Apple Enters Media Center Domain 241
An anonymous reader writes "CNN has a story up describing Apple's new media center concept. The software takes on a classic Apple approach: simplicity. 'The program, called Front Row, lets you listen to music, watch videos, play DVDs and display photos from a distance with a few clicks of a lighter-sized, six-button remote control.'" More details available from ThinkSecret.
Re:Or.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh, no! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Stupid Publicity (Score:2, Interesting)
it also looks like they're prepping lots of new content from several new cable networks and other sources. i wouldn't be surprised if pixar started making exclusive shorts for the itms (itunes music, er, media store)...
Personally I would not buy it.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Here is what I use on my MythTV box that are not available for this:
- Watching live TV
- Scheduling recording of live TV
- Web interface to access information
- Weather
- Games
- News feeds
- Advert detection
These are all things I use on a daily basis and I think that they should be included in any media centre, and Apple's offering barely meets any of those.
for all you dumbasses who didn't read TFA... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Or.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Not a Media Center (Score:4, Interesting)
This magic thing is connected to a router (though it also works on a Airport Extreme or other wireless solution) and via Ethernet pumps avi mp4 and other formatted files to my television. It also handles digital optical sound and mp3s. My stereo system can rock to Weird Al or my collection of Dr Demento shows... Pictures can also be displayed and if you are all thumbs, Web surfing is available. It works with 10.3.9 and above (10.2.8 if you are creative) and oh yes, it works from a remote.
Re:Installing Frontrow on any system (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Or.... (Score:4, Interesting)
If Apple gets a mini out with those specs, I'll be first in line. I've bought several of today's minis, and would not bother buying one to use as a HTPC if it has the right horsepower and connectivity.
Re:Or.... (Score:3, Interesting)
OTOH A mac Mini with a decent sized fast hard drive, HDMI, and the right shape for a living room ('lunchbox' doesn't really fit in) sounds cool... provided it has Tivo functionality of course.
Re:Or.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hopefully Intel will give the Mini a real good boost, then - or some magic has to be done with the tuner, because the current solution for an Apple-based PVR timeshifting 1080i HDTV requires no less than a dual G5 (click requirements on right side) [elgato.com].
I wouldn't even dream of using one of today's Minis as an HDTV PVR. I got so frustrated with mine that I sold it [slashdot.org].
Not to mention that unless the Mini does real-time compression it'd probably run out of disk space real fast with its 2.5" drives that currently max out at 100GB - at least, for anybody who records a lot (at 8GB/hr. for uncompressed - that is MPEG-2 - 1080i, that's at most 12 hours of recording time before something needs to be compressed, and MPEG-4 compression on today's Mac Minis is, IMHO, HORRENDOUS - it took mine 16 hours to compress MPEG-2 to H.264 MPEG-4 for a 2 hour movie - and that was at DVD res, not 1080i).
But who knows... Maybe Intel will make this bottom-rung Mac more powerful than some of the top PowerMacs out now. And I'm speculating like the rest anyway, so I hope you had your salt shakers with you while you read this comment. ;)
Re:Not a Media Center (Score:1, Interesting)
The pause-live-TV thing is very cool, no question about it. But what I have never understood is why I need to buy or lease an expensive and ugly outboard box to let me do that. Why is that feature not built right in to my television? The signal that comes into my house over the airwaves is only 19 megabits per second. You could buffer a lot of it with the flash RAM in my iPod nano.
On the other end of the spectrum you've got guys who subscribe to cable or satellite TV. They have pause-TV, and often record-TV, functionality built in to their receivers. You can't get rid of the receiver, so why not include that feature there?
For Apple to go way out of their way (and they'd have to) to include TV recording and pausing functionality would be a waste of effort, I think.
See, love Apple or hate them, you have to give them credit for really thinking hard before they do something. They might make the right decision or they may make the wrong one, but they don't just reflexively spasm to do whatever the other players are doing. They think about it first. That's cool.
display options (Score:2, Interesting)
2. screen spanning doctor http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html [rutemoeller.com] enables , well, screen spanning on imacs and ibooks
3. dvd player can be set to disable the other display while playing movies
4. front row patches have been available for a while, so you can run it on most newer macs. a guy even has put a mac mini in his (off all cars) f150, complete with front row etc: http://www.leftlanenews.com/?p=818 [leftlanenews.com]
i personally use a mac mini without display, controlled via VNC (built into OS X 10.4) and a sanyo plv-z2.
Re:Or.... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not. Having to switch from Front Row to iTunes to do any purchasing is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of people IMO. If the whole thing could be done while sitting back and holding a sleek remote, they'd have a winner, but making the user actually have to physically move around and switch back and forth between interfaces, just to perform what could be a seamless process, is stupid.
Re:read the link! (Score:4, Interesting)