By mr. Obsession in Applications, EyeTV, Free OTA HDTV, HDHomeRun, HDTV, Hardware, Mac Mini
As a brief introduction to what this site is all about, I wanted to detail exactly how my Intel Mac Mini acts as a media hub to demonstrate what YOUR Mini can do for you!
By mr. Obsession in Applications, EyeTV, Free OTA HDTV, HDHomeRun, HDTV, Hardware
I’ve had a couple of request lately for a chart detailing exactly how my HDTV/Mac set-up is, well, set up. So I opened up Photoshop and put this together, detailing all of the components involved in viewing and recording free(!) HD programming onto a Mac and then watching it over my home network on multiple Macs.
By mr. Obsession in Applications
I’m all about consolidating as many components into as few devices as possible. But sometimes additional hardware is unavoidable. This is how I felt about my beloved Sirius Satellite Radio. Commercial-free channels like Chill, Alt Nation, and (yes) Big 80s mean I’ve been willing to add a Sirius receiver to my spartan set of HTPC hardware to get the amazing programming into my Mini.
By mr. Obsession in Applications, HDTV
BOTTOM LINE: Plex is hands-down the finest media manager/player available for the Mac HTPC enviornment. Gorgeous and exponentially more flexible than Front Row, it rules HD playback, handling 1080p material with ease.
By mr. Obsession in Applications
Among the many features VLC brings to your Mac HTPC is the ability to create and save video playlists to control playback of more than one file at a time. And its compatibility with almost any format allows mixing more than one file type not a problem, unlike some other programs (iTunes, I’m looking in your direction…). Best of all it’s simple: just load up the playlist, save it if you like, and press play when you’re ready to watch!
With a little imagination, this feature can be a huge advantage in a HTPC environment. I use it on a regular basis in a variety of situations and I thought I’d share a couple of the most common.
TV Programmer: With the state of network television’s quality, watching reruns of “classic” shows is a no-brainer. Since I’ve backed up a bunch of my favorites from DVD sets to a HD, I routinely “program” my own night of TV shows.
Check out how the line-up I’ve created below…
…blows away anything CBS, NBC, ABC, et al could throw at me! And the lack of commercials is just icing on the cake. I also will often load a whole series into the playlist and just choose “Random” for a customized marathon.
