Mac Home Theater Project – A work in Progress
Mac powered home theater systems are quite underrepresented on sites like YouTube. I thought I would share my work in progress to give a very simple overview of how I approached accessing my media in my living room.
I have BOXEE but have been too busy to play around with it. (Update: I removed boxee, not for me.) For now controlling the system with my iPhone seems to work well.
The system features:
-Brains: Mac Pro (3.0GHzX8cores – 18GB memory – 4TB storage (0:28)
-Sound: Logitech Z5500 (Optical in) (1:08)
-Storage: ReadyNas NV+ (3.6TB) (1:13) + XServe SAN (not seen) 10TB.
-TV: Samsung 50″ plasma (0:05)
-Remote: iPhone (0:02)
-iTunes library: 3.7TB
-3.5″ hard drive dock – For import/exporting large files.
-Everything that is geographically locked (ie: DVD players) are Region 1. It is far cheaper to import new stuff from North America than it is to buy it in Australia.
NOTE: For some reason my camera couldn’t pick up the visualizer… quite strange.
Updates:
-I updated the video cards on the Mac Pro to: Nvidia 8800GT
-Replaced last 750GB drive with 1TB
-Upgraded with 4gb more memory.
Update 2:
-Added a new 400MB/s 10GB PCIe Raid Tower (CalDigit HDPro): ~75% in formatted for iTunes playback.
-Downgraded out 4GB of memory in prep for Mac Pro update at MacWorld in January.
-Got $3000 in gift cards for iTunes from friends for Christmas, sadly I already own most of the videos/shows available on iTunes.
-Hid Mac Pro, HDPro Tower, Time Machine, HDD dock, etc inside cabinet as I like everything hidden.
Update 3:
-Added PS3 and XBox360… I’m not as big a gamer as I used to be but got them über cheap. As with everything else, they’re region 1 even though I live in Australia… So much cheaper to import everything than buy it there.
Duration : 0:1:45
[youtube rJE2JI_zzKg]
Hey, im thinking of …
Hey, im thinking of gettin the logitech Z-5500 speaker system. I read a couple of reviews, they all said they dont perform very well in a large space. My room is as big as ur by the looks of it, how is the sound system ? good surround effect ? Is the ideal spot very small ? grt interior design btw !!
Might I say, a …
Might I say, a lovely set-up indeed, Mac for life, baby! I will add a couple constructive criticisms though – you should strongly consider adding a few acoustic panels to your room. They will greatly reduce unwanted sound reflections, as well as peeks and dips in many sound frequencies.
Trust me, acoustic treatments are the single MOST important aspect to a listening environment. And yes, I do offer custom made panels if you are interested.
Im glad i chose OSX …
Im glad i chose OSX also for my HTPC setup, it never ceases to amaze me and its rock solid stable.
I added a PS3 in …
I added a PS3 in January and had a friend’s Xbox for a while (preferred the PS3 but only because I bought all the games and they were exactly what I wanted).
nice u need some …
nice u need some gaming stuff like 360 or ps3
this is a great …
this is a great setup…thanks for the info
Its an app called ” …
Its an app called “Remote” by Apple. Works amazingly well although it does drain your battery a little quickly.
how do you get your …
how do you get your iPhone to control your itunes movies like you did in the video
The song is “24″ by …
The song is “24″ by Jem.
Yes, I am canadian but I live in Australia for 10 months of the year.
uggghh, whtas the …
uggghh, whtas the sonng???? i want to know soo add, man its awsome BTW UR CANADIAN TOO AWSOME!
What song is that? …
What song is that? please respond
i love this!!
i love this!!
Fucking bad set …
ing bad set up. This is what I aspire to haha.
*-* aaw ! very good …
*-* aaw ! very good room!! i like so much!
i like the song to xD what’s the name?
Nice to see someone …
My work in progress is a Mac Mini, 42″ LCD, Xbox 360, Lacie 500gb mini ext. HDD.
Nice to see someone else rocking a mac home theater
Amp and surround speakers are next
pretty setup. You …
pretty setup. You have a bad robot infestation!
Unfortunately space …
Unfortunately space comes at a premium here (Downtown Sydney).
very good room, …
very good room, quite small but relly nice.