Media player & audio system suggestion
Now I’m settled and the next thing to do is to setup the internet connection and Audio/Visual stuff.
IM3Currently I’m playing my music via iPod nano connected with InMotion IM3. This works great, and this allows charging iPod nano and syncing with iTunes as well. [this is good]
At the furniture assembly party, Randy suggested me to buy a screen projector and make the one side white (un-mirrored) wall as a huge screen. I hadn’t came up with the idea but it sounds very fantastic. I’m not sure if the owner permits mounting the projector to the ceiling (maybe he doesn’t), but there could be other way to set the projector anyway (I hope).
So I need to decide how to watch TV shows, DVD movies, play my fav. music etc. and want suggestions. i.e. what should I buy/contract re: projector, DVD player, media player, audio system, internet provider, catv provider (if any).
**What I have: **2G iPod nano, ThinkPad X40 with 2G free disk (so small!), Apple AirPort Express.
**What I listen to: **Usually play my music from iTunes. I buy music from iTMS (US/JP) all the time. Lots of music are in my other laptop computer I left in Tokyo, though.
What I watch: I’m crazy about Japanese comedy (Owarai) TV and European football (soccer) programs. I have a network-controlable DVR in my room in Tokyo. I watch it over LocationFree TV (similar to SlingBox) on my laptop. To display it with a projector, we might need LF BOX (similar to SlingCatcher), or just connect via DVI input. I have lots of DVDs in my Tokyo room. I like watching music video programs, like the old school MTV (these days MTV always plays shows like “Reality TV,” don’t they?) I’ve never downloaded video content from iTunes store. I wouldn’t probably watch American TV shows that much.
So, must buy: 1) an HD projector that does 1080i or something. It needs to have HDMI/D3 and DVI input. My budget is like $500. 2) a very simple 5.1ch (or 2.1ch) audio system that has at least 1 optical input. Budget $250. 3) an extra portable HDD 120G or something. Budget $100.
Media Player: I need some universal media player that can play: ripped DVD, MPEG2, MPEG4 and hopefully DivX files in HDD. Candidates are Avel Link Player and AppleTV. Maybe there are more. AveL Link Player can play DivX, while AppleTV can play those H.263 mp4 downloaded from iTues store. Playing DivX files would be great if I subscribe to easynews and download stuff from usenet, I guess.
DVD Player: I’m not sure if I need to bother with DVD player. If the media player can play DVD iso file stored in the HDD, I wouldn’t need it. If I buy it, it should be region free, since Japan (region 2) and U.S. (region 1) use different regions. AveL Link Player apparently has a DVD drive for region 1 or 2.
Internet: I’m currently thinking Comcast and Speakeasy. To watch location free TV without gaps, I need at least 3Mbps download (6Mbps would be better obviously). Speakeasy costs like $90 if I need 3Mbps down. Comcast is like $50 (but $30 for the first 6 months).
Cable TV: As I wrote, I won’t probably watch that many American TV shows. If I can see Fox Soccer Channel I’ll definitely watch it frequently. It won’t be worth $50/mo anyway.
Whoa, long post. I always tend to write this long whenever I write about audio visual stuff. Phew.