Re: Internet video on TV
- From: Lloyd Parsons <lloydparsons@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:06:50 -0500
In article <znu-9C99E2.10512509062009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
ZnU <znu@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In article <lloydparsons-3DEFF7.08035409062009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,I've got boxee on my AppleTV and my iMac. It is just one of many media
Lloyd Parsons <lloydparsons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Works well but kind of sucks too!
First, this isn't a bash of Vista nor a praise of OSX.
The 10' experience with either OS really is the pits. On my 61" HDTV
the standard os screen and browsers are crappy from the couch. If I
want to watch a video from the browser, I have to get up and get closer
to make it readable enough to select the video to play. That is for
both Vista and OSX. For both OSs, after the video starts, things are
fine.
There are apps to make a better 10' experience, but all of them limit
what you can get to from them. MS's Media Center is very nice as is
Hulu Desktop. Other media viewers are also nice. If there are any
media centers that are extendable to allow linking to sites they don't
directly support, I've not found it.
But you cannot get to any and all sites from any of the media viewers.
The bottom line is that there is no OS yet that is quite ready for the
10' experience. That is a big downside to doing HTPC right now, imo.
Toss Boxee on there as well: http://www.boxee.tv/
tools that are very nice. However, boxee on the ATV is not so good for
lots of reasons. The ATV isn't powerful enough and Apple won't give out
the info needed to use the GPU. On the iMac, boxee is very good.
Also Plex Media server is very nice on the iMac.
I went with Vista for my HTPC for 2 primary reasons :
1. HDMI audio and video just not reasonably available on the Mac.
Using DVI -->HDMI for video and optical for audio makes the switching
methods unacceptable and limits the audio codecs that can be passed.
2. Only with Windows can you get all the major TV websites to work.
For instance, TNT. It won't work with OSX because TNT (and TBS) use
some shitty MS DRM that won't work except from WindowsXP/Vista.
You might also just consider sitting closer. The THX recommended longest
viewing distance for a 61" screen is 82". If you can't make out text in
the OS interface at 10', you're probably also not getting the full
benefit of 1080p video content. Most people aren't used to how close one
is supposed to sit to actually get something resembling a theatrical
experience.
I realize my distance is a bit long for optimal viewing, but there is
the practicality of not having my favorite chair in the middle of the
room to be considered. :) But the reality is that even if I move up
closer, the experience is not so good unless I'm running a media
'server' app. Neither Vista nor OSX were designed with TV in mind and
it shows.
And my set is 1080i, 1080p wasn't cost effective when I bought my set
and it works too well to want to swap it out at the moment. And then
there's the 3 spare bulbs I have for it to consider. :) My set is a
JVC HD-iLA set, about 3 years old.
.
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