Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
2011 Mac Mini - Speculation
- Thread starter Nanker/Phelge
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
There is an experimental Plex build for jailbroken AppleTV 2's. There's also a Plex beta for Roku boxes, which are even cheaper. If you just want something to stream videos and music from a server elsewhere in the house, either of these should be fine once they get stable down the road.
CNet is now saying the Mini refresh will happen in August:
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/19/rumor-new-mac-pros-and-mac-minis-in-august-cnet-says/
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/06/19/rumor-new-mac-pros-and-mac-minis-in-august-cnet-says/
I'm seriously debating on just going back to building a new windows based HTPC
I really prefer OS X but I'm stuck with nothing for now
Why not go for an ION-based HTPC running XBMC Live? It's a far better media center solution than Plex on OS X anyway.
I'm looking forward to the new mini though, if it has Thunderbolt it would serve greatly as my next file server.
Why not go for an ION-based HTPC running XBMC Live? It's a far better media center solution than Plex on OS X anyway.
I'm looking forward to the new mini though, if it has Thunderbolt it would serve greatly as my next file server.
depends what you're used to. I used to prefer plex's UI but it was almost a 50:50 tossup. Now with Plex media server I'm firmly in the plex camp
Just to be clear, bitstreaming does not involve any encoding / decoding, so is not a CPU intensive task at all.
By definition, bitstreaming is sending a stream, bit-for-bit to a device without decoding. Essentially passthrough for a 6.5,mpbs (bluray typical) to a decoder. This is purely dependant upon hardware and software compatibility, which has been a minefield in the past.
Decoding a Bistrream to LPCM audio(uncompressed audio) is a CPU dependant task. People typically would want to do this if they are not using an external decoder that can handle a Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA bitsream.
I just set up Plex Media Server on my Mac Mini (the file server) yesterday to test out the new version, and found to be utter crap. But hey, each to his own.
as you say, each to their own, but i'm not sure how it suffers compared to XBMC? both have a scraper based system, but I thought only plex gives you the flexiblity to update and handle mismatches etc? Plus the whole ability to have a central server serving multiple clients, synchronising watched metadata etc - with XBMC you need each client scanning.
(I may be out of date with XBMC info, it might have all this now)
Exactly the point I have been making. People who are waiting for the next Mini refresh in the hope of better HTPC and in the hope of magically gaining HD-Audio bitstreaming etc - just suffer from "spec sheet obsession" and don't understand their own needs.
The Mini as it ships today makes a near perfect HTPC. "Refresh" to i5/HD3000/Thunderbolt won't make Mini a better HTPC. The ONLY reason to wait for a refresh is to improve a resale value or potentially get a better deal on the current model if the prices drop.
Hitekalex, please can you kindly bring the best software configuration for the HTPC on Mac Mini? as you commented, based on the current capabilities of Mac Mini and Mac OS, I would like to know what you suggested as software in order to have Media Center (Movie scanning, libraries management, etc.), MKV large files, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, HD-Audio, Remote Control, etc.Thanks!
Marco - I don't use anything too "unusual" with my Mini HTPC. Standard iTunes for library management and media playback. I use Movist Player for non-native (AVI/DiVX/MKV) media playback. I have a few ATV2s around the house, with Mini/iTunes acting as a streaming server. I have external BluRay drive, which I use with MakeMKV and Handbrake for content ripping.
Anyway, we're probably getting off topic of this thread, which is supposed to be about Mini 2011 refresh. Do some searches in MR HTPC forum - there are many threads there discussing what people do with their Mini/HTPC setups.
The scraping is slow and pretty bad in Plex, I just tried it. It didn't get all info, posters etc, even when using the same scraper engine as XBMC. Granted, the encoding on the fly feature is extremely useful, but only when used in concurrence with iOS units, which I have few of (AppleTV2 is not available in Norway). Also, XBMC is more customizable, and I can control it using my Harmony remote, which is very handy.
In many ways this thread reminds me of the old saying "horses for courses". You seem to have a well developed HTPC market in the U.S. whereas in the U.K. they are more of a novelty. This I assume is down to the way TV is broadcast in our respective countries. We have the Sky satellite broadcaster with their HD PVRs subscription channels plus Freesat HD and Freeview HD and as the name suggests is FREE. All of these are linked to PVRs so there is little incentive to use a HTPC arrangement. Added to this we have the BBC iPlayer plus other players from the terrestrial broadcasters and whilst this was initially linked to Broadband it too is now being incorporated into TVs as well though through your BB connection again all FREE. There is of course Apple TV.
For me a Mini would be used solely as a Desktop computer and as such I'm sure the present Mini is more than up to the job apart that is from lack of storage. Heck I don't even own a video camera anymore so no video editing to worry about either.
For me a Mini would be used solely as a Desktop computer and as such I'm sure the present Mini is more than up to the job apart that is from lack of storage. Heck I don't even own a video camera anymore so no video editing to worry about either.
To each his own, but you need to do your homework. Plex doesn't use scrapers anymore; it incorporates multiple agents and scanners to grab data. I have an extensive music and video collection; plex scans my library quickly and accurately, with mismatches easy to fix. Managing your media through your computer is much less cumbersome, IMHO. And my Harmony remote works just fine. Just my two cents.
Now we have a better idea when its coming out and a better idea what to expect perhaps we will see it for sale in Oz in a few more shops cos no matter how hard I look I haven't seen one in a non-apple store for ages and ages. imacs yes; macbooks yes; airs and pads yes but minis no
I'm just gonna go with cnet. They have to update the Mac mini sometime because of it's Core 2 Duo chip.-
I think August is going to be a busy month for refreshes!!! Gotta have the money ready.
Expect to see the cheapest graphics and storage options that apple can get away with.
How would the hd3000 graphics compare to the 320m that in the current model?
I'm holding my purchase of Mini for last few months (as MacRumors Buyer's Guide says: "don't buy"). But if new Minis are going to have same overheating issues as MBP 13 (see: https://discussions.apple.com/message/15461254#15461254), buying current (stable, silent and not too hot) Mini is maybe not that bad idea after all. I prefere silent operation over super-power with fan roaring at 6000 RPM.
The same concerns Macbook Air. I wonder what will happen when they'll close hotter Sandy Bridge CPU in the same beautiful unibody case. I'm expecting another nice long thread on Apple's support forum.
Is there something wrong with quality assurance in Apple nowadays? Or maybe design team didn't make they job properly. Or: people are buying, APPL stock is rising, who cares?!
The same concerns Macbook Air. I wonder what will happen when they'll close hotter Sandy Bridge CPU in the same beautiful unibody case. I'm expecting another nice long thread on Apple's support forum.
Is there something wrong with quality assurance in Apple nowadays? Or maybe design team didn't make they job properly. Or: people are buying, APPL stock is rising, who cares?!
A little better or a little worse, depending on the specific application or game. You also lose OpenCL compatibility with the Intel GPU (they try to make up for it by using the CPU), but get potentially accelerated video decoding (hints on the new Final Cut product page seem to indicate that Apple is leveraging this at least for some of their own products).
In theory they could just discontinue the mini, which seems like a significant possibility if one ignores the current rumor (and sorry, it is just a rumor). The iPad is doing a better job of luring people into the iOS/OSX ecosystem* and that sort of destroys the mini's reason for being from Apple's POV. Most of us on here desperately awaiting a new mini represent past/current Mac users who might be buying more profitable iMacs if we didn't think we had the option of a refreshed mini.
* with Lion it's clear that they're headed towards being the same system.