TV on the iMac, a dream (almost) come true

March 27th, 2009 by Matt Leave a reply »

For those who have been to my apartment, you see that I use my iMac for two purposes:

  • As a computer
  • As my living room television

We are at a convergence point where television will be watched entirely from the computer.  Even though I have cable hooked up to the back of my iMac provided to me by the ElGato device, I would love to get rid of that almost-required $100+ digital cable package bill (I really could do without a LAN line).

I hardly watch television to begin with (save watching Keith Olbermann, The Office, 30 Rock, PBS, and the National Geographic Channel), and I can definitely catch these shows on sites like Hulu.com, NBC.com, and PBS.org.

So why do I still have digital cable?

I guess it’s because I like to channel surf on the weekends from the couch.  I can’t do that without having ElGato because then, I would have to navigate from far away (which is hard when you only have a 20″ screen).  Plus, where would I watch TV when I’m in the bedroom?  From my iPod touch (not yet, anyways)?

Here’s the ultimate solution:

  • Buy a projector for every room, throw it up against the wall, and hook it up to a CPU (Mac mini)
  • Get a portable keyboard and mouse/remote to use and switch between TV/internet (and other functions)
  • Kick the cable habit
  • Make MobileTV more avaialble (AT&T has done a great job at this with their Samsung and LG product lines); let’s go iPhone!
  • Sites like Hulu, CurrentTV, et al., should have streaming channels that you can watch from software like FrontRow

I’m sure the overhead I spend every month could be suplemented by me investing in this sort of technology.

Here’s to the future…

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5 comments

  1. Michael Domangue says:

    You should take a look at Boxee. It streams a lot of internet video to a mac (including Hulu) through one program. It’s not as purty as front row, but it may be more useful.

  2. Matt says:

    I knew someone would show me that something is out there! I’m downloading as I type! Thanks Michael! Do you use it often?

  3. In addition to adding a wireless keyboard/mouse to your setup, you should also look into Rowmote, a remote control application available for the iPhone and iPod touch.

  4. Chris Soliz says:

    Instead of watching 24 on tv, I chose to start wathing it on fox.com the next day cuz that way I can watch it in HD on my computer and it even looks good in the full screen mode. That way i can rewind too. It takes me about 2 hrs to watch a 45 min episode. Jack Bauer kicks ass!

  5. Matt says:

    Rowmote and Boxee: I’m going to have to update my post!

    Chris – I do the same! Can’t get enough Tina Fey. haha.

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