Need a small PC that will run iTune movies

[seym56]

I drive a semi truck coast to coast and I need a small PC that will run iTune movies but will also not be in the way. I have tried using a laptop with an external drive but overtime the vibration and bouncing has made my USB ports start to not work. I have also tried putting a small tower in my passenger seat and I don’t have the USB issues with that as I do with the laptop but it is simply in the way most of the time. I have been looking at Mini PCs as they have a smaller profile than a tower but have the benefit of the usb being replaceable. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? 

[aisle9]

What about something like a Raspberry Pi or Intel Compute Stick plugged into a TV?

[DrMacintosh]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

What about something like a Raspberry Pi

Can a Pi run Windows? 

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

Can a Pi run Windows? 

Only one way to find out. There's always WINE.

 

(There's not a Linux version of iTunes yet?!)

[DrMacintosh]

There are many options for what you're looking for. But there are some things that we need to determine first.

 

• How much are you willing to spend
• How large is your movie library? Aka how big of a drive do you need? 
• What resolution are you outputting? 

If you can answer those, I think we can help you get what you need. 

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, aisle9 said:

Only one way to find out. There's always WINE.

 

(There's not a Linux version of iTunes yet?!)

Even if Wine for iTunes existed, it would not be able to playback iTunes Movies since those are heavily DRMed. iTunes does not encrypt music in any way, but movies are blocked from being played outside of iTunes. 

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

Even if Wine for iTunes existed, it would not be able to playback iTunes Movies since those are heavily DRMed. iTunes does not encrypt music in any way, but movies are blocked from being played outside of iTunes. 

Dammit Apple. If I didn't have 90% of my music library in Apple Lossless format courtesy of having been in an exclusive relationship with iTunes since 2005, I'd have moved over to whatever viable alternative exists for large offline libraries and playlists. But I fear change.

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, aisle9 said:

Dammit Apple.

It's not Apples fault. DRM is required by the movie studios if they want to be able to sell the movies to consumers. I think Apple was able to nuke music DRM because that has proven to be more hassle than its worth, but movies are a much bigger industry with a lot more IP to protect. 

[SenKa]

Intel compute stick and Zotac mini PC come to mind.

[Boomwebsearch]

34 minutes ago, seym56 said:

with an external drive but overtime the vibration and bouncing

Some media files can take up a lot of storage and most of the mini or extremely small and less powerful portable computers I've seen come with an SSD which usually is not that large in storage capacity. Vibration and bouncing can be bad and shorten the longevity overall of your drive if its a hard drive or a mechanical drive. Mechanical drives like hard drives offer cheaper storage options for the gigabyte and may be the only option for many with large files on a budget although as SSDs get larger and more cost effective that may change in the future. Do you need your files for iTunes and other large data files to be on local storage or would a remote storage solution such as a NAS device be accessible (needing an internet connection). If you already have a NAS and mobile internet connection which is not limited then maybe something along the lines of a Raspberry Pi which has internet connectivity to the NAS which is not being subjected to the vibration and bouncing may be a good solution. I would be able to recommend a solution although some more information would be needed for optimization (quoted from another response since those are exactly appropriate to reference for this case).

25 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

• How much are you willing to spend
• How large is your movie library? Aka how big of a drive do you need? 
• What resolution are you outputting? 

If you can answer those, I think we can help you get what you need. 

 

[NineEyeRon]

Just buy a Apple TV

[Slayerking92]

Depending how much storage you need,  why not an ipad or some other tablet with a SDcard?

 

[star_pilot475]

You could build a mini-itx system...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$86.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock - Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	$89.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$47.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Kingston - A400 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$49.89 @ OutletPC
Case	Fractal Design - Node 202 HTPC Case	$71.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Silverstone - 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply	$54.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$401.74
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-27 18:03 EDT-0400

 

[Vulkan HeStan]

I'd recommend a Raspberry Pi 4. It's small, cheap, and easy to set up with a NOOBS SD card. The upgraded RAM and SoC mean it has performance comparable to an entry level x86 computer. I think there's a variation of Windows for Raspberry Pi too

[seym56]

Sry, been driving all day. My target budget is around $400 and I have a 5TB external (USB 3) hard drive full of iTunes tv and movies. I typically use a m2 drive paired with a 500GB Ssd drive for my PC drives and the external for movies. I’ve looked into the new R Pi 4 but apparently iTunes doesn’t support ARM processors. Also I do have a Apple TV 4k but as I’m often in areas where I have no internet it helps to have all my movies already downloaded. 

[seym56]

Also I typically download SD iTunes movies for space consideration 

[star_pilot475]

11 hours ago, seym56 said:

Also I typically download SD iTunes movies for space consideration 

With 5tb, there’s really no need. Unless you plan on downloading about 1000 movies at around 5gb a piece. (That’s for HD) 

[seym56]

On 6/28/2019 at 5:11 AM, star_pilot475 said:

With 5tb, there’s really no need. Unless you plan on downloading about 1000 movies at around 5gb a piece. (That’s for HD) 

My drive has my entire library on it. Music, tv, and movies. It’s about 4tb’s full. I’m actually thinking of adding 5tb’s more. Ten years ago I carried 2 huge binders of Dvd’s (about 500 movies). I’m so glad that I went digital.