[cmryan21]

I've noticed that quite a few folks are using macbooks as media servers with Isabellinas/Isabellas and I was just wondering if anyone has tried using the optical out of an apple tv as the media server. It seems easy enough to get a larger hard drive for an atv so that should not be a problem. Also, it can fit in an entertainment center and stay there(a minor complaint).

One concern I would have is jitter. I've heard that the optical out of an atv produces much more jitter than the usb of a laptop(if this is wrong please correct me). If anyone knows if jitter causes less, more or the same amount of problems for the Isabellina as other dac's that would be helpful info. Well, if anyone has any experience or just some thoughts on the matter I'd be grateful.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi cmryan21,

Welcome to the RWA forum!

You can use the optical output of the Apple TV with the Isabella's dac and get very good results.  The Isabellina dac is not
very sensitive to jitter.  See: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=58678.msg525376#msg525376

Best regards,

Vinnie

[jwes]

cmryan21,

In an even tougher audio situation, I use the optical out from my Charter cable Motorola Moxi DVR box into the Isabellina (integrated into Isabella).  The results are better than TV/music deserves to be out of a cable box!  Not the same bar as you would want with a music server, but it works really well.  I also have an Apple TV not yet attached and will need a way to hook that up as well!

Jim

[cmryan21]

Vinnie, Thanks for that link. Helped me out a great deal.

On a slightly different possibility, are laptops better music servers because they run off a battery or do they provide no real benefit over desktops if both use a usb out? I'm basically trying to get something in my av rack that is small enough to blend in well and I thought an apple tv or a mac mini might be good solutions. While using my macbook would be the simplest solution, I wanted to explore the possibility of having a component be a permanent fixture in its location.

Jim, that is a tough situation. I would not at all have expected it to yield anything nice but I'm glad it's working out for you. Makes me even better about an atv/mini as music server. I hope your atv yields the results you're looking for and I thank you for sharing your experience.

[Vinnie R.]

Hi cmryan21,

On a slightly different possibility, are laptops better music servers because they run off a battery or do they provide no real benefit over desktops if both use a usb out? I'm basically trying to get something in my av rack that is small enough to blend in well and I thought an apple tv or a mac mini might be good solutions. While using my macbook would be the simplest solution, I wanted to explore the possibility of having a component be a permanent fixture in its location.

If you are running a Macbook (or other laptop) on battery, noise from the AC line does not become an issue, nor is there the AC to DC conversion process that takes place in a desktop computer's power supply. 

A Macbook has a small footprint and works fine in an AV rack as long as you have space to open it to view the screen.  There are also other smaller sized laptops.  If you use a mac mini, you still need a keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc... correct?  You may not be able to fit this in your av rack, or even want all of this. 

Best regards,

Vinnie

[cmryan21]

Hi cmryan21,

On a slightly different possibility, are laptops better music servers because they run off a battery or do they provide no real benefit over desktops if both use a usb out? I'm basically trying to get something in my av rack that is small enough to blend in well and I thought an apple tv or a mac mini might be good solutions. While using my macbook would be the simplest solution, I wanted to explore the possibility of having a component be a permanent fixture in its location.

If you are running a Macbook (or other laptop) on battery, noise from the AC line does not become an issue, nor is there the AC to DC conversion process that takes place in a desktop computer's power supply. 

A Macbook has a small footprint and works fine in an AV rack as long as you have space to open it to view the screen.  There are also other smaller sized laptops.  If you use a mac mini, you still need a keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc... correct?  You may not be able to fit this in your av rack, or even want all of this. 

Best regards,

Vinnie

Vinnie,

I should have mentioned that my setup is for both music and ht so my tv is available as a monitor if need be. As to mouse and keyboard, yea that is something I should remember but I keep forgetting and I thank you for reminding of that. You've pretty much convinced me that my macbook pro would seem to be the best option as a server(especially seeing as I already have it). Now I just need to save a couple dollars to get an Isabellina. I greatly appreciate all the help you given. Take care.

Ryan