Mac Mini - Home Theatre

[newConvert]

Hello,

New to macs, and here, so far so good! (got a 13" white macbook)... I am considering adding a macmini to my home theatre, but had a few questions I was hoping you all could help answer..

1. Would the processor speed bump (1.5ghz vs. 1.66, and ram increase 512vs 1,2gb) make much of a difference if all you are doing is watching movies (which will be put on an external HD)?

2. Think it'd be worth waiting for the new mac mini's (w/ the new chips) to come out? I figure the older ones would become quite a bit cheaper???

3. Is there any major revisions to Front Row planned in Leopard? I haven't read any..

4. Would it be best to use firewire or usb2.0 to go from the mac to the external hd?

5. How is the picture coming from the dvd player on the macmini?

Thanks!

 

[CyberPrey]

Actually, all good questions that I myself am looking for answers on... I am considering a Mini for the same thing!!

 

[BeefUK]

Here's some quick answers:

1. Depends what content your watching, if its DVDs then 512MB will be ok, if u plan on watchin HD, then maybe more RAM wud be a good idea!!

2. Lots of people are awaiting for the new chips, (including me) while others are saying that they won't provide a great speed increase. However the normal rules apply, if u need the mac mini now, then buy one, if not wait till the new chips are released.

3. I'm takin a guess here, but they'll prob add something to it.

4. Firewire as it has a higher constant bitrate than USB2.0.

5. Don't understand ur question

 

[BlizzardBomb]

1. Would the processor speed bump (1.5ghz vs. 1.66, and ram increase 512vs 1,2gb) make much of a difference if all you are doing is watching movies (which will be put on an external HD)?

Depends on if you're watching in high-definition or not. Solo can only really handle 480p. The Duo should be able to do 720p with enough RAM to back it up.

2. Think it'd be worth waiting for the new mac mini's (w/ the new chips) to come out? I figure the older ones would become quite a bit cheaper???

Spot on.

3. Is there any major revisions to Front Row planned in Leopard? I haven't read any..

Apple said nothing about Front Row in detail. We can only speculate.

4. Would it be best to use firewire or usb2.0 to go from the mac to the external hd?

Firewire would be marginally better although USB 2.0 isn't that bad.