Mini as a media center?

[yrsonicdeath]

I've got 4GB in the Macbook (which of course only recognizes 3GB). Memory was cheap enough when I bought the machine I couldn't see any reason not to max it out.

I haven't really looked at how much memory EyeTV uses; I can if it's useful.

I have definitely noticed that the Macbook fan runs full speed more or less constantly when I've got EyeTV recording. It runs a little bit less on playback.

Celos, what are the other specs of your macbook?

 

[mtbdudex]

Does iTunes 8 makes watching HD content on Mac Computers possible now? If so, that is good news!!

Is this correct:
1) If you buy can watch HD on computer (output via DVI to front PJ) or aTV, if you rent only watch on aTV.

2) Rentals are only available on aTV.

from iTunes features as of 9-12-08:

Movie Rentals

Standard-definition movie rentals are $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases. And for just a dollar more, you can rent HD movies directly from your widescreen TV via Apple TV. Rent a movie and you have 30 days to start watching it. Hit Play, and you have 24 hours to finish it — or play it as many times as you want. Rentals disappear when they expire, so they won’t take up space on your hard drive.


HD TV Shows

Purchase your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2.99 an episode. Or purchase an HD Season Pass and enjoy an entire season of your favorite show in stunning 720p resolution with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. When you sync your HD TV shows to your iPod or iPhone, iTunes transfers a version that’s ideal for your device’s smaller hard drive and screen.

 

[carlosew]

Video memory alocation for 1080i, 1080p large files

I recently bought a Mac Mini with 2GB memory it is connected to 50" plasma via HDMI and to the a/v receiver with the optical cable.

With 720p files it works great, but I`ve been having problems to view large 1080p files, they play but it looks like the video card does not have enough memory (whe playing it goes like 4 sec playing, then 4 secs pause, then 4 secs playing etc etc, the audio goes uninterrupted, I am using vlc to play them. I will try the plex player tonight, but it does not look like it is the player.

Can somebody tell me if it is posible to allocate memory available for the video card/processor, and how to do it please?

 

[Cave Man]

The Mini's gpu is perfectly capable of 1080p. I do it with Blu-ray rips and most work without any problems at all. What is your cpu speed?

 

[carlosew]

thanks for replying Caveman

1.83 Core 2 Duo

I am really new to mac been a pc user for 20 years bought the mini for media center specifically and specially for 1080p files. feeling kind of frustrated

Looks like video to me

I tried VLC, Quicktime and PLex
VLC does the best job so far

 

[carlosew]

Forgot to specify .mkv files

 

[earlymon]

Could be CPU speed

For Quicktime at least, they specify a faster CPU. The Intel GP is often disparaged but is actually very, very good at video. It shares main memory, so you're not going to find any memory allocation s/w (so far as I think I'm sure of that).

Sorry - I have a 1.83 Core Duo and a newer 2 Core 2 Duo - but neither TV is 1080p, so I can't say by running any side-by-side tests for you...

Here's the relevant link...

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

 

[Cave Man]

thanks for replying Caveman

1.83 Core 2 Duo

I am really new to mac been a pc user for 20 years bought the mini for media center specifically and specially for 1080p files. feeling kind of frustrated

Looks like video to me

I tried VLC, Quicktime and PLex
VLC does the best job so far

Forgot to specify .mkv files

I think the 2 gHz is probably the minimum, but none of my files are in mkv containers; either m2ts or m4v. Do you know what the video codecs and bit rates are for your mkv files? Mine are in h.264 (AVC) for some of the Blu-ray and all the Handbrake transcodes, or MPEG-2 or VC-1 for the other Blu-ray rips. All the Blu-ray rips are in the 30 mbps range, while the HB transcodes are at 14 mbps average. I would think 2 gb of RAM would be sufficient, and I have found Plex to be the best at playback with VLC next, and QT last (and it will not open m2ts containers).

 

[carlosew]

I hope you are both wrong about the 2ghz minimum required, but feels you are probably right. I am not buying a faster one unless apple start accepting trade in.

I will look for the files info when i get home. Any device software available to improove video output??

Ignorance is about to talk but please forgive me (in PC) eventhought you use a slow computer processor say a Pentium 4 you could do wonders if a high performance graphic card like a Gforce 8800 GT with loads of ram on it is been used, thats why i looked for the memory allocation solution.

Hopefully the external blu-ray units prices will come down to earth enventually

You download the movies or rippe`m yourself, I am currently looking for a better bitorrent site.

Thanks anyway

 

[CMD is me]

Haven't seen this post for awhile.... I tried playing 1080i Quicktime files from my 2.16 C2D and had similar issues. The video was NOT smooth at all and would stutter a lot. 720p played fine.

In the end I ended up getting a 80gn PS3 for $250. I can store all my content (photos/videos/music) on the internal drive or external USB drive. I can stream video, surf the web and play 1080p BD! Apple's missing a big market by resisting BD and pushing iTunes downloads. I believe streaming media is where things will be headed, but BD isn't becoming any less popular right now.

 

[Capt Crunch]

You download the movies or rippe`m yourself, I am currently looking for a better bitorrent site.

Thanks anyway

I suggest Usenet if you want a source for movies on the internet. Start with giganews.com.

It costs a bit of money and requires a tiny bit of extra know-how, but I consistently max out my cable connection with it. All I download is 1080p now.

 

[carlosew]

Codecs Needed for 1080p mkv files

I have the Perian codec installed, is the avc codec available for mac somewhere? it works great on PC with far smaller processors.

Any other codecs recomended for 1080p files on mac mini?

Thanks for the advice on the PS3 But i am not going to spend $499 more on a job the Mac Mini (so called Media Center PC) should do, and in fact have enough processor to do.

 

[Cave Man]

I have the Perian codec installed, is the avc codec available for mac somewhere? it works great on PC with far smaller processors.

AVC is already in Quicktime. The problem isn't the codec so much as it is your container.

Any other codecs recomended for 1080p files on mac mini?

Only those that you need for the files you have.