CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[panduro1]

Is it possible to use an Imac as a HTPC with a good result? I’m buying an imac which will be bought because of work.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac?mco=MTE2NjM

i'd of course like to buy the imac best suited for my use at the lowest possible price.

I’d also like to use it as a HTPC, both for DVD and blue-ray and mp3 music files.

I value good stereo sound, but my girlfriend has a quite extensive collection of mp3 files and other music files on her
computer which she wants to put on my new CPU and play it on my stereo .

As a blu-ray and DVD player I want a quality that can follow a high quality stand alone mashine.

which imac model should i buy and what hard and software do i need?

And last I’d off course like it to be user-friendly, so my girlfriend can use it and wont f*ck it up (same goes for me )

best regards and a happy new year to all

panduro

[ecrabb]

The iMac will work nicely for everything except Blu-ray playback. For that, you'll need Windows, an external BD drive, and software like PowerDVD.

The Mac is great for everything BUT real HTPC duty. There just aren't the software options on Mac OS X like there are on Windows. Maybe eventually there will be, but not right now. If all you want to do is play DVD's and listen to music, OS X is great, though.

Happy New Year to you!!!

SC

[panduro1]

What the ....
isnt it possible to view blu-ray discs on a mac?

so i have to buy a stand alone bd player like the denon dvd3800 or go back to windovs pc?

best regards

[ecrabb]

Watch BD movies on Mac OS X? Right now, no. On an Intel Mac running Windows in Boot Camp? Yes.

Basically, you can still use the Mac and run OS X for work, productivity, fun, etc. To watch BD movies, you'll just need to have a USB 2 or eSATA Blu-ray drive attached and use Bootcamp to boot into Windows natively. Then, the iMac would function as a typical Windows box, Blu-ray player and all. It's not ideal in some ways, but in one way, it's the best of both worlds.

There are several theories about why Apple isn't yet supporting Blu-ray. One is the DRM... That the BDA made Microsoft jump through a bunch of hoops to make Windows encrypted from source device to display... and that Apple isn't willing to jump through all the hoops. I suspect they're laying groundwork right now, though; A case in point is their new displays and computers with DisplayPort (which supports HDCP and audio and will interface with HDMI). Another theory is all the licensing, and that Apple doesn't want to do it. Steve Jobs himself even said - and I quote - that "BD is a bag of hurt" licensing-wise. Another theory is that they're not supporting BD because Apple is pushing movie rental and purchasing through the iTunes store, and that downloading is the future. I suspect it's combination of all those things.

SC

[greg_mitch]

Or...you could save yourself some money and just get a windows box.

It WILL do what you want it to.

(just don't ask it to do anything when company is over to watch a movie because then it will freeze)

[ecrabb]

Greg, I posted a rant here, but it doesn't really belong in this guy's thread. I'll start a new one in the HTPC forum. I moved it.

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=163621

SC

[Chuchuf]

With a powerful enough Mac or Mac/PC (hackintosh) you can view some ripped BR's with VLC or Plex.

Terry

[ecrabb]

Wow, Terry - I'm a Machead and I hadn't even heard about Plex. I guess I'd almost written the Mac off as a serious HTPC. But, Plex at least keeps the Mac in the game somewhat. VLC is hardly a solution IMHO, with the lack of polish. Without any sort of front end, I wouldn't have it in my HT, anyway. Fine as a desktop utility for viewing/testing, but not HT duty.

Thanks, though - I'm downloading Plex right now to test it out.

SC

[Tallowby]