Help me test my logic, please.

[dellavoce]

So, I never had much interest in AppleTV before, but with the new release for only $99, I started checking it out, and I was thinking, if I bought an AppleTV, first I could stream video from my mac mini to my tv wirelessly, right? Second, if I could purchase a tv input for my mac, I could record my shows without the DVR from my cable company and, again, I could stream wirelessly to my tv, right? Also, all I'd have to do to watch the shows on my computer in the bedroom is take the AppleTV to the bedroom and watch them wirelessly, right? (Or, eventually, I can buy a second AppleTV for the bedroom) Thus, for a reasonable upfront investment, I can ditch two of the DVR boxes that I pay a monthly fee to the cable company? Am I missing anything?

 

[BruiserB]

The aTV will stream video files that are in your iTunes library, not video recorded by a DVR program unless it is encoding into .m4v files and moving them into iTunes for you.

 

[tbayrgs]

Check out the EyeTV products by Elgato--should fit the bill for your DVR like functions on your Mac. Their software will export your recordings automatically to iTunes so you can stream to an TV.

 

[graystone]

EyeTV software can be set up to record TV shows and automatically put them into iTunes. It's even possible to cut out the commercials. Then the shows will stream like anything else in iTunes.

 

[waw74]

Thus, for a reasonable upfront investment, I can ditch two of the DVR boxes that I pay a monthly fee to the cable company? Am I missing anything?

All of the suggestions about elgato and eyetv are true, but you won't get encrypted channels. Meaning you might only be able to record the local channels (although HD should be available).
To see what's available, just plug the cable directly into your TV, and see what channels you get. you might get some of the other basic channels like history or discovery, but you'll defiantly not get the premium channels.

You can get the version of eyeTV that comes with an IR blaster that controls a regular cable box to be able to record the other channels, but you will still have to rent a basic box from the cable company.

 

[dellavoce]

Thanks for the advice. The EyeTV HD seems a near perfect solution (keeping a regular cable box is fine; it's the DVRs that are killing me) the only thing it doesn't do is record more than one show at a time. Anyone know of a device for mac that can?

 

[HTNewbe]

Look at the HDHomerun

I am researching the same thing but eliminating cable completely, by getting the HDHomerun with the eyetv software, elgato said I could record 4 channels (2 HDhomeuns) with just one copy of software per machine not per channel. Getting ready to try that. If you hook the mac mine directly to one tv you may only need one atv in the bedroom to stream from it. Not sure would be curious what others think.

 

[dellavoce]

That has potential, although I can't record on digital cable, just basic. I'll have to check into that.