iMac one room, TV another...
Discussion
Hi guys,
I must admit that I'm not entirely up to date with the multitudes of different solutions available for multi-room setups. I think I've done enough research to come up with a suitable solution, but wanted to run it past people more in the know before I commit. Is it ok if I ask for the PH hi-fi group approval?
I currently have my iMac and Pana 46G20 in the same room. I use the iMac for both music (using an apogee duet as a DA converter) and video - watching the odd 'digitised' (
) HD film from time to time. For this I come out of the iMac MiniDisplay port, into an HDMI converter, and into the TV. It's a post mid-2010 iMac and so sound goes through this HDMI too.
In a month's time I'll be moving house, where the iMac will sit in the study, and the TV will be going into the living room. Having been spoilt by having them next to each other for so long, I'd like to continue to mirror my iMac onto the TV for watching films. What's more, I still want to be able to access my iTunes library and play it on the shiny new AV reciever I'll inevitably be buying myself (probably a Pioneer due to the nifty iPhone features).
So far, I've found an HD sender http://www.brite-view.com/air_synchd.php
If I'm not mistaken - does this already do everything I need it to? If I plug the HDMI from my iMac into this, and then from the receiver box in to the AV receiver, I can watch films exactly as if it was a long HDMI cable right? I realise it may not contain 5.1, but if I want to watch films properly I'll buy them on blu-ray.
Does the same apply to music? I assume that audio remains digital as it gets sent thorugh the air to the other room, and then the AV receiver will do all the DA converting? So there's no loss in quality. Or is it not that simple? I'll still be using the study as a little studio and so the Duet will remain in there, and I accept I can't use it in both rooms. But in my head, I'll just use the Apple Remote app on the iPhone to select songs from my library, and the iMac will send the music into the living room an into the AV receiver.
Is this the best solution?
I hope I've made sense - thanks for your help!
I must admit that I'm not entirely up to date with the multitudes of different solutions available for multi-room setups. I think I've done enough research to come up with a suitable solution, but wanted to run it past people more in the know before I commit. Is it ok if I ask for the PH hi-fi group approval?
I currently have my iMac and Pana 46G20 in the same room. I use the iMac for both music (using an apogee duet as a DA converter) and video - watching the odd 'digitised' (
) HD film from time to time. For this I come out of the iMac MiniDisplay port, into an HDMI converter, and into the TV. It's a post mid-2010 iMac and so sound goes through this HDMI too.In a month's time I'll be moving house, where the iMac will sit in the study, and the TV will be going into the living room. Having been spoilt by having them next to each other for so long, I'd like to continue to mirror my iMac onto the TV for watching films. What's more, I still want to be able to access my iTunes library and play it on the shiny new AV reciever I'll inevitably be buying myself (probably a Pioneer due to the nifty iPhone features).
So far, I've found an HD sender http://www.brite-view.com/air_synchd.php
If I'm not mistaken - does this already do everything I need it to? If I plug the HDMI from my iMac into this, and then from the receiver box in to the AV receiver, I can watch films exactly as if it was a long HDMI cable right? I realise it may not contain 5.1, but if I want to watch films properly I'll buy them on blu-ray.
Does the same apply to music? I assume that audio remains digital as it gets sent thorugh the air to the other room, and then the AV receiver will do all the DA converting? So there's no loss in quality. Or is it not that simple? I'll still be using the study as a little studio and so the Duet will remain in there, and I accept I can't use it in both rooms. But in my head, I'll just use the Apple Remote app on the iPhone to select songs from my library, and the iMac will send the music into the living room an into the AV receiver.
Is this the best solution?
I hope I've made sense - thanks for your help!
I'd like to be able to stream 1080p if necassary, which I believe Apple TV can't do.
I must admit to also not knowing much about it. How does the interface work with iTunes? I know it can stream from iOS devices, but I want to stream from my mac..
I'm open to being persuaded, I have just never seen one in action!
I must admit to also not knowing much about it. How does the interface work with iTunes? I know it can stream from iOS devices, but I want to stream from my mac..
I'm open to being persuaded, I have just never seen one in action!
Does it play all files natively/locally? Will it still be able to play some of the odd formats (torrents) that tend to only be playable on something 3rd party such as VLC?
Or will I still simply be able to mirror my desktop? (my study and living room are next door to each other - I'm hoping I may be able to get away with using my mouse + keyboard on the sofa and surf...)
Or will I still simply be able to mirror my desktop? (my study and living room are next door to each other - I'm hoping I may be able to get away with using my mouse + keyboard on the sofa and surf...)
The stuff it plays from your iTunes account has to be .mp4, etc, however, you can play stuff on the apple Tv via various iOS apps using AirPlay. For example, I have a .avi film, I can use airvideo to convert it on the fly and play it on the TV. You can jailbreak them as well, and add boxes, xmbc, etc.
You'll have to bear with me as I want to make sure that this is all correct
I've looked into AirVideo, and all seems ok, other than the concerns about it being able to play torrented files. They're rarely an *.avi, and usually some sort of extension I've never seen before.
Also, does AirVideo not optimise the resolution for the iPhone? How does it look once blown up to 1080 again?
I must admit to not using iTunes for video, they tend to be in random folders (with said random extensions). Will Apple TV still be able to see these?
I'm not really into jailbreaking things, and having to jailbreak and add various apps scares me a little - it all sounds awfully complex!
I guess most of these concerns stem from never having used it, and having enough experience with Apple to know that if I don't want to do things how they recommend (all videos *.avi's, stored within iTunes, purchased from the iTunes store) then they're going to make things very difficult for me...
Streaming music from iTunes seems simple enough though. Quality as a result of sending over wifi isn't significantly reduced?
I've looked into AirVideo, and all seems ok, other than the concerns about it being able to play torrented files. They're rarely an *.avi, and usually some sort of extension I've never seen before.
Also, does AirVideo not optimise the resolution for the iPhone? How does it look once blown up to 1080 again?
I must admit to not using iTunes for video, they tend to be in random folders (with said random extensions). Will Apple TV still be able to see these?
I'm not really into jailbreaking things, and having to jailbreak and add various apps scares me a little - it all sounds awfully complex!
I guess most of these concerns stem from never having used it, and having enough experience with Apple to know that if I don't want to do things how they recommend (all videos *.avi's, stored within iTunes, purchased from the iTunes store) then they're going to make things very difficult for me...
Streaming music from iTunes seems simple enough though. Quality as a result of sending over wifi isn't significantly reduced?
brayash said:
You'll have to bear with me as I want to make sure that this is all correct
I've looked into AirVideo, and all seems ok, other than the concerns about it being able to play torrented files. They're rarely an *.avi, and usually some sort of extension I've never seen before.
Also, does AirVideo not optimise the resolution for the iPhone? How does it look once blown up to 1080 again?
I must admit to not using iTunes for video, they tend to be in random folders (with said random extensions). Will Apple TV still be able to see these?
I'm not really into jailbreaking things, and having to jailbreak and add various apps scares me a little - it all sounds awfully complex!
I guess most of these concerns stem from never having used it, and having enough experience with Apple to know that if I don't want to do things how they recommend (all videos *.avi's, stored within iTunes, purchased from the iTunes store) then they're going to make things very difficult for me...
Streaming music from iTunes seems simple enough though. Quality as a result of sending over wifi isn't significantly reduced?
Well, airvideo only does to 720p, (as apple TV only does 720p). It will be able to stream pretty much any format you could get. .mkv, .avi, etc. I've looked into AirVideo, and all seems ok, other than the concerns about it being able to play torrented files. They're rarely an *.avi, and usually some sort of extension I've never seen before.
Also, does AirVideo not optimise the resolution for the iPhone? How does it look once blown up to 1080 again?
I must admit to not using iTunes for video, they tend to be in random folders (with said random extensions). Will Apple TV still be able to see these?
I'm not really into jailbreaking things, and having to jailbreak and add various apps scares me a little - it all sounds awfully complex!
I guess most of these concerns stem from never having used it, and having enough experience with Apple to know that if I don't want to do things how they recommend (all videos *.avi's, stored within iTunes, purchased from the iTunes store) then they're going to make things very difficult for me...
Streaming music from iTunes seems simple enough though. Quality as a result of sending over wifi isn't significantly reduced?
Apple TV on its own will NOT be able to see your random folders. It uses iTunes for it's media. Airvideo will be able to see your random folders, however.
Don't worry about jail breaking then. Airvideo is perfectly legal, and easy to use. It uses apples wifi streaming protocol thingy, AirPlay. This will also work with other apps on your idevice.
Music will be streamed at the bitrate they are on your computer/device.
Airvideo will stream from your computer, (as many as you have), over your home network, or over the Internet, and allow you to stream to the apple TV. Just select output from the airplay option, and it goes straight to the Tv.
Edited by Melvin Udall on Wednesday 23 November 17:18
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff