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A Home Theatre Solution (1 Viewer)

cmac678

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Cole M
Hi,
I am building a home theatre system and was looking for the right hardware for what I want to do.
On my Home Theatre system, I would like to:
  • Watch a online TV episode
  • Play home movies/Photos off my mac
  • Watch Netflix
  • Browse the internet
  • Watch an iTunes movie
  • Play a DVD
  • Watch Youtube
I believe that a Boxee Box (which I already have) + DVD player + Apple TV + Harmony remote would do the trick....
However, the boxee box browser sucks, so I believe I would need my Mac to be connected to the TV with a wireless keyboard and mouse. The only problem is that the Mac is upstairs and cannot be moved. I was thinking of mirroring the mac display with Mountain Lion and an apple TV. However, the harmony remote would trigger the action, and the ir signal from the harmony would not reach the Mac (going upstairs and readying the Mac is not an option :P).
Any thoughts on this setup? What should I do about the internet browser problem?
Thank You!
 

Adam Gregorich

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I am a big proponent of having a universal remote, period. I would also consider a Blu-ray player instead of a DVD player. It will play DVDs as well as Blu-rays, and isn't that much more expensive. As to the browsing, you've got me. I have seen some hacks to allow browsing on an AppleTV but I don't know how elegant they are. I think you have the home theater part of this down, so I am going to move to the Mac forum, to see if there are any other suggestions.
 

KeithAP

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It seems the most straight forward way would be to buy a Mac Mini and attached it to the TV. Is that not an option?

To get the upstairs Mac attached to the TV, you might take a look at HDMI over ethernet solutions, although I don't know if they will work with a Mac. That would let you use standard network cable to run the HDMI signal over longer distances.

If that were to work, then it would just be a Mac control problem with there are several options. Do you have an iPhone or iPad? You could set up a free Logmein account and use their free app to access the Mac remotely. There is also Mobile Mouse which allows you to use your iOS device as a track pad for your computer which might also be useful depending on your final set up.

-KeithP
 

schan1269

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Or you could always get an Ipad 2 and buy the "HDMI adapter" ($40)...
The only issue with ours, which I can't seem to circumvent, is the mirroring only covers the middle 80% of any TV the Ipad 2 is on. For the record, I've not done "zoom mode" as I see it "Apple should just play nice"...but that would be too simple.
 

cmac678

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Cole M
Thanks Everyone For Their Replies!
The Mac Mini seems like a option we are going with now. Although, the iPad is something worth looking into (its about the same price).
More research for me!:P
 

cmac678

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Cole M
Keith Plucker said:
To get the upstairs Mac attached to the TV, you might take a look at HDMI over ethernet solutions, although I don't know if they will work with a Mac. That would let you use standard network cable to run the HDMI signal over longer distances.
If that were to work, then it would just be a Mac control problem with there are several options. Do you have an iPhone or iPad? You could set up a free Logmein account and use their free app to access the Mac remotely. There is also Mobile Mouse which allows you to use your iOS device as a track pad for your computer which might also be useful depending on your final set up.
-KeithP
I realized that this would be too complicated and laggy (I would be using airplay to mirror the screen, no wires). It would be better if logmein had an app for boxee...
 

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