Mac mini Core Solo/HD video

[NorCalLights]

Hello everyone,
Has anyone tried running 720p H.264 video on a Mac mini Core Solo 1.5GHz? I have a killer deal in the works on one, but I'd like to make sure it'll at least play 720p.
Thanks....

 

[liketom]

yes works well but make sure you got some more ram in there 512mb is just not good

 

[NorCalLights]

Yep... a RAM upgrade is already on order.

... I suppose there's no hope for 1080 on this thing is there? Not that I have any 1080i/p content to play on it... but for the future.

Thanks!

 

[shu82]

It depends on how much you have to push. What would your monitor be? At least a gig of ram should do a 20" wide ok.

 

[gkarris]

If you're going to go through the effort to open it up, you might as well upgrade the CPU to C2D...

 

[shu82]

Great idea! Seconded! I have been thinking about that with my CD mini. But I already have a 1gb stick. I dont want to break the seal until I have to. Memron chips are around 200 now, but they will be cheap as heck when c2d becomes standard. I am gonna wait until that happens!

 

[NorCalLights]

If you're going to go through the effort to open it up, you might as well upgrade the CPU to C2D...

I'm buying my Solo mini for $450, and I'm not so sure I need the extra power of a C2D processor. All I'm doing with it is hooking it up to my TV to watch iTunes TV shows and play music through my stereo... and it will serve as a backup and print server. Heck... I wouldn't even be attempting this project if the whole setup (including wireless keyboard and mouse, cables, and a couple of external hard drives) was costing any more than it already is.

Maybe when I get HD cable and there's a cable-card compatible DVR solution for Mac I'll think about upgrading the processor... in the meantime, I don't really see the point.

 

[gkarris]

Yep... a RAM upgrade is already on order.

... I suppose there's no hope for 1080 on this thing is there? Not that I have any 1080i/p content to play on it... but for the future.

Thanks!

You mentioned about 1080 content. Here are the specs from Apple:

For 1280x720 (720p) video at 24-30 frames per second:
(Macintosh)
1.8 GHz PowerMac G5 or 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster Macintosh computer
At least 256MB of RAM
64 MB or greater video card

For 1920x1080 (1080p) video at 24 frames per second:
(Macintosh)
Dual 2.0 GHz PowerMac G5 or 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster Macintosh computer
At least 512MB of RAM
128MB or greater video card

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/player/specs.html