iMac as a Media Center?

destraynor

Hi all,
This isn't really an "operating systems" question, but this looks like the best place for it. Long story short, I am putting a media centre in my bedroom to replace stereo/pc/video/dvd-player/computer/alarm clock/social life

I have it narrowed down to either a 24" iMac, or a PC with a big ass monitor. The questions are....

1) Is the big iMac quiet enough for this?
2) What speaker set up would you recommend for this set up?
3) Most importantly, can I stream and record television using the iMac? I know products such as eyeTv claim they can do this, but does anyone have any experience with it in Ireland, (on NTL preferrably).

I'll warn you now the purchase won't be made for another month or so, which brings me to 2 more questions

4) Is it likely that Vista will run on this bad boy?
5) Should I sit tight and wait to see what MacWord brings in January?

Thanks in advance for your help


Des

K.O.Kiki

1. Presumably should be as quiet as any other iMac.
2. A good 2.1 system IMHO You could even try out to see if the standard speakers are up to scratch.
   Oh, and AFAIK it only offers stereo-out anyway.
3. I'll let someone else answer that. Failing that, Google away.
4. Vista should run on this IF MS let them...
5. Naahhh... get it now I say!

Urban Weigl

I've seen the 24" iMac and it is extremely quiet. Not a peep from it. Vista will definitely run on it.

I don't have any experience with products like eyeTV myself, but there are several solutions, some of them very good from what I hear.

Can't comment on speakers. The 24" iMac does have pretty good speakers built in, but it does also have optical digital and analogue audio out including 5.1 Dolby surround sound/digital.

destraynor

Thanks for the feedback guys.

The answers look like this...

1) Noise is not a problem for the iMac (or for its owner)
2) 2.1 should be good enough, but a soundcard can be bought if better is required.
3) No clear answer yet.
4) Yes, Vista will run on it
5) It's unlikely that January will bring much new to the iMac. However its possible that the new operating system might ship early, and hence it might be worth the way .


So #3 is the real kicker here. As you can imagine it's a make or break issue for a media centre. Any ideas?

K.O.Kiki

eyeTV does look like the only solution at hand for Mac -- look to see which model suits your setup best.

Bunnyhopper

As far as I know Vista should run without any problems on an Intel iMac, but there may be EULA issues (see here). What practical impact that has, I don't know.

destraynor

Just to keep those who give a crap "in the loop", I've found one person who has reported that eyeTV works with NTL in Dublin, unfortunately and typically I've also found one who can't get it working.

I've put one of them in touch with the other, and will make the purchase depending on the outcome.

Thanks for all your help on this.
Des

Urban Weigl

Check out Miglia as well here:

http://www.miglia.com/

A quality alternative to eyeTV I believe.

K.O.Kiki

Urban Weigl wrote:

Check out Miglia as well here:

http://www.miglia.com/

A quality alternative to eyeTV I believe.

More like Miglia is using eyeTV technology

Dont be at yourself

Apple's iTV is being released early next year, if you want to hang on for that. If you already have a PC/Mac, it'll stream your content onto a TV for, what, €250?

If it's purely a media centre you want, a mac mini is also a good option, but you'll have to bring your own display!

Another question worth asking, and one I cant answer, is how is the iMac's display in different lighting conditions, and when viewed from different angles?

destraynor

Nekkid, I am looking to stream TV content onto a computer, not the other way around.

Also the MiniMac has a pretty crap hard drive for this sort of thing.

I'll have look at Miglia as well, thanks for that