06-15-2009, 05:02 PM
Well, since Evan brought it up, I realized this was a good chance to ditch cable. Just returned the DVR and canceled it today. :bootyshake:
Got my Toshiba mounted on the wall, with a Mac Mini driving it, and using the Logitech Dinovo Mini keyboard/trackpad to control it. :thumbup: So far I'm pretty happy, though there are still a few small issues I'd like to find solutions for before it's as easy to use as I hoped. I've tried Boxee, Plex, XBMC, all have something they don't quite do right. I'll try Front Row tonight and see if the hacks to get it to do Hulu and NetFlix actually work. I might have to return the keyboard too, the trackpad goes nuts sometimes, or won't let me press the down arrow key. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more small wireless keyboard/trackpads out there to choose from, heck, Logitech doesn't even claim this one works with OSX. But I guess this HTPC idea is still in its infancy. So far so good though!
Oh, and yes, I'm a mac fanboi, guilty. While I could have put together an "equivalent" mini ATX box for ~$350, the extra $150 bought me a well engineered box that I can trust and is very quiet, and it was important to me that this setup be as non-intrusive and reliable as possible. The only shortcoming of the Mini as an HTPC I've identified so far is that the sound output is a combined optical/analog plug. I wanted sound to go to both the receiver and the TV, and of course I wanted to use the optical for the receiver. Could get an optical splitter... but the TV doesn't have optical input. So I got a $3 USB dongle that gives me another headphone jack, and THAT goes to the TV. Problem solved! Almost. For whatever reason the OS doesn't support having the sound output to both at once. I'm confident I'll find a way to map a hotkey so I can quickly switch them without going into a menu, or I'll find some software that will allow output to both. We'll see.
I tried an old antenna and while I picked up a lot of stations, most wouldn't really come in due to pathetic signal strength. I haven't done much digging on what antenna to get, but I get the sneaking suspicion that I'll have to run a cable to the attic if I really want this to work right and not have some goofy antenna sitting my living room.
Anyway, I don't think I'm going to miss cable at all.
And the savings from not paying for cable will pay for this setup in about a year and a half.
Got my Toshiba mounted on the wall, with a Mac Mini driving it, and using the Logitech Dinovo Mini keyboard/trackpad to control it. :thumbup: So far I'm pretty happy, though there are still a few small issues I'd like to find solutions for before it's as easy to use as I hoped. I've tried Boxee, Plex, XBMC, all have something they don't quite do right. I'll try Front Row tonight and see if the hacks to get it to do Hulu and NetFlix actually work. I might have to return the keyboard too, the trackpad goes nuts sometimes, or won't let me press the down arrow key. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more small wireless keyboard/trackpads out there to choose from, heck, Logitech doesn't even claim this one works with OSX. But I guess this HTPC idea is still in its infancy. So far so good though!
Oh, and yes, I'm a mac fanboi, guilty. While I could have put together an "equivalent" mini ATX box for ~$350, the extra $150 bought me a well engineered box that I can trust and is very quiet, and it was important to me that this setup be as non-intrusive and reliable as possible. The only shortcoming of the Mini as an HTPC I've identified so far is that the sound output is a combined optical/analog plug. I wanted sound to go to both the receiver and the TV, and of course I wanted to use the optical for the receiver. Could get an optical splitter... but the TV doesn't have optical input. So I got a $3 USB dongle that gives me another headphone jack, and THAT goes to the TV. Problem solved! Almost. For whatever reason the OS doesn't support having the sound output to both at once. I'm confident I'll find a way to map a hotkey so I can quickly switch them without going into a menu, or I'll find some software that will allow output to both. We'll see.
I tried an old antenna and while I picked up a lot of stations, most wouldn't really come in due to pathetic signal strength. I haven't done much digging on what antenna to get, but I get the sneaking suspicion that I'll have to run a cable to the attic if I really want this to work right and not have some goofy antenna sitting my living room.
Anyway, I don't think I'm going to miss cable at all.
And the savings from not paying for cable will pay for this setup in about a year and a half.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a van is a good guy with a van