hulu
3. Wait for new Apple TV
4. Wait for Boxee TV

Which would you choose?

Do you have PS3 already? I would say Mini is the easiest but if you're anyway getting a PS3 (or have already), just use it. Just make sure you encode the movies into PS3 friendly format. If you aren't getting PS3, jump for Mini, it supports all formats and is more useful than WD TV or PS3 (it's a real computer).

 

[steviem]

If you're getting/already have a PS3 or 360, I would say you probably wouldn't have to get anything else. Especially with all the talk of Apple possibly updating the AppleTV with something iOS.

The only big reason to go AppleTV/Mac Mini is if you buy video from iTunes (and being able to know where you are in TV seasons without remembering).

For the amount of data we're talking, I'd invest in a good NAS hosting DLNA, a drobo or a cheapish pc with loads of sata ports and a few hard drives. Probably a NAS would be good if you have to worry about electricity.

 

[Joe Fries]

WD TV Live Plus HD Media Player
"Play media from your home network and the Internet on your big screen TV. Plus, enjoy access to your Netflix unlimited membership and other premium content. Don’t confine your movies, music, and photos to your small computer screen. Experience them as big as life on your TV in Full-HD 1080p with WD TV Live Plus HD media player"

Unless I'm really missing something, it seems like you can watch netflix from your WD TV now...

Edit: Yes, I do have the PS3 already. I am very intrigued by the Boxee Box though. I love the ability to utilize apps like facebook and twitter to be as lazy as possible and not pick up my laptop or use my iPhone.

 

[dlegend]

I want to see a picture of all these movies!

 

[darkgroove]

The answer is simple.

Mac Mini + Drobo.

Boxee is a far cry from what Plex can do for you (and the upcoming version of Plex will allow you to organize everything easily) and I would avoid it like the plague.

WDTV isn't an Apple device, enough said.

Apple TV is too limited.

Yes, the mini and the drobo are expensive, but you should be in this for the long haul and not something that just works for the time being. Anything other than this solution and you are bonkers.

 

[Joe Fries]

I want to see a picture of all these movies!

There are more scattered around the house.

 

[dlegend]

That looks amazing. Any decisions yet on what you're going to be doing?

 

[Joe Fries]

I guess, for right now, I'm just going to buy up a bunch of 2TB hard drives, throw them in a drobo, and start loading movies onto it so I can play them on my ps3. I'm definitely going to think this through thoroughly and do everything to avoid a Mac mini. I'll already be spending >500 on a new PC to rip and encode the DVDs. If I can avoid spending 800 on a Mac mini and buy the boxee box for way cheaper while sacrificing a minimum amount of functionality, that would be amazing. Any other suggestions would be great, like if the PC I'm about to buy would serve any other function in my entertainment system besides ripping, encoding, and gaming. I'm currently trying to use the tutorial for ripping and encoding in Automator and it is proving to be very difficult.

 

[steviem]

maybe make sure the components for the PC are osx86 compatible

 

[Hellhammer]

I guess, for right now, I'm just going to buy up a bunch of 2TB hard drives, throw them in a drobo, and start loading movies onto it so I can play them on my ps3. I'm definitely going to think this through thoroughly and do everything to avoid a Mac mini. I'll already be spending >500 on a new PC to rip and encode the DVDs. If I can avoid spending 800 on a Mac mini and buy the boxee box for way cheaper while sacrificing a minimum amount of functionality, that would be amazing. Any other suggestions would be great, like if the PC I'm about to buy would serve any other function in my entertainment system besides ripping, encoding, and gaming. I'm currently trying to use the tutorial for ripping and encoding in Automator and it is proving to be very difficult.

When you get the PC, throw the 2TB drives in it and stream the movies to your PS3. Just make sure they are connected in the same network. No need to use Drobo as medium, it will be much quicker if it is done wirelessly

 

[steviem]

I found wireless G a little slow for streaming movies to my PS3, but yeah, without having to go through FW, it will be quicker with the disks right in the computer.

 

[Hellhammer]

I found wireless G a little slow for streaming movies to my PS3, but yeah, without having to go through FW, it will be quicker with the disks right in the computer.

You can use wired connection as well. I prefer wired but my router is four floors below me so it isn't an option. Wireless g is good unless you are looking at videos with high bitrate or your connection is weak

 

[Joe Fries]

I was really excited when I found out I could stream movies from a time machine to apple tv, but then, after reading these forums, I found out about apple tv sucking and other things that changed my mind about that.
I'd love to make as many things wireless as possible, since I will be in a small apartment with dedicated Internet and the router should never be more than 5 feet away from any device.
Can I hook the drobo up to the ps3 via USB?
Also is it possible to rip and encode dvds with an automated process on a PC?

 

[MowingDevil]

What kind of TV do you have? My Samsung Series 7 has a built in Media Player so all I have to do is compress all my DVDs onto a USB hard drive and voila I'm set. So far I'm about 120 movies in and more to go before I really get started on docs & TV shows. Looking forward sticking all those disc cases away in storage. I've got a Lacie 2tb drive and so far I've barely made a dent in it. I'll probably be able to load all my movies and music (abo 400 cds) on the same disc the way things are going. The only discs I'll have left in the living room are boxed sets and special editions w/ cool packaging or loads of bonus features plus blu-rays which is fine. Much more manageable and user friendly.

If the Apple TV is 1080p I'll even probably load those blu-rays onto that and use it for downloading from iTunes. If not I'm happy w/ what I have going on so far.

 

[Hellhammer]

I was really excited when I found out I could stream movies from a time machine to apple tv, but then, after reading these forums, I found out about apple tv sucking and other things that changed my mind about that.
I'd love to make as many things wireless as possible, since I will be in a small apartment with dedicated Internet and the router should never be more than 5 feet away from any device.
Can I hook the drobo up to the ps3 via USB?
Also is it possible to rip and encode dvds with an automated process on a PC?

Just make sure Drobo is formatted as FAT32 and it will work. Keep in mind that FAT32 has file size limit of 4GB but encoded DVDs fit there fine.
Here is one click solution for ripping and encoding DVDs with HandBrake. BTW, what parts are you getting for your PC?

 

[Joe Fries]

Just make sure Drobo is formatted as FAT32 and it will work. Keep in mind that FAT32 has file size limit of 4GB but encoded DVDs fit there fine.
Here is one click solution for ripping and encoding DVDs with HandBrake. BTW, what parts are you getting for your PC?

I don't really know where to start with the PC at this point, because I've been Mac for so long. I'm very behind with current PC trends and hardware. If you guys could help me build a PC that would be fantastic. I'm pretty set on an i5 or i7 processor and I would need a decent graphics card, good enough to run Counter-Strike flawlessly and Diablo III as well (if it ever comes out!!!!).Other than that I just want the cheapest stuff around with the best value possible. If this could be done for less than 600, that would be amazing.
Oh yeah, I'll probably need two disk drives so that I can rip movies 2 at a time, like we talked about earlier in the thread.

 

[Hellhammer]

I don't really know where to start with the PC at this point, because I've been Mac for so long. I'm very behind with current PC trends and hardware. If you guys could help me build a PC that would be fantastic. I'm pretty set on an i5 or i7 processor and I would need a decent graphics card, good enough to run Counter-Strike flawlessly and Diablo III as well (if it ever comes out!!!!).Other than that I just want the cheapest stuff around with the best value possible. If this could be done for less than 600, that would be amazing.
Oh yeah, I'll probably need two disk drives so that I can rip movies 2 at a time, like we talked about earlier in the thread.

Because you are getting it for ripping and encoding, I seriously recommend you getting the AMD Phenom II x6. i7 is little better but it costs nearly 100$ more. Some benches here!

Get for example:

Motherboard - 70$
Processor - 200$
Video card - 200$
Memory - 100$
DVD burner - 24$

Total: 594$

Then the important question. What case and power supply do you have? New case and PSU cost ~100$. Oh, that does not include HDs either. You can easily drop the cost down a little by choosing cheaper GPU but the GTX 460 is the king of its category. If you need new case etc, I can come up with cheaper set up as well if needed

 

[Joe Fries]

Because you are getting it for ripping and encoding, I seriously recommend you getting the AMD Phenom II x6. i7 is little better but it costs nearly 100$ more. Some benches here!

Get for example:

Motherboard - 70$
Processor - 200$
Video card - 200$
Memory - 100$
DVD burner - 24$

Total: 594$

Then the important question. What case and power supply do you have? New case and PSU cost ~100$. Oh, that does not include HDs either. You can easily drop the cost down a little by choosing cheaper GPU but the GTX 460 is the king of its category. If you need new case etc, I can come up with cheaper set up as well if needed

That seems like it is right around what Im looking for. I do need a case and a power supply though.

 

[Hellhammer]

That seems like it is right around what Im looking for. I do need a case and a power supply though.

This is a good case. It's pretty neutral so if you want something fancy with leds etc, pick this for example. As for PSU, this is quite good, 600W lets you have option for power hungrier parts.

Also, for 10 bucks more you can get a mobo with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s

 

[dlegend]

Any updates? What did you end up doing and how is it going?