I'm pretty much a noob at this, so some of my questions may be pretty basic sorry. Here is what I want to do: I simply want to be able to rip all of my kids' DVD's to some sort of hard drive device that will allow my kids to use something like Front Row to watch their movies without getting the DVD's out and making them look like someone ate a PB&J on them. It needs to be accessible with a remote and have a decent amount of storage. I know how to rip, so that's not an issue. I just need help on knowing what hardware I need and how to hook it to the TV. Getting new TV, so I will buy based on what I need to do this. If it matters, I have an iMac and an AirPort Extreme What's my best option? Apple TV? Mac mini? Something else? Once that is determined, if I wanted the ability to record from TV, what would I need to do. (this is very low on priority list, but was just wondering). For the record, I really have no interest downloading movies or renting via iTunes or NetFlix etc. Thanks.
Regarding recording from TV, if you just want to keep it around a little while, talk to your cable/sat provider about upgrading your set-top box to a DVR. This may or may not involve a higher monthly fee, and the "higher cost" could vary depending on how many you want. Some providers may be willing to negotiate. Mention the compeitition's offer and they may be willing to go even lower. This is the easiest way to do it. You could also buy a TiVo unit, build MythTV, or probably even get a Mac Mini and set that up as a simple DVR unit. If you REALLY want to get geeky, talk to Foosinho, the moderator of this forum.
Thanks. I think I'm going to get an Apple TV and then hack it so I can connect a larger harddrive and play off of that. I'll leave recording to the DVR. So, I'll rip on iMac Copy to external HD Hook external HD to Apple TV and be done with it.
