Using a MAC Mini for home theater

[Don66]

The Mini looks like it would be a good home theater appliance.

Would there be any reason not to buy one, upgrade the memory and the hardrive?

Then use DVI out to HDMI adapter hook to my t.v. and audio out to my yamaha?

Has anyone tried it?

I could build a HTPC, but am wanting to try a new toy.

Yes I did a search and didn't really find any good info here.

 

[bastula]

it might do 720p, but it definitely wont do 1080p because the video card sucks...pretty sure of that one.

if you were just going to watch dvds on it, then it would be fine. but if you plan on watching high-def stuff most of the time, i'd stick with either a self-built htpc or at least something that has a dual core and discrete GPU.

 

[AsianriceX]

Originally posted by: bastula
it might do 720p, but it definitely wont do 1080p because the video card sucks...pretty sure of that one.

if you were just going to watch dvds on it, then it would be fine. but if you plan on watching high-def stuff most of the time, i'd stick with either a self-built htpc or at least something that has a dual core and discrete GPU.

The Mac Mini does come in dual-core flavors, but having had one myself, I can confirm that 1080p will make it drop frames. Some say it depends on how the video was encoded, but the 1080p trailers on Apple's website weren't running as smoothly as I would have wanted.

Us Mac Mini fans are still waiting on that never coming hardware refresh

 

[mshan]

AVS Forum's Mac Chat

That being said, I currently have both my Mac Mini and XP Box (XFX 7600GS video card) and to my eyes there is some video noise with the integrated graphics and colors perhaps are not quite as accurate as the dedicated video card with Nividia graphics drivers (Westinghouse LVM-37W3)

I'd say for casual HTPC, the Mac Mini is great because of the elegant Front Row interface. For serious home theater (e.g. using Theatertek with front projector), building a very quiet and flexible in terms of upgrade Windows box might be the smarter thing to do. Front Row in Leopord has really improved and it even automatically pops up and plays ripped dvds now.

You could also think of going the Hackintosh route.

 

[Pabster]

Mac Mini's make sexy home theater boxes.

I prefer AppleTV for the smaller size and lower energy consumption; But the Mini can do a lot more if need be.

I'm hoping a Mini refresh will come in the not-too-distant future with a PCI-E slot so we aren't stuck with GMA graphics.

 

[JSt0rm]

I think it will do 1080i but not p

 

[timswim78]

There is a possibility that Apple may update the mini at their event on June 9th. It might be worth it to wait for that. If Apple updates the mini's video chip to something like the X3100 or better, than it should handle blu-ray and 1080p without any problems.

Personally, I prefer Vista's Media Center over Apple's Front Row. You could get a quiet, small Vista computer with more horsepower than the mini for the same price or less, and you would have the ability to use it as a DVR, recording television.

With Front Row, apple does not include recording capabilities. You'd have to go with a third party solution, which would be external.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Don66
The Mini looks like it would be a good home theater appliance.

Would there be any reason not to buy one, upgrade the memory and the hardrive?

Then use DVI out to HDMI adapter hook to my t.v. and audio out to my yamaha?

Has anyone tried it?

I could build a HTPC, but am wanting to try a new toy.

Yes I did a search and didn't really find any good info here.

I've used a Mini in my home theater in the past. Front Row 2.0 in Leopard basically turns your Mini into a high-def AppleTV with DVD player. It has several drawbacks, however:

1. Laptop drive inside: limited capacity and slower speeds. You can boot from an external 3.5" drive, but then your Mini's not so...mini.
2. Integrated graphics: Non-upgradable, but at least is has DVI output.
3. Laptop processor: Max is 2.33ghz if you DIY. The 2ghz stock one can handle HD okay though.
4. No HD Disc support: No Blu-ray player, no HD-DVD player - even if you add an external drive. Just DVDs and digital files.

Despite the drawbacks, it is a neat little appliance for your home theater. Ultimately I wanted more features and better control, so I went with something else. Honestly, if you want to build a home theater Mac, I'd suggest doing a Hackintosh. That way you can (1) use a media center-oriented case like an Antec Fusion, (2) use fast, large full-sized hard drives, (3) use a real video card, and (4) get a 1080p-capable CPU (E4500 works like a charm for 1080p encoded material, which is processor-intensive, and is only $125 compared to $600+ for a 2.33ghz T7600 Merom mobile chip for the Mini).

Personally however, I don't think Macs really have a place for "real" home theater usage. They are nice for basic use, if that's all you'd use, but if you want, say, DVR capabilities, you're not going to get a unified interface like you would with other options. My recommendation is Vista Home Premium, which gives you the new snazzy Windows Media Center. It's designed to be a Tivo (DVR), DVD player (plus HD-DVD and Blu-ray, if you have the appropriate PowerDVD software), and digital movie player (AVI, MPG, XVID, etc.). I've been using it for a couple months now and so far it is the best all-in-one solution I have used. One simple remote and a unified GUI handles all of the functions, and my family understands it much better than using the Tivo for television, switching to the DVD player to pop in a DVD movie, then over to the Xbox to stream movies.

What it really boils down to is what your goals are. If you want to watch and listen to iTunes audio/video files plus watch your own videos, then a Mini is a great way to go. If you just want iTunes stuff, the AppleTV is even better. If you want DVR, you can add EyeTV, but then you lose the single interface, which is really nice to have on a TV appliance.