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Mac Mini as multimedia center and multiple screen sizes?
I'm thinking about getting a mac mini, using an elegato device to make it a DVR, and then using a whichever-vid-out-port-to-coaxial-adapter to connect it to the house's existing coaxial cable infrastructure to get the image to all the TV's, and control it remotely using AirMouse on iPods. The only part I'm not sure about is the analogue pat; the coaxial cables and several CRT TV's. Will the picture be sized properly to look nice on a 42"plasma, while still looking decent and having the right aspect ratio to fit CRT televisions ranging from 10 to 30-something inches?
I'm guessing I would have to use 4:3 on all the screens, right? Which is OK, since that's the ratio I get from my satellite box anyway. Do you think it would work even if I did that? or do you figure that every TV would need a different underscan setting?
Like I said, my satellite box doesn't offer HD programming, just 4:3 SD.
So the computer cannot be connected to coax? What if I used HDMI out to a VCR and then plugged the VCR out into the coaxial setup? Would that standardize the screen size and reduce overscan variance?
Also, while I'm sure it would be ideal to have a bunch of identical TV's connected by hundreds of feet of HDMI cable to a professionally built DVR, that's not exactly economically feasible. What's more, I'm trying to come up with a system that will let everyone, in every room, watch the same thing, without invoking the issue of IR remotes needing a line-of-sight to the tuner.
1 Answer
- aviatingamateurLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
No. That cannot be done. The Mac Mini at the very most can support only two displays (the newer model). And they have NO support for obsolete low-definition boob-tube TVs. You CANNOT use simple coax adapters to connect a Mac Mini to an old boob-tube TV. That will NEVER work.
If you want to have an HTPC setup, the best way is with a dedicated HTPC paired with each television, all networked to a central media server over a home gigabit ethernet network (hardwired).
Each HTPC can directly output video to the TV it's paired to (basically the TV acts as the HTPC's monitor), and it receives streaming video over the network from the central media server.
You also need to understand the limitations of DVR cards and software-- The only high-definition content you can DVR for your 42-inch plasma would be free over-the-air local stations. Absolutely NONE of the DVR cards on the market can decode QAM-encrypted pay channels like Discovery HD, CNN HD, HBO HD, etc due to copyright restrictions.
Personally, I think setting up an HTPC network for old obsolete low-definition analog boob-tube TVs is a waste of money. I would just set up one HTPC for that 42" plasma and that's it.
EDITED TO ADD: No, that wont' work either. I have NEVER seen a VCR that has an HDMI input. The HDMI jack on a VCR is built to SEND OUT a video signal only, NOT to receive.