Doing computer work in the Music world I encounter a lot of Mac users. Mostly users that use a laptop as their primary computing device. I hate to think how I would do the work I do if limited to a Mac laptop's internal drive. Many people tell me they would just use the cloud but I find few people that have been able to archive a large quantity of data to the cloud and safely store it for a long period. I have lost everything to the cloud on three occasions now and do not consider it safe for long term storage. I am constantly recommending that even if I was a Mac user I would have a windows desktop PC connected to my HDTV. I can use this as a file backup storage device also.
PC hardware is cost effective. A machine can be built for $300 and is expandable.
A dedicated HDMI machine can be optimized for HDMI so that all is necessary is to turn it on.
With as many as four 5.25" bays it provides room for expansion.
Drive connection SATA directly to the mobo is the fastest connection you can have
2TB 3.5" drives are currently the industry standard, inexpensive and fast $40.
Dataports can be mirrored and sit on the shelf for safe keeping
Case - Mid-Size Tower with a minimum of 3 5.25" drive bays - 1- dvd drive and at least two Dataports for mirroring
Processor - Currently using AMD AM3+ GPU chip - More than adequate - Rizen requires Win10
OS - We use Win7 exclusively - Used Win10 for over 6mo and returned to Win7 for media machines
Boot drive - A small 64gb SSD drive for OS and Programs - Significant performance improvement for $40
Data drive - 2TB internal SATA drive - avoid saving data to C: as it is a SSD
Memory - Minimum 8gigs
Dataports - At least two for drive mirroring.
RC Mouse - avoid Bluetooth
RC keyboard -
Having a machine such as this permanently connected to a HDMI port on the TV saves setup and configuration necessary when dual purpose displays are used like a Mac. You can have Windows start in a single user mode and place a program like MPdir.exe in the startup sequence and the machine will always boot into a full screen GUI with large fonts and RC mouse and keyboard control ready for media use.