Receivers and wireless video streaming from MacBook (1 Viewer)

Hi there,


So I am in the process of buying a new receiver and I am looking for a one that allows me to wirelessly stream audio and video from my Macbook.


The Sony Store suggested the STR-DA5600ES.

It is a great receiver but is a little more money than I'd really like to spend. Plus, I'm not convinced it will actually do what I am buying it for, that is access my MacBook for streaming audio/video.


I had my heart set on the Onkyo TX-SR608. It seems to have what I need for features, except the streaming part.


A friend suggested I could easily overcome this by buying a Sony PS3, and using that to receive the streaming video/audio from my Mac.

Will it do that? If so I can save myself well over $1000.00


Thanks

I am not sure about Mac compatability but..... I have used a USB piece from Audio Engine that is cheap and works great for wireless streaming (via analog L/R)

I know of no receiver that has built in digital streaming capabilities. There are just too many options to plan for that. As stated above, get a separate device to process the streaming and connect it to the receiver. Popcorn Hour is one of many companies offering a streaming media player.

If you are wanting to stream from a MacBook I would suggest getting the new Apple TV for $99 - then you could use it with the Onkyo TX-SR608. I use the ATV with a Marantz AVR that has no wireless connection & it works extremely well. The ATV has both HDMI & Optical Audio Out that you just connect to one of the HDMI inputs on the Onkyo (it has 5 or 6 I believe). I use Netflix with it or you can also use iTunes. For audio, turn on Home Sharing in iTunes and you can access your complete iTunes libraries - the only caveat being you have to leave iTunes open while doing so, but I find that no problem. You could also consider Roku, Hulu or one of the other streaming systems that work with a Mac computer. Any of these would be cheaper & probably better than wifi in your AVR I would think. Good luck.