Mac Mini as Media Hub

[3282868]

I'm considering getting the base Mini and using it as a media hub to replace my AppleTV. I've hacked my AppleTV to run Netflix, Boxee, etc but playback in Firefox can be slow. The only issue is the lack of Blu-Ray in the mini which would mean getting a Blu-Ray drive and cracking the mini open. Seems like a lot of work but it could replace my Sony Blu-Ray DVD player leaving only my Denon receiver, Cable box and Mac Mini.

Worth it? Thoughts?

 

[3282868]

So I guess that's a no

 

[iDave]

Far as I know, OS X will not support a Blu-ray drive for playing movies. The mini makes an excellent media hub though.

 

[Baby Mac]

Far as I know, OS X will not support a Blu-ray drive for playing movies. The mini makes an excellent media hub though.

Agreed, with the info I've seen posted on the web. You could install Windows and then try the Blu-ray. I assume that works, but you should research it first.

Why not just get a Blu-ray player?

 

[Cave Man]

The only issue is the lack of Blu-Ray in the mini which would mean getting a Blu-Ray drive and cracking the mini open.

While you can play Blu-ray discs under OS X using Make MKV and VLC, the Mini does not have the cpu horsepower to do so without stuttering. Too much work to decode the video and concurrently extract the AC3 or DTS cores from the HD audio. You can rip, though, and those will play fine using a variety of apps, including Plex, XBMC and MPlayer OS X Extended.