Macpiphany

Mac mini ($599)
I started thinking about the possibility of having a mac mini as a sort of entertainment center. While searching for a no-subscribe DVR, I found a few that would work with my mac (and not independently). The mac would allow me to eliminate a DVD player. I've read briefly about turning a mac mini into an apple tv, not sure if that requires sacrificing the OS (besides, I suppose I could just play it from itunes). I could also stream netflix and boxee from one device (via web browser and boxee app, respectively)... I would essentially have a receiver, mac mini, antenna and TV. My biggest concern would be, quality. I believe apple TV has a better graphics card and HDMI... I've read that the mini could handle a fairly large LCD quite well... I suppose I would need a wireless mouse and keyboard, though apple mouse would suck in my living room. Maybe there's a dope track ball (not necessarily this one). Built in Bluetooth (poifect). Hard drive options, 120, 250, 320GB, though I'll bet I could put in whatever I want. RAM 1GB, maybe it doesn't matter. It would save me the heart ache of not having a mac with an intel processor (I currently can not watch netflix or boxee on my mac, G5).

AppleTV-to-Mac mini lite ($229+geeky work)
On the other hand, I've read about turning an apple tv into a mac mini lite (of sorts)... This is a bit more involved, but do-able. It would lack a DVD player, but maybe there's an external blu-ray (maybe a nice looking case for this?)? A Bluetooth Adapter for keyboard/mouse. Looks like there's one USB, if it doesn't have bluetooth, it's kinda fucked. Suppose I could get a hub. I should see what they're going for on eBay and CL (not hubs... apple tvs).
All of this stuff is miniature, which is great, but could cause a big mess. Oh and it's got optical out, which is good, since my receiver doesn't support hdmi audio... This option would be a shit of a lot cheaper... and would give me a chance to swap in a bigger hard drive.

Apparently my Logitech harmony remote can control it as well... It's starting to look good for appletv (can i just call it iTV? it make things easier)

El Gato's EyeTV ($149.95) could be a great DVR solution.

I would essentially be turning my TV into a big display for a mac... I'm not against that. But, it wont be just a laptop with a dvi-hdmi... it'll be a proper home theatre.