Mac Home Theater Project - A work in Progress

[uberstar100]

thats remote app app by apple

[iPhongus]

Is that a windows view on the side?!?

[assassin4332]

what song is that you played ?

[cactuskid007]

YEH BUT FILMS ON ITUNES R NOT EVEN TRUE HI DEF PICTURES...BLU RAY IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO WITH FILMS ,NOT BLOODY ITUNES

[sydcansam]

@cactuskid007 Given you can't find the "caps lock" key on your keyboard I don't expect you to know iTunes on >core i5 supports video of up to 50mbps, comfortably higher bitrate than blu-ray. I still buy blu-ray, but they all end up in storage after they've been aded to my library (usually within hours of purchase). Currently the library sits at 2700 movies from Blu-ray and HD-DVD, and 12k TV shows from DVD, BD, and HDDVD.

[N3orion]

Hi tell me, the readynas, I take it you use it hardwired? I am thinking of getting one and hooking it into a timecapsule for HD streaming.

How do you find it for movie streaming?

Thanks

[sydcansam]

@N3orion I have since upgraded from the ReadyNas as I needed more storage. It worked great over the network for streaming video, but sadly maxed out at 8TB and my library is now >15TB. I have since purchased an enterprise NAS to serve my network.

[gadgetboy1234]

nice

[hippievogelei]

cool thing man, i am stuck here i got several hard drives with several mp3s and video's, what do u use for Main(central) storage.

i like everthing in ur room except your screen,

i dont like ur screen its samsung,

I dont like the brands lg and samsung.

[hippievogelei]

@ 0:42 whats that thing on the floor moving?, probably ur dustcleaner.

[sydcansam]

Yep, its a Roomba 500

[hippievogelei]

Where did u get that mouse pad from?

[MarshMellowChronic]

@hippievogelei its just a jack daniels bar towel

[MarshMellowChronic]

@hippievogelei bar mat sorry..

[hippievogelei]

can u tell i want 2 buy a xserve how can u set something up like that. pm me

[sydcansam]

I'm not really sure what you mean but...

The xserve wouldn't be your best option as it is VERY loud as it is designed to be stored in a server room. Right now I beleive the best option for a Mac Mini home theatre is the new 2x500GB Mac Mini server. Tons of storage with the power to play HD all in a tiny little box.

[hitachi654]

3 things thats crazy, yay canada and what was moveing on your floor at 0:38

[sydcansam]

Three replies:

1) It is quite crazy but has changed a bit since then. I should remake the video :-/

2) Canada, yes... yay.

3) Its a 500 series roomba - Robotic vacuum (580 I believe but they're all the same)

[johnnytturbo]

This will get a whole lot easier when the apple tvs come out integrated in mac branded flat panels soon.

[sk8ordie978]

thts sick man!!!!!!!!

[Halbmond]

Isn't a Mac Pro a little bit overpowered for such a simple task?

[MrEahz]

@Halbmond I agree,

hey sydcansam wanna swap it for a Mac mini much more suited to the task? ;P

[ebutuoy770]

Thank you sydcansam. You have a very cool set up there. Have you checked out Plex? It's a pretty fantastic and free front end for media management. If you haven't already, you should check it out. It would go well with your set up. Thanks again.

[ebutuoy770]

WHo sings that first song? It's great!!!

[sydcansam]

The song is "24" by Jem.

[crowdme2]

Hey, im thinking of gettin the logitech Z-5500 speaker system. I read a couple of reviews, they all said they dont perform very well in a large space. My room is as big as ur by the looks of it, how is the sound system ? good surround effect ? Is the ideal spot very small ? grt interior design btw !!

[sydcansam]

I am very happy with the Z-5500s, aside from the regular issues getting iTunes to play in 5.1 they're great. So great in fact I bought a second set for my bedroom which I hooked up using an airport express - My neighbors hate me!

Surround on the system sounds best from VLC in digital output as well as from a Blu-Ray but for the price they do a great job.

[DigitalTechAuthority]

Might I say, a lovely set-up indeed, Mac for life, baby! I will add a couple constructive criticisms though - you should strongly consider adding a few acoustic panels to your room. They will greatly reduce unwanted sound reflections, as well as peeks and dips in many sound frequencies.

Trust me, acoustic treatments are the single MOST important aspect to a listening environment. And yes, I do offer custom made panels if you are interested.

[sydcansam]

The strange "paintings" on the wall are actually custom panels I got from a friend who disguises ugly panels as paintings. While they aren't custom for my room they do a great job as eliminating echoes and reflections as you mentioned. They also do it while looking very strange :-P

I am only in this apartment for 2 years so I'm not planning on investing too much in this system. That's why I get my friend's hand-me-down sound panels.

[markperrin1]

Im glad i chose OSX also for my HTPC setup, it never ceases to amaze me and its rock solid stable.

[saelth3]

nice u need some gaming stuff like 360 or ps3

[sydcansam]

I added a PS3 in January and had a friend's Xbox for a while (preferred the PS3 but only because I bought all the games and they were exactly what I wanted).

[csivels0001]

how do you get your iPhone to control your itunes movies like you did in the video

[sydcansam]

Its an app called "Remote" by Apple. Works amazingly well although it does drain your battery a little quickly.

[csivels0001]

this is a great setup...thanks for the info

[smexTTS]

uggghh, whtas the sonng???? i want to know soo add, man its awsome BTW UR CANADIAN TOO AWSOME!

[sydcansam]

The song is "24" by Jem.

Yes, I am canadian but I live in Australia for 10 months of the year.

[smexTTS]

What song is that? please respond

[adamsian3]

i love this!!

[2ndtoJohn]

Fucking bad ass set up. This is what I aspire to haha.

[SnowAgony]

*-* aaw ! very good room!! i like so much!

i like the song to xD what's the name?

[BammBamm21]

Nice to see someone else rocking a mac home theater :) My work in progress is a Mac Mini, 42" LCD, Xbox 360, Lacie 500gb mini ext. HDD.

Amp and surround speakers are next ;)

[ridethebmx]

pretty setup. You have a bad robot infestation!

[16GTie]

very good room, quite small but relly nice.

[sydcansam]

Unfortunately space comes at a premium here (Downtown Sydney).