mac mini as home theater

[knewsom]

Gah, the dreaded overscan dilemma.

WELL, you could get a second display to use the menu bar on, or you could use your iPhone to control everything with screen sharing, or use another computer for that matter, or deal with everything being too small when you hit the overscan correction button in displays.

Maybe your TV has an Overscan compensation feature? Or you could remove the bezel and allow the entire display to be seen.

 

[MacMini2009]

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?

Try VGA.

 

[clutch69]

vga on my Panny won't accept 1080p, I will again mess with it more, there has got to be somebody with this setup and has it working properly somewhere.

 

[Undo Redo]

vga on my Panny won't accept 1080p, I will again mess with it more, there has got to be somebody with this setup and has it working properly somewhere.

Sometimes TVs have secret menus that can be activated for technical adjustments. On mine, I hold "menu" on the remote while holding "menu" on the TV for five seconds. These technical menus sometimes have horizontal and vertical sizing adjustments. This might help, but likely not.

 

[flopticalcube]

save your money and buy a PS3

If you listen at lower levels, the fans on a PS3 make it a non-start for HT.

 

[filmgirl]

Disclaimer: I wrote this for TUAW back in August (my final big post before I moved on to Mashable.com), but I'm not trying to pimp my own stuff, I genuinely worked my ass off to try to make it a complete starting point. Between all three posts it's over 9000 words (and that was me being brief), but I tried to cover hardware and software solutions as well as places to get different adapters.

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/21/tuaw-guide-setting-up-the-ultimate-mac-mini-home-theater/

For the overscan stuff, there are a few options -- I think SwitchResX is probably the best (http://www.madrau.com/SRXv3/html/SRX/About.html) -- because it lets you control different display types but it can also automatically change resolution based on what application you are using. This is insanely helpful if you are trying to surf the web from the couch and you are nearsighted as hell like me (even with contact lenses, which if I didn't have in I'd be totally blind, stuff at distances can be hard to see).

 

[filmgirl]

If you listen at lower levels, the fans on a PS3 make it a non-start for HT.

Actually, the PS3Slim is pretty quiet. I think the mini makes a really nice solution (and is perfect for what I need it for), but for bang for your buck, I think the PS3 or the LG-BD390 Blu-ray player is actually a better value. I end up using the BD390 more than my mini now, to be honest, because it has amazing, amazing Netflix support, is Blu-ray, wireless-n and can connect to my NAS and either stream or connect to a USB hard drive. So it's a nice option.

Boxee's Boxee Box that D-Link is bringing out this spring should be a nice alternative option too.

Of course, if you want Hulu -- a Mac mini is pretty much your best option -- period.

 

[zoran]

can someone help me in finding a miniDVI to HDMI cable (that doesnt need the minijack cable for sound) in Manhattan NY?

 

[srexy]

can someone help me in finding a miniDVI to HDMI cable (that doesnt need the minijack cable for sound) in Manhattan NY?

Someone already posted the link to the hdmi female to dvi/usb from Monoprice. It's highly unlikely that you'll find a similar cable in any retailer.

If you're tight for time you'll need to go mini-dvi/display to hdmi and optical sound - otherwise get one overnighted from monoprice. Even with shipping you'll come out ahead vs a retailer.

 

[zoran]

...Even with shipping you'll come out ahead vs a retailer...[/img]

what do you mean?

 

[ventro]

Does anyone know if a 2.0ghz Mac Mini w/9400m can play 1080p content without hiccuping?

This computer: http://store.apple.com/ca_edu_108284/product/FB463LL/A?mco=MTEyMDAwNDg

 

[knewsom]

OMGROFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

That, sir... was GENIUS.

 

[zoran]

well after reading this
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/03/01/apple-preparing-to-add-hdmi-to-macs/
i see apple is certainly walking towards the right direction for shaping up a HTPC out of a mac mini
only problem is with my mini, i have the latest model that doesnt have the hdmi port.
Are there any other news regarding that monoprice adapter http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10428&cs_id=1042802&p_id=5969&seq=1&format=2 maybe something else is out right now, better monoprices solution?
Any news regarding that?

 

[Undo Redo]

only problem is with my mini, i have the latest model that doesnt have the hdmi port.

I don't understand the problem. I've used a Mac mini connected to my HDTV for years. I used two wires instead of one; not inconvenient at all.

 

[zoran]

well the use of two cables isnt exactly what one would call a clear solution, plus the fact that on my lcd tv i have to unplug the RCA cables (coming from my mac mini) to connect other device (camera) when needed!

 

[Seychelles]

surely a mini is a dead duck for HT as it has no BRD?

Whats the point without. ITMS HD content isn't a patch on a good BRD.

Also there is much better value and specs available (for the purpose) on the PC side of the fence.

 

[zoran]

surely a mini is a dead duck for HT as it has no BRD?

Whats the point without. ITMS HD content isn't a patch on a good BRD.

Also there is much better value and specs available (for the purpose) on the PC side of the fence.

what is a BRD, ITMS?

 

[Undo Redo]

...i have to unplug the RCA cables (coming from my mac mini) to connect other device (camera) when needed!

Head to Radio Shack and get yourself a couple of RCA "Y" adapters.

No offense intended but I find it interesting what some people consider to be a "problem." I was reading a forum elsewhere and a guy said "I never use silly adapters, ever." I just don't understand his illogical thinking, when using an adapter is sometimes the easiest most inexpensive way of accomplishing something. It sure beats buying a new Mac mini.

 

[Undo Redo]

edit: deleted

 

[JimKirk]

The mini is a great HTPC

I use the mini as a HTPC

1) Can be controlled with Harmony Remote
2) Plays all my movies at 1080p 24fps
3) No overscan on my Panasonic plasmas

I only use it to play ripped BD disks. Makemkv rips to HD in 45 minutes.
Hard drives are cheap.

If you have overscan on the Panny, just go into setup and select Size 2. Viola no overscan.

 

[Seychelles]

what is a BRD, ITMS?

sorry

Blu Ray Disc

iTunes Music store.

 

[Undo Redo]

surely a mini is a dead duck for HT as it has no [Blu-Ray Disc]?

I hesitate to even comment here because Blu-Ray is important to some but means nothing to me. I have a Mac mini connected to my 37" TV and use it for a variety of things. While not quite the quality of Blu-Ray, I can watch TV shows online at the various network websites, Hulu, and movies on Netflix. And I can record live TV using EyeTV. I can surf the web, check email and view home movies and photos. It's very useful, even without Blu-Ray.

I bought a Blu-Ray player a while back and sold it on eBay about a year later. I realized I wasn't going to buy discs, and with my TV, couldn't see a huge difference between rented 1080p movies and other sources such as Netflix online and standard DVD. Perhaps if I get a giant TV someday, I'll change my mind.

 

[Cave Man]

surely a mini is a dead duck for HT as it has no BRD?

Just buy an external Blu-ray drive and problem solved.

 

[ViViDboarder]

Just buy an external Blu-ray drive and problem solved.

False. OSX does not play BlueRay... Although... I think you can still use an external BD-Rom to rip a BD and then play it.

Honestly... I was going to go the Mac Mini HTPC route but it all comes out being too much for too little.

Xbox 360 or PS3 offer great solutions for media on your TV. PS3 is arguably better although my Xbox tends to stream media a little cleaner.

If you already have a PS3 you can use the free application called Majestic to stream Music, Movies and Pictures to your PS3 from your Mac.

I still do occasionally hook up my MBP to my TV to watch Hulu or NBC.com or something like that. Those jerks refuse to let their content play on the PS3. For this I use the Mini-Toslink cable to hook straight into my TV or my stereo.

 

[Cave Man]

False. OSX does not play BlueRay... Although...

You are mistaken. All you need is Make MKV and VLC (or some other streaming-aware app that can handle m2ts containers). Insert disc, launch Make MKV and start its server. All you have to do is open the stream in VLC and you get Blu-ray disc playback with DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1.