[thomascrown]

I've searched and didn't find any specific answers, so I figured I'd ask.

I have a 5-6 year old G4 1.25ghz (2gb ram, plenty of HD space, decent video). It was my primary machine until about a year ago, and it still runs great, plays video great, etc.

Rather than bricking it, I figured I'd move it in to my bedroom as a media center since I have a 23" HD Cinema display. So here are my questions.

1. Is there an application that will turn it in to a media center like MCE for Windows (I know there is Front Row, but it seemed pretty useless when I played with it as a beta a few years back). It needs to support iTunes content, streaming/web, xvid/divx, dvds and maybe even BluRay if I buy a BluRay drive for it.
2. Are there an IR remote accessories that will make said media center software work.
3. Are there any decent TV tuners/inputs that will allow me to use my DirecTV signal (even if I have a set top box and it just passes the video in to the computer for display)?

Let me know folks!

Thanks!

So give me yo

[goMac]

Originally Posted by thomascrown 

1. Is there an application that will turn it in to a media center like MCE for Windows (I know there is Front Row, but it seemed pretty useless when I played with it as a beta a few years back). It needs to support iTunes content, streaming/web, xvid/divx, dvds and maybe even BluRay if I buy a BluRay drive for it.

Front row is your best bet. It uses the same UI as the AppleTV 1.0.

Bluray does not work on Mac OS X, and your computer isn't fast enough to play it back, so I wouldn't consider that. (The G4 is not at all fast enough to do 1080p source video like Bluray. You'd need a mid end G5 or an Intel to do that.)

Originally Posted by thomascrown 

2. Are there an IR remote accessories that will make said media center software work.

Keyspan makes a decent one.

Originally Posted by thomascrown 

3. Are there any decent TV tuners/inputs that will allow me to use my DirecTV signal (even if I have a set top box and it just passes the video in to the computer for display)?

If your STB has Firewire, you can make it work. It's not pretty, and doesn't integrate into any media center. HD playback isn't going to happen on a G4. Maybe 720p. 1080i is likely a no go. Even iTunes requires a Core Duo 2.0 ghz for 720p, but that's for an MPEG4.

(El Gato says 720p or 1080i needs a Dual Processor G5 or Intel, so HD is likely a no go)

(Edit: You could plug your STB in using composite, but HD would be a no go for that. I'm not aware of any component input dongles or PCI cards for Mac.)

[thomascrown]

any other ideas?

[angelmb]

Not even a big thanks to goMac for such a detailed reply?

Anyhow, maybe Equinux MediaCentral would fit you.