Hi,

I've been researching this for months on end and still I can't find the ideal solution!

Contenders:

• Apple TV
• Cant Select a particular photo
• Its build to sell you music as opposed to view your exisitng ones; just compare the interface for each
• Advantage is that it syncs with my mac, however its not that important because its not like my collection changes every sinlge day and it gives me more control to choose what i want
  
• PS3
• Upgradable Hard Drive
• BlueRay
• Does it use the cover art and ID3 tags that are written by itunes?
• Plays games (not needed)
• Harder to copy stuff to it
  
• Mac Mini + Boxee
• Dont like the fact that its a 'real' computer being left on
• can be used to surf the web etc properly
• can be used as a hard drive to back things up
• can buy the apple wireless keyboard (good reason to)
• Being a computer, especially with boxee that hasnt been beta tested yet, will make me tend to not use the interface much but treat it as a computer, whihch i dont want, just want it to be dead simple
• HD doesnt upgrade and i dont want an array of USB-HDs
  

What do you guys think, which is the ultimate solution? I just want it for Music (priority) and photos.

Thanks

timhanna:

What do you guys think, which is the ultimate solution? I just want it for Music (priority) and photos.

I wouldn't use the PS3 as a media center. I tried this and it just doesn't seem to work properly. Movies aren't compatible with the supplied codecs and need to be converted. Some MP3s would play and others were 'incompatible' for whatever reason. I couldn't be bothered to find out as I'd already spent enough time trying to figure it all out.

Mac Mini is a decent solution. Better still, you could install Windows on it and use that media solution, if you don't like the Mac OS X options. It's really quiet, far quieter than my Time Capsule, and is on 24 hours/day. 

Bear in mind that the BM5 is just a computer, with a hard drive and cooling system. Absolutely no difference between this and a Mac Mini - both have to be connected to input devices and a screen.

timhanna:

Hi,

I've been researching this for months on end and still I can't find the ideal solution!

Contenders:

• Apple TV
• Cant Select a particular photo
• Its build to sell you music as opposed to view your exisitng ones; just compare the interface for each
• Advantage is that it syncs with my mac, however its not that important because its not like my collection changes every sinlge day and it gives me more control to choose what i want
  
• PS3
• Upgradable Hard Drive
• BlueRay
• Does it use the cover art and ID3 tags that are written by itunes?
• Plays games (not needed)
• Harder to copy stuff to it
  
• Mac Mini + Boxee
• Dont like the fact that its a 'real' computer being left on
• can be used to surf the web etc properly
• can be used as a hard drive to back things up
• can buy the apple wireless keyboard (good reason to)
• Being a computer, especially with boxee that hasnt been beta tested yet, will make me tend to not use the interface much but treat it as a computer, whihch i dont want, just want it to be dead simple
• HD doesnt upgrade and i dont want an array of USB-HDs
  

What do you guys think, which is the ultimate solution? I just want it for Music (priority) and photos.

Thanks

Im using Vista MCE as i have described how-to here.

http://forum.beoworld.org/forums/post/131765.aspx 

/Weebyx 

Thanks Guys,

Moxxey, can I ask which PS3 you had? Older version? Thanks

No, it's only a few months old. Very restricted as a 'media centre'. You're better off with Mac Mini.

Go to the Apple refurbished store - there was one on there today for something like £329 this morning.

Rumours abounding about a new, upgraded Mac mini to be launched in January ... for those willing to wait. The combination of AppleTV and Mac mini is first class.

go and get a Mac mini + a Beo 5 remote and you can control the installed Front Row on the Mac directly with your beo 5!

 

Works great with Keith Beo 5 Apple template!

 

Yeah, and the PS3 has a tendancy to get hotter than a firecracker lit at both ends.

I see, everyone seems to recommend the mac mini from the looks of it...

I might borrow one from my dad that has it spare, and see what its like, thanks guys

Also, if thats the case, do people with a PS3 for blueray also have a mac mini for mp3s?

Strange that nobody mentioned FLeX yet!

http://www.pguerra.it/?3?0 

http://www.pguerra.it/ht_en/c_ht_flex.html

They have Multimedia PC's in a nice design, IcePower modules & are Beo4/5 controlable!

 

Karel

 

€ 3.490,00!!!!! :S

Mac mini is great for playing DVDs with DVDpedia and the Front Row plugin. But it has problems to play HD movies and DD or DTS because of QT player. I`m using PLEX for this, it`s a new media center for Mac, and can be controled by apple remote - PUC - 

For N.MUSIC, N.RADIO, WEB, PHOTO I`m using Beomedia1. My next step will be trying the TVIX box.

Stefan