elephant wrote:

elephant wrote:

When you press the Beo4 source for where you have assigned the ATV (I use [DVD]) you will see the ATV's main menu (picture above) ...

... and then you can [>] right to expose Apple's "internet" menu and get access to a LIMITED range of internet services ...

and when you press [>] again you get to access the multimedia services of Apple computers in your home network, and this is when things get more exciting !

Now you can access:

• your iTunes Music Library / libraries
• your Music Videos in the above libraries
• your iPhoto Library
• your iTunes TV shows and Movies purchased from Apple
• your iTunes Podcasts
• your iTunes University files (if you have any, I have lecturers on music appreciation, tec)
• AND any supported media you have imported into iTunes 

The other exciting thing is that if you have devices like iPod Touches, iPads, iPhones that support Airplay, then you can select a source on your iDevice and broadcast it wirelessly to the ATV and have the source (video or photo or audio) play on the BeoVision 

AND if you have friends visiting and they have brought their iDevices, then they can (with permission) broadcast their content to your BeoVision 😂

Now I fully expect that on our Tuesday we will see Steve Jobs have demonstrated at the WWDC in San Francisco a whole new range of capabilities from Apple MacBooks running LION (but I could be wrong) and from iOS5 (in beta) for the latest iDevices, and the iCloud

I hope this will include some form of game playing onto the ATV !!!

elephant wrote:

Hi Ferdinand - I knew you understood English and so I hoped you would not mind my response.

I have (so far) made a slide to explain the ATV's connections and usage.

Now I have created the far more complicated diagram for the MacMini set-up.

You will see in this diagram that we have a similar set of connections that we had with the ATV.

But we also now have a DVD slot to use 😂 and the powerful addition of the USB cables which gives us options of:

• attaching additional storage: I use a MAXTOR external drive, this is where my TV recordings, my Handbreak rips of my DVDs, and my downloads of Apple video podcasts, movies and TV series are stored
• attaching an optional BeoPort to bridge the MacMini audio to your BeoLink network (if you have one)
• attaching an Elgato device (such as my Hybrid) to capture TV transmissions - either free-to-air (aerial) or cable (composite or S-Video) cabling

I will explain in the following posts how all this operates with a range of software.

elephant wrote:

I will explain in the following posts how all this operates with a range of software.

Actually now that I think about it I am not sure I can explain it 😂

The reason is that once we enter the world of optional software the potential and options multiply !!

Here is what I use to run this configuration:

1. Philippe's LinkPlayer which allows me to deliver NetMusic and NetRadio to the BeoVision from my iTunes (and to my other BeoLink systems)
2. Philippe's LinkPlayer which allows me to access and control my audio and video iTunes and iPhoto libraries 
3. And through different options via a very B&O looking menu to do the following:

• launch and control PLEX to access my videos stored and catalogued on my MAXTOR drive
• launch and control Apple's FrontRow (a baby version of the ATV interface) to play your DVD and also to gain access to your iTunes (Movies, TV shows, Music, Podcasts) as well as the iTunes store for the Top 10 previews of Movies, TV Shows, Music and Music Videos (kind of limited since you can't purchase anything) and Trailers and your iPhoto library .... however Apple is retiring FrontRow from their next release of Mac OSX (called LION)
• launch and (sort of ) control Elgato's EyeTV software for playing recordings that have been captured via the Elgato Hybrid device
• launch and control Boxee (I don't use this ... I did not like the Boxee software, and of course since then they have launched their own hardware)
• launch and (sort of) control the Safari webkit to allow simple (primitive) browsing of your favourite web bookmarks in read-only mode 

I use my iPad to control the Music playing because by using an App called "Remote" I can search my library and also trigger iTunes genius playing.

I do not make much use of Philippe's LinkPlayer App since it is a little fragile.

As you may know, Philippe (PhilLondon) is completely rewriting LinkPlayer so it might be better to wait and see what he has in store for us 😂

You can also launch FrontRow without LinkPlayer but as I said Apple are retiring FrontRow.

I use the Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse to set-up the schedule for recording TV shows in EyeTV.

My sons bypass all of the above 🙁 and simply use the MacMini's desktop on the BeoVision with the Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse to play their movies from portable USB drives or USB sticks or across the network from their desktops/laptops . . . . .

And my wife complains that all of the above is so complicated (because I keep changing the options) that she uses it less and less.

From the above multi-media collection (MacMini + Maxtor) I can use my iPad as a portable DVD player, Music Player, and TV receiver ... but that is another story and a post for another time.

Please feel free to ask any questions !

As you can see I love talking about this stuff 😂 😂

Elephant,

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. Very 'peter-pannish' I must say with the drawings and flow-charts. And i love to read that there are more people with stereo sound only. I must admit that I was not really following on the last post, but as you said yourself it's hard to explain all usage variances. Anyhow, your answer made clear to me that ATV is not the product I need as I will not be using any of the offered (mostly limited) content. I like the idea of hooking up a MacMini to the TV b´ut I will need to think about (read save for) it 😁

Alo I need to justify that the TV will be having a new(er) computer than I have myself, all for the sake of watching TV via the internet via broadcasts websites (as an example for you,  iview (ABC, Australia)). But than again, I am living in Sweden now and the programs offred are just horrible and the programs that are nice to watch are for some reason always aired at 02.00hrs (at night) on a wednesday. On top of that it would be nice to see some Dutch tv as well (i am Dutch).

I will not run to Apple store tomorow to buy a nex MacMini but I do have a practical / technical question: Wireless keyboard and mouse will only react to the Mac Mini and not to my iMac in the same room? I guess it is paired to one computer only, correct?

Ferdinand wrote:

I will not run to Apple store tomorow to buy a nex MacMini but I do have a practical / technical question: Wireless keyboard and mouse will only react to the Mac Mini and not to my iMac in the same room? I guess it is paired to one computer only, correct?

Yes, you pair them.

Don't know if they can be paired with an iMac . . . .

Yesterday I rented over my Apple TV my first movie :)

It had a double bonus of having B&O equipment in several of the scenes 😂

For access to different foreign stations I can use PLEX

Good luck with your savings ... and remember that you can use the BeoPort with your iMac to access Music ... I am thinking of buying an Apple cinema screen and just making my MacMini a media server !

PS PLEX has an app for Dutch TV :)

I think these are the plugins, Ferdinand is looking for. Well, some of them. Picture is generated with MacMini/Plex.

Another solution which fits Ferdinand needs, could be a Boxee. This player is in the PUC-list and cheap. I have no experience with it, but it looks good.

Nice explanation with the drawings, Elephant. 🙂

DoubleU wrote:

Nice explanation with the drawings, Elephant. 🙂

Thank You U-U 😂

(sorry I could not resist that !)

Ik bedoel hallo iedereen, In de iCreate staat een heel uitgebreid stuk incl usa iTunes account opties voor optimale functie mogelijkheden van de Atv. Nu overweeg ik ook een Atv of Mac mini te gaan gebruiken maar ben benieuwd hoe jullie je Atv hebben ingedeeld aangezien elephant zijn video wall er geweldig uitziet! Mijn vraag is waar halen jullie je films vandaan, hoe zet je deze naar Apple format en kun je ook aangeven met welke programma's jullie daarvoor gebruiken? >Alvast dank, Gr. Sander

xsanderr wrote:

Ik bedoel hallo iedereen, In de iCreate staat een heel uitgebreid stuk incl usa iTunes account opties voor optimale functie mogelijkheden van de Atv. Nu overweeg ik ook een Atv of Mac mini te gaan gebruiken maar ben benieuwd hoe jullie je Atv hebben ingedeeld aangezien elephant zijn video wall er geweldig uitziet! Mijn vraag is waar halen jullie je films vandaan, hoe zet je deze naar Apple format en kun je ook aangeven met welke programma's jullie daarvoor gebruiken? >Alvast dank, Gr. Sander

xsanderr wrote:

From Google Translation:

I mean hello everyone, The iCreate is a very comprehensive piece incl iTunes USA account options for optimal functionality of the Atv. Now I am considering a Mac mini or ATV to use but you wonder how you have classified as elephant Atv his video wall looks great! My question is where do you get your movies from, how do you set it to Apple's format and you can also specify which programs you use for this? > Thanks in advance, Gr. Sander

I get my movies from:

• iTunes - I have rented movies and bought TV shows
• DVDs - I use a program called HandBrake to convert a DVD onto my hard drive
• Broadcast TV including FOXTEL - I use an Elgato Hybrid and EyeTV to capture video recordings
• Downloads - for obscure foreign movies I can not buy here I have use downloads, e.g. "Keinohrhasen" and "Nodame Cantabile"

From Google Translation:

Ik krijg mijn films uit:

• iTunes - Ik heb gehuurde films en kocht tv-programma's
• DVD's - Ik gebruik een programma genaamd HandBrake om een ​​DVD te zetten op mijn harde schijf
• Tv-uitzendingen inclusief Foxtel - Ik gebruik een Elgato EyeTV Hybrid en om video-opnames vast te leggen
• Downloads - voor obscure buitenlandse films die ik kan hier niet kopen ik hebgebruik downloads, bijvoorbeeld "Keinohrhasen" en "Nodame Cantabile"

Local consumer electronics shop (chain) in Sweden (OnOff) went bankrupt.

Everything was 30% discounted including one (1) Mac Mini that I have picked up.Appereantly nobody knew what it was for because all iMacs, Macbooks and iPads were gone on 10 seconds.

I am now a bit in doubt to buy either extra keyboard and mouse or to buy an iPad (which is already longer on my wish list) and to use that as remote for the Mac Mini.

The B&O guy is coming to my house anyway to fix some issues with the PUC code, so soon all will be installed :o)

Dutch: MacMini is aangeschaft met korting ivm faillissement. Binnenkort wordt e.e.a. geinstalleerd.