Our Modernised Home Cinema
Two days after posting a picture of our antiquated TV I went out and bought a new one. Never thought I'd part with cash for a telly! I'm so glad I did though, as it's revolutionised our media consumption.
Here's the new setup:
The HDD/PVR box remains, but the old TV is replaced with this Sony 26" LED TV and there's also an Apple TV to the left of the PVR. Gone is the pile of DVDs in the old photo.
All I can say is WOW. I can't believe how backward we were and how cutting edge we are now. We've gone from being the laughing stock of our friends to leading by example. Already people have asked how it all works and how they can do it in their house. My geek rating is back to normal.
But It's So Small!
We bought the TV from the Sony Centre in Nottingham, where they had a sticker on the display model that said "Student Essentials". Times have sure changed since I was a student! Kids don't know they're born nowadays.
Some of you may scoff at a poultry 26" of TV. Next to the all the other models on display ours did look tiny. But it would, because the others were huge. Ours is only small by comparison. The size we have is perfectly adequate. Any bigger and the TV starts to own the room -- something we wanted to avoid. The other thing I wanted to avoid was having to have both cabinet doors open to watch TV and 26" is the largest we could go.
Not Done Yet
While the new setup is three million times better than before, it's still not perfect. It's an interim solution while I work on the ultimate setup. This will probably involve getting rid of the PVR and Apple TV and replacing it with a small-form-factor PC. There was some great feedback on Monday's post and some comprehensive guides to how I can achieve my ultimate aim of a single box to do everything. Thanks to you all for that!
For now I'm happy with how it is. Even without jail-breaking the Apple TV yet. My only gripe is that we now have two extra remote controls and have to toggle between three input methods to get what we want. It's still just too complicated. Until my kids can fully control it I'm not happy.
It will be a while before I get round to changing the current setup, but I'll be sure to report back when I do.
Respect to whoever can name the film showing in the shot above!
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Ice Age 2 ?
LED tvs seem to beat the socks of any LCD, are there any downsides?
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Yep. Impressed you got that it was part two too!
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You might want to consider buying a universal remote control. I have a Logitech Harmony 555 since a couple of years now and am extremely satisfied with it. It's the only remote I need to control my TV, HD PVR, DVD, PS3 and AV Receiver.
It comes with software that allows you to specify which devices you own and lets you create "activities" for those devices (e.g. "watching tv"). By starting an activity it turns on everything you need and sets it to the proper input.
Mark
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>> Any bigger and the TV starts to own the room
We had the same problem, what I did was get a projector (Panasonic PT-AE3000 about 2 years ago) and haven't looked back. The projector is in a corner behind a plant and therefore barely visible although I have a 3m diagonal screen :o)
I would replace the AppleTV with plex - I have a Mac mini and it works perfectly (as plex is based on XBMC it can read any format I can throw at it) - download from www.plexapp.com
I had the same problem with the remotes and bought the cheapest Logitech Harmony that I could find - I don't really like the remote (way to many buttons) but once setup it does its job quite well - and you can program macros eg. start receiver, start beamer, switch to Mac mini and start plex....
All in all I am very happy with this setup.
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Jake - are you using Appletv2 with XBMC ?
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I have a projector as well - also a panasonic - and project straight onto a well-painted wall. Purists might argue that one needs a dedicated screen, but the current system is unobtrusive as well
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The only problem with replacing all your media devices with a PC is that it needs to live next to your TV and you can only access the files on it from that TV.
I put a small form factor server (mediasmart server from HP) in a cupboard so no one ever sees it and wired cat 6 to every public/bedroom. Now any family members can view or listen to any movies/music/radio stations they wish from any public room in the house.
Best of all, you would never know my house has any modern tech in it because it's hidden away.
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Two words Jake. Harmony One. Makes everything simple. My Mom's husband who can't use his cell phone to make calls uses their system which has multiple components easily with the Harmony One. No calls to me about the TV not working again. It's a beautiful thing!
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Ice Age (2 I think)
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Spot on. Respect due. Unless you just read the first comment above '-)
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Good set-up. We did something similar a couple of years ago, upgrading from a humungous (and bloody heavy) Sony CRT to a Panasonic flat-screen. For films etc. I currently use a Popcorn Hour networked media tank wired up to my network and the ReadyNAS, but it's really showing its age.
There still isn't a truly compelling network media device out there that I can see. The best solution seems to be to get a Mac mini or a small form-factor PC and hook that up instead.
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