How to make a perfect home media system?

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Level 1

10 points

How to make a perfect home media system?

Hello,

I am preparing to move into my new home and I think that this is the most opportune time to make the switch from a PC to a mac. I use my PC mostly for playing games (battlefield, gta, crysis etc), professional music editing, Internet browsing and also as a store for books and music. In my new home I plan to set up a home studio with a desktop computer for all of the mentioned uses but I would also like to be able to open the files which are located on the desktop, and use the internet from the living room. I would also like to watch movies on the TVs which will be located in the living room and bedroom. My first thought was to have a mac mini (the highest performance) and a gaming pc connected to a big monitor in the home studio and to use os x server to share files with a macbook air in the living room and when I will need to watch a movie to connect it with an hdmi to the tv. Also, I was considering getting an iMac (the highest performance) for the studio and a macbook air for the living room as well as an airport extreme for file sharing purposes, but I don't know which way to connect the tv. Can I use apple tv to stream movies to both TVs? Is there anyone who can design a home system to suit my needs?

Mac mini

Posted on Sep 4, 2013 11:00 AM

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Answer 1

diesel vdub

Level 7

22,184 points

Sep 4, 2013 6:31 PM in response to Ftentelia

There is no reason to switch to a Mac, PC's will do everything described and at a much lower cost.

If you want to switch to a Mac, go for it... but don't use this as an excuse.

I stream content from my Windows 7 system to my ATV via iTunes without any issues.

Personally, I've never seen a valuable reason to have Internet on my TV, if you're referring to streaming content, that is different. The ATV and my Moxi (via Playon) provide all the streaming content I desire. I haven't even hooked up the Chromecast that I got this week, but that's more for travels.

There are so many ways to do what you've described above, none of which require swictching to Mac or even staying with Windows.

If the biggest desire is streaming content on the tv, the ideal solution in my opinion is a Roku from price and flexibility standpoint.

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Answer 2

Sep 4, 2013 12:24 PM in response to Ftentelia

Your post is kind of all run together so I will try to see if I can separate relevant parts out and answer where I can.

> I would also like to be able to open the files which are located on the desktop, and use the internet from the living room.

This is no problem. Put all the computers and other devices on the same Local Area Network, set up file sharing on the desktop and connect to the shares. Connect the LAN to a router such as Apple's AirPort Extreme and hook that up to your Internet connection, and all devices will have access to the Internet.

> use os x server to share files

Unnecessary, but you can do it this way.

> Can I use apple tv to stream movies to both TVs?

Yes, but you can only use one Apple TV to one TV set at a time. If you want to stream to both, you will need two Apple TVs.

> Is there anyone who can design a home system to suit my needs?

I'm sure there is but really the best way to do it would be to start with the network - hooking up the AirPort to Internet - and build it from there. Test each component thoroughly as you add it. Most of the things you are trying to do will "just work." If you have any problems, come to the appropriate forum here for help.

I have a similar set-up. Two iMacs, a MacBook Pro and a Raspberry Pi for computers, a networked color laser printer and a black and white laser printer shared from one of the iMacs, an iPad and iPhone that use the network frequently, an Apple TV connected to an HDTV. The network is partly wired and part wireless. Basically it just grew. And it works quite well.

Best of luck.

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