The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Streaming Video to TV. I'm lookin to upgrade.
Sheep
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
Registered User, __BANNED USERS regular
So. Guys.
If I want to buy a Mac Mini, maybe even a refub cheapo single core one.
Basically what I got going on now is I use a really crap old P4 as a media server that streams movies to my Xbox 360 which then plays them on my TV. I want to replace that P4 because it's super loud and is an energy hog. So the Mac Mini would be a good option for me. I also run some software that lets me stream my Hulu account as well so I can keep up with my stories.
And if I can do all this with something as old tech as a G4/G5 I would go so far as to even just getting a Mac Cube since they probably go for the cheap now days.
Anyway.
Mac OS + Streaming to a TV.
How do I do this? Can I still use my 360 while doing this?
Doesn't necessarily have to be Mac, but I'm an old school Apple head, so...
If I want to buy a Mac Mini, maybe even a refub cheapo single core one.
Basically what I got going on now is I use a really crap old P4 as a media server that streams movies to my Xbox 360 which then plays them on my TV. I want to replace that P4 because it's super loud and is an energy hog. So the Mac Mini would be a good option for me. I also run some software that lets me stream my Hulu account as well so I can keep up with my stories.
And if I can do all this with something as old tech as a G4/G5 I would go so far as to even just getting a Mac Cube since they probably go for the cheap now days.
Anyway.
Mac OS + Streaming to a TV.
How do I do this? Can I still use my 360 while doing this?
Doesn't necessarily have to be Mac, but I'm an old school Apple head, so...
Sheep on
0
Posts
A couple months ago my wife and I decided to cancel cable and do a similar solution. I bought a new mac mini, and set it up to the tv via HDMI. The heart of the system is a free app called Plex, which pretty much covers all the bases for my media.
1. Existing media. I'm almost through the process of ripping my entire DVD collection ( via MakeMKV, but you can use pretty much any converter ). As I rip the disks, I put them in directories for movies and tv shows, then Plex scans the files, downloads a crapload of metadata (plot synopsis, actors, posters and other pictures, episode names), then gives me a nice, fancy front end for accessing and playing back the files on the tv. Generally I leave pled up fullscreen, and whenever I switch the tv to that input, it looks like some sort of media box instead of just a computer. I can navigate it all with a remote (so the whole thing is a lot less intimidating to less tech savvy users), but the nice part is I can pull up a mouse and keyboard and switch out of the app and go full computer if I want to browse the web or check email or anything.
2. Incoming Media. In addition to handling the data files, Plex has a whole bunch of community-written plugins for various streaming media sources. If you can watch something online, chances are you can get it through Plex, again through a nice fancy interface. So for example, I use it to watch The Daily Show, Colbert, use its Hulu plugin to watch 30 Rock, The Office, The Walking Dead, then there's also a Youtube channel, MSNBC, CNN, some Food Network stuff, Pandora, some sort of stream from the White House, and it handles Netflix Streaming. And a bunch of others, like I'm sure someone will have a channel for Conan's shows up in the next couple of weeks.
3. Portable Media. So you have all your media attached to this computer that's attached to your TV. The nifty thing is that you can install Plex on any other Mac on your network and watch anything in your library that way. This includes streaming your iTunes library, so you can listen to music on your tv speakers. Also they have an iOS app, so you could install it on your iPod and watch any of your stuff on that, even from a non-local network if you set it up.
It's not all perfect- the app has some problems with crashing or not loading things up right every once and again, but they're pretty active on updating it, and most of the time it's solid. Worst case I can just switch out of the app and watch something via computer. The quality on most stuff is surprisingly good even going up to HD, and the missing cable bill has already payed for the mac mini. Depending how intensive the stuff you're watching is (if you have a lot of HD movies for example) you should be able to get away with an older computer.
The reviews I've seen for the new AppleTVs is that they're pretty good rental devices, like for renting movies and TV shows from iTunes, but not as great for handling already owned content or watching free streams from official sources. So if you don't rent a lot through itunes, I'd suggest maybe taking a look at a solution like this first and seeing if it would work. GoogleTV seems more to a a management solution (search through the cable guide and a handful of plugins like Netflix to find content) than for acting as a server. I haven't done much research on them, though, so by all means someone else correct me if I'm wrong.
For getting stuff to the xbox, there are a few programs that let the xbox see your mac as a media server. I used connect360 for a while, but since moved on to Rivet. Since then I've heard better things about Playback, which also streams to PS3s. All the apps stream music movies and pictures from your existing iTunes libraries. I'm planning on importing all my music from my main computer to the mac mini, then running rivet so I can play music while boxing, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Bloody hell that's enough text, so let me know if you have any questions about it.
I'm about to replace it with an Apple TV, but I am going to buy a 1st generation one so I can install XBMC on it and stream things instead.
I use Connect 360 on my Macbook, and my old Mac G4 (doomed to be replaced by a svelte Mac Mini as well) in order to stream things to the Xbox 360. Not as nice as a direct connect (and with a Mac Mini, you have many options, like the aforementioned Plex, and Boxee)
I think TVersity has a version that works with MacOS X?
I'm running HD video through a P4 right now, so I'm not too too worried, but I'll probably spring for a dual core anyway.