iMac + HDTV

[BKMK5]

I did a quick search and didn't seem to find anything relevant here so i'll post .

My Dell laptop from 2001 has been serving as my HTPC and while it looks great to have a PC on a 46" Samsung, it just doesnt perform. Streaming Pictures/movies from my iMac (2.8GHz i7) to this laptop has been horrible! Too choppy and embarrassing to show friends and family.

Playing HD video on the Mac Mini (Core2Duo 2.66 w/ Nvidia 320M) in the Apple store was OK but nothing to write home about. If I spend the money on another Mac I want to make sure that it will play back all the HD video I can throw at it while still fitting in my entertainment center.

Do you think it would be advisable to be get a 21.5" iMac 3.6GHz i5 with the ATI Radeon HD 5670; take the stand off of it and leave it behind my center channel? Advice needed. Thanks!

 

[spiffy05]

I did a quick search and didn't seem to find anything relevant here so i'll post .

My Dell laptop from 2001 has been serving as my HTPC and while it looks great to have a PC on a 46" Samsung, it just doesnt perform. Streaming Pictures/movies from my iMac (2.8GHz i7) to this laptop has been horrible! Too choppy and embarrassing to show friends and family.

Playing HD video on the Mac Mini (Core2Duo 2.66 w/ Nvidia 320M) in the Apple store was OK but nothing to write home about. If I spend the money on another Mac I want to make sure that it will play back all the HD video I can throw at it while still fitting in my entertainment center.

Do you think it would be advisable to be get a 21.5" iMac 3.6GHz i5 with the ATI Radeon HD 5670; take the stand off of it and leave it behind my center channel? Advice needed. Thanks!

I'm sure that would be plenty powerful enough, but it seems like a bit of overkill to purchase such a great display only to hide it away. Don't you think?

Do you have any room to set up the iMac 'nearby' your entertainment centre? Then, get a very long HDMI cord and go from the back of the Mac, along the baseboard (or heck, through the wall) and into your TV?

 

[BKMK5]

I'm sure that would be plenty powerful enough, but it seems like a bit of overkill to purchase such a great display only to hide it away. Don't you think?

Do you have any room to set up the iMac 'nearby' your entertainment centre? Then, get a very long HDMI cord and go from the back of the Mac, along the baseboard (or heck, through the wall) and into your TV?

I'm just alittle disappointed that the Mac Mini isn't big enough of a workhorse as I hoped it would be. Although I do see its purpose. And yes, it would be a shame to hide that nice of a display.

My cousin suggested hanging it on the wall and making it like an interactive photo album and then run an HDMI and optical cable to the receiver so that when I want to use it on the big screen I can. Tough decision.

 

[spiffy05]

I'm just alittle disappointed that the Mac Mini isn't big enough of a workhorse as I hoped it would be. Although I do see its purpose. And yes, it would be a shame to hide that nice of a display.

My cousin suggested hanging it on the wall and making it like an interactive photo album and then run an HDMI and optical cable to the receiver so that when I want to use it on the big screen I can. Tough decision.

If you were set on using a new iMac for that, then yes, I would agree that might be the best option. If I had the extra cash to burn, it would make for a pretty sweet setup