MBP as a desktop AND tv?

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Jul 5, 2008
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Hey everyone,

I've been doing alot of researching lately on what laptop I'm going to buy and I'm pretty dead set on the Macbook pro yo. Rumor has it that the next gen of MBP's will be out sometime b/t now through Sept. 30. Plus, it is possible that a deal is to be made with sony and that the next gen might have a blue ray player inside them. Now I know this is just rumors, but I can afford to wait and if none of this comes true, then I'll just buy a current MBP before xmas, no prob.

Anyway what I wanted to ask was for help for setting up a possible "all-in-one" setup. I'll have the mobile laptop but can I plug the laptop into a docking station/something similiar into an hdtv and have it also serve as a desktop AND a tv? I'll need another keyboard for the "desktop " along with remotes and then eventually I'm going to get surround sound. I'd appreciate any feedback, I'm still trying to learn and figure it all out now before I buy. Thank you

-melorock
 
Joined
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Your Mac's Specs
MacBook,2Ghz CD,1.5GBRAM,100GBHD,SL.PowerbookG4 12"1Ghz,768MbRAM,40GBHD,Leopard.imac G3 400Mhz,10.4
I haven't really messed around with TV stuff, but it's a mac and you can pretty much do what you want with it. EyeTV is the only thing that comes to mind for me.

http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/home/what-is-eyetv.en.html

Sorry to be so vague, but hook it up to an hdtv, uses a keyboard with it and turn it into a desk top. I'm sure eyetv has some sort of remote and I'm sure you can find different remotes, tuners, whatever. If you can think it up, I'm sure somebody has made it for the mac. It all depends on your $$$$.

If nobody else comes up with anything, which I doubt, start googling what you want to do with it. Like mac docking station:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...&ct=result&cd=1&q=mac+docking+station&spell=1

Good luck and have fun!

Oh, and as far as when to buy goes, it doesn't matter when you buy, Apple will always trump your purchase. They are always updating and coming out with new products and you'll never be able to keep up unless you buy a new one every six months. So pick the time and the mac that feels right to you, and just be happy with your purchase.
 
Joined
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Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro Unibody
I use the EyeTV 250 and it does in fact come with a remote. It also has the built in MPEG encoder which is nice for the DVR type of features (rewind, pause, record, etc). I also have my PS2 hooked up to it, which allows me to game on the machine as well.

Now ..... it is not a perfect solution. The picture quality is ok, but I almost never put it in fullscreen mode (mostly because I am usually doing other stuff as well). If it is in full screen, you would have to be a decent amount back from the monitor for it to look right. It is really no worse than watching SDTV on a HDTV, but when you are sitting right there it is more noticeable.

FYI, I have it running on a 22" 1080 monitor, so you experience with a HDTV shouldn't be much different.

I also have my MPB running into my surround sound unit with a digital optical cable for true surround sound, very nice!

Don't know about docking stations though.

:)
 

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