MEDIA & YOUR MAC Presentation To AMUG SrSIG By Al Coir September 8. 2010 APPLEʼS MINI Display Port The Mini DisplayPort is a miniaturized version of the DisplayPort interface. First publicly announced by Apple on October 14, 2008, it is used in all new Macs (MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, Xserve), and the LED Cinema Display. Unlike its Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI predecessors, Mini DisplayPort is capable of driving resolutions up to 2560×1600, commonly used with 30inch displays. With a suitable adapter, Mini DisplayPort may be used to drive displays with a VGA, DVI or HDMI interface. On November 27, 2008, Apple announced that it would license the Mini DisplayPort connector with no fee. Apple reserves the right to void the license if the licensee does "commence an action for patent infringement against Apple". On 13 April 2010, Apple added support for audio out using Mini DisplayPort in their MacBook Pro product line. Compatibility VESA states, "DisplayPort assures that you get the best experience from your LCD, it simplifies display design and connections, enables interoperability with existing display interfaces and provides a technology foundation to deliver new and exciting display capabilities." However, the removal of the DVI port from the MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro in favor of Mini DisplayPort, and the use of Mini DisplayPort as the video connector for the new 24-inch Cinema Display, may complicate compatibility: Mini DisplayPort's HDCP extension disables playback of certain DRMencrypted content on any display not designed for it. This includes some content from the iTunes Store which has no such restrictions if played on a Mac without Mini Display Port ] Apple's Dual-Link DVI or VGA adapters are relatively large and expensive compared to past adapters, and customers have reported issues with the new adapters, such as being unable to connect to an external display. Monitors connected to a Mini DisplayPort via these adaptors may have resolution issues or not "wake up" from sleep.[20] [21][22] (However, any one experiencing these problems with Apple's DVI adaptors should check the cable used for the DVI connection. It must be a Dual-Link type, not a standard DVI cable.) Mini DisplayPort adapters do not exist for the older component video, SVideo, or composite video connectors. Connectivity can be achieved by converting the Mini DisplayPort digital signal first to VGA, DVI, or HDMI, then to the appropriate signal type. While the DisplayPort specification is capable of supporting digital audio, the older 2009 line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros are unable to provide an audio signal through the Mini DisplayPort, and only do so over USB, Firewire, or the audio line out port instead (the April 2010 line of MacBook Pro, however, supports this. This can present a problem to users who intend to connect their computers to HDTVs using a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. To work around this issue, some third-party manufacturers have created adapters that plug into both the Mini DisplayPort (for video) and a USB port (for audio) or Mini DisplayPort (for video), a USB port (for power) and the optical out (for audio); either option terminating with a single female HDMI connector, thus allowing both video and audio to be channeled over the one HDMI cable. page 1 MINI DVI Connector The Mini-DVI connector is used on certain Apple computers as a digital alternative to the Mini-VGA connector. Its size is between the full-sized DVI and the tiny Micro-DVI. It is found on the 12-inch PowerBook G4 (except the original 12-inch 867 MHz PowerBook G4, it used Mini-VGA), Intel-based iMac, the MacBook Intel-based laptop, the Intel-based Xserve, and the 2009 Mac mini. In October 2008, Apple announced the company was phasing Mini-DVI out in favor of Mini DisplayPort. Mini-DVI connectors on Apple hardware are capable of carrying DVI, VGA, or TV signals through the use of adapters, detected with EDID (Extended display identification data) via DDC. This connector is often used in place of a DVI connector in order to save physical space on devices. Mini-DVI does not support dual-link connections and hence cannot support resolutions higher than 1920x1200 @60Hz. There are various types of Mini-DVI adapter: Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter Apple part# (M9320G/A) Apple Mini-DVI to Video Adapter Apple part# (M9319G/A) Apple Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter (DVI-D) Apple part# (M9321G/B) A Mini-DVI to HDMI Adapter is also available but not from Apple. The physical connector is similar to Mini-VGA, but is differentiated by having four rows of pins arranged in two vertically-stacked slots rather than the two rows of pins in the Mini-VGA. Connecting to a DVI-I connector requires a Mini-DVI to DVI-D cable plus a DVI-D to DVI-I adapter. Apple's Mini-DVI to DVI-D cable does not carry the analog signal coming from the mini-DVI port on the Apple computer. This means that it is not possible to use this cable with an inexpensive DVI-to-VGA adapter for VGA output; Apple's mini-DVI to VGA cable must be used instead. This could be avoided if Apple provided a mini-DVI to DVI-I cable. The purpose of DVI-I is to ensure universal compatibility.[1][2] The Apple mini-DVI to DVI-D cable's package shows a DVI-I figure instead of DVI-D and does not specify that it comes with only DVI-D. page 2 HDMI Cable HDMI® (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an interface standard used for audiovisual equipment such as high-definition television and home theater systems. With 19 wires wrapped in a single cable that resembles a USB wire, HDMI® is able to carry a bandwidth of 5 Gbps (gigabits per second). This is more than twice the bandwidth needed to transmit multi-channel audio and video, future-proofing HDMI® for some time to come. This and several other factors make HDMI® much more desirable than its predecessors, component video, SVideo and composite video. HDMI® is an uncompressed, all-digital signal, while the aforementioned interfaces are all analog. With an analog interface, a clean digital source is translated into less precise analog, sent to the television, then converted back to a digital signal to display on screen. At each translation, the digital signal loses integrity, resulting in some distortion of picture quality. HDMI® preserves the source signal, eliminating analog conversion to deliver the sharpest, richest picture possible. Previous video interfaces required separate audio cables, with the vast majority of people using standard RCA L/R analog audio jacks. HDMI®, with its abundant bandwidth and speed, carries not only video but also up to eight digital audio channels for uncompromised surround-sound. It replaces the tangle of wires behind the system with a single cable, greatly simplifying the entire setup process of the home theater system while delivering top tier performance. Though standard HDMI® or "Type A" has 19 wires, "Type B" will have 29 wires. The latter is targeted for the motion picture industry and other professional applications. Both varieties are "Intelligent HDMI®," referring to the built-in capability for HDMI®-enabled components to talk to each other via the interface. Auxiliary information can provide all-in-one remote functionality and other interoperable features not possible in previous interface technologies. HDMI® supports standard video formats, enhanced video and high-definition. It is also backwards compatible with DVI (Digital Video Interface). High-end graphics cards featuring a DVI port can connect to a HDMI® interface via a DVI/HDMI® cable. This is simply a cable with a DVI connector on one end and a HDMI® connector on the other. As a rule, HDMI® cables should not run longer than 15 feet (5 meters), or degradation of the signal could occur. Related topics HDML HDML Dvi HDML 1.3 HDML Connector HDML Splitter HDML Switch HDML Output As of 2005, many high-end television sets were sold with at least one HDMI® interface. Some experts advise that two HDMI® interfaces will provide more flexibility, and for those who want to connect a game console, three might serve better. Multiple interfaces will become common on digital TVs as the industry incorporates HDMI® interfaces into more peripheral components. page 3 HDMI CABLES HDMI Cable (Standard) page 4 SOUND PROBLEM The following video ports on your Mac, or any other PC you may have, do not carry sound and will never carry sound. VGA mini-VGA DVI mini-DVI A cable with any of the above as a part of its name also do not and will never carry sound. Connecting a HDMI cable (that can carry your sound) to one of these ports does not somehow magically enable it to carry sound. The following ports on your computer: DisplayPort mini-display port According to the specification have the capability of carrying audio/video like HDMI. However, as of the date of this post, the audio portion has not been implemented on any computers that I have seen. So, you're still out of luck here. Those that have begun using this port include Apple, Dell, Asus and others. So, this means you still need a separate audio cable to get the audio to your TV or AV receiver. One option for those with the mini-display port is the following cable to combine audio and video from your Mac into HDMI. For only $60.00 each - Mini Display port Male and USB Male Audio to HDMI Female Converting USB from MAC HDMI Cable to HDMINI DVI Port from MAC page 5 TYPICAL HOOKUP MAC to HD-TV MINI DVI PORT to HDMI Adapter MINI DVI Port HDMI CABLE Late Model MAC. MacBook, Macbook Pro, Intel Audio Cable (Radio Shack) Notes: The MINI DVI Port Adapter is available on the internet and a the Apple stores even though this item is not available at the online store. LFT RT Audio In HDMI In The audio mini jack/mini plug to RCA connector is available at Radio Shack. It may be be also available at the Apple store. Late Model Flat Panel TV with HDMI Port page 6 ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION Example 1 Hi-Speed Internet Connection MODEM with HD Television MAC Dotted Lines indicate WIFI | Links Cabling see Page 4 or 5 Note this could be any late model MAC - MINI or MAC-TV (Old)* MAC Hard Drive (for iTunes Page 7 ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION Example 2 Hi-Speed Internet Connection Cable or DSL page 10 Hard Drive (for iTunes Media) MAC USB Airport Express or Dotted Lines indicate WIFI Links HD Television Cabling see Page 4 or 5 MAC - MINI or MAC-TV MAC Page - 8 DISC COPY APPLICATIONS RipIt ($19.95) http://thelittleappfactory.com/ripit/ Easily organize your movies Moving files around on your computer is a lot easier than alphabetizing shelves full of DVDs. Type to enter text Peace of mind Movies stored safely in your computer can't get lost, scratched or broken. Simplify entertainment on the go Why carry around bulky DVD cases or disc wallets when you don't have to? Rip to iPad RipIt has preset options to allow ripping DVDs straight to your iPad. Use your laptop longer Laptops use a lot more juice when they're spinning a DVD and a hard drive. page 9 DISC RIPPER APPLICATIONS HandBrake (Free) http://handbrake.fr/ HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows. Any DVD-like source: VIDEO_TS folder, DVD image or real DVD (unencrypted--protection methods including CSS are not supported internally and must be handled externally with third-party software and libraries), and some .VOB and .TS files Most any multimedia file it can get libavformat to read and libavcodec to decode. Outputs: • File format: MP4 and MKV • Video: MPEG-4, H.264, or Theora • Audio: AAC, CoreAudio AAC (OS X Only), MP3, or Vorbis. AC-3 pass-through, DTS pass-thorugh (MKV only) Misc features: • Chapter selection • Subtitles • Integrated bitrate calculator • Picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling page - 10 DISC RIPPER APPLICATIONS ZippyRippy ($5.95) http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/32792/zippyrippy ZippyRippy is a new program developed with one goal in mind, ripping DVD media for use on personal devices. ZippyRippy is set apart by the idea that DVD conversion should be automatic without the need to endlessly tweak controls. • If a DVD with a valid VIDEO_TS folder is detected when ZippyRippy is launched, it will start going into action based on previously established preferences. • Create an ISO disk image of the DVD for archiving or backup. • Convert for all Apple devices including: iPod, iPhone/iPod touch, AppleTV. • Rip the main feature of a DVD squeeze itself to a standard 4.3 GB DVD. This is also handy to skip menus and previews on most DVDʼs. • h.264 mpeg4 encoding option, great for AppleTV • Set it up to launch when a video DVD is inserted into the drive for automatic ripping and encoding. page - 11 iTunes Shared iTunes Libraries Selecting the Library Controls iTunes media library location which can be located in the same MAC or anywhere in the Local Area Network. Page - 12 ITunes Preference Panel Settings Will look for shared iTunes on all computers on the network. Must be selected to permit iTunes library on this system to be shared Select what you want to Share Password Required? Page - 13 ITunes Shared iTunes Libraries Shared Media Files On other system Page - 14 MEDIA BROWSER - PLEX http://www.plexapp.com/ Plex bridges the gap between your Mac and your home theater, doing so with a visually appealing user interface that provides instant access to your media. Plex can play a wide range of video, audio and photo formats as well as online streaming audio and video. The real power of Plex is found in its library features: Organize your media into versatile libraries, automatically retrieve metadata from the Internet, and display your libraries using one of the visually stunning skins. The Plex Media Server - Access over 100 popular online video and image sources The new Plex Media Server allows Plex to effortlessly connect to all of your favorite local/online content. iTunes, iPhoto and Aperture content update in Plex seamlessly and in real time. Plex Media Server also connects with the brand new App Store which serves plug-ins that provide a huge amount of online content to Plex. Plug-ins work by leveraging WebKit to display video from online sources. Many of these sources are in HD and use the siteʼs native flash and silverlight players. Plex Media Center for OS X Macworld Review Media Management Organize all of your media, from local drives, network shares, optical media and the Internet, in one easy to use application. Plex supports a wide range of video, audio and image formats without having to install any additional third party plug-ins or programs. Plex will make the days of trying to find the right plug-in to work with the right application a thing of the past. Skinable Interface Plex includes a highly customizable skinning engine that allows users to alter the entire user interface. Colors, controls, navigation, positioning of elements, animation, even adding additional functionality can be achieved with a skin. Each skin provides a totally different user experience. Many skins have been designed with high definition wide-screen televisions in mind and will look great on your 720p or 1080p television. With Plex and custom skins, your media center experience will rival (or even exceed!) that of costly closed media center systems. Library Being able to play all your media in one application is great. Being able to do that and automatically download movie and TV show artwork, fan-art, plot and episode information as well as artwork and artist/album information for your music is simply brilliant! The Library does the work so you spend less time organizing your media and more time enjoying it. Looking for a romantic comedy? Browse by genre. Looking for a horrible movie to make fun of? Sort by IMDB rating and pick the bottom one! Page - 15 MEDIA BROWSERS -BOXEE (FREE) http://www.boxee.tv/ REVIEW FROM A MAC GURU: Some background. Iʼm a Mac user. So Iʼve grown pretty familiar with Front Row, Appleʼs severalyear-old solution to this idea. I also dinked around with Miro when it was first announced – it has some similar functions as Boxee, but is open source. (One big difference with Miro – it includes a BitTorrent downloader, which probably makes content providers a wee bit gunshy.) Then thereʼs Joost, a media viewer which always struck me as having similar content to the afternoon broadcasts of local TV stations – old cartoons, weird out-dated shows. Where Boxee trumps all of these tools is in its ability to rope in content from all over the place. TV networks, movie studios and websites have developed “apps” (Boxee-customized portals) and made content available for the platform that make it pretty robust out of the box. Additionally, the system makes viewing content fairly simple — TV shows and other items can be added to a queue for viewing, or added as favorites. The point-and-click icons and simplicity of the user interface makes it easy to find your way around. (I certainly canʼt fault the graphic design. The entire system is clean and easy on the eyes from a distance. To see more screenshots, check out Boxeeʼs blog post announcing the beta. Should give you a sense of aesthetics.) In the upper right of the screen, the time and temperature, obviating any need to ever look away from the content. The first thing youʼll see when you first open Boxee is, a guide to using the system. Page -16 ($99.00) All streaming. No hassle. Everything you want to watch — movies, TV shows, photos, and more — streams wirelessly to Apple TV. That way you donʼt have to worry about managing storage or syncing to your iTunes library. HD movie and TV show rentals play over the Internet to your widescreen TV, while music and photos stream from your computer. Either way, all you have to do is click and play. Since Apple TV features a powerful A4 chip, it streams everything effortlessly, without frozen screens or stutters. Video looks crisp and clear. And just like watching a DVD, you can fast-forward through opening credits, pause for a popcorn break, or replay a hilarious scene until you memorize every line. Get connected with Apple TV. Setting up Apple TV is about as simple as it gets. Just plug the power cord into the wall and connect Apple TV to your widescreen TV using an HDMI cable (sold separately). Since everything streams wirelessly to Apple TV, thatʼs all you need. Well, that and a comfy couch. Even more flicks with Netflix. From classics to recent Hollywood favorites, Netflix on Apple TV puts even more movies and TV shows within reach of your remote.3 Apple TV smartly organizes the huge Netflix catalog of HD and SD titles so you can find exactly what youʼre looking for in a matter of clicks. When you find something you like, watch it right away or add it to your instant-watch queue. Since Apple TV lets you access your Netflix account directly from your HDTV, you can ditch all the computer-to-TV adapters and skip straight to the part where you press Play. Page - 17
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