Hi,
I am a huge Mac user and I would like to build a media jukebox to access my videos, music and data. I have a MacPro and a Pioneer 151.
My MacPro is on my office and my 151 on the den. I would like a solution that does not depend on having my Mac on at all times when I want to easily access the media on my 151.
I love the AppleTV interface, but the lack of hard drive expandability is a huge issue for me. I have 60 gigs of music and over 100 dvds to convert, plus some Blu-ray discs. I also heard of the HP media server, but I am not sure about it.

There is also the MacMini, not sure if that is ideal since there is no HDMI output. Plus I am not crazy about having to use a keyboard to be able to access anything.

I would appreciate any solution or ideas you guys might have. My goal is to have this server/jukebox where my 151 is and use iTunes and front row to navigate.
Thanks!

I would appreciate any solution or ideas you guys might have.

Read the forum, what you're asking has been discussed for years, though the "should I get an aTV or a Mac mini" question has shifted a bit just recently with the iTunes HD movie sales and rentals announcement for Macs.

My MacPro is on my office and my 151 on the den. I would like a solution that does not depend on having my Mac on at all times when I want to easily access the media on my 151.

My goal is to have this server/jukebox where my 151 is and use iTunes and front row to navigate

Then put a Mac in the den?

I love the AppleTV interface, but the lack of hard drive expandability is a huge issue for me. I have 60 gigs of music and over 100 dvds to convert, plus some Blu-ray discs.

aTV is a very nice product, as long as you're prepared to accept its inherent limitations, but without hacking, yes, you'd need an instance of iTunes to be running somewhere else on the network, regardless of where your iTunes media actually resided. And you'd have to rip and transcode all of your dvds into a format that the aTV accepts.

60GB music and 100 dvds is not much, it would fit on a single big hard drive in an enclosure connected to a mini in the den (or plugged into the USB port of an Airport extreme.)

There is also the MacMini, not sure if that is ideal since there is no HDMI output.

Why would having HDMI be considered "ideal?" I bet between mini-DVI and mini-DisplayPort you'll be able to connect just fine to your 151.

Plus I am not crazy about having to use a keyboard to be able to access anything

Day in and day out, you don't have to use a keyboard--there are other options. There are times when I screen share in from another Mac--to change some settings, do a software update, add some iTunes metadata, select which TV shows I want EyeTV to record--but that's only a few minutes each week. 99% of the time I just use the Apple remote to control FR, and for those times I want to listen to music and don't want to turn my HDTV on, the iPod touch as remote iTunes controller.

My guess is you'd easily be able to enjoy a Mac in the den as your jukebox without ever having to use a keyboard in there--if you're willing to do some remote management, occasionally, from the Mac Pro.

Thanks for the feedback,

My MacPro is for work and office, the den is for entertainment. I don't want to have both together.
It seems the Mini is the way to go, but there is too many issues to be addressed to make this work, I feel like it.
AppleTV would be the ideal situation, but like you said the there are limitations and I am not a fan of hacking products.
My guess the only solution is to look maybe into the HP Media Server. But I am not sure about that either.

It seems the Mini is the way to go, but there is too many issues to be addressed to make this work, I feel like it.


I am not sure what issues you are worried about here.

The mac mini will feed audio (via toslink) and video (via DVI-->HDMI).
The new ones with 2+GB of memory and better video card work pretty smoothly.
XBMC and Plex are pretty nice (and free) interfaces for music, video and pictures
An external hardrive (USB or Network) would supply more than enough storage for your stated requirements.
To me the only issue is how much do you want to spend.

$599 for the basic mac mini
$50 to upgrade to 4GB of RAM (Crucial) or $150 if you want apple to do it
$150 for an external USB hard drive
$130 for the DiNovo Mini Keyboard/Mouse (fits in your hand)
$20 for cables from monoprice

Is this cheap, certainly not, but for this you get a very nice setup.

The only issue I see is the inability of Leopard to support bluray, but maybe you could get an external bluray drive and run it on boot camp (windows) on the mac and so rip any bluray disks you might have (now or in the future). I have not looked into this so I have really no idea if it would work.

Thanks mikefl52,

My only concern was having to use a keyboard/mouse in my HT set up. I guess after the initial set up I don't need to have it there anymore.
Take care

I'll throw an idea out there for you - screen sharing functionality works REALLY well in Leopard.

I basically had the same set up as you - I hooked up an external monitor and my imac keyboard + mouse, turned on sharing, then hooked it up to my TV, and have been making changes remotely from the iMac.

Just 2 cents

Cool,

Yes, I am really considering the MacMini as my HTPC. Specially after I watched Plex in action. Very nice.
I am only waiting a bit, to see if Apple will update AppleTV this year. If by September/October does not happen, I will probably just go ahead and jump in on the Mini.

Thanks