[mythtv-users] Apple TV FE with DVD Player?

Josh White jaw1959 at gmail.com
Sun Jun 22 12:27:33 UTC 2008


On Sun, Jun 22, 2008 at 8:00 AM, Marc <drayson at net1plus.com> wrote:

> I've been reading the postings about using the Apple TV as a Front
> End with great interest.
>
> Then I looked at the Apple TV more closely on Apple's site and it
> does not appear to have a DVD drive.  I guess you're meant to get all
> your media on line, which seems a little silly to me, but what do I
> know about marketing (answer:  very little).
>
> Would there be any obstacle to attaching an external DVD player or
> DVD-R drive to the Apple TV through the USB 2.0 port and using it
> with MythDVD?   It kind of spoils the one-box philosophy, but it
> would still be pretty compact altogether.
>
> I'm in the research and learning phase of setting up a MythTV front
> end and back end, and am still exploring the options to figure out
> what best suits my needs.   It sure looks like the Apple TV could do
> everything I want in a front end at a lower price than I can build a
> quiet attactive PC, except that it does not have a DVD player.
>
> Thank you for any helpful or humorous responses.
>
> Jeff Walther
> _______________________________________________
>
> There should be nothing to prohibit this configuration.
> The only issue would be during the install process, when using the
> bootstick, you would not be able to have the drive connected.
>
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I'd recommend against the Apple TV.  Just this week, I started working with
one, and I've already decided to return it (assuming I can get Target to
take it back without charging me a restocking fee).  To begin with, you need
to do a fairly involved hack job just to get the thing to boot linux.  It
seems to me that you'd be better off with a Mac Mini or something more more
suited to installing linux without jumping through hoops.  I'm not saying
that the hack is difficult, but it just seems like starting off on the wrong
foot.  If you want something with a DVD drive, I'd suggest you find some
kind of micro-itx case that resembles a Mac Mini and build off of that.
Since an Apple TV is just on the cusp of being powerful enough right now,
investing in a setup for one which is a mahcine that is non-upgradable seems
like a bad idea too.  Of course, if you already have one, or of you want one
for other reasons, then it's a fine machine to work with, and I love the
idea of hacking most anything, but if you're buying hardware either way, I'd
suggest buying something else.
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