something I'd like to see and why - am I alone?
okay first post, so please be gentle
I really like the new Imac's. They're nice looking and I'd like to purchase a 20in model for my kitchen. The one thing that would make it absolutely perfect in every way would be the addition of a ATSC/QAM tuner. Nothing fancy, just a decent tuner solution that would allow me pick up local QAM channels or at the very least digital basic. I've got the perfect spot for it.
Heck, I don't even care if there's much software functionality. I don't need DVR or time-shifting--just give me good quality picture without lipsync and solid playback.
Sure I could go out and buy a slingbox and add to my stack of CE devices in the great room, but I'm not much up for dealing with all that I'm not sure the quality is something I'd be happy with.
Am I alone here? I realize an imac in the kitchen is probably outside the scope of commonplace, and I also realize most people don't watch tv on their PC/Mac, but heck it sure would be nice. Heck, a decent 19in widescreen tv will run me about $400.
Dell's One is not for me, the specs are weak. Sony's is well, not for me either (I'll leave it at that).
If Apple would just give a BTO video option that would be terrific. Is it a support issue, quality issue? I just would have thought they would have done it by now.
Anybody see this happening or is there simply not enough demand?
I really like the new Imac's. They're nice looking and I'd like to purchase a 20in model for my kitchen. The one thing that would make it absolutely perfect in every way would be the addition of a ATSC/QAM tuner. Nothing fancy, just a decent tuner solution that would allow me pick up local QAM channels or at the very least digital basic. I've got the perfect spot for it.
Heck, I don't even care if there's much software functionality. I don't need DVR or time-shifting--just give me good quality picture without lipsync and solid playback.
Sure I could go out and buy a slingbox and add to my stack of CE devices in the great room, but I'm not much up for dealing with all that I'm not sure the quality is something I'd be happy with.
Am I alone here? I realize an imac in the kitchen is probably outside the scope of commonplace, and I also realize most people don't watch tv on their PC/Mac, but heck it sure would be nice. Heck, a decent 19in widescreen tv will run me about $400.
Dell's One is not for me, the specs are weak. Sony's is well, not for me either (I'll leave it at that).
If Apple would just give a BTO video option that would be terrific. Is it a support issue, quality issue? I just would have thought they would have done it by now.
Anybody see this happening or is there simply not enough demand?
Comments
I'm trying to avoid clutter and anything additonal sitting on the counter.
Building in a country-specific option is often not cost-effective, so it's better left to third-parties to provide external options.
Obviously, the US is a big market, but Apple's margins depend, in part, on keeping consistent product lines world-wide, it seems to me.
okay first post, so please be gentle
I really like the new Imac's. They're nice looking and I'd like to purchase a 20in model for my kitchen. The one thing that would make it absolutely perfect in every way would be the addition of a ATSC/QAM tuner. Nothing fancy, just a decent tuner solution that would allow me pick up local QAM channels or at the very least digital basic. I've got the perfect spot for it.
Heck, I don't even care if there's much software functionality. I don't need DVR or time-shifting--just give me good quality picture without lipsync and solid playback.
Sure I could go out and buy a slingbox and add to my stack of CE devices in the great room, but I'm not much up for dealing with all that I'm not sure the quality is something I'd be happy with.
Am I alone here? I realize an imac in the kitchen is probably outside the scope of commonplace, and I also realize most people don't watch tv on their PC/Mac, but heck it sure would be nice. Heck, a decent 19in widescreen tv will run me about $400.
Dell's One is not for me, the specs are weak. Sony's is well, not for me either (I'll leave it at that).
If Apple would just give a BTO video option that would be terrific. Is it a support issue, quality issue? I just would have thought they would have done it by now.
Anybody see this happening or is there simply not enough demand?
If you have cable the QAM tuner likely won't do you much good, from what I have read most of the content that you would want to watch which is not broadcast OTA is pretty much locked up by the cable companies on scrambled signals which your QAM tuner won't work with.
If you have a TV with FireWire you can plug that right into a MAC and record the signal right off your TV via FireWire with software straight from Apple (the FireWire Dev kit, not the most consumer friendly solution but it is there).
I also think it's crazy that "QAM" may have just become a normal part of everyday language.
The other alternative is an USB or FireWire card. Those do exist but have issues. One of those issues being band width. You might as well dedicate a port to the card. I've yet to try any of the USB cards so maybe somebody can chime in on them.
One alternative that I looked into was getting a HDTV and using the "computer" input to hand the computer needs and the TV to well handle broadcast. Surprisingly the store I went to highly recommended against doing so. The claim being that the HDTV's do not handle the input well. After a bit of surfing and reading this appears to be the case for many models of HDTV's. Bit of a shame if you ask me as the though was to use the PiP feature to have a channel on screen.
What would be nice is if somebody someplace on the net could test HDTV's for such use. I still like the idea I just don't have a good reference for which TV's could work well like this.
Dave
HD HomeRun is a Clear QAM (digital cable) dual tuner device. It sits in the corner where the cable comes out of the wall. With it I can view the four major networks and MOJO in HD and a few other stations in SD. That's more than enough TV for me. Encrypted stuff like ESPN isn't available.
...
I really like the new Imac's. They're nice looking and I'd like to purchase a 20in model for my kitchen. The one thing that would make it absolutely perfect in every way would be the addition of a ATSC/QAM tuner. ...
Then you also need a CableCard slot. As others have said, most non-OTA HD feeds are scrambled. What this all gets down to is that you want a TV with a built-in Mac. With the price of HDTV sets dropping like a stone, you should just buy a small one and use it as your Mac's monitor.
Then you also need a CableCard slot. As others have said, most non-OTA HD feeds are scrambled. What this all gets down to is that you want a TV with a built-in Mac. With the price of HDTV sets dropping like a stone, you should just buy a small one and use it as your Mac's monitor.
That is all well and good if you can find a TV that handles computer video input well. My understanding is that that is harder to do than may first appear. In any event id anybody on the forum has reference to a site that has tested TV's for such usage I'd like to see it.
Dave
all good points
elgato's solution looks interesting. couple questions
1. what are the wireless network requirements for HD with this device? is G going to cut it?
2. I swear I've heard the HD home run worked with PC too, is this not true?
3. The HD home run comes with 2 licenses for eye tv. Can you install one on PC and one on Mac?
As far as using a tv for the computer monitor, at least for me, is not really what i'm interested in--even if it worked well. For my application, in this case the kitchen, the idea of an all-in-one in the kitchen (an imac to me being the most aesthetcically pleasing) is of great interest and would pass the wife approval factor. Solid TV playback would be a huge bonus and push me over the fence.
As far as using HDTV's as PC/MAC display monitors there are several issues at hand. The most important is the display's native resolution. Just simply "supporting" the PC/Mac's display output is not always enough. Pixel mapping 1:1, or at least pixel mapping with some sort of crop or underscan/overscan is necessary to achieve a pristine image.
Ideally, yes, an Imac with a cablecard slot would be heaven--at least for my application. Nice to see I'm not alone although I'm sure it's still a niche. Must be decent demand though for all the 3rd party products.
thanks again for all the replies/coments
so are you guys saying that hooking a mac mini up to a 26" lcd hdtv it wont be easy/look good?!?!?
I'm not saying that. I think all the other posters are saying and what I was trying to support with a little detail is that it entirely depends on how your tv supports the display output of the mac/pc. Some claim to have "PC input" and while on the surface it's true, some do it well and other's fail miserably--metrics being picture quality.
so are you guys saying that hooking a mac mini up to a 26" lcd hdtv it wont be easy/look good?!?!?
Questions like this have been asked for several years now. The point is that TVs and computer monitors are different devices that serve different purposes. A good computer monitor makes an expensive TV display. A great TV can be a crappy computer monitor. A 30" Apple Cinema Display has enough pixels to display four (4) simultaneous 720p HD videos pixel-for-pixel with space left over. The 23" ACD has enough pixels to display one (1) 1080i or 1080p HD video, again with space to spare. The 26" set that you want is likely to be 720p, which is much lower quality than my 23" ACD.
Another concern is video connections. TV monitors have by-and-large abandoned DVI in favor of multiple HDMI ports. OTOH, Macs use DVI rather than HDMI. This means that you have to buy a DVI-HDMI adapter to use a TV display with your Mac.
I understand that students want their TVs to serve double-duty as computer monitors or vice-versa because space is at a premium in student housing. As a space-saving measure, computer monitors make great TVs. Otherwise, using one display for your TV and computer is not really a good idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gmoney_2010
so are you guys saying that hooking a mac mini up to a 26" lcd hdtv it wont be easy/look good?!?!?
Questions like this have been asked for several years now. The point is that TVs and computer monitors are different devices that serve different purposes. A good computer monitor makes an expensive TV display. A great TV can be a crappy computer monitor. A 30" Apple Cinema Display has enough pixels to display four (4) simultaneous 720p HD videos pixel-for-pixel with space left over. The 23" ACD has enough pixels to display one (1) 1080i or 1080p HD video, again with space to spare. The 26" set that you want is likely to be 720p, which is much lower quality than my 23" ACD.
Another concern is video connections. TV monitors have by-and-large abandoned DVI in favor of multiple HDMI ports. OTOH, Macs use DVI rather than HDMI. This means that you have to buy a DVI-HDMI adapter to use a TV display with your Mac.
I understand that students want their TVs to serve double-duty as computer monitors or vice-versa because space is at a premium in student housing. As a space-saving measure, computer monitors make great TVs. Otherwise, using one display for your TV and computer is not really a good idea.
my tv has a VGA input is that any better?
VGA input will usually give you a clearer picture, but might not be able to handle some of the higher HD signals as well. From what my coworker told me, however, the DVI-to-VGA connection surpassed both the DVI-to-DVI and the DVI-to-HDMI connections between his Mac mini and his 32" Insignia HDTV.
sweet!! good to hear unless the updated mini has a hdmi port
so are you guys saying that hooking a mac mini up to a 26" lcd hdtv it wont be easy/look good?!?!?
BillyMac covered a lot of the issues well. But I will try to add a few insights.
1.
Not knowing any better a year or so ago I walked into a TV/Camera shop to buy a HDtTV that could be used as both a Monitor and TV. Once the sales rep established what I wanted he basically said that he couldn't help me that the TV's he had would give good results. This was a surprise but at least the guy was honest. So I did some research.
2.
As has already been pointed out by others one big issue is pixel density/size. You have to buy an amazingly large screen to get the number of pixels on screen you expect. It very much looks like the manufactures are manipulation the market with respect to what is available as obviously high density screens are available for PC's. for example try finding a 22 or 24" HDTV flat screen that supports 1080P.
3.
The next problem is that on most HDTV's the DVI or HDMI ports apply signal processing to the incoming signal to enhance it for display. This might be good for video but really sucks for a computers output. Thus as somebody has already stated you are sometimes better off using an old VGA connector for input. This of course is a step backwards. Apparently some sets to have a modern input that minimizes processing, to work better with computers and games. The problem there is figuring out who sells such sets. This doesn't even get into the issue of configuring the set for a specific port.
4.
If you look at LARGE SCREEN MONITORS the story is a bit different. Some of these have a good reputation handling computer input. The problem is they are not TV's with receivers of any type. If you want compact and low costs this is not the way to go. NOTE: I specifically capitalized the large screen monitors because they are a different class of devices.
5.
The biggest problem with this whole subject is finding reliable data on individual sets. Thus there may be specific models out there that don't do too bad but they are certainly not well known.
In any event enough of that. What you might want to do is to look into this in some of the other threads that deal with gaming and media. I haven't looked for a high resolution TV in over a year now so maybe something in 1080P is available in a reasonable size now. Whatever you do don't buy until you can see a example of a PC driving he display. Examine image quality and over scan real closely.
When it comes right down to it I suspect your best bet is to get a USB adapter for an iMac. It will be a bit of a compromise but I'm not sure much more can be done.
Dave
When it comes right down to it I suspect your best bet is to get a USB adapter for an iMac. It will be a bit of a compromise but I'm not sure much more can be done.
what do you mean?? i am wanting to buy a mini and already have the tv
what do you mean?? i am wanting to buy a mini and already have the tv
Sorry for the confusion I thought you where looking to add a TV to your system as a monitor to gain TV functionality. Obviously at this time the thought is at odds with yours.
In any event the only thing you really can do right now is to try it out and see if it meets you needs. Since you have both components it can't hurt to try the two together. Just realize that you may have problems with a processed signal or other issues. Hopefully you have a port recommended for computer input.
Dave