Mac Mini as Home Theater system with Lion OS

[Bozley0621]

If Apple takes FrontRow out of the Lion OS, how will folks who use their Mac Mini as a home theater system play movies and tv shows.

Would they also have to purchase an ATV 2 for the same tv or be relegated to using XMBC or Plex?

 

[irishv]

If Apple takes FrontRow out of the Lion OS, how will folks who use their Mac Mini as a home theater system play movies and tv shows.

Would they also have to purchase an ATV 2 for the same tv or be relegated to using XMBC or Plex?

My assumption is that we will see a full screen version of itunes at WWDC. This will be the replacement for Front Row. That or we will see plugins/apps for the AppleTV. Possibly both. As long as they do a good job integrating Home Sharing, I will be happy and might consider switching from Plex.

 

[Steve888]

What about support for DRM protected movies ?

A fullscreen version of iTunes would be fine. But Plex doesn't support DRM protected files (I think ?) and surely Apple is not about to leave people who've paid for their movies with no way to play them ?

 

[thatsmyfish]

Does anyone with developer knowledge of 10.5 know if there will be a way to easily access 10.5 media using the Apple remote? A full screen replacement for front row?

 

[irishv]

Does anyone with developer knowledge of 10.5 know if there will be a way to easily access 10.5 media using the Apple remote? A full screen replacement for front row?

Nothing that I could find in DP2, haven't tried anything newer. I'm curious if the 10.5 beta has a full screen mode if installed on Lion.

 

[llarson]

Plex

If Apple takes FrontRow out of the Lion OS, how will folks who use their Mac Mini as a home theater system play movies and tv shows.

Would they also have to purchase an ATV 2 for the same tv or be relegated to using XMBC or Plex?

pled is 10 times better then Front Row OR buy an AppleTV and hook it up in place of the Mac Mini.

Check out PLEX!

 

[gcmexico]

A fullscreen version of iTunes would be fine. But Plex doesn't support DRM protected files (I think ?) and surely Apple is not about to leave people who've paid for their movies with no way to play them ?

*
PLEX is awesome, but it doesn't support itunes movies tv or tv shows

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

*
PLEX is awesome, but it doesn't support itunes movies tv or tv shows

Yep that's the problem. No DRM playback.

 

[radiogoober]

I have no knowledge if FrontRow is in Lion or not. Theoretically, if it's not, it's no big deal. Just have your HTPC Mac load iTunes. You can use the Remote.app on your iPhone/iPad to control your HTPC's iTunes library.

 

[irishv]

I have no knowledge if FrontRow is in Lion or not. Theoretically, if it's not, it's no big deal. Just have your HTPC Mac load iTunes. You can use the Remote.app on your iPhone/iPad to control your HTPC's iTunes library.

Sure, that's not a big deal if everyone who uses the TV has an iOS device. For my HTPC, I'm shooting for a single interface (controlled by remote) that allows anyone to watch live OTA tv, saved movies/tv shows, streamed events (ESPN3), rented movies, and play iTunes music/podcasts. Right now I use a combination of Plex, EyeTV, and Remote Buddy, only dropping into Front Row for rented movies.

An easier solution for Apple would be to add apps to the ATV, and that is likely the direction they will go at some point.