Mac mini with Ipad or Sonos with mediaplayer and NAS

[Jlugg]

Hi All,

I've seen some posts that cover similar subjects, but not completely and some of them also went completely off-topic with people getting into verbal warfare etc.

I am hoping you can help me with advice on the ideal setup which can do the following things:

- download films and music without having to separately (preferably without me having to separately start up my laptop. The laptop only has a limited capacity ssd, so the system should have its own sufficient capacity, at least 1 Tb and possibility to leave connected in the back several external hd's).

- decent quality sound played over my Marantz SR 5004 and Bower & Wilkins DM 602 speakers (decent output/connections). I like good quality sound but I am not an extreme audiophile. It is the versatily and easy handling (one interface for all) with decent quality that I am looking for.

- the setup will be located in my television cabinet in which I have limited space (space equal to the size of 1,5 to 2 dvdplayers) therefore it has to be relatively small.

- play music using an ipad or remote control with screen to operate, either streaming from the remote device or operating the mediaplayer/computer from the remote (I do not want to have to turn on my television or separate laptop).

- streaming capability from other devices;

- nice to have: maybe the possibility to play different music in different parts of the house (e.g. by an add on).

In some other threads the following possibilities were mentioned:

1. mac mini with an ipad to operate it - any recommendations and experiences with respect to set up in this respect (Hippo remote, splashtop or a combi with xmbc etc.)? As indicated, it must be a manner in which I do not need to start up my television. Also I saw people adding an Apple TV to this setup. What would be the additional benefit of this?

2. a NAS with a mediaplayer and possibly also Sonos - I do not completely understand why you would also require sonos in this set. Any ideas, experiences also with respect to which mediaplayer and NAS (Synology?) to use? I currently have a Dune HD, but I would still require my laptop in this set up to download the music and films (cannot be done directly/standalone on the Dune).

I am interested to hear your thoughts and experiences, also if you would recommend a difference setup (keeping in mind my prefs). Thanks a lot!

Jonathan

 

[The_Lhc]

Sonos doesn't have any storage or play video media, it's strictly audio only, so I don't see any use for it in your setup, other than the mention of playing music in other rooms, which it is very good at but isn't going to help you with the main part of your query.

 

[rs6mra]

- download films and music without having to separately (preferably without me having to separately start up my laptop. The laptop only has a limited capacity ssd, so the system should have its own sufficient capacity, at least 1 Tb and possibility to leave connected in the back several external hd's).

In my opinion a NAS is your solution as it will enable you to download and store the films and music and you will have the capacity to increase the space depending on the NAS by adding additional drives.

decent quality sound played over my Marantz SR 5004 and Bower & Wilkins DM 602 speakers (decent output/connections). I like good quality sound but I am not an extreme audiophile. It is the versatily and easy handling (one interface for all) with decent quality that I am looking for.

A Sonos as this will read the music from your NAS and enable you to playback on your current hifi set up. .

- play music using an ipad or remote control with screen to operate, either streaming from the remote device or operating the mediaplayer/computer from the remote (I do not want to have to turn on my television or separate laptop).

Again a Sonos can be controlled using an iPad and you will be able to also playback music stored on an iX device or Android on the Sonos. A Sonos Play 1,3 or 5 would enable you to play music in different parts of the house or synchronised.

Streaming capability from other devices - also possible with the use of the NAS. For instance you will be able to playback videos/music/photos stored on your NAS to a TV in another room or via the Blu-ray player if you have one hooked up. (DLNA compatibility for instance would enable you to do this)

 

[rs6mra]

Apologies as I missed the bit where you stated that you want to be able to download without having to start up your laptop - A Mac mini would work in this respect. An Apple TV was probably recommended to enable playback of downloaded music/movies stored on your Mac mini to the TV.

 

[Jlugg]

Hi thanks for the reply. The mac mini also has a hdmi output which I can plug in directly to my tv so I still do not see what the additional benefit would be of an apple tv.

The problem with the NAS is indeed that I do not want to always startup my laptop to download. Would be nice to use one device that is relatively small (e.g. ipad or ipad mini) for all this functionality. Also I am a bit worried about the size of the NAS and required ventilation (as it will preferably go in my television cabinet). However, if there are great benefits to a NAS setup I am open for being convinced.

 

[Jlugg]

Sonos doesn't have any storage or play video media, it's strictly audio only, so I don't see any use for it in your setup, other than the mention of playing music in other rooms, which it is very good at but isn't going to help you with the main part of your query.

Thanks. That is why the suggestion was to link the Sonos to a NAS (in addition to linking a Mediaplayer to the NAS). I was just wondering if there would be any advantages to this setup? Maybe in terms of sound quality for music playback or for the interface. Although if you need a separate mediaplayer to play videocontent from the NAS then this may not be handy for usability (have to connect to 2 different machines from the Ipad).

As I said, I am also open for alternatives!

 

[happyfunball]

I think all you need is an Apple TV. Hook it up to the internet and your TV, and you're set. It will download rented movies from iTunes and also has a built in Netflix client if you want that. There is no need to store anything on a NAS anymore. For music, use iTunes Match, its $25 a year and means all your music is on all your devices automatically, including the ATV.

If you want to do it "less legally" then the ATV still works, it will stream any video content in your iTunes library if iTunes is running somewhere on the network. Most modern torrrented video is in MP4/AAC format so you just drag and drop it into iTunes and you are set.

For pushing music to other rooms, you can use AirPlay. ATV supports pushing sound to other rooms, but make sure sure you have a quality router to match the rest of your setup. For AirPlay reliability the best is an Apple Router of course, but they are $$$.

If you use Sonos (for wireless sound only) you can get away with a much cheaper router, but there is really no point in Sonos anymore unless you have invested in it previously IMO, AirPlay is at least as good on a 5gz network.