PC for the livingroom/media

[Old Fart]

So we have this DVD player that streams media and will stream from our network, and we have this little roku box that does its thing as well.

Has me thinking of setting up a PC so the possibilities would be endless.
Things I dont like- a remote. I like having a single remote in my hand and being able to flip through things. A wireless keyboard and mouse is not a convenient remote.

Now keep in mind we dont have i-phones or a ipad, but before people start saying to download a app for apple ipad or iphone what if that ipad or iphone is not in the house or being used for something else? Not exactly convenient if lets say I have the ipad at work and my wife wants to watch tv, or if I she is using the ipad for something while I want to watch tv- get my meaning here?

So does anyone have a decent set up and what or where do you find yourself pulling media off the internet the most? What are you using as far as remotes go?

[tonei.]

this is something Dimity has pushed, it def solves a lot of issues, has a 1 terabyte internal drive so there's no lag with larger files, as long as you have a network you can drag files you get from torrent and other places to watch it...





Or if you want a purpose built computer, get the best video card you can get.... you don't want lag when you are watching blu ray or large files.... you also want something with dual output, hdmi and possibly displayport ... Use something like this..

[Old Fart]

wd live hub is basically a streamer, you still cant browse on the net, you must have the files right?

[Forca Barca]

StevieM has a TON of info on Apple TV.

[tonei.]

wd live hub is basically a streamer, you still cant browse on the net, you must have the files right?

yeah you just have to drop the files in from a computer on the network...


you get much more Capability with your own comp, but there are some pros to this setup... price, ability to use a universal remote for everything, no lag from larger files trying to stream directly from the network..

[Old Fart]

StevieM has a TON of info on Apple TV.

macaroni was useless, he still hasnt answered us, lol

yeah you just have to drop the files in from a computer on the network...


you get much more Capability with your own comp, but there are some pros to this setup... price, ability to use a universal remote for everything, no lag from larger files trying to stream directly from the network..

this doesnt sound convenient to have to go to a computer and drag files. It sounds good for storing your dvds, but we both know the future of dvds is the cloud so all these large storage devices will be dinosaurs.

As for price I can get a used laptop for in the $300 range, or a used/refurb apple mini in the $450-$650 range. I bet I can keep my eyes out for a special and pick up something new for $400 or less, maybe a mini tower

[tonei.]

macaroni was useless, he still hasnt answered us, lol



this doesnt sound convenient to have to go to a computer and drag files. It sounds good for storing your dvds, but we both know the future of dvds is the cloud so all these large storage devices will be dinosaurs.

As for price I can get a used laptop for in the $300 range, or a used/refurb apple mini in the $450-$650 range. I bet I can keep my eyes out for a special and pick up something new for $400 or less, maybe a mini tower

prob best bet is to do the mini with that small back lit keyboard , all the upside of apple tv and other servers but also have a computer, and you can download torrents without having to worry about viruses.... only downside is the drive space...

[Old Fart]

i currently dont download anything from those torrent sites

[tonei.]

i currently dont download anything from those torrent sites

prob should start....

a. free...
b. you can get any movie you want, anytime of the day, in bluray quality,,,, doesn't matter that's its not available in netflix streaming...
c. you get ppv events like ufc
d. docs and movies that aren't out in theaters...
e. not much downside, unless they pass the new internet law shutting them down...

utorrent - to download them, (safe , small footprint)
btjunkie - to find the content, look at the comments before you download anything and verify its good, and not suspect

example - tinker tailor soldier spy, just came out in theaters...

http://btjunkie.org/search?q=tinker+tailor+soldier+spy

[Old Fart]

im so out of the loop on downloading movies and music, I guess viruses are a big one?
how do you get live ppv on those?

[tonei.]

im so out of the loop on downloading movies and music, I guess viruses are a big one?
how do you get live ppv on those?

not live, but these guys usually have it up within the hour of the event, if its a card i like i order it, but if not, download it the next day and skim through it and watch it when i have time....

[Old Fart]

you have to DL right? cant stream it?

[tonei.]

cant stream it?

no not with torrents, but they have websites that do that (not very good tho, which is why you always need cable)...

Torrents are just a tool in the tool chest, there's lots of places to get content these days which is why a comp makes the most sense, for now...

[Old Fart]

hey cack- what about that pc i linked

[tonei.]

hey cack- what about that pc i linked

what pc, i dont see a link

[Dmitry]

I been getting files from torrent sites for a few years now and never got a virus. Btw the WDTV has 2 versions, one with hard drive which I have in my living room and the other with no hard drive in my bedroom. They both come with dozens of apps like netflix, facebook, ect, doesn't have a web browser built in, but I believe you can hack it and put a browser on it, I'll check and let you know.

btw I picked up an WDTV box for my bedroom (the one with no hard drive)for $10.00 on ebay cause the guy thought it was broken. Works great!

btw I love this torrent site www.rgbb.com has tons of great stuff

[djcyph]

ok so i went and bought the apple tv this weekend, jail broke it and let me tell you, it might be one of the best electronics products ive bought ..it took me few hours to get going just because always do thorough research before attempting modding anything but i could prob get it set up in less then half hour now on new one...the jailbreaking part was easy but if u dont know about ssh or basic linux commands will be little harder to get going

with the icefilms addon i was talking about in the other thread, i can get basically any movie, tv show, concert, dvd out there free and streaming...the streaming is nuts, it takes under 5 seconds to load and no buffering on anything...quality is top notch..the only down side i found is rewinding and fast forwarding...it can do this with the streaming files but it can be a pain because you don't have chapters like a dvd does, but u can pause it forever and it wont time out on you if u turn tv off and come back hours later

now, if for some reason ice films doesn't have what you are looking for, which is rare...they have torrent addons set up through the apple tv...

to get ice films u need this add on called XBMC, which is a free open source media center that you could use on pc as well...XBMC is awesome, u get all these custom add ons weather, rrs, etc...theres an app called XBMC remote where u can control everything from your phone...its especially awesome because it give you a keyboard now so u dont have to click around to enter text...i have another app that streams anything on my phone to the apple tv

theres so many other addons u can get as well, seems like there is constant development and updates too

im hooked on it...and it also plays anything on my WD My Book Live media server even with all computers off

[Old Fart]

dj- this icefilms have new stuff or older? Like current releases or still in theaters? No advertisements?

[djcyph]

dj- this icefilms have new stuff or older? Like current releases or still in theaters? No advertisements?

no ads...new stuff and old...every season of current shows on there, i havent looked for anything in theater yet but if the DVD screener for a movie currently in theaters exists, then im guessing its on there...ill try to make a video of browsing the content and post it here when i get home

[Old Fart]

how is the interface?