For the few months leading up to our move to the UK I’d been fine tuning our home entertainment setup. Finally, only a month or so before packing it all up to move I had it perfected (almost). Here’s the basics of the setup. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll see how it’s all working over here in the UK.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidduran/2150273872/" title="Home Entertainment Setup by -DjD-, on Flickr">
Front view of the home theater setup. See here for a closer look at the kit.
For a while we had an old TV, DVD Player, TV Antenna, and VCR. Wow... old school. Gradually things started to change. We picked up an Infocus IN72 projector on Woot and ditched the TV. At first it was meant to be temporary, but the large screen, high resolution, and 'poof it's gone when you turn it off' benefits were all compelling. Route the sound through the Hi-Fi and you've got the beginnings of a nice setup. Come to think of it, that likely marked the beginning of a quest to perfect it.
The Plan
I wanted a setup that would:
- Be simple to setup, use, and maintain
- Work internationally (compatible video formats and power)
- Take up as little space as possible
- Be flexible enough to support a wide range of content
The Setup
I've managed to put this all together with a few items gradually acquired over the last year and a half.
Mac Mini - $600
iPod Hi-Fi - $300
Nintendo Wii - $250
IN72 Projector - $400 (after rebate via Woot.com)
RCA Selector Box - $40
Features
One of the amazing things to me, and the reason for plucking a bit more down for the MacMini, was the flexibility of this all. AppleTV could have done some of it, but SlingPlayer was a must have and I didn't want to fool around trying to hack it to bits. Anyway... the MacMini let's us:
- Watch Movies, TV Shows, and listen to Music via FrontRow
- Rent and watch Movies via iTunes
- Watch US TV via Slingplayer and our stateside DVR.
- Watch DVDs, Joost, and Netflix video on demand (unfortunately the latter is only available via BootCamp)
Simplicity
The best part about all this is that it's simple. It's easy to use and it's relatively few components which means less to buy, less to take up space, less to pack up when you move, etc.
Switching between components couldn't be easier. The video sources are piped directly into the HDMI and Component Video inputs on the projector. A single button toggles back and forth between the two. The little RCA selector box handles the audio switching. At first this seems like an extra step but has the added benefit of being able to queue up some iTunes music and leave that on while Wii Bowling. It's easy enough anyone can figure it out.
Well that should cover it for now... Stay tuned to see how things transfered to the UK only a month or two later. Hint - it's even better than before!
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