Ditching Windows and going all Apple for HTPC

[ess5]

I'm actually planning on putting together a similar setup:
- Mac Mini HTPC (waiting on a refresh, just to get the most for my $$)
- External WD Passports USB'd to the MM (already got a 1tb one, currently converting my library to mp4 and organizing the files on it...waiting to buy the largest available when I get the MM)
- Plex for local viewing on the 60" Bravia, iTunes for remote viewing on my ATV2/iPhone4/iPad2

I wonder what the power savings is gonna be, going from two ps3's (1x 60gb launch, 1x slim) + an old windows tower acting as a media server in the closet, to a MM running external USB drives + an ATV2.

Currently torn, I was hoping to sidestep a powered external drive...but the 3tb Mybooks have dropped in price, a lot ($150 or so currently). Might just pick one up as my main storage drive, then either use my current 1tb Passport as a general xfer/backup drive, or I dunno...opt for 2x 3tb Mybooks? That's 2 more drives to plug in, so there goes my massive power savings.
(I'm sure it'd still be way less than running ps3's and a full-size PSU)

Took a quick look at the Icy Dock stuff, still seems to start at $125 or so, and quickly shoots up to $200...this is just for the enclosure, before adding drives. Still sounds a lil' steep...

 

[srexy]

Now it comes to replacing my PC with a Mac Mini and some attached storage - aiming for about 6tb.

Snip

Anyone got any thoughts on the above and/or recommended devices?

I started with an owc dual fw enclosure and have subsequently added a newer version of the same enclosure for a total of 7.5 tb. 3.5 is media storage and the other 4 tb is used to back up the media and my Mini's 500gb hdd. my only complaint is that they don't standby. Fortunately the newer unit seems quite power efficient so I only turn the older one on once a week for the back up.

With 3tb drives you could fit 6tb in a dual enclosure.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I would suggest using a FireWire 800 enclosure rather than USB, especially if you go with a multi-drive enclosure. Firewire drives can be daisy chained, so you can hang multiple drives off a single port on the mini. They also don't rely on the CPU as USB does. Performance wise, FW is faster, but USB is more than enough for playing your media library (moving files around to reorganize or backup may be a different story). I wind the FW Daisy chain arrangement to be less messy than a bunch of USB cables running to the computer.

A direct connected Drobo is a pretty good device, especially if you don't care to know all the ins & outs of RAID. I've never tried their network enclosures. I did have my Drobo initially connected to a Time Capsule via USB. This was very very very bad - don't do it.

OWC has a 4 bay enclosure that should fit the bill. Their stuff has a great reputation, but not exactly the cheapest alternatives.

Agree on FW800, but if you can afford it, the new Promise 12TB ThunderBolt RAID-5 .
Th new Mac Mini should support Thunderbolt.
And for movies that would require live conversion, you could get another Mac Mini with AirVideo. You would need to control it with an iPod, iPhone or iPad. Or have it convert before you watch them, using the same software.

Storage on the AE is good unless you need simultaneous access to data.
Another solution would be multiple USB drives.

 

[ctakim]

Fascinating, I have the following set up which is similar to the one you are contemplating. I have a home network ethernet wired (via MOCA) with a home theater in the basement using a Mac Mini as the HTPC and as a file server. Upstairs I have an iMac in the office, a Mac Mini in the kitchen and an Apple TV2 in the family room and an Apple TV1 in the bedroom. We also have a MacBook Pro and 2 iPads and 5 iPhones for the family.

Attached to the Mac Mini HTPC via firewire is a Drobo with 4 x 1.5 TB drives, a 1 TB WD hard drive for backup, and upstairs is a TimeCapsule which is our wireless router. My iTunes library is on the Drobo and via Home Sharing it is accessible by any device in the house on the network. By AirVideo and/or Zumocast most of my media is accessible from my mobile devices pretty much anywhere. I don't rip a lot of movies because the Home Theater projector is 1080p and most of my recent titles are Blu-ray.

I've used Boxee and Plex, but I'm not using them regularly as my initial tagging experience with them was not so smooth. Plus, I'm not streaming alot of video, as I mentioned.

Good luck with your all Mac set up. The PC HTPC crowd may be larger, but the Mac Mini has a devoted following as a Home Theater device!