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Mac Mini VS Apple TV on a home theater network

sparkie1984 said:
i cant decide between the two either!!!

thing with me is im converting blu-rays too but still want the 1080p quality which i believe the atv cant do can it?
Click to expand...

There is much more to quality than resolution.

AppleTV is going to drive quality compromises, but in the name of convenience. Mini is going to allow all the quality you want, but with fussiness.

If it's just for you go Mini. If there are family members involved, go with the AppleTV.
 
brentsg said:
There is much more to quality than resolution.

AppleTV is going to drive quality compromises, but in the name of convenience. Mini is going to allow all the quality you want, but with fussiness.

If it's just for you go Mini. If there are family members involved, go with the AppleTV.
Click to expand...

its just me, so mini it is then i guess!!

thanks :D
 
Sorry to drag out the point but what is the hindrance with the Mini & iTunes? Most of my movies are not imported to iTunes so I use it just for music and the odd podcast. Can the Mini, via Boxee or Plex, not easily/conveniently/without rebooting the app, browse another Mac's library?
 
I haven't tried in a while but I don't think the sharing feature works for video. I'm sure someone will correct if I'm wrong.

I don't use the feature.

Plex has to boot Front Row to play iTunes video and when I did this, it had to be in the local library.
 
access itunes store through front row??

I currently have a 2.26gz, 2gddr, 160ghd mini I got as a refurb off the apple site for 499. I love it. Got it connected to a 28inch I-Inc monitor and also have an elgato eyetv hybrid stick plugged in.
Love it, primary interface I use is front row, with plugins for Hulu, Plex, Boxee, and Eyetv. I control everything even the eyetv with the little apple remote. I can get to my Netflix through Boxee or Plex. Planning on dropping cable and just pulling local over the air HD with the EyeTV, I can get plenty of content through hulu, Boxee and Plex.

The only thing I see that apple tv has that I wish I could do is access the Itunes store. I wish there was an I tunes store plugin for front row for purchasing/renting content or browsing podcasts and Itunes U. Anybody have any suggestions?




n.
 
I have been wanting to put my mini in to replace my apple tv, due to it being under powered. My problem is the mini i have is a first gen PPC which i think was released back in 2005 - it didn't have airport / bluetooth or a IR receiver.

If someone knows of a compatible IR receiver that will work with the apple remote then i will implement it.! I too have just bought a nas with 4TB of storage for my Videos / Picture and music. looking forward to using it but the raid is initialising :(
 
toolbox said:
I have been wanting to put my mini in to replace my apple tv, due to it being under powered. My problem is the mini i have is a first gen PPC which i think was released back in 2005 - it didn't have airport / bluetooth or a IR receiver.

If someone knows of a compatible IR receiver that will work with the apple remote then i will implement it.! (
Click to expand...

For bluetooth I can recommend the D-Link DWL-122 USB stick. Worked great with my PowerMac G5. They are pretty cheap on ebay.

You also might try the IR solution from twistedmelon.
I used their bundle (IR receiver plus software) with my Mac Pro and it worked very good.
The software allows you to customise the Apple Remotes buttons which is pretty neat since it adds much more functionality to it.
 
What do I need to setup my Mini on my TV at home if I decided to use my Mini as a Media Server as opposed to buying an Apple TV.

I am sure this info is out there, I just try to search and get tons of links, but instead of reading them all, I have a newer Mini 2009 version with a 2.0 Ghz Cored 2 Duo CPU, 4 GB ram, 500GB HDD. I am just not sure how I can connect it to my tv without spending a ton of money.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...
 
Wicked1 said:
What do I need to setup my Mini on my TV at home if I decided to use my Mini as a Media Server as opposed to buying an Apple TV.

I am sure this info is out there, I just try to search and get tons of links, but instead of reading them all, I have a newer Mini 2009 version with a 2.0 Ghz Cored 2 Duo CPU, 4 GB ram, 500GB HDD. I am just not sure how I can connect it to my tv without spending a ton of money.
Click to expand...

Easiest way is to use a mini DP to HDMI adapter.
$9 at monoprice. -> Click

But keep in mind that this is just video. In case that you want to get sound too via HDMI you need a slightly more expensive adapter.
$37 at monoprice. -> Click
 
I vote Mac mini

I have the Airport Extreme with an iOmega 1TB storing all my video + audio for streaming.

I use WiFi to the Mac mini - connected DVI out to DVI into my Sharp projector and of course, Plex.

I also have an LG BD-300 for Netflix and Blu-Ray connected to the TV in the adjoining room, getting internet from the mini via internet sharing to ethernet.
 
Transporteur said:
Easiest way is to use a mini DP to HDMI adapter.
$9 at monoprice. -> Click

But keep in mind that this is just video. In case that you want to get sound too via HDMI you need a slightly more expensive adapter.
$37 at monoprice. -> Click
Click to expand...



So this is strickly to use the Mini with my TV using DVD disks, and Digital Media, however I also assume I will need an Apple remote or with the iPhone Remote application work ok to control the Mini?
 
Wicked1 said:
So this is strickly to use the Mini with my TV using DVD disks, and Digital Media, however I also assume I will need an Apple remote or with the iPhone Remote application work ok to control the Mini?
Click to expand...

Those are the cheapest options.
You could also use the Logitech Harmony remotes and hopefully the D-Link Boxee remote as soon as it's released.

boxee-box-remote.jpg
 
I currently have an AppleTV and I've ripped all my DVDs in an AppleTV friendly format. My problem is that I need to upgrade to SOMETHING else before baseball season. In the past, I've gone with the Extra Innings TV package, but with MLB.TV integration with the iPhone/iPad (not to mention the HD streams), I'm definitely going that way for this season.

Couple of quick questions:

1) Sorry for the basic question, but will that sound/video Monoprice attachment for the MacMini play the surround sound I've encoded into my files? (Obviously) It's important to me that if this is going to be my main entertainment hub that it plays the PLII 5.1 files I've encoded (and not just stereo sound).

2a) I will more than likely be playing my movies through Front Row rather than Boxee or Plex. Can Front Row see a networked drive? I keep the movies on an external drive connected to my iMac. That being said...

2b) My iMac is in my study. I'll never want to watch movies on it; I keep the external drive connected to stream to my AppleTV and to sync the movies/TV shows to my iPhone. Would it make more sense to connect the external drive to my Time Capsule and then add the media to iTunes on my iMac over the network (for the iPhone) and to iTunes on the MacMini (for watching on my Home Theater). Just as an FYI, my Time Capsule is near enough to my home theater system to run an ethernet cable from the Time Capsule to the MacMini.

Thanks in advance!
 
Depends...

I have been struggling with this all weekend :confused:

Have had a PC based HTPC for years - have alot of movies in video_ts files. Always wanted a mac mini for a while - ever since Front Row played video_ts files natively (with previews even...). The whole finally able to play my itunes music library seamlessly was a bonus. (My current HTPC is OLD)

However a few weeks back got an Apple TV for the Non HTPC TV (got rid of cable). The Apple TV worked great and everything was fine. Well that was going so good decided to pick up a Mac Mini to replace the aging HTPC in the basement TV. Was going to use Front Row, Handbrake and have it all - video_TS capability, iTunes compatibility, 1/4 the storage drive needed when ripped to .m4v and a simple easy to use interface.

Well ran into one MAJOR problem - can not get dolby digital to pass through into Front Row. Tried the Perian hack and was able to select Dolby Digital on the file - if I played it back in iTunes - But not Front Row :mad: Why there is no audio channel select in Front Row is beyond me. I spent the whole weekend trying to get it to work.

Currently in process of setting up Plex. The program has promise but just too cumbersome. Additionally the inability to play iTunes media bought from the apple TV in Plex is a negative. I know you can activate Front Row from within Plex but it is not elegant and I still have no DD on my Apple TV content.

So then I started thinking about another Apple TV. I could Handbrake my entire collection of video_TS files - stream all those files. Home share the base account with the other Apple TV and away I go. The Apple TV has no problem streaming the movies and playing back in Dolby Digital.

But then I think about the new Mac Mini sitting there and all the flexibility I am giving up - not to mention committing even more to the :apple: Eco System.
 
o18837 said:
Well ran into one MAJOR problem - can not get dolby digital to pass through into Front Row. Tried the Perian hack and was able to select Dolby Digital on the file - if I played it back in iTunes - But not Front Row :mad: Why there is no audio channel select in Front Row is beyond me. I spent the whole weekend trying to get it to work.
Click to expand...

Is there no Dolby Digital in Front Row at all or just on the video_ts files? (i.e. can you get surround sound with the Handbraked files?)
 
video_TS files pass dolby digital fine in Front Row - Front Row calls the DVD player app when you insert a DVD (play a video_TS file). Just make sure you have digital out selected in the DVD player app. The problem I am having is using handbrake to encode files into m4v format. I make the encode with one of the tracks AC3 passthrough - the files work great on the Apple TV - DD passes through. However only two channel audio passes through in Front Row. Got perian and modified the appropriate PList file. Now I can select Dolby Digital on the files if I play in iTunes but not in Front Row. Why Front Row has to be crippled like this? I really want to use just Front Row.
 
JW008

Sorry missed your questions.

1. In my experience you can pass Dolby Digital into Front Row if you are playing DVDs or video_TS files. If you encode anything into iTunes Friendly format - the dolby digital does not pass through. The monoprice cable you need is the Toslink to Mini Toslink. That is what I bought.

2. Front Row can "see" networked drives just fine. Either of the following worked for me
- make an alias of whatever mounted network drive and folder in your "home account" movies folder. You can also add you network drive to automount by placing it in the Login Items in the Accounts set-up.
- load up iTunes with media from your network drive. Just make sure to unclick "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library" under preferences.
The first one is the way I play my video_TS files - works great.

3. It is really up to you. For me I definitely want gigabit ethernet when tossing around movies files.
 
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