One of the future upgrades in the new apartment will be a TV—or something like a TV. Well, that’s the question, actually.

Our sofa should be here mid to end of April, and with it, it will be time to look into this more seriously. Nat and I are not TV people: Nat watches most of his content (mostly YouTube “let’s play” kind of clips) on his MacBook, and I watch my movies and show on my Ultra-wide screen in my room. We’re both very volume-aware, especially in the new place, and love to have earphones anyway (better sound quality, for sure).

We do have “our show” though, which is a habit I also have with other partners. It’s a nice experience. Besides, some things are meant to be experienced on a bigger screen with a warm order-in on a cold winter day.

I could go the route of a smart TV, probably a Ruko or Apple TV (since we both have iPhones, and my media library is usually served through my Mac). However, I was considering getting a “dumb” TV, even a projector, which would give me more screen room rather than “smarts,” because I have a mostly unused Mac Mini I’d love to use for that purpose.

Airplay from the iPhone seems meh at best, at least when I try to share something from YouTube to my Mac. The video keeps stopping after a few seconds, and the quality is not that great. However, with a Mac Mini, I should be able to use a Bluetooth keyboard and Mouse to navigate where I want. Typing on a keyboard, while more cumbersome than a remote, is a much faster way to get around and search for titles. Besides, I could arrange for quick shortcuts in the Background to launch a media center or even have a Siri Shortcut or something similar.

I’m just not sure where to start with this. I’m sure good projectors (instead of a display, which will probably be more expensive) exist and get cheaper than a large TV or even a screen at a certain point. And I’m not going to get a sound system, as we will both be using our earphones (at the same time? I know this is also possible). The money I will save on the sound system and the “smarts” of a smart TV I don’t need could go into the quality of the projector.

Is anyone familiar with an entertainment system like this? What are some keywords to search for?