I recently completed setting up my Apple-based media center. Based on a Mac mini, AppleTV, eyeTV and Airport Express, this set-up lets me record TV shows on my computer and view them on my flatscreen TV, while music from iTunes can be streamed to my stereo, providing me with a much better listening experience than those small PC speakers. Below I'll describe my set-up in some more detail:
A key element in this whole set-up is my AppleTV. I was probably one of the first people in the Netherlands to own one: I had it pre-ordered and when I picked it up from the Apple Store I was told that they would not be able to offer any support yet as they didn't even have one set-up in the store themselves. Although its practical use is limited as the iTunes Store is not yet selling movies or music videos in Europe, using AppleTV in combination with eyeTV and iSquint makes it well worth its $299 price. BTW, one of the video podcasts I enjoy watching via AppleTV is GeekBrief TV with Cali Lewis.
One thing AppleTV doesn't let me do is to watch webcasts or videostreams directly on my TV. That would be ideal in combination with Joost, the new brainchild of the founders of KaZaa and Skype. Using some of the same peer-to-peer technology as KaZaa and Skype, 'Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.' I actually have the privilege of being a Joost beta-tester and it is my belief that online TV services like Joost may very soon come to compete with traditional TV, especially theme channels which make up the majority of cable operators' premium packages.
- I am using Elgato Systems' EyeTV Hybrid to record TV shows on my computer, which are then automatically converted to an AppleTV-compatible format and added to my iTunes library. By doing so, these shows are automatically synchronized with my AppleTV and thus available for watching whenever I want. Using tvtv's Electronic Program Guide, recordings can be scheduled in advance. Although video recordings can become quite large in size, storage is not an issue as I added a 500GB LaCie miniHUB to the set-up.
- To be able to view other video content on my 32" Samsung flatscreen TV, I use iSquint. iSquint is a powerful open-souce app that can convert nearly any video format to the MPEG-4 format, which is required by AppleTV. Like eyeTV, iSquint can automatically add converted files to your iTunes library and thus to your AppleTV. Ain't that convenient?
- Apple's Airport Express lets me retire my CD player. With all my music available in iTunes, I can stream any song, album or playlist directly to my stereo. This set-up has the advantage that now all my music can be scrobbled and uploaded to my last.fm profile. While officially Airport Express only works in combination with iTunes, Rogue Amoeba's AirFoil lets you stream other audio sources via Airport Express as well. Hence, when listening to webradio or other webstreams you're no longer bound to your computer either.
A key element in this whole set-up is my AppleTV. I was probably one of the first people in the Netherlands to own one: I had it pre-ordered and when I picked it up from the Apple Store I was told that they would not be able to offer any support yet as they didn't even have one set-up in the store themselves. Although its practical use is limited as the iTunes Store is not yet selling movies or music videos in Europe, using AppleTV in combination with eyeTV and iSquint makes it well worth its $299 price. BTW, one of the video podcasts I enjoy watching via AppleTV is GeekBrief TV with Cali Lewis.
One thing AppleTV doesn't let me do is to watch webcasts or videostreams directly on my TV. That would be ideal in combination with Joost, the new brainchild of the founders of KaZaa and Skype. Using some of the same peer-to-peer technology as KaZaa and Skype, 'Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.' I actually have the privilege of being a Joost beta-tester and it is my belief that online TV services like Joost may very soon come to compete with traditional TV, especially theme channels which make up the majority of cable operators' premium packages.
