On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 9:13 AM, Jeff Walther <<a href="mailto:trag@io.com">trag@io.com</a>> wrote:<br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I've been reading the postings about using the Apple TV as a Front<br>
End with great interest.<br>
<br>
Then I looked at the Apple TV more closely on Apple's site and it<br>
does not appear to have a DVD drive. I guess you're meant to get all<br>
your media on line, which seems a little silly to me, but what do I<br>
know about marketing (answer: very little).<br>
<br>
</blockquote></div>I've got a Apple TV as a front end, as well as a Mac Mini (and various other front ends including ones I've built, and old laptops with broken screens).<br><br>First off - I'm far from being a computer expert - and Scott's guides made installing Linux and Myth on the ATV really easy - it's more like following a recipe than 'hacking'. He's done all the hard work for you.<br>
<br>Secondly - I would recommend the ATV as an occasional front end (for a bedroom / kitchen), but I would not recommend it as a 'main' frontend (living room, media room). It plays back just fine, but the lack of memory and the slower CPU means that there is a lag after keypresses, etc which can get annoying after a while. If you're going to start adding DVD drives, etc - I would strongly recommend getting a Mac Mini instead. They are completely silent, and have the same look as the ATV. THere's a DVD drive on the Mac, and although I rip most content - it is nice being able to pop something into the drive if a friend brings something over, rather than walking upstairs to the server.<br>
<br>It's all about economics - $229 for a slow, slightly limited frontend vs. $599 for an awesome frontend.<br>