Mac Home Theater Project – A Work In Progress
Mac powered home theater systems are quite underrepresented on sites like YouTube. I thought I would share my work in progress to give a very simple overview of how I approached accessing my media in my living room.
I have BOXEE but have been too busy to play around with it. (Update: I removed boxee, not for me.) For now controlling the system with my iPhone seems to work well.
The system features:
-Brains: Mac Pro (3.0GHzX8cores - 18GB memory - 4TB storage (0:28)
-Sound: Logitech Z5500 (Optical in) (1:08)
-Storage: ReadyNas NV+ (3.6TB) (1:13) + XServe SAN (not seen) 10TB.
-TV: Samsung 50" plasma (0:05)
-Remote: iPhone (0:02)
-iTunes library: 3.7TB
-3.5" hard drive dock - For import/exporting large files.
-Everything that is geographically locked (ie: DVD players) are Region 1. It is far cheaper to import new stuff from North America than it is to buy it in Australia.
NOTE: For some reason my camera couldn't pick up the visualizer... quite strange.
Updates:
-I updated the video cards on the Mac Pro to: Nvidia 8800GT
-Replaced last 750GB drive with 1TB
-Upgraded with 4gb more memory.
Update 2:
-Added a new 400MB/s 10GB PCIe Raid Tower (CalDigit HDPro): ~75% in formatted for iTunes playback.
-Downgraded out 4GB of memory in prep for Mac Pro update at MacWorld in January.
-Got $3000 in gift cards for iTunes from friends for Christmas, sadly I already own most of the videos/shows available on iTunes.
-Hid Mac Pro, HDPro Tower, Time Machine, HDD dock, etc inside cabinet as I like everything hidden.
Update 3:
-Added PS3 and XBox360... I'm not as big a gamer as I used to be but got them über cheap. As with everything else, they're region 1 even though I live in Australia... So much cheaper to import everything than buy it there.
Duration : 0:1:45
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cool thing man, i …
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.
Yep, its a Roomba …
Yep, its a Roomba 500
@ 0:42 whats that …
@ 0:42 whats that thing on the floor moving?, probably ur dustcleaner.
Where did u get …
Where did u get that mouse pad from?
I’m not really sure …
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.
can u tell i want 2 …
can u tell i want 2 buy a xserve how can u set something up like that. pm me
Three replies:
1) …
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)
3 things thats …
3 things thats crazy, yay canada and what was moveing on your floor at 0:38
This will get a …
This will get a whole lot easier when the apple tvs come out integrated in mac branded flat panels soon.
thts sick man!!!!!! …
thts sick man!!!!!!!!
At the time I was …
(The best one had a full custom Bang & Olufsen (for music), snell for video + Sony SRX projectors; the definition of excess but great for entertaining.
At the time I was setting this system up my
only other Mac option was a 2.0ghz Mac Mini which would have been quite underpowered. I was already planning on buying a Mac Pro for bulk re-encoding so I made it my media center.
@Johnnytturbo – they don’t mind, one of their three home theaters cost more than my downtown apartment
Isn’t a Mac Pro a …
Isn’t a Mac Pro a little bit overpowered for such a simple task?
Thank you sydcansam …
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.
The strange ” …
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
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.
I am very happy …
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.
The song is “24″ by …
The song is “24″ by Jem.
WHo sings that …
WHo sings that first song? It’s great!!!
Hey, im thinking of …
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 !!
Might I say, a …
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.
Im glad i chose OSX …
Im glad i chose OSX also for my HTPC setup, it never ceases to amaze me and its rock solid stable.
I added a PS3 in …
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).
nice u need some …
nice u need some gaming stuff like 360 or ps3
this is a great …
this is a great setup…thanks for the info