Building the Ultimate Apple TV Media Center - Part Three: “Too Much Ain’t Enough” (What to Buy and When)
As you may have noticed by now, I’m pretty serious about this project. I have been ripping DVDs every day since the tv was initially announced back in September under the code name “iTV”.
I had no idea where I would end up when I started, but now that I am finished with Parts One and Two, I know what I need from here. I will share with you know some things to consider.
The tv is optimized for the new wireless format - 802.11n which is capable of much faster data transfer rates than current 802.11b/g networks. But in order to receive that speed signal, it must be sent. Surely, it was no coincidence that the latest Airport Extreme Base Station (capable of 802.11n transmission) was released on the same day that tv was formally introduced. In addition to obvious aesthetic changes and speed capabilities, the Airport Extreme has a secret weapon that blew my tv Media Center plans wide open - Wireless Disk Access.
The new Airport Extreme Base Station is capable of sharing any USB disk (or several via hub) over your 802.11n network! This means that with any 802.11n-capable machine (Core 2 Duo chips only at this time), you can access the same iTunes Library. Imagine being able to watch a movie in your living room on your tv, and then moving into the bedroom and picking up where you left off on your MacBook! It’s totally possible!
I have tested this also with a non-802.11n machine, and the results aren’t terribly bad. The only thing that lags is the iTunes interface. Once a movie is up and running, it seems to play back fine. Though, if you are able to set up a 5GHz 802.11n-only network with a new Airport Extreme, you’ll thank yourself later.
tv or Mac Mini?
For those who have neither right now, this is a common question. Most would tell you that the tv doesn’t represent anything that isn’t included with the Mac Mini. I would agree. Though it looks like the tv has a really beautiful user interface, it is essentially a stripped down Mac Mini. For $200 more, wouldn’t you like to have a faster machine with a larger hard drive and a DVD player? Not to mention an extra computer if another breaks down? Considering either way, you are basically limited to an HDTV - all that’s keeping you from a full computer is a keyboard and mouse. Why not?
It’s a tough call for some. Here are the specs on both.
tv Tech Specs
Mac Mini Tech Specs
The Mac Mini is approaching an upgrade soon, so the deck may soon stack in favor of the Mini, unless the price jumps.
Mac Rumors has an excellent buyer’s guide section that is an excellent resource when considering CPU purchase. I don’t think I need to say at this point that I am waiting to see what the new mac Mini looks like before I decide.
Another thing I will buy most likely sooner than later is a nice big LaCie 2TB hard drive for the media storage. Of course, once everything is on there, I plan on using Toast 8 to make a DVD backup of my library (at present, around 400GB) so that if that drive ever fails, it won’t be a complete sob story. With 4 separate 500GB hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration, you are four times more likely to lose data. If one of those drives fails, they all do.
Hm… Maybe I’ll go with 1TB? In any case, it’s a risk I am willing to take to have access to all my media from anywhere in my home.
To give some sort of sensible conclusion, and deliver the promise set forth in the title - if this is something that is interesting to you, I highly recommend purchasing a new Airport Extreme and a large external hard drive now.
If you haven’t already ordered an tv, wait for the Core 2 Duo Mac Mini. It might just make more sense, if not, solidify the necessity for an tv.
Stay Tuned for Part Four!
