Apple TV vs. Mac Mini

[dgalvan123]

That works for great desktops but with a laptop I think you have to have the power cord plugged in with either the clamshell open (but still sleep) or a secondary monitor attached.

By the way, I tested this with my MBP 17" (mid 2009 model), and you are right: If I have the clamshell closed, apple TV will NOT wake up the computer (unless I were to attach a second monitor, as you suggest). Not an issue for me since I leave my laptop open all the time and basically use it as the family desktop. But if someone just has to leave their laptop clamshell closed, then yes there might be a problem.

 

[irayspot]

Rent on atv1 vs atv2 vs FrontRow and itunes

I have add Mac mini 2009 that I recencly change for the 2010 model.

I would like to know if the rent offer from iTunes in the same whwn you are using ATV1 vs ATV2 vs FrontRow or itunes (on a computer)

I am under the impression that the iTunes content is less than the ATV content.

Nov 3, 2010 09:54 AM
patrick0brien All good reasons to have a full Mac (mini) over an ATV, except one. You cannot rent in HD on the Mini. And many movies and TV shows you cannot buy in HD on the Mini.

Where can I have a complete picture without a ATV on hand.

 

[Chase R]

All good reasons to have a full Mac (mini) over an ATV, except one. You cannot rent in HD on the Mini. And many movies and TV shows you cannot buy in HD on the Mini.

But, you can download HD content elsewhere. That's what is nice about the mini, your not tied to the iTunes Store.

 

[irayspot]

Elsewhere!

Yes I know some Place.

Netflix, does it have the recent film?
Torrent, legal? format? take time and energy to find, transforme..., quality...
Hulu, is not available in Canada yet.
Where else can we buy or rent the recent movie and TV show?



But for 1$/rent and 5$/buys on itunes you have the most recent content and the best quality.



 imac - Aluminum, 2.4GHz, 4GB, 320GB, 10.6.4
 Mac mini - 2,4GHz, 2GB, 320GB, 10.6.5

 

[fowler.]

I just "upgraded" from a MacBook Pro to an Atv2 and am so far digging it. If you're okay with using the system that Apple has set up, there really isn't too much that you're missing out on.

I couldn't stand having to navigate using a mouse or Touchpad for the iPhone... everything seems so much smoother with the Atv. And God, willing if they ever come out with an App store for the little guy, I'd be really happy. Hulu Plus and every other media pusher would jump right on.

 

[Osamede]

But, you can download HD content elsewhere. That's what is nice about the mini, your not tied to the iTunes Store.

I'd go further and say that if you want only what content is fed to you by itunes then hell stay on cable TV and avoid both. There is nothing of importance on the itunes store that you couldnt get with a a virtual PVR service from your cable company anyway.

Overall its very clear that the idea of using the Mini for a media player is totally difference ballgame than the ATV. No surprise there, as they are a minimum of 500 bucks price difference and almost double that if you get the server edition. So its kind of a waste of time comparing these things.

 

[seriousmontana]

Don't forget that FrontRow on macMini does not play 5.1 content of itunes purchased movies.
That was the "neck breaker" in my case because it was not user friendly enough to switch between frontrow, itunes and plex on the mac mini. Now I am running an AppleTV 1st Gen and will upgrade the internal HDD to 750 GB to store all my content locally so I don't have to run the Mini for streaming.
I am still not 100% happy with this solution because I have to convert all my DVD's to an itunes compatible format, or use ATV flash but then again, the itunes purchased movies and the dvd's are separated in the menu....., and so on.....;-)

 

[omerbaker]

Overall its very clear that the idea of using the Mini for a media player is totally difference ballgame than the ATV. No surprise there, as they are a minimum of 500 bucks price difference and almost double that if you get the server edition. So its kind of a waste of time comparing these things.

I use a mini for home theatre, but I only uses a fraction of its ability. If you're just using ATV2 to stream movies/music to your tv and to surf the net, I would think $100 is about right (if I could surf the net).

 

[ZilogZ80]

I have a Mac Mini running Plex and my friend has an original ATV. In my opinion everything about Plex is better (more features, better UI, etc) except ATV has the edge if you like to rent movies, as my friend does.

 

[CylonGlitch]

ID pick up a used atv1, atvflash it, and throw on an external hard drive. It'll give you hulu and a lot more.

I was under the impression that ATV1 could NOT use the USB ports for an external drive. Is that still true, or do I need to use ATVFlash to get this functionality?

 

[tommylotto]

You cannot divorce money from the decision. The mini is many times more expensive. If money is no object, I would get both mini and ATV2. The mini could stay on all day and store all you content and use the slick Plex interface. The ATV would be there to view iTunes content streaming either from the Internet or the always on mini. Problems solved. All it took was money.

 

[KeithJenner]

but the major problem is itunes syncing. Is there a way to sync the library on my macbook and the library on my mini so that everything (playcounts, artwork, ratings, etc) is in sync? I've found some possible options but haven't been able to find an absolute solution.

I have been using TuneRanger for this for a while, and it works fine for me. I had read some bad reviews but downloaded the trial version andhaven't had a problem. It syncs between iTunes libraries and updates playcounts and other Metadata.

It does cost though. I think it was about $30.