Loving the Mac Mini as a media centre!

[plagued]

Media Set-up

Media Hub.


I have enjoyed reading this thread and thought I’d share my set-up.

Originally I used a Late 2012 Mini (i5 processor, 4Gb memory) on ML and later with Mavericks. I have had to change the media machine over for my iMac (Mid-2010 i3 processor, 12Gb RAM) due to a faulty LCD panel on this machine. So basically this set-up was originally for my Mini but now runs on an iMac.

Firstly I should say that this was designed as a ‘One Room’ system to play and stream media. I do any file work on another machine and AirDrop it to the Media Centre.

Additional Hardware:

Samsung EH5000 Series 5 Full HD LED TV

Technics SU-X120 Amplifier

Mordaunt Short MSi 20 Pearl Edition Speakers

FiiO D3 192KHz/24 Bit Digital To Analog Converter (DAC)

Manhattan Plaza HD-S Satellite Receiver

Logitech Harmony 300 Remote Control

Pioneer DVR-XD11T Disc Drive

Mac Track Pad

Anker USB 3 Hub (x2)


Additional Software:

Audio Player - Vox

Video Player - VLC

Folder Icon Changer

My audio collection is housed on an external harddrive connected directly to the mac. I have well over 1000 albums and over 95% of these are on FLAC. As iTunes does not support this form of lossless file I ditched it and went with Vox. While initially a little glitchy the guys at Vox have sorted the software out and I really love it. It also enables 24bit playback which is handy occasionally.

I routed the audio from the mac via MDP / HDMI cable to the TV and then from that, via optic cable to the DAC and then on to the amp.

The programable Harmony remote enables me to toggle between Mac and TV/Satellite. I have VLC set as the default player for all visual media files as it is such a versatile and solid media player I didn’t see the point in using anything else.

I set the mac audio to output through the TV only and set VLC to automatically reset the audio level each time a file is started.

I have my video files on a separate harddrive which runs through one of the Anker hubs. These have a separate power switch and powerdown the harddrive when not in use. I have used these to get around harddrive sleep issues which arose with the introduction of Mavericks.

I used Chrome as the webbrowser and dragged the home page of all the channels and services and social media sites we use onto the desktop. Using the Folder Icon Changer software and an image editor I made a series of short cuts and, after putting them in a file, eventually dragged them onto the dock. I can launch all the stations and services I use directly from there and have any passwords etc saved and automatically filled from the Chrome preferences.

The Pioneer disc drive works as a DVD/CD player if needed through VLC and Vox respectively. It is linked to the Mac via a second Anker Hub to enable me to power it only when I want to use it. Everything is accessed through the Finder with the track pad. I did set the Harmony Remote up to mirror my Apple Remote but something seems to have stopped working since I swapped the machines. I’m sure it’s only a minor issue and I’ll fix it soon but I just haven’t got ‘round to it yet.

The TV has an option to turn the screen off while still outputting the audio. I saved all the album artwork into a file and use this as the screensaver if the audio library is being used for odd track browsing etc.


Hope someone finds this of use / interesting.

 

[Captainobvvious]

Thanks for such a quick reply!

One last question:
¿What advantages do you find Plex has over XBMC?

I used XBMC for years and found Plex to be SOOOOOO much better.

Run the server and you're all set on all of your devices.

Once you have the server running you can access it anywhere. On your phone, many many many devices, from anywhere. Your watched status is synced up, you have the great "on deck" feature. You can use the smartphone app to CONTROL your Mac Mini Plex playback. Browse the library on the phone and click an epide then click "Play on X" and it will play on the mac, not airplay, the Mac does the playback.

Its just SOOOOOOO much better for me than XBMC... I can configure my server and library from ANY WEB BROWSER...

It will watch my media folders for any changes and update the library automatically... You just don't need a ton of independently made addons to get what you want. You don't need to run a MySQL server... Its just so clean and neat.

I can't say enough good stuff... Its such a cleaner solution.

 

[famous600]

I used XBMC for years and found Plex to be SOOOOOO much better.

Run the server and you're all set on all of your devices.

Once you have the server running you can access it anywhere. On your phone, many many many devices, from anywhere. Your watched status is synced up, you have the great "on deck" feature. You can use the smartphone app to CONTROL your Mac Mini Plex playback. Browse the library on the phone and click an epide then click "Play on X" and it will play on the mac, not airplay, the Mac does the playback.

Its just SOOOOOOO much better for me than XBMC... I can configure my server and library from ANY WEB BROWSER...

It will watch my media folders for any changes and update the library automatically... You just don't need a ton of independently made addons to get what you want. You don't need to run a MySQL server... Its just so clean and neat.

I can't say enough good stuff... Its such a cleaner solution.

Yes Plex is perfect for that. From a media center standpoint Plex falls VERY flat compared to XBMC. I leave Plex server running in the background, but when I want to look at a beautiful layout and watch movies on the tv directly connected to my mini then it is XBMC all the way in that aspect.

 

[Captainobvvious]

Yes Plex is perfect for that. From a media center standpoint Plex falls VERY flat compared to XBMC. I leave Plex server running in the background, but when I want to look at a beautiful layout and watch movies on the tv directly connected to my mini then it is XBMC all the way in that aspect.

Having used both I wonder in what way you think Plex falls flat.

 

[famous600]

Having used both I wonder in what way you think Plex falls flat.

Run xbmc media center. Then run plex media center. The amount of customization and the look achieved in xbmc from an aesthetic standpoint is amazing. Xbmc running the aeon nox skin is amazing.

 

[Donka]

Each to their own with regards to interface I guess. All I need is an easy to navigate UI and some good metadata i.e. artwork, description, genre & runtime. After that, I'm already in watching the film...

 

[lonniebrunet]

Hi Donka, thanks for your post. I think this is just what I'm looking for, but wanted to get your thoughts (if you don't mind).

Here is my current setup
2.5Ghz Intel i5 mac mini (500GB HDD, 4GB RAM)
3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac (1TB HDD, 4GB RAM)
2TB TimeCapsule
1TB Samsung External drive (USB 2.0)
Sharp Smart LCD
Panasonic LCD (not Smart TV)

I've had mac mini hooked up to my Sharp TV for a few years with all my movie / tv content that we watch our shows on. We also use the TV to connect to netflix. It was only recently that we got the Panasonic LCD that I put in the basement and wanted to connect to my mac mini to stream content. I thought about getting a apple tv or roku or WD, but then thought I could possibly set up something like you've explained.

I don't know much about Plex and media streaming software. Do you think this would be a good option for my hardware? Also - could I access all my music from my imac - or would you advice moving the music to the mac mini and streaming it to the imac that way?

Also - I thought about getting a larger internal hard drive for the mac, but as your post said, maybe an 2TB external or something similar would suffice. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I'd like to use as much as what I have possible, and keep the costs down, but getting the right setup is important.

Thanks again!

 

[Donka]

Hi,

I think with what you have, I would be inclined to use the Mac mini as a server and host all your media there including your music. Plex Media Server could run on your Mac Mini to serve up all your movies as well as your music if you wanted but it may just make more sense to host your music in iTunes. You can also run the Plex client on the Mac Mini to give a nice front end to all your movies. That takes care of the Sharp LCD. The iMac can run the Plex client as well to access all your movies from the mini as well accessing your music using either Plex or iTunes home sharing.
For the Panasonic TV, I would be inclined to pick up a Roku as they are cheap to buy, include wifi and have a native Plex client which works very well indeed - i have two of them in my house for the TVs that are not 'smart'.
Plex also has an excellent universal IOS client if you have such devices. Finally, upgrading your hard drive is all down to your own preference. It is relatively easy to upgrade the Mac mini but the easiest method is just to plug in an external USD drive. You can use your existing 1TB drive if it is large enough for all your media.
To do all this, you can just use all you have and the only optional purchase would be a Roku for your Panasonic LCD.
Let me know if you have any further questions or need more input and let us know how you get on.

 

[lonniebrunet]

Hi Donka,
Thanks for the quick reply. I already downloaded the media server software and home theatre client for my mac mini which looks good so far.

A few more questions for you.

1. If I hosted the music in itunes (which it currently is on the iMac) I wouldn't be using plex to access the library from the Sharp would I. I would just open the music up in itunes to play on the Sharp right?
2. Further to the question above, unsless i moved the music to plex, the only way to listen to the music in the itunes library on the viera in the basement, I'd need apple tv correct? (Unless I jailbroke the apple tv to
3. Would a roku hdmi stick work as well for the viera non smart tv?
4. I will be purhasing the IOS apps for my iphone / ipad - does plex allow you to push videos / pictures to the server to view on the TV at all? Like show a picture / video I took my on iphone to show on the TV?
5. With the setup I've talked about, would my only costs be for the purchase of the IOS apps? Can one purchase cover multiple iphone / ipad devices?

I'm thinking of getting an external HDD (2TB) and the roku and just sticking with the movies / tv shows on the plex and music in itunes.

Looking forward to getting this all setup. I'm in Canada, and when I tried to search for the netflix channel, it didn't show up. I briefly saw a few threads around talking about it, so hopefully that will be ok (my Smart TV has the app built in so its no biggie if I can't get the app, was just hoping for the viera downstairs etc).

Thanks again!!!

 

[Donka]

You're welcome.

I'll try and answer as best as I can:

1. If you host your music in iTunes on the Mini, you would just use iTunes to play this back on the Sharp TV, no need to use Plex for this.

2. Using an Apple TV is one option. What you can use is the iTunes channel in Plex though so if you have a Plex client on the Panasonic such as on a Roku, you can host your music in iTunes but Plex can access your iTunes library and share it with Plex clients. That way you only have your music in one location (iTunes library) but can access it via iTunes home sharing or via Plex clients.

3. I haven't really looked into the Roku streaming stick but I believe it works the same as the entry level Roku LT so should be fine for your needs.

4. I haven't tried out sharing from the IOS Plex app but I believe the app can also act as a server so you should be able to access the content on your iPhone from any Plex client on your network. I'll look into this when I get a chance to confirm.

5. Yes, as with all apps, one purchase can be used on multiple devices with the same iTunes ID - I have it on both my iPads and my iPhone.

Hope this helps.

 

[gugy]

Thanks for this thread.
I was looking for this information and I am glad to find it here.
I was looking into get a NAS or go the Mini route. I guess I found my answer.

My issue is to find a set up that is idiot proof so my wife can use it and my 8 years old. Also I want to have a centralize place for all my media and use it as FTP to access and exchange files with clients. The Mini fits the bill.

 

[lonniebrunet]

Hi again donka (or anyone else)

Until I purchase a roku box, I'm keeping the mac mini in the basement and actually saw that I can connect to the plex media server from my Sharp TV via DLNA.

Only problem is that no files show in the directories that have files. I saw that I need to create a user profile (which I found the correct one to try) but can't seem to find anywhere on my mac the plex media server folder where the resources/profiles folder to drop it in.

Anyone know why I can't find this folder? It should be located here:
library/application support/plex media server, but its no present.

Thanks
Lonnie

 

[Donka]

Hi again donka (or anyone else)

Until I purchase a roku box, I'm keeping the mac mini in the basement and actually saw that I can connect to the plex media server from my Sharp TV via DLNA.

Only problem is that no files show in the directories that have files. I saw that I need to create a user profile (which I found the correct one to try) but can't seem to find anywhere on my mac the plex media server folder where the resources/profiles folder to drop it in.

Anyone know why I can't find this folder? It should be located here:
library/application support/plex media server, but its no present.

Thanks
Lonnie

Hi Lonnie. Which profile are you referring to? I'm not aware of any required profile. A couple of questions. Did you enable the DLNA option in Plexus media server options? What does Torres are in your folders that the Sharp TV cannot see? If the TV does not support the file types then they may not show up.

 

[lonniebrunet]

Hi Lonnie. Which profile are you referring to? I'm not aware of any required profile. A couple of questions. Did you enable the DLNA option in Plexus media server options? What does Torres are in your folders that the Sharp TV cannot see? If the TV does not support the file types then they may not show up.

Hi Donka,
I was just looking around to see if it was possible and I came across this thread.
https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/53354-sharp-aquos-tv-sees-all-folders-but-no-files/
At the bottom of the thread there is a link to this thread
https://forums.plex....rp-tv/?p=475456

So I was going to try and download the profile, add it to the profile directory in the plex media server directory, but couldn't find it.

Not sure if it will work, but thought I'd give it a go. What do you think?

 

[Donka]

Ah, OK its a profile so the server knows which formats are supported by the client. It's worth a try. Are you running PMS on a mac? Not sure where the profiles are stored for Plex on a mac but I'll take a look at my installation in the morning.

 

[WilliamG]

I used to be a huuuuge proponent of the Mac mini as a media center system.

However, times have changed, and I no longer recommend the Mac mini as a media center PC. The 2012 Mac mini has the following shortcomings:

1.) Does not support 24p playback (23.976hz), either in OS X or Windows.

2.) Does not support HD Audio in OS X (i.e. no Dolby True HD or DTS HD MA).

For those two reasons, my 2012 Mac mini is now a media SERVER, and I use a Haswell Intel NUC (i3 model running Windows 7) as my media player (Plex and XBMC).

So, for me at least, I have a very reliable server in the Mac mini, and a tiny, quiet, power-sipping Intel NUC as a player - with proper 24p playback and HD audio fully supported. And hey, it will do 4K down the road, too. Yay!

That said, if you're still using a 60hz TV with the built-in speakers or a simple sound setup, the 2012 Mac mini will be fine. It's not really very good value for money, though, these days, with the Windows-based setups costing quite a bit less, even factoring in the Windows license..

 

[lonniebrunet]

Ah, OK its a profile so the server knows which formats are supported by the client. It's worth a try. Are you running PMS on a mac? Not sure where the profiles are stored for Plex on a mac but I'll take a look at my installation in the morning.

Thanks donka,
From what I can see it should be located in the following location:

library/application support/plex media server/resources/profiles

For me though I have no such directory (no plex media server that is)

 

[Donka]

Thanks donka,
From what I can see it should be located in the following location:

library/application support/plex media server/resources/profiles

For me though I have no such directory (no plex media server that is)

I'll check this on my installation this evening and feed back

 

[lonniebrunet]

I'll check this on my installation this evening and feed back

Hi Donka,
I managed to find it. I right clicked on the Plex Media Server in the applications folder and clicked show package contents. Then clicked on the Contents folder and eventually found the profiles folder buried in there.

Un-ticked the Direct Play option under the Playback setting in the Plex Media Server Web preferences tab and now I can view most of my files from my Sharp TV using DLNA.

Great that when you explore different things the options that are available out there!!!

Cheers

 

[Donka]

Hi Donka,
I managed to find it. I right clicked on the Plex Media Server in the applications folder and clicked show package contents. Then clicked on the Contents folder and eventually found the profiles folder buried in there.

Un-ticked the Direct Play option under the Playback setting in the Plex Media Server Web preferences tab and now I can view most of my files from my Sharp TV using DLNA.

Great that when you explore different things the options that are available out there!!!

Cheers

Great news Lonnie. I had managed to check this setting before getting to my email and I did have that folder under application support. Glad you got it working all the same.

 

[yukyuklee]

I loved the mac mini on my tv! I used to use my macbook air to screen share best feature. But I bought a TB display and now I am using it more as a computer lol

 

[pelzi80]

Surround sound HDMi mac mini

Hi,

I have used mac mini as a media centre for a little while now. For a couple of days ago I got a surround system - (Primare SPA23 receiver). And when i connect the mac with hdmi the picture is good , but the sound....it says MULTI PCM in the receiver display. I can not change it. It gives me sound from front and centre speaker , but not rear speakers. This was in a test from youtube called dolby 5.1 test or something.

Any idea what I can do to fix this?

Rgds
Kjell Inge

 

[spyrelx]

headless mac mini as media server

Great thread. I'm hoping I can get some help with a set up question.

I currently have all my music in iTunes in my macbook pro and its taking up too much space. I've also got airport express and apple tv and that's how I play music from my macbook through my stereo. I'd like to move the music out of my macbook pro and would also rather not use airplay to play music on my stereo but instead have a wired connection.

For these and other reasons I'm thinking of getting a mini as a dedicated media server, moving my iTunes library off of my macbook pro and onto the mini, and connecting the mini by wire to my receiver.

Once the mini is set up, with its iTunes library stocked with my music, I want to run it "headless" -- i.e., no screen or keyboard. I understand from the above posts and other reading that I can play iTunes using an apple remote on my iPhone or iPad. So far so good.

Here's my question. I'm going to want to continue to rip cds and put them in my mini's iTunes library. I'm also going to want to continue to create and revise playlists, etc. But of course the mini will be headless and I don't want to connect keyboards, screen and cd drive to it just to do those tasks. Can I do this somehow with my macbook pro?

I.e., can I rip from the pro and transfer to the mini's iTunes library? And can I rearrange playlists, etc. from the pro? If there is a way to do this, is it operationally clunky/quirky, or is it a pretty easy and streamlined experience? Would I have to use a 3rd party app to do it? For example, I've used logmein a few years ago on windows machine and found it clunky, and in any event I don't think something like logmein would enable me to have a cd ripped on my macbook go directly to my mini iTunes library..

Finally, if I want to sync my iPhone with my mini's iTunes (and with that sync change what files are being copied to the iPhone, etc.), will I need a keyboard & screen, or can I again somehow do it with/through my macbook pro?

Your thoughts welcome. Thanks.

 

[Darby67]

Hi,

I have used mac mini as a media centre for a little while now. For a couple of days ago I got a surround system - (Primare SPA23 receiver). And when i connect the mac with hdmi the picture is good , but the sound....it says MULTI PCM in the receiver display. I can not change it. It gives me sound from front and centre speaker , but not rear speakers. This was in a test from youtube called dolby 5.1 test or something.

Any idea what I can do to fix this?

Rgds
Kjell Inge

it might be helpful to post the link. And which Mini do you own?

 

[Donka]

Great thread. I'm hoping I can get some help with a set up question.

I currently have all my music in iTunes in my macbook pro and its taking up too much space. I've also got airport express and apple tv and that's how I play music from my macbook through my stereo. I'd like to move the music out of my macbook pro and would also rather not use airplay to play music on my stereo but instead have a wired connection.

For these and other reasons I'm thinking of getting a mini as a dedicated media server, moving my iTunes library off of my macbook pro and onto the mini, and connecting the mini by wire to my receiver.

Once the mini is set up, with its iTunes library stocked with my music, I want to run it "headless" -- i.e., no screen or keyboard. I understand from the above posts and other reading that I can play iTunes using an apple remote on my iPhone or iPad. So far so good.

Here's my question. I'm going to want to continue to rip cds and put them in my mini's iTunes library. I'm also going to want to continue to create and revise playlists, etc. But of course the mini will be headless and I don't want to connect keyboards, screen and cd drive to it just to do those tasks. Can I do this somehow with my macbook pro?

I.e., can I rip from the pro and transfer to the mini's iTunes library? And can I rearrange playlists, etc. from the pro? If there is a way to do this, is it operationally clunky/quirky, or is it a pretty easy and streamlined experience? Would I have to use a 3rd party app to do it? For example, I've used logmein a few years ago on windows machine and found it clunky, and in any event I don't think something like logmein would enable me to have a cd ripped on my macbook go directly to my mini iTunes library..

Finally, if I want to sync my iPhone with my mini's iTunes (and with that sync change what files are being copied to the iPhone, etc.), will I need a keyboard & screen, or can I again somehow do it with/through my macbook pro?

Your thoughts welcome. Thanks.

Yes, this is simple and no additional software is required. On the mini, turn on screen sharing and file sharing under settings, sharing. Now on your MacBook provided you are on the same network, the mini will show up in finder. You can use this new link to copy files to it or to views the screen in the mini from your MacBook. I'm not at my macs just now but if you have any issues, just ask and I'll be able to check and confirm the exact steps.