Can OS X be readable on a plain old conventional tube TV? I've hooked up my PCs in the past as gaming/HTPC systems, but Windows looks horribly unreadable. I have also played with various HTPC systems that look decent (SageTV etc.). I know that MS has WebTV, which lets you surf the net from your couch...so there are ways of getting around the low resolution (using different fonts in larger sizes and whatnot). Does OS X have anything like that built in?
I'm toying with the idea of getting a Mini to replace my home theater system temporarily (for the next year or two). I'm moving in a couple of weeks and I won't have enough room for my whole 5.1 system with bass shakers, receiver, cabling, etc., but I should have enough room for a 2.1 setup with my TV and a Mini. My idea is basically to get a Mini, hack Front Row into it, use the AirClickUSB from Griffin with the Front Row mod, add on the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse, and hook up an EyeTV unit. I would then use a 2.1 computer speaker set for audio, direct from the Mini, and connect the Mini to my 27" TV via s-video through Apple's video adapter. This would give me a very compact DVD player with TiVo functionality and music capabilities. The cost would be somewhat higher than just using a DVD player, but I would get the convenience of having a tiny unit on top of my TV and the ability to store TV shows and my music collection all in one place.
I bought the first episode of Lost (season 1) on iTunes yesterday, both to check out video quality and to watch it (heard it was good, plus I'm a fan of 24 and it came highly recommended). I then hooked up my PC laptop (I don't have an adapter for my Cube) to my TV via s-video and my to my reciever with a minijack-to-RCA adapter and ran the show full-screen. It actually looked pretty good. You could tell it wasn't DVD quality, but the picture was good. It was roughly equivalent to a TV signal from cable. Sound was excellent. So, I now know that I can buy TV shows and movies from iTunes and it will work fine with my TV.
Thoughts and comments appreciated.
I'm toying with the idea of getting a Mini to replace my home theater system temporarily (for the next year or two). I'm moving in a couple of weeks and I won't have enough room for my whole 5.1 system with bass shakers, receiver, cabling, etc., but I should have enough room for a 2.1 setup with my TV and a Mini. My idea is basically to get a Mini, hack Front Row into it, use the AirClickUSB from Griffin with the Front Row mod, add on the Apple wireless keyboard and mouse, and hook up an EyeTV unit. I would then use a 2.1 computer speaker set for audio, direct from the Mini, and connect the Mini to my 27" TV via s-video through Apple's video adapter. This would give me a very compact DVD player with TiVo functionality and music capabilities. The cost would be somewhat higher than just using a DVD player, but I would get the convenience of having a tiny unit on top of my TV and the ability to store TV shows and my music collection all in one place.
I bought the first episode of Lost (season 1) on iTunes yesterday, both to check out video quality and to watch it (heard it was good, plus I'm a fan of 24 and it came highly recommended). I then hooked up my PC laptop (I don't have an adapter for my Cube) to my TV via s-video and my to my reciever with a minijack-to-RCA adapter and ran the show full-screen. It actually looked pretty good. You could tell it wasn't DVD quality, but the picture was good. It was roughly equivalent to a TV signal from cable. Sound was excellent. So, I now know that I can buy TV shows and movies from iTunes and it will work fine with my TV.
Thoughts and comments appreciated.