Computer-based home media systems are becoming all the rage
these days. Ever since the idea of digitally recording TV shows
became popular with TiVo, the
idea of integrating an actual computer into the system started
becoming reality.
Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition is becoming widely used
and is certainly widely marketed. It allows users to not only
record TV shows but also view videos on their computers, watch
DVDs, listen to music, and view photos on their TV screens.
However, it requires a Windows PC (perhaps it will run on an Intel
Mac, but it may not be compatible with certain devices).
Fairly recently, Yahoo offered a new application that allows
Windows users (only) to do pretty much the same things Microsoft's
Media Center allows, but for free. This works well if you have an
old PC running another version of Windows that you'd like to use as
a home entertainment computer. Yahoo's software even allows you to
browse Flickr photos from its interface.
Another interesting application is MythTV, which only runs on Linux at
present (and probably won't be developed for anything else). It
includes a browser and a way to check weather conditions among
other features.
Front Row Needs TV Support
Apple has Front Row, which is available on all of current Macs
except for Power Macs, PowerBooks, and iBooks. Apple's new MacBooks include it, and all
Front Row enabled models come with a convenient remote control.
While this software allows you to view videos on your computer,
listen to music, or watch DVDs, it doesn't allow you to record TV
shows (since no current Mac has a built-in TV tuner card).
You can add this capability to your Mac with Elgato's external
USB-based EyeTV.
In effect, this is the same as buying an internal card for a PC and
ends up costing about the same (EyeTV sells for US$199).
It's great to be able to connect a Mac mini to your TV - to use the Front
Row features, that is. Having it hooked up to a stereo and the TV
would allow you to listen to and browse your music library. Using
iTunes music sharing would allow you to browse music libraries of
computers all over the house on the same network.
However, you may want to search out a different solution for
recording video if the EyeTV is out of your budget
Digital Video Recorders
Many cable companies have services that you can subscribe to
which gives you a personal video recorder similar to a TiVo that
you can connect directly to your TV. While these involve monthly
fees (often US$9.99), you don't usually have to buy the hardware,
and when the cable company gets new PVR boxes, they will usually
replace your old one with the latest model for no charge.
TiVo, on the other hand, involves a monthly service fee and the
purchase of your own hardware. When that box becomes obsolete, you
must purchase a new version yourself.
The other issue regarding personal video recording is
advertisements. One of the reasons people buy these is because they
want to skip ads. Unfortunately, TiVo won't accomplish that for you
- what used to be ad-free no longer is. When zipping through
commercials, you're now shown additional ads on part of the
screen.
Using pretty much anything other than TiVo, you should have no
trouble forwarding through commercials.
Computers Tie It All Together
It seems that computers are starting to become a media center in
the home. Where previously the TV and stereo would sit next to each
other, now the computer is tying it all together.
The key to this is to have something fairly small - the Mac mini
would be the perfect home entertainment centerpiece. All it needs
is a built-in TV tuner and a more complete Front Row application,
and it would be perfect.
Until then, there are other options, but none are without fault.
Perhaps it's almost best to wait and see what happens before
selecting a PVR.
