Do you need Chico Mac Computer Repair? Call Josh at (530) 228-4444
Do you have photos, music, even movies and TV episodes sitting on various computers around your house? Are they all over the place with no central organization?
Media centers have become very popular. After using one for a little while, I can tell you why. When you've got all your digital photos accessible from the main room on your TV, you find yourself showing your friends and families those photos a lot more often than you would otherwise. You end up listening to music you might never had listened to. You can watch YouTube videos, listen to music on Pandora, or stream films online from Netflix. It's all about convenience and simplicity. And if you're like me at all, you can afford a little more of that in your life.
There are computers, game systems, and media players you can use for your media center. If you don't care for video games, a Playstation 3 is a waste of money; if you want to spend the money or need the power of an entire computer in your living room, that's out too; but a media player? They're just little boxes that you can plug a USB drive, network cable, even connect wirelessly to your network and can access and play all your data through a friendly graphical interface. Just turn on your TV, switch to the right channel, and use the included media player remote to scroll through your photos, videos, and music.
There are several big values in the media player industry right now. My personal favorites are the Apple TV ($99) and the Western Digital TV Live Plus ($99). Both of these units are similar, but there are a few things you need to consider before going out and buying one.
Apple TV
THE GOOD: The Apple TV comes with a very slick and user friendly interface. A very cool movie and TV rental service which allows you to see films and shows the day they are released. It comes with WiFi (so you can access your network and internet wirelessly). You gotta spend another $40-60 to get a WiFi adapter for the WD TV Live Plus. Another plus is you get a more responsive remote, which is a big deal for any of you who can't stand the performance of typical infrared remotes.
THE BAD: HDMI and Optical Audio outputs ONLY. No RCA, Composite, or Component out. No analog Audio out. If you want or need to connect it in any other way, be careful about buying this one. And iTunes-only media means if you've got a lot of AVIs and MKVs you want to stream, you're out of luck, so if you want to stream these formats, don't get the Apple TV! Also, it displays a maximum 720p resolution (could be bad news for people with larger screens). It also can't do Pandora or Flickr. And sadly, Apple used to include a web browser with Apple TV, which was very cool, but they've since removed this.
WD TV Live Plus
THE GOOD: The WD TV Live Plus is for you if you've got a lot of different kinds of media that don't necessarily integrate with iTunes. The WD TV can play both AVI and MKV files at resolutions as high as 1080p (Apple TV is 720p max), and for some people that settles the debate already. Also, this has a USB port that accepts thumb drives or hard drives, unlike the Apple TV (whose USB port is a diagnostic port ONLY). Also, unlike the Apple TV, the WD TV Live can not only do HDMI and Optical Audio Out, it can also do Composite Out (RCA), Component Out, and Analog Audio Out (think headphone or dual RCA jacks).
THE BAD: Does not come with WiFi (available separately for around $40-60), the interface is clunkier, and the remote isn't as responsive. There is no On Demand rental service available for the WD TV Live Plus yet, which means if you want to stream online a DVD the day it comes out, the Apple TV may be what you want.
So, as is common with most Apple products, it's an apple to oranges situation (okay, yes, pun intended). Pick the one that's right for you, then call me to set it up for you. No setup fee if you invite me and my wife to a night of watching Boardwalk Empire. That's a good show.
Josh Carlson
At Home Computer - (530) 228-4444
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