[G4] Using a Mac as a Media Server

[Richard Klein]

On Fri, Feb 12, 2010 at 12:53 PM, RICHARD NORTHOUSE
<rnorthouse at wi.rr.com> wrote:
>
> a) I am currently loading my 300+ music Cd's from a Pioneer jukebox  to the
> hard drive via iTunes. That seems to be going well -- however after I finish
> loading these CD's -- what is the best technology to interface my Mac to my
> surround amplifier?  The amp has the usual set of inputs -- analog RCA jacks
> [ Red(right audio), White(left audio) and Yellow for video]; S-jacks;
> digital coax(RCA jack); and optical(special plug).  Am I right in assuming
> that either digital (coax or optical) input should give better performance
> than the older analog technology?  But how do I connect the Mac to this
> amplifier?  Do I need a sound card?  If so which one?

I just ran an 1/8" to RCA cable from the headphone jack on the back of
my QS2002 to the RCA inputs on the amp, but I'm not an audiophile.

> b) After I get the music interfaced, I would then like to tackle the video.
> I have similar questions -- How do I get from the Mac to the amplifier. Can
> I use the Mac for high definition ?  Again, how do I connect the Mac to the
> HD jacks on an amplifier or TV set?  What interface do I need for this task?

My TV has lots of inputs: composite video, component video, S-video,
DVI, and HDMI.  The video card (ATI 64MB, but I forget if it's a
Radeon or pre-Radeon) has ADC and DVI outputs, so I used a DVI cable
to connect my Mac to the TV.

> c)  I would also like the Mac to be able to acquire TV signals and
> distribute them to the amplifier and TV -- back to the high def question!

A USB tuner would probably be the easiest solution, but your Mac
probably only has USB 1.1 ports, which probably aren't fast enough for
TV, so you might want to get a USB2.0 PCI card for your Mac.

I've been meaning to post a question about using my G4 as a media
server, so I'll tack my question onto this thread:
When I hooked my QS2002 up to the TV I imagined using it to stream
Netflix and Hulu to my TV, but streaming Flash video on this computer
is slow and jerky.  Is there anything I can do to speed up Flash video
on my QS2002?  It's kind of jerky on my FW800 with a Radeon 9800 Pro
video card, too, so I don't think upgrading the video card is the
answer.

-- 
Rich