Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple TV or Mac Mini?

alansmallen said:
Between Boxee, Flex, Front Row, and iTunes I get everything you listed.
Click to expand...
You do but not through a seemless experience as with the ATV. Personally I love my ATV. But if you did go mini, if I were you, invest into an app (if you have an iPhone lol) of not only the Remote by Apple but AirMouse. It's $5.99 I think. It's expensive but is great.
 
Question about mac mini vs. appletv.

I have my itunes library on my imac in the study. If I were to get a mac mini and hook it up to my plasma in my living room and then access the itunes library in my office, will I be able to see all the coverart?? especially for the movies?

Also, what is the largest bitrate that I could play? 1080p m4v file at what bitrate?

Thanks
Mo
 
Forget them both and get a Sony PlayStation 3. It's the best of both worlds - not totally weak and featureless like Apple TV but also not a complete, expensive and underpowered computer like Mac mini.

I've written extensively about what it can do on here before, and there are many people who agree that it is the best solution for getting media to a TV.

From another thread on a similar topic, I wrote this:
PS3 is a very powerful machine. It has built in Bluetooth (so it supports Bluetooth headsets, keyboards, speakers and mice without any modification whatsoever) and is designed for use on a TV. The interface is very snappy although not completely perfect. If you're not comfortable using the gamepad to navigate it, there is an optional Bluetooth remote control which you can buy too.

Relevant to this forum, it's a Blu Ray and DVD player with the capability to stream video from your Mac or PC over a network (it has built in WiFi and Ethernet). You can copy files to the hard drive too, and if you fill up the hard drive or just want a bigger one they are very easy to replace - one screw lets you in and then it's just a matter of swapping the old one out for a new 2.5" SATA drive (like the ones Apple uses in MacBooks and which are very cheap). Doing this won't invalidate your warranty.

You can connect external drives via USB (there are two ports on the most recent consoles) or insert DVDs or CDs with files burned to them and again, copy them right over to the console's own drive.

If you live in Europe you can buy an add on called PlayTV which allows it to receive over the air digital TV (DVB-T, known as "Freeview" in the UK), pause it, record it, rewind it and generally do everything that Sky+ or Tivo can.

If you live in North America there is a video store which has a wide range of movie and TV show content. Prices are competitive with iTunes I believe, and the store is being launched in other areas (Europe) later this year.

There is also a web browser with Flash 9 included, meaning that it can play back videos from Flash enabled websites like BBC iPlayer and STV Catch Up.

All of that and I didn't even mention games yet. It's widely perceived to be the most powerful games console currently available and it has hundreds of games including compatibility with PSOne titles. You can buy games from the PlayStation Store or on disc.

I am stunned by the number of people who buy Apple TV when this is available for slightly more money and it does so much more.
Click to expand...
 
neiltc13 said:
Forget them both and get a Sony PlayStation 3. It's the best of both worlds - not totally weak and featureless like Apple TV but also not a complete, expensive and underpowered computer like Mac mini.

I've written extensively about what it can do on here before, and there are many people who agree that it is the best solution for getting media to a TV.

From another thread on a similar topic, I wrote this:
Click to expand...

The one thing the PS3 does not do which is a deal breaker for many is: play iTunes protected content.
 
neiltc13 said:
Forget them both and get a Sony PlayStation 3. It's the best of both worlds - not totally weak and featureless like Apple TV but also not a complete, expensive and underpowered computer like Mac mini.

I've written extensively about what it can do on here before, and there are many people who agree that it is the best solution for getting media to a TV.

From another thread on a similar topic, I wrote this:
Click to expand...

Really not interested in using my Ps3 as my movie player. For the following reasons

1) No IR support, why the heck would I want to use a gamepad to control it? No girl finds that awesome.. trust me. Also, I don't want to add another bluetooth remote that I would have to use.. one remote, does the job for my entire system

2) No cover art? I think.. I saw some pictures posted with coverart, but definately doesn't have the beauty of appletv. What about metadata?

3) Blue-ray?? Why the heck would I want to pay 25.00-30.00 on a movie?? Just to have yet another format available in 2-3 years. Also I hate collecting physical discs.. takes up too much room, only one person can watch the movie at the same time (in different rooms), and people are always borrowing my crap and never brining them back. Not to mention i had to wait freaking 5 minutes for the stupid FBi warning, and dumb menus to start before I could even watch the freaking movie.

4) A little off topic.. The PS3 sucks as a game console too.. I have both this and Xbox 360.. the 360 online community is far better

5) What about music? Is it easy as the appletv? What about podcasts? Boxee? XBMC?

6) It consumes tons and tons of energy.. I think I read somewhere.. more than a freaking fridge??

7) Always have to update.. always. I bought that Killzone 2 game, and I had to update so many freaking patches before I could play the game! It pissed me off! Connect controller.. download.. update.. connect controller.. download another update!.. update.. connect controller??

Who designed this idiotic device?

So convince me further?? Because right now I really do wish I never even bought my ps3.. what a waste of money.. the only good thing about it was that game Drakes Fortune.. thats it.

Mo
 
Alan, I see you are getting many good replies here.

FWIW I've tried both. First with the mini, but at the time I hadn't gotten things set up just right, and went with Apple tv for sake of simplicity, and to run Boxee.

The Apple tv is very nice. I love how it is small & quiet and just plain works with iTunes. However I haven't been completely satisfied with the hacking side of things. Boxee runs OK and does play my .avi's with some effort, and I like Pandora & Last.fm as well. I've been frustrated getting things set up just right, though. (another topic)

With that said, I am re-considering going with a mini (or something similar) instead.

If I went completely legit with my video files (i.e. 100% iTunes) and didn't want Hulu on Apple tv, I'd probably keep it.

Perhaps you could pick up an Apple tv on eBay and mess about with it first? If it doesn't quite suit your needs, you could always resell & upgrade to a mini at that point. At least you'd have some personal experience to help your decision.
 
alansmallen said:
I see from your signature that you have both devices, do you mind explaining what you use each for and which you prefer and why?
Click to expand...

The Apple TV is connected to our 720p Samsung TV and its audio is piped to the TV by HDMI, and to our Onkyo 5.1 receiver by optical cable. This gives us the option of low dynamic range audio (the TV) or wall-shakin', thunder-ratlin', bump-thumpin' audio (the Onkyo). It is far more kid/wife friendly.

The Mini is my home theater computer that is centered around Plex that's in the Man Cave (known in some cultures as a "basement"). I have the Blu-ray rips on a 1.5 TB FW400 drive and Plex plays most of them without any perceptible frame drops. Most importantly, it does DTS passthrough, which most Blu-rays have. It's controlled by a Harmony 520 remote and is a bit more challenging to operate. Screen is 10 ft wide and the Sanyo projector is 1080p. :D

In sum, they are two different devices with overlapping target audiences.

mohanman said:
Also, what is the largest bitrate that I could play? 1080p m4v file at what bitrate?
Click to expand...

I have several Blu-ray rips (1080p m2ts or ts containers) at 30 gbps and my 2 gHz Mini plays the majority of them just fine with Plex. XBMC is also very good (some say better) at decoding. VLC has trouble with them, but plays 15 mbps MPEG-4/H.264 video just fine, while QuitTime struggles with that bit rate with MPEG-4/H.264. I've not tested it, but I suspect with QuitTime (and its surrogates, iTunes and Front Row) you'd probably have to be in the 10-12 mbps range for playback. And forget about AC3 passthrough - QT won't do it for you any more.
 
For those that have both, how does the audio compare???

I only have Apple TV for now, I have HDMI to the TV and compononet cables connected to my surround sound (I don't play sound directly from the TV).

With the mini you use the DVI/HDMI cable which doesn't transmit sound. How would I play sound with my current setup? Would I have to use the headphone jack?? Is it any good?
 
alansmallen said:
But the Apple TV has the edge when it comes to price.
Click to expand...

that's true but it won't be obsolete in the next year when apple releases a new apple tv (or if they discontinue it rather).


you can always change your software - no waiting for it to be ported.

you can play dvd's (which you can't do with the apple tv)

you can do a lot more! it's a Mac!


maybe it's me... but saving 200 bucks doesn't justify the apple tv. maybe it's the part where i spent 200 something on it and came home to use it... and would have to rent something from iTunes and spend more money. haha


any way - if you are willing to be a man, you can find mini's on craigslist, and eBay for that matter. the older generation (like i have) go for a lot cheaper.

my 1.66 with 2GB of memory can handle 1080p and runs boxee all the time. it is MY media center.

plus if you buy an older, lower spec'd mini like a core solo or something -


you could always upgrade it to a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo in the future for another 200 bucks if you felt you really needed some more power.

(the 2.16 chips are only around 100$)


i guess for me i only see the downs for the ATV - and why not spend a little bit more and get something a lot better
 
michael.lauden said:
any way - if you are willing to be a man, you can find mini's on craigslist, and eBay for that matter. the older generation (like i have) go for a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

I've been looking, but I've always been a proponent of buying Macs with AppleCare. That limits my options and raises the asking prices.
 
alansmallen said:
I've been looking, but I've always been a proponent of buying Macs with AppleCare. That limits my options and raises the asking prices.
Click to expand...

true that. when i bought mine - i found out my logic board had been replaced and the seller didn't even bother to tell me... :(

however i have no problems for the last 6 months


good luck on your venture - and i do recommend eBay over craigslist to get a better deal... especially on an Apple computer.


you see people trying to sell mac mini G4's with no keyboard, mouse or monitor - for like... 450$.

a little ridiculous haha.


good luck! and definitely tell us which way you are leaning, and of course... which way you decide to go!!! :)
 
alansmallen said:
I've been looking, but I've always been a proponent of buying Macs with AppleCare. That limits my options and raises the asking prices.
Click to expand...

If you wait, probably you can buy one of the new models at Apple.com refurbished for maybe $100 less in couple of months or a bit more.

I also highly recommend AppleCare. I never had any issues before I bought my PowerMac G5, but then I am glad I did. They basically gutted my whole computer and in the end gave me a new MacPro as replacement. Without AppleCare that would have cost me a good chunk of money.
 
gugy said:
If you wait, probably you can buy one of the new models at Apple.com refurbished for maybe $100 less in couple of months or a bit more.

I also highly recommend AppleCare. I never had any issues before I bought my PowerMac G5, but then I am glad I did. They basically gutted my whole computer and in the end gave me a new MacPro as replacement. Without AppleCare that would have cost me a good chunk of money.
Click to expand...

Would the computer from above

http://www.jr.com/mb138ll-a-mac-mini-1-83ghz/pe/APP_MB138LLA/

be worth it?
 
mac88 said:
A refurb has been inspected fully and will work the same as new.
Click to expand...

But for a ten dollar difference, I get the box and everything. In the case that I want to resell one day, it gives it a little bit more value.
 
I would buy the new ones.
They have a much better graphics card and much better wattage consumption. If you have it as HTPC you will probably leave it almost always on, so you will save some $ on electric bills.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back