Cosy times wanted!

March 19, 2009 1:32 AM

Different ways to watch movies aside from unplugging and moving a rather large iMac around the house?

My partner and I like to watch downloaded movies, series and DVDs from time to time. At the moment we either sit rather uncomfortably in front of the iMac in the office, or we unplug it and sit it on a chair in the bedroom, for example. Often the external hard disk comes along for the ride too. This is impractical and by the time everything is powered up with cables strewn everywhere, my partner at least is quite cross and it doesn't feel cosy and nothing like a home cinema. It was actually easier when we just had an iBook between us.

What solutions are out there that would allow us to watch more easily on a screen that we could position in the living room, but would still allow for the possibility of watching downloaded films and DVDs. We're not so into the TV.

I saw this on Thinkgeek, but it may well be overkill. What about buying a mid-size TV and neatly running a HDMI cable to it from the iMac? Any suggestions, ideas or anecdotes welcomed!

posted by dance to computers & internet (14 comments total)

Have you looked into a Mac mini? You could get a previous-generation mini with a wireless keyboard pretty cheaply and run that as your theatre computer, using a DVI-to-HDMI cable.

The minis have no fan and are small, quiet and can stream video from your iMac over a wireless network, unless you want to run networking cables or connect an external hard drive with your media (which is what I use). You can also play and rip DVDs, as well as watch shows and movies via Netflix, hulu, Joost and other web sites.

Once we moved our Mac mini into the living room, we barely use the Playstation 3 anymore, except for Blu-ray discs and games. It really is an excellent and versatile little theatre box.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:41 AM on March 19

As an alternative to a television, you might consider a projector. They save a lot of space and you get a much larger picture. It's like having your own movie theatre!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:44 AM on March 19

Blazecock, yes, I had considered a projector, but I'd understood one had to spend big bucks before the picture was as good as an LCD/plasma? Or is that wrong? i.e. a powerpoint presentation projector != movie projector? I like your suggestion of a Mac mini. Thanks!
posted by dance at 2:01 AM on March 19

One of these plus HDMI screen?
posted by ArkhanJG at 2:02 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

Blazecock, yes, I had considered a projector, but I'd understood one had to spend big bucks before the picture was as good as an LCD/plasma? Or is that wrong?

You can get an HD projector between US$1000-1500. That's about the price of a mid-range LCD TV.

One downside of the projector is the need to replace the lamp, but unless you watch it 24/7, it should last 4-5 years. A projector makes less clutter and takes up a lot less real estate than a TV, and it provides a bigger display per dollar, the dimensions of the room aside.

Be sure that you have space behind you to place a projector, that the room dimensions are amenable, and that you shop for one that provides good color and low fan noise, if you're considering one.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:12 AM on March 19

We've got a projector (got it for free from a friend's office that was closing down) and it's the bomb, we just pop it on top of the bookshelf and watch stuff on the wall. Biggest 'screen' ever. It rules for playing xBox 360 too. Our 360 is basically our home media hub - we've got a portable drive plugged into it that which I put new movies on, we can download movies from xBox live if we want to wait the three or four hours it takes, and we can plug my MacBook into it via VGA if we want to watch something streaming like The Daily Show or BBC iPlayer.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:31 AM on March 19

Would the Acer X1160 be in the kind of range you guys are thinking of when it comes to projectors?
posted by dance at 3:10 AM on March 19

For 720p HD, you'll want a projector with at least 1280x720 resolution. The Acer X1160 is 800x600.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:18 AM on March 19

Xbox360 + Connect360 for the Mac. It wirelessly streams every single codec I've thrown at it -- Xvid, Div, you name it. Plus you can play games on it and stream Netflix if that's your thing.
posted by nitsuj at 5:48 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]

Doesn't the room need to be pretty dark to get a good image from the projector? This seemed to be the case years ago when I was looking into them. Things might have changed since then.
Not sure if this would matter to the asker or not.
posted by newpotato at 5:53 AM on March 19

You guys might be interested in the Apple TV. It works similar to the Mvix Wireless HD Media Center (linked in the posted question as the device from ThinkGeek) but you wont need to buy another hard drive and configuring it to work with your existing iMac and (required, but it's likely you already have a) network is pretty trivial.
You will need a TV/monitor/projector+speakers in the bedroom, if that's where you wanna watch. For a while, I had mine hooked up to a 27" CRT TV I got on Craigslist for $50.
posted by now i'm piste at 6:51 AM on March 19

. . . Do you have a DVD player hooked up to your television? Actually, it's not clear if you have a television at all. But the cheapest solution would probably be a TV (and, if you don't care about cable or anything like that, any old TV from a thrift store would do), a DVD player (check out Big Lots if there's one in your area for cheap refurbished ones--I got a pretty nice Philips for $40), and burning your videos to DVD. That's what I do. The bonus is that you get back-ups of your movies.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:03 AM on March 19

What about using an AppleTV connected to a TV? (If you're going to buy a TV anyway)

You could buy a TV and connect a cable to it from your iMac (which is in a different room from the comfortable furniture?). If you want to buy a cable, I recommend monoprice.

One thing to keep in mind about projectors is that the image quality will vary a lot depending on how much you can control the amount of light in the room. I have a projector in my basement, which I can make totally dark, and it's awesome.

Also, you may not need HDTV, at least not 1080i/p. But, if rent or buy video content from iTunes in HD, you'd like it better.

To determine what size screen (either projector or TV or monitor) and resolution would be best for your situation, check out this article.
posted by reddot at 7:03 AM on March 19

We just got a bunch of Epson EMP-400W projectors for the school, and they're quite nifty. 3 LCD, so no DLP flickervision ; 1280x800 native resolution; surprisingly bright, given their moderate (265 watt) power consumption, and very short throw - they only need to be about 80% of the picture height away from the wall. They sell for about AU$1800.

Ours are mounted on poles that stick out of the wall above the whiteboards they're shining on. The picture is perfectly acceptable for classroom use, even projected onto a shiny whiteboard. Making movies look good needs the room lights turned off, but there's no need to block the windows.
posted by flabdablet's sock puppet at 2:12 AM on March 20