Media Central and iTunes album art.
ray
I use a G4 mini as an entertainment hub hooked up to the TV and a
surround sound system. It's mostly used for video playback and iTunes.
Front Row isn't available, but Media Central is a perfect substitute.
<http://www.equinux.com/us/products/mediacentral/index.html>
It works very well, plays just about every video standard known to man
and automatically finds all your media files.
It's fast too. Selecting a video file from the menu and pressing play
starts playing immediately at full screen. Unlike the slight delay you
get with VLC for example. Image and sound quality seem perfectly
acceptable to me on a Hitachi wide screen LCD telly and reasonably
priced (cheap) sound system.
It's got a couple of nice features like web tv and streaming movie
trailers, it supports EyeTV devices and the Apple remote controller plus
the ATI Remote Wonder.
Simple controls via the keyboard if you don't have a remote but there is
a Salling Clicker extension available plus an excellent remote control
doodah for Sony Ericsson phones which I use on a K750i via Bluetooth.
Links for all these on the Equinux web site.
Oh and all this is free.
Equinux have just introduced Coverscout
<http://www.equinux.com/us/products/coverscout/index.html>
which searches for album covers for iTunes. Seems to work ok, but it's
not free, although it is cheap.
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Rob
Interesting, thanks. How do you connect the Mini to the telly? I'm after
a cheapneasy analogue method ...
Rob
Tariq
Rob wrote:
> > It works very well, plays just about every video standard known to man
> > and automatically finds all your media files.
> > It's fast too. Selecting a video file from the menu and pressing play
> > starts playing immediately at full screen. Unlike the slight delay you
> > get with VLC for example. Image and sound quality seem perfectly
> > acceptable to me on a Hitachi wide screen LCD telly and reasonably
> > priced (cheap) sound system.
> > It's got a couple of nice features like web tv and streaming movie
> > trailers, it supports EyeTV devices and the Apple remote controller plus
> > the ATI Remote Wonder.
> > Simple controls via the keyboard if you don't have a remote but there is
> > a Salling Clicker extension available plus an excellent remote control
> > doodah for Sony Ericsson phones which I use on a K750i via Bluetooth.
> > Links for all these on the Equinux web site.
> Interesting, thanks. How do you connect the Mini to the telly? I'm after
> a cheapneasy analogue method ...
I think Apple do a DVI to composite video connection adapter?
Tariq
Woody
> Equinux have just introduced Coverscout
> <http://www.equinux.com/us/products/coverscout/index.html>
>
> which searches for album covers for iTunes. Seems to work ok, but it's
> not free, although it is cheap.
Looks good but it doesn't seem to give you much more than all the free
applescript ones that go through and get all the album art from amazon
(one did mine quite happily).
I used this one but there are several more a quick google away:
<http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12083>
--
Woody
ray
> ray <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Equinux have just introduced Coverscout
> > <http://www.equinux.com/us/products/coverscout/index.html>
> >
> > which searches for album covers for iTunes. Seems to work ok, but it's
> > not free, although it is cheap.
>
> Looks good but it doesn't seem to give you much more than all the free
> applescript ones that go through and get all the album art from amazon
> (one did mine quite happily).
It'll search Amazon.com, plus .co.uk and various other Amazons, plus the
iTunes music store and Google.
>
> I used this one but there are several more a quick google away:
> <http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12083>
Well that looks good, I've installed it but, and this might be a stupid
question, where's the iTunes script menu the readme file talks about?
I have a feeling this app didn't install anything.
ray
The TV has DVI so a straightforward DVI to DVI cable does the job.
A DVI to VGA if you can use it, or S Video. Whatever the TV will take.
Woody
> Woody <use...@alienrat.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > ray <data...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Equinux have just introduced Coverscout
> > > <http://www.equinux.com/us/products/coverscout/index.html>
> > >
> > > which searches for album covers for iTunes. Seems to work ok, but it's
> > > not free, although it is cheap.
> >
> > Looks good but it doesn't seem to give you much more than all the free
> > applescript ones that go through and get all the album art from amazon
> > (one did mine quite happily).
>
> It'll search Amazon.com, plus .co.uk and various other Amazons, plus the
> iTunes music store and Google.
> >
> > I used this one but there are several more a quick google away:
> > <http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12083>
>
> Well that looks good, I've installed it but, and this might be a stupid
> question, where's the iTunes script menu the readme file talks about?
In the middle of the iTunes menu, assuming you quit iTunes and
restarted.
--
Woody
ray
Several times, but no sign of a script menu.
The iTunes scripts folder is empty.
Woody
I seem to remember when I downloaded it, I just took the script and
manually put it in the script folder. It appeared there on the next
restart of iTunes (well, the script folder was already there, I had a
few other iTunes scripts). Can't you get at the actual script to put it
in the right place?
--
Woody
Rolleston
Looks quite nice. I'm a bit surprised by the size of the disk image: 2MB.
A bit on the small side, I'd say, given what they claim it can do. Does
it require something else to work??
R.
ray
No.
The web TV and movie previews need a broadband connection obviously, but
otherwise no.
ray
I'm giving up on that one. From the developers website it would seem the
installation can be flakey.
The installer appears to go through the motions but nothing is installed
and nothing appears in the log file.
I've looked at the .pkg contents but nothing jumps out as the actual
script.
Steve Hyde
> > I seem to remember when I downloaded it, I just took the script and
> > manually put it in the script folder. It appeared there on the next
> > restart of iTunes (well, the script folder was already there, I had a
> > few other iTunes scripts). Can't you get at the actual script to put it
> > in the right place?
>
> I'm giving up on that one. From the developers website it would seem the
> installation can be flakey.
> The installer appears to go through the motions but nothing is installed
> and nothing appears in the log file.
> I've looked at the .pkg contents but nothing jumps out as the actual
> script.
I had problems too. It does get installed - I found it by searching in
Spotlight. It's gets put into the top (root?) folder. I tried moving it
to the AppleScript folder but, regardless of where it or iTunes is, I
get error messages when I try to run it. I've sent an e-mail to the
developer. Perhaps he can throw some light on it.
--
Steve
zoara
> This may be useful or interesting to some.
> I use a G4 mini as an entertainment hub hooked up to the TV and a
> surround sound system.
[...]
> Oh and all this is free.
Including the telly?
-z-
Rob
Many thanks - Apple do a cable (DVI-composite/S-Video) for a not
outrageous 15UKP, although the reviews point to a few difficulties. May
well try it unless there's a DVI-component adapter out there ...
Rob
ray
You had marginally better luck than I.
Spotlight didn't find it on my system after going through the install
process 3 times.