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iCol · Oct 12, 2005, 03:20 PM

So, this new Front Row software for the new iMac looks mighty nice... but I want it for my existing iMac G5... What's the bet this is never going to happen?

rickey939 · Oct 12, 2005, 03:30 PM

Not. Going. To. Happen.

jhogarty · Oct 12, 2005, 03:31 PM

I have same question. Bought two new Macs this year. Not going to dump them to buy a new iMac just for Front Row. But I would like to buy it seperately, (maybe, I need more info,) for at least my iMac, and maybe for my PM.

J.

RAILhead · Oct 12, 2005, 03:43 PM

Front Row uses a remote, the receiver to which is built into the iMac, no?

besson3c · Oct 12, 2005, 03:48 PM

Maybe the remote is Bluetooth based?

jhogarty · Oct 12, 2005, 03:49 PM

Not sure. I looked at the new iPods and there is one with the same remove and the iPod is in a cradle with what looks like a IR reciever dot on the front.

Anyone else think that maybe this Front Row is a step towards a Mac Media Center? I have seen that you can run a MythTV client on the Mini. Add a remote to that, and a Lacie mini firewire drive, and you have a nice little Mac Media Center, no?

J.

forkies · Oct 12, 2005, 03:52 PM

i'm the third person in this thread to state something then end it with a tag question, no?

andreas_g4 · Oct 12, 2005, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by rickey939

Not. Going. To. Happen.

A better guess is that it will not happen until the next iMac revision. For the time being, it's "New iMac only". After some time, we will most likely see it for every Mac…

cla214 · 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by jhogarty

Not sure. I looked at the new iPods and there is one with the same remove and the iPod is in a cradle with what looks like a IR reciever dot on the front.

Anyone else think that maybe this Front Row is a step towards a Mac Media Center? I have seen that you can run a MythTV client on the Mini. Add a remote to that, and a Lacie mini firewire drive, and you have a nice little Mac Media Center, no?

J.

I believe that the remote has both bluetooth and IR capabilities. It is listed as a separate item on the Apple store. There's a paragraph for using it with the iPod (through the Universal Dock, which has an IR receiver) and a paragraph for using it with a Mac (presumably through BlueTooth). In reading the specs for the new iMac, Front Row is listed as an included software item, so let's hope it'll be available in a software/system update shortly...

jhogarty · Oct 12, 2005, 04:06 PM

cla214 - thanks for posting that info. Going to look at it. Don't know why I couldn't find it at the store earlier. And I agree, hope they offer it as a system update, but if not priced to much, I'd be willing to pay for it.

J.

tooki · Oct 12, 2005, 04:16 PM

For $30, there's no way it's Bluetooth -- the components cost too much.

It clearly has an infrared window at the end. Sneaking in an IR receiver into the iMac (oh, say, next to the ambient light sensor or integrated iSight) would be trivial, easier to set up, and much cheaper.

My bet is it's IR on the iMac.

No reason Apple couldn't release a USB IR receiver for older Macs to allow Front Row to work with them, too.

tooki

turtle777 · Oct 12, 2005, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by forkies

i'm the third person in this thread to state something then end it with a tag question, no?

Me, too, no ?

-t

cla214 · Oct 12, 2005, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

For $30, there's no way it's Bluetooth -- the components cost too much.

It clearly has an infrared window at the end. Sneaking in an IR receiver into the iMac (oh, say, next to the ambient light sensor or integrated iSight) would be trivial, easier to set up, and much cheaper.

My bet is it's IR on the iMac.

No reason Apple couldn't release a USB IR receiver for older Macs to allow Front Row to work with them, too.

tooki

Good point, I thought the initial reports from the show were that steve had said it was bluetooth enabled. Are the components still that pricey? Bluetooth has made it's way into a surprising number of cell phones which aren't exactly high end.

C

ShotgunEd · Oct 12, 2005, 04:47 PM

Bluetooth's response time is too slow for a real remote, its fine for a salling clicker remote for your phone, but for an actual remote its laggy.

turtle777 · Oct 12, 2005, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by cla214

Bluetooth has made it's way into a surprising number of cell phones which aren't exactly high end

I don't know of any low-end phones with BT. Usually, it's mid- to high-end phones.

-t

cla214 · Oct 12, 2005, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

I don't know of any low-end phones with BT. Usually, it's mid- to high-end phones.

-t

I didn't say low-end phones. I said 'not exactly high-end', implying middle of the road...

willed · Oct 12, 2005, 06:16 PM

theregister.co.uk claims it's bluetooth. If it's fast enough for a keyboard and mouse it's definitely fast enough for a remote control!

turtle777 · Oct 12, 2005, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by cla214

I didn't say low-end phones. I said 'not exactly high-end', implying middle of the road...

What's middle of the road ?

What middle of the road phones have BT ?
Nada. BT still is a high-end feature and, in itself, defines a high-end phone.

-t

turtle777 · Oct 12, 2005, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by willed

If it's fast enough for a keyboard and mouse it's definitely fast enough for a remote control!

Good point. I still don't trust the price tag. Seems to cheap for a BT remote...

-t

teney7 · Oct 12, 2005, 06:24 PM

Maybe the PBs and PMs are "delayed" because they are going to come with the front row software...
then again, why wouldn't they just wait and do it all at once..?

Kerrigan · Oct 12, 2005, 06:50 PM

Front Row looks like it may have some promise down the line, but right now I can't imagine that it would be very useful. Why?

The reality is that everybody puts their computer on a desk, and when you are at a desk you won't want to operate your computer with a remote control. I can't really imagine any situation where I would be sitting down 10ft away from my desk looking at my iMac. So for now, Front Row seems like about as useless as Windows Media Center Edition.

In the future though it would be nice to see Front Row in a smaller headless computer that you could keep beside your TV. That would be better than its current implementation, but it would still have its faults because cable companies already offer good set top box systems.

GSixZero · Oct 12, 2005, 06:55 PM

I think it will cement the iMac into a reasonable niche, people who don't have a ton of room. I know tons of people who live in dorm rooms or studio apartments where having a TV, Computer, and DVD player is a little redundant. I don't think Front Row will double or triple iMac sales, but I think it's a worthwhile feature.

Kerrigan · Oct 12, 2005, 07:00 PM

It's not a bad feature but it's basically gap-filler to keep the iMac sales from slipping between now and next summer

stevesnj · Oct 12, 2005, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by rickey939

Not. Going. To. Happen.

Why not? There could be a an external USB module for this or it can be Bluetooth...but more expensive for that. This is great on the iMac but on my PowerBook this would be a godsend for Keynote/video/PowerPoint presentations. I bet this will be announced in the next few Keynotes it looks so good.

I can look like Steve Jobs using one of these!!! I just need a black turtle neck

King Bob On The Cob · Oct 12, 2005, 07:26 PM

I've got a PowerBook with a line out that would just love to have Front Row on the main screen and the media play on the TV.

stevesnj · Oct 12, 2005, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by King Bob On The Cob

I've got a PowerBook with a line out that would just love to have Front Row on the main screen and the media play on the TV.

I am sure apple will see the need for PowerBook users. like I said this is an addition I would even pay for.

Drakino · Oct 13, 2005, 05:09 AM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

It's not a bad feature but it's basically gap-filler to keep the iMac sales from slipping between now and next summer

Why? Normal consumers don't care about the type of chip under the hood. Theyc are about what a device can do. FrontRow is perfect for the college bound student. Along with the built in iSight to talk to the folks back home. These are tangible useful features that a student will see a benefit from, where as a switch to Intel doesn't magicially add features.

I also don't see it as a gap-killer either. Products change and evolve. Features get added. We all can see this in OS X over the past 4 versions. And same for the hardware. This was a feature Apple would have probably added no matter the evolution of the CPU.

Hawkeye_a · Oct 13, 2005, 06:27 AM

Front Row is Apples answer to the "Media PC". Media PCs are such scams imo.... who wants a do-it-all gaming console now ?

If the remote is bluetooth based, Apple stands to make a very pretty penny. I'd gladly drop $79 for Front Row w/ Remote, sinec i can hook up my PowerBook to my TV/Projector, etc..

ShotgunEd · Oct 13, 2005, 07:11 AM

Its not bluetooth, you can use it to control an iPod plugged into the universal dock. That would mean the dock has bluetooth which I doubt.

Its IR, the dock has an IR window at the front (unless that is the video out port).

rozwado1 · Oct 13, 2005, 08:00 AM

I'm looking forward to connecting it to one of these via RF, so I can control music from anywhere in the house.

Super Mario · Oct 13, 2005, 08:20 AM

It would be the best if VLC has the same interface as Front Row.

Paco500 · Oct 13, 2005, 10:44 AM

I wonder if the iSight is the IR receiver for the remote. No reason that couldn't work.

Which makes me think- why did Apple build this in? I bet they want these hung on the wall like a TV- hung on the wall- no room for an iSight hanging off the back.

Just a thought.

Super Mario · Oct 13, 2005, 10:47 AM

If the iSight can allow you to use hand gestures like Tom Cruise in Minority Report it would be the best os in the universe including the alien ones.

greenamp · Oct 13, 2005, 12:25 PM

Even if it was IR only, you could solve that by offering a small usb-IR reciever dongle. If Apple does offer FrontRow as a stand alone app someday, that's probably the route they will go.

tooki · Oct 13, 2005, 04:03 PM

It IS infrared only. From the Apple Store:

"Compatible with Apple products introduced in 2005 or later that have a built-in Infrared (IR) receiver."

tooki

tooki · Oct 13, 2005, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by Paco500

I wonder if the iSight is the IR receiver for the remote. No reason that couldn't work..

Yes, there is: an IR remote, as viewed through a camera, appears only as a lit dot. It's not very bright compared to the ambient light.

IR remotes work by using a very specific IR wavelength, and having the IR sensor be sensitive only to that wavelength. A filter often aids in this.

Such a filter would filter out visible light.

My hunch is the sensor is the dot to the left of the integrated iSight (the dot to the right is the On Air light).

tooki

Kirth · Oct 13, 2005, 04:08 PM

For the iMac to be a real digital media hub Front Row would have to accept plugins.
Now imagine a TiVo plugin for Front Row and controlling your TiVo through that remote control.

Jim Paradise · Oct 13, 2005, 04:21 PM

This may be a bit convoluted, but would it be possible to buy a USB-based IR receiver and use Front Row/the remote if it were purchased?

tooki · Oct 13, 2005, 08:22 PM

Yes and no. A standard IrDA transceiver would not work -- IrDA is a specific protocol.

It'd have to be a receiver specifically for this purpose, and have drivers, much the way existing IR remotes for the Mac work.

Apple certainly could sell a $15 IR receiver for older Macs. I expect that FrontRow, as it exists now, requires a Mac with full CoreImage/CoreVideo support, though.

tooki

JoshuaZ · Oct 13, 2005, 10:44 PM

I`ve been waiting for Apple to make some sort of move to a `Media Center` computer. Wouldn`t it be nice to have this feature on a Mac Mini? With video out (which is an option)? All your music, videos, and pictures on your TV. Plus if you could have an addon for TV in, or a thrid party option that worked with it, then we`d all be set.

tooki · Oct 13, 2005, 10:47 PM

I concur!

tooki

osxpinot · Oct 13, 2005, 10:52 PM

....

osxpinot · Oct 13, 2005, 10:53 PM

Remember when Steve was bashing Media Center?

Oh, and remember, "It's about the music, stupid"?

Cadaver · Oct 13, 2005, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by tooki

It IS infrared only. From the Apple Store:

"Compatible with Apple products introduced in 2005 or later that have a built-in Infrared (IR) receiver."

tooki

That wording makes me think that it will at least make its way to other Macintosh models. A USB IR receiver would be pretty simple.

Or make a bluetooth remote, bundle Front Row and price it at $79.