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ultimate setup
- Thread starter kclark
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.... the one that satisfies your needs and fits in your budget (with emphasis on the latter)
.... the one that satisfies your needs and fits in your budget (with emphasis on the latter)
My personal home theatre setup is as follows (less computers):
Apple TV (Jailbroken w/ XBMC)
Airport Extreme
LaCie Network Space 2
iPad 2
Total cost: ~ $1000
What it does:
----------
Ipad acts as remote, controlling Apple TV / XBMC
LaCie acts as media server/NAS (both thru itunes and UPnP), also acts as torrent client
XBMC is primary method for watching videos through UPnP (also acts as torrent client)
Airport extreme brings it all together
Its an incredibly robust setup... and i strongly recommend it. If you choose the exclude the ipad as the remote, subtract ~500 from the cost.
In addition I can easily stream off my iMac and Macbook, but i prefer to pull off the LaCie as it doesn't require me to have my computers on.
Mine is very simple, no jailbreaking or special stuff. I put most my money on my TV which is a Samsung 40 inch UN40C6300. My Media room is very small so a 40inch fit better than a 42 and I like to be able to move all my furniture myself and the LED was so light and easy. I got it for $800. I have a Panny blu-ray player (under $100) and a 
TV. I have a internet only cable service that is $30 monthly with standard TV channels. I find it streams Netflix very well since most of my viewing is either Netflix or off my computer with Apple TV. I am still thinking over Hulu Plus. I also have an old Sony 5 disc DVD player. Yes, those are all DVDs on the shelves and a few CDs (the CDs are all ripped on my iTunes so they never are opened again). The sofa is a Lovesac Sectional and can be moved around in endless configurations. I have more pieces that you can not see in these pictures. I attach my Macbook Pro if I want to get on the internet.
TV. I have a internet only cable service that is $30 monthly with standard TV channels. I find it streams Netflix very well since most of my viewing is either Netflix or off my computer with Apple TV. I am still thinking over Hulu Plus. I also have an old Sony 5 disc DVD player. Yes, those are all DVDs on the shelves and a few CDs (the CDs are all ripped on my iTunes so they never are opened again). The sofa is a Lovesac Sectional and can be moved around in endless configurations. I have more pieces that you can not see in these pictures. I attach my Macbook Pro if I want to get on the internet.Attachments
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Admittedly I went a little overboard with my home theater setup...
My room is based around three Samsung PN50C8000 televisions - all top of the line when I bought them earlier this year. All three televisions are fed through the media center (shown), which consists of a Yamaha RX-V667 receiver, 2010 Mac Mini, Samsung 3-D Blu-Ray player and a PS3. Each television is also independently connected to its own HD box - allowing each TV to display a separate channel. Sound is fed through 7 in wall speakers and a 12" sub. Everything is managed through a Harmony 1100 remote.
The Mini is attached to a 24" iMac (2008) that acts as the hub for the house - it feeds to the Mini (using Plex) as well as the other main television in the house (family room) via ATV2 - this is used mostly for my daughter to watch Disney movies.
Total cost of the set-up was roughly 15k - not including the theater chairs (not shown).
Not in the budget for most people - but I slaved away saving for 5 years to get it done. It was worth it when completed in March as I was able to watch the UFC PPV, hockey game and March Madness - at the same time!
My room is based around three Samsung PN50C8000 televisions - all top of the line when I bought them earlier this year. All three televisions are fed through the media center (shown), which consists of a Yamaha RX-V667 receiver, 2010 Mac Mini, Samsung 3-D Blu-Ray player and a PS3. Each television is also independently connected to its own HD box - allowing each TV to display a separate channel. Sound is fed through 7 in wall speakers and a 12" sub. Everything is managed through a Harmony 1100 remote.
The Mini is attached to a 24" iMac (2008) that acts as the hub for the house - it feeds to the Mini (using Plex) as well as the other main television in the house (family room) via ATV2 - this is used mostly for my daughter to watch Disney movies.
Total cost of the set-up was roughly 15k - not including the theater chairs (not shown).
Not in the budget for most people - but I slaved away saving for 5 years to get it done. It was worth it when completed in March as I was able to watch the UFC PPV, hockey game and March Madness - at the same time!
Attachments
I have an ATV2 on 4 TV's, and would probably get more if Netflix would allow more than 6 devices to access the service. Mini with a 8tb drobo and a 3tb external. EyeTV running on the mini catching shows off my Fios DVR box. AirVideo server running, TVMoboli DLNA server running, iTunes running.
from there, I can access my iTunes library anywhere in the house for the most part as I also have 2 ATV1's and 2 AE connected to stereo's in my garage, and my 3rd room out for my main A/V receiver. all utilizing AirTunes with control from the remote app on any of my iDevices.
the EyeTV app allows streaming of live tv from the DVR box to the ATV2's which is nice because it does away with several cable boxes and thus will pay for itself in time.
from there, I can access my iTunes library anywhere in the house for the most part as I also have 2 ATV1's and 2 AE connected to stereo's in my garage, and my 3rd room out for my main A/V receiver. all utilizing AirTunes with control from the remote app on any of my iDevices.
the EyeTV app allows streaming of live tv from the DVR box to the ATV2's which is nice because it does away with several cable boxes and thus will pay for itself in time.
How are you streaming live TV from EyeTV to the ATV2? I know there is the iOS apps for EyeTV but wasn't aware of something for ATV2. Is it a jailbroken thing?
**EDIT** I guess maybe using airplay?
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I built mine recently.
1080P Projector
130" Electric drop-down cinema screen
Mac Mini with 16TB Drobo Pro for movies, tv shows, music, etc.
XBox 360
PS3
Black Wii
Tivo Series 3 THX certified DVR
Pioneer receiver powering THX/Dolby/DTS 5.1 Surround
COMING SOON: AppleTV 2 for iPad wireless mirroring
8 port gigabit router running for Mac Mini, Drobo, Receiver, XBox, PS3, etc...which is hardlined to another 8 port gigabit router into my home office Mac pro, so I can control/access almost anything from "mission control"
Everything is controlled with a Harmony One and Apple wireless keyboard/Magic Trackpad combo connected with this. Other than that, everything is tweaked and programmed through the Harmony One.
Oh, and my theater also has a bar and a popcorn machine
1080P Projector
130" Electric drop-down cinema screen
Mac Mini with 16TB Drobo Pro for movies, tv shows, music, etc.
XBox 360
PS3
Black Wii
Tivo Series 3 THX certified DVR
Pioneer receiver powering THX/Dolby/DTS 5.1 Surround
COMING SOON: AppleTV 2 for iPad wireless mirroring
8 port gigabit router running for Mac Mini, Drobo, Receiver, XBox, PS3, etc...which is hardlined to another 8 port gigabit router into my home office Mac pro, so I can control/access almost anything from "mission control"
Everything is controlled with a Harmony One and Apple wireless keyboard/Magic Trackpad combo connected with this. Other than that, everything is tweaked and programmed through the Harmony One.
Oh, and my theater also has a bar and a popcorn machine
Attachments
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yes, airplay. the elgato app still has some quirks, but a quick reboot of my ipad always fixes it.
My current set-up is perfect for me, and I get all my shows automatically
MacMini C2D running Plex to Samsung 50" LCD TV
+ 2TB External HDD for storage of all shows, media etc..
+ TVShows app to subscribe to shows and autodownload torrent files
+ Transmission to automatically look in a specific folder for downloaded torrent files and auto place into the correct show's folder.
Plex linked to those same folders so that it autoupdates when a new show is added
Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard for input
AppleTV 2 jailbroken running plex client for other TV's
MacMini C2D running Plex to Samsung 50" LCD TV
+ 2TB External HDD for storage of all shows, media etc..
+ TVShows app to subscribe to shows and autodownload torrent files
+ Transmission to automatically look in a specific folder for downloaded torrent files and auto place into the correct show's folder.
Plex linked to those same folders so that it autoupdates when a new show is added
Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard for input
AppleTV 2 jailbroken running plex client for other TV's
My current set-up is perfect for me, and I get all my shows automatically
MacMini C2D running Plex to Samsung 50" LCD TV
+ 2TB External HDD for storage of all shows, media etc..
+ TVShows app to subscribe to shows and autodownload torrent files
+ Transmission to automatically look in a specific folder for downloaded torrent files and auto place into the correct show's folder.
Plex linked to those same folders so that it autoupdates when a new show is added
Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard for input
AppleTV 2 jailbroken running plex client for other TV's
love the jailbroken apple tv! best cheap theatre addon there is IMHO
As answered above, it's the ability to use plex or XBMC.
The big perk of using XBMC (I personally do not use plex) is that I can have my LaCie NAS hold all of my movies (and my computers do not have to be on), in any format (xvid, mp4, m4v, avi, or even DVD ts format) and be able to watch them seamlessly.
The interface on XBMC is by far one of the best out there (in my opinion).
In addition if you're a linux person (I used to use LinuxMCE before i switched to the jailbroken ATV2 setup), you can use MythTV to capture your live tv, and encode/store it on your NAS. This way, I have completely eliminated my DVR.
Everything I've mentioned can be done on a mac mini as well, but the jailbroken ATV2 allows you to do this for $99, which is much more appropriate for my budget =P
I might snag some photos in a sec
It's not the ultimate setup, but it works for me, and was cheap.
AMD Phenom II X4 840
2 GB Ram
HD, case, etc $160.
Apple TV $99 (jailbroken, though dont use it to the max potential)
Already had all my DVDs ripped in m4v for my iPad, so I keep itunes running on that cheapo computer 24/7. Works great, and I dont have to have my Mac running all the time.
AMD Phenom II X4 840
2 GB Ram
HD, case, etc $160.
Apple TV $99 (jailbroken, though dont use it to the max potential)
Already had all my DVDs ripped in m4v for my iPad, so I keep itunes running on that cheapo computer 24/7. Works great, and I dont have to have my Mac running all the time.
MovieCutter...Super nice set up you have there and you have the Abita on tap! My favorite local brew!
