Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
mac mini as home theater
- Thread starter zoran
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Tell me with over 800 posts how you could possibly ask this question without searching. No offense meant but this is a question that is asked all too often.
It is worth it. You use a mini display to HDMI cable found at monoprice. Shocker. I love my mini as an htpc it is the best choice I could have made at this point.
It is worth it. You use a mini display to HDMI cable found at monoprice. Shocker. I love my mini as an htpc it is the best choice I could have made at this point.
optical cable, also at mono price.
Dude, click my link above and start reading. all of this has been hashed out here a number of times. I know because I did the search, bought the mini, bought the cables, and hooked it up all by myself.
Here:
Buy mini
plug into wall
buy mini display to hdmi cable from monoprice.com located in california.
buy mini toslink cable from monoprice.com which is a little mini jack thing that goes into the back of the mac mini and the other side of the plug is an optical cable. I am unsure what to do if you don't have optical.
turn mini on
go to assigned source on tv after turning it on.
viola.
Dude, click my link above and start reading. all of this has been hashed out here a number of times. I know because I did the search, bought the mini, bought the cables, and hooked it up all by myself.
Here:
Buy mini
plug into wall
buy mini display to hdmi cable from monoprice.com located in california.
buy mini toslink cable from monoprice.com which is a little mini jack thing that goes into the back of the mac mini and the other side of the plug is an optical cable. I am unsure what to do if you don't have optical.
turn mini on
go to assigned source on tv after turning it on.
viola.
Just an FYI.. Monoprice now has a mini display to HDMI cable that also has an integrated usb sound connection that sends both sound and video thru the HDMI Connection. Bought one about a month ago and it works great.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2
I was going to go this route but didn't want to run the audio through my TV to the Amp.
I ended up just using the minijack to optical.
I was going to go this route but didn't want to run the audio through my TV to the Amp.
I ended up just using the minijack to optical.
I use my Mini/Plex for music quite a bit and don't see a need to have the TV on for that. Its cool sometimes to see the artist info on the screen but don't need to waste the electricity. I think my TV uses about 160 Watts and .35 on standby.
what do you mean?am i the only one smiling at the irony of the original post being slated and then some good/new info coming out at the end which otherwise might not have been shared
and
is this a better solution? http://www.kanexlive.com/products/item.aspx?id=3495
i dont understand how you can use the mini jack for sound and call that HTPC you are only going to get stereo out of that, now if you could come up with a usb or firewire sound card that gives you 5+ Chanel's that works on a mac, then you would be able to call it a HTPC
The mini jack is dual purpose. It accepts either a standard stereo audio cable or a mini-toslink optical cable which is capable of carrying 5.1 audio.
Optimum specs for a mini as HTPC?
I want to make the switch to using a Mac Mini as an HTPC so I can also get rid of cable TV (it's too $$ for what little I get out of it).
I can't afford the latest and greatest Mini at $600 so I want to know, if I shop for an older model, what are the minimum specs I should look for to ensure that I can still get smooth playback at 720 or 1080p, and easily stream online video sources like Hulu, Netflix, etc.?
I found a mid-2007 1.83ghz model with 1gb RAM (would upgrade the RAM on my own), and 80gb hard drive. Would this meet my needs?
I've read numerous how-to's on making this switch. I am testing Plex on my iMac now. I have Boxee on my AppleTV so I'm accustomed to it (I'd sell it off if I made the switch to Mini since it's a duplicate device at that point). I have all my media (movies, music, images) an on external drive, and currently stream that stuff over my AirportExpress with no trouble.
I want to make the switch to using a Mac Mini as an HTPC so I can also get rid of cable TV (it's too $$ for what little I get out of it).
I can't afford the latest and greatest Mini at $600 so I want to know, if I shop for an older model, what are the minimum specs I should look for to ensure that I can still get smooth playback at 720 or 1080p, and easily stream online video sources like Hulu, Netflix, etc.?
I found a mid-2007 1.83ghz model with 1gb RAM (would upgrade the RAM on my own), and 80gb hard drive. Would this meet my needs?
I've read numerous how-to's on making this switch. I am testing Plex on my iMac now. I have Boxee on my AppleTV so I'm accustomed to it (I'd sell it off if I made the switch to Mini since it's a duplicate device at that point). I have all my media (movies, music, images) an on external drive, and currently stream that stuff over my AirportExpress with no trouble.
My mini (1.66 Core Duo) plays 1080p most of the time. The 1.83 C2D should be more successful. You may get a dropped frame now and again. I would look in the refurb store for a refurbished 2.0 with 9400m. At $430 its a bargain and will play 1080p flawlessly.
I bought one of these for my sister and will give it to her this weekend. This way she can hook up her MB to her HDTV. Of course, now that I think about it, I can't remember if her model had the mini-DVI or minidisply port. Crap.
I have a question in regards to resolution. I have a mac mini hooked up via dvi-hdmi adapter, straight to my Panasonic 50pz800u 1080p HDTV. The mini recognized it, set the resolutions, but I cannot see all of the tool bar up top. It goes off the screen by like an inch on both sides. I made sure the overscan is off on the mini, which helped a bit. I have heard there are a lot of problems with hooking these mini's up to a 1080p HDTV. Any ideas, no I don't want rezswithx crap, there HAS to be a way to do this with the mac, or my TV settings. maybe someone can point me in the right direction or even a better thread to go to here?
I have a PS3, I really like the plex interface with the mac mini, and ofcourse need a computer in the house. If I could just fix this rez issue, I would have a killer setup going on.