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Apple TV without TV

Hi all,

After a long hiatus I am looking to put a computer based system together. I'm not an Apple guy but the Apple TV with hard disc seems to fit the bill: reasonably good analog output and output to a DAC, has a 160GB hard disc built in, plus it's cheap.

Only hangup is that I've read on Positive Feedback that you can't use it without a TV connected. In the parlour, this will not fly. Not even a small one. I do own an Android phone or I could buy a Harmony remote. Can either of these run an ATV without the TV monitor?
wdrazek
tobuns
28 posts
 
I use an AppleTV 160GB for music only in a room without a TV. You need to hook it to a TV for the initial set up, but then you can move the AppleTV to your parlour and it's fine. I don't know about the android, but I control mine with the remote app on my iphone and ipad (ipad has a much better interface with album art and everything) I have plenty of lossless files on my AppleTV and it's my most listened to source. Good Luck.
paulsax
275 posts
 
maybe a dumb question. could poster run a mac mini (use a monitor for setup) and setup android? or ipad remote, remove monitor and go for it. attach monitor as needed for whatever?
silverarrows
25 posts
 
I had an ATV running headless...most of the time. I controlled it with an iPod touch. 160gb HD was too small so I just streamed it from my computer. Mac or PC, just need iTunes running. I found ATV to be frustrating at times and quite buggy. New one has no HD and is designed to stream from a PC. I'd recommend that instead. Another option is to use an Airport Express.
wdrazek OP
100 posts
 
Thanks again for the replies. I like that the ATV has a built-in HD, no streaming required. But would like to avoid going further into the Mac ecosystem. Sadly, no Android app I can find will control it.
magfan
1,583 posts
 
The potential downside of the AirPort Express is the Very High output jitter.

Some DACs, like my CA840c do not like that and can lose lock.
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