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Buying Mac Mini for Home Theatre - 3 Q's for the experts

S

SureShot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2008
13
0
First of all, thank you for reading and thank you in advance for helping if you can.

I have just read a ton of forum posts and want to make sure I am going to buy the right accessories to make my new Mac Mini all it needs to be to run my home theater.

1. For 5.1 audio, do I need to buy this product and then just use a standard Optical audio cable to plug into my receiver?

2. The new Mac Mini comes with a mini DVI to DVI connector correct? So all I will have to buy is a DVI to HDMI cable?

3. Is OWC (other world computing) the best place to buy upgrades for the mac mini? I have looked at the videos on youtube and it seems like something I should be able to do no problem.

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate the help!
 
Sky Blue said:
yes and yes for 1 and 2.

Use Plex!
Click to expand...

no way! use Boxee!!!


and there isn't a single 'best' place to buy mini parts. they are just standard laptop parts.

you can use the system scanner at www.crucial.com

and you can just buy a SATA 2.5" HD if you plan to upgrade.


and yes, those upgrades are very easy - they just require a little bit of elbow grease
 
And in response to Q3?

OWC might not be the "best" place to buy Mac Mini upgrades, but it's certainly a "good" place. I've purchased Mac upgrades from them for years, and have always had very quick delivery, and good customer service on the couple occasions I had a defective product to exchange.

I've noticed that in most cases, I can beat their prices by $10-15 if I really shop around - so no, they're not the cheapest, if that's what you're asking. In the past though, there have been situations (like when the Mac Pro first came out) where many people claimed to be selling 100% compatible memory upgrades, but most had problems. OWC actually tested their products and confirmed they worked on the systems they claimed they worked on, so their upgrades were trouble-free. I'm of the opinion that many times, OWC is worth paying a little more for.


SureShot said:
First of all, thank you for reading and thank you in advance for helping if you can.

I have just read a ton of forum posts and want to make sure I am going to buy the right accessories to make my new Mac Mini all it needs to be to run my home theater.

1. For 5.1 audio, do I need to buy this product and then just use a standard Optical audio cable to plug into my receiver?

2. The new Mac Mini comes with a mini DVI to DVI connector correct? So all I will have to buy is a DVI to HDMI cable?

3. Is OWC (other world computing) the best place to buy upgrades for the mac mini? I have looked at the videos on youtube and it seems like something I should be able to do no problem.

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate the help!
Click to expand...
 
You guys are the best, thanks! I can't wait to get this ball rolling.

One other thing, I'm Canadian and I see that store is a US based one. I have bought things from mono price before but that's about it when it comes to electronics from the US. Do there happen to be any Canadians on here that have any sites they go to on the regular? The ones I know of are NCIX, Tiger Direct and of course BestBuy and Futureshop.

Thanks for all you're help!
 
sorry guys, apologizing right off the bat 'cause this might be confusing.....but quick question...

for the optical digital in/out how is it exactly set up? does a optical cord go from the tv to the mini then to my receiver...meaning all audio from the tv always goes through the mini at all times??? sorry for the confusion. thanks ahead of time...
 
SureShot said:
You guys are the best, thanks! I can't wait to get this ball rolling.

One other thing, I'm Canadian and I see that store is a US based one. I have bought things from mono price before but that's about it when it comes to electronics from the US. Do there happen to be any Canadians on here that have any sites they go to on the regular? The ones I know of are NCIX, Tiger Direct and of course BestBuy and Futureshop.

Thanks for all you're help!
Click to expand...

monoprice and CanadaRAM for memory. Many US places will ship to Canada as well.

jerryskid said:
sorry guys, apologizing right off the bat 'cause this might be confusing.....but quick question...

for the optical digital in/out how is it exactly set up? does a optical cord go from the tv to the mini then to my receiver...meaning all audio from the tv always goes through the mini at all times??? sorry for the confusion. thanks ahead of time...
Click to expand...

No. The mini acts as a source so the optical goes from the mini's output to the receiver's input only. You should hook your TV up to the receiver as well so you can select the source input on the receiver (mini or TV).
 
flopticalcube said:
No. The mini acts as a source so the optical goes from the mini's output to the receiver's input only. You should hook your TV up to the receiver as well so you can select the source input on the receiver (mini or TV).
Click to expand...

thats what i was worried about. i have this setup:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-...-PT960.S_11002_7000000000000005702#tabsection

my parents got it for me so i didn't really have a choice in the quality but it only has 1 optical input...any suggestions???
 
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