Top Mini Uses

[snberk103]

Amazing Really

Wow! Thanks everyone for elaborating - I now stand enlightened. I REALLY want one (if not two) now. [prays for updates soon....]

What kind of resolution can I expect out of the mini when using DVI to my HDTV? Will it output 1080i/720p if the source is of that quality? I would also expect that there might be lags/skips occasionally (?). What would I have to do to the mini to get 5.1 Dolby Digital out of it? Is that even possible?

Is anyone using a mini to encode hdtv from terrestrial broadcasts (dvr) ?

Sorry if I'm asking too many questions, but I didn't know that the mini could be used to do so many cool things and now I'm thinking "skies the limit".

Crontab

It is an amazing beast, indeed. My suggestion is to do a search on these forums. I know that there have been numerous discussions already. There is a very long (over 1000 posts) on whether the Mini would be discontinued... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/369115/

There was discussion there, or at least linked to it, about whether the Mini would do HDTV, etc. IIRC the consensus was the the specs on paper weren't good enough, but that basically anyone who had tried it were having no problems. Go figure, eh? The consensus, again IIRC was that the GPU (graphics chip) was underpowered for things like games, but that the CPU was powerful for encoding/ripping/etc. I could have misunderstood - so go search away. Check the refurb online store every morning. I've seen Minis there for as little as $479 (Canadian $), sometimes the top of the line models. They don't last long.

Good Luck

 

[Cave Man]

There was discussion there, or at least linked to it, about whether the Mini would do HDTV, etc. IIRC the consensus was the the specs on paper weren't good enough, but that basically anyone who had tried it were having no problems. Go figure, eh? The consensus, again IIRC was that the GPU (graphics chip) was underpowered for things like games, but that the CPU was powerful for encoding/ripping/etc.

MPEG-2 = Mini does very well, even 1080, since the GMA950 has acceleration for it.

H.264 = Mini can have issues with high bit-rate HD since the GMA950 has no support for it. Decoding is done by the cpu instead.

 

[rshanahan]

I'm using a Mini with a LG 42" 720p tv. I'm using DVI-HDMI cable (ebay). It is running 'through' a Denon 3808 receiver.

The resolution I use is 1388x(something), the actual numbers escape me now, but it's the native resolution of most 720p tv's (at least my LG 42" and my Sony projector).

I rip (using Handbrake) in x.264 (or whatever), 2500bps and AC3 soundtrack with my Mac Pro and view it (across ethernet) on the mini and never have any hiccupping. My mini is 1.83 DC w/2gb ram, stock 80gb hd.

Getting AC3 via Perian and an optical cable. DO NOT UPGRADE QUICK TIME TO 7.4.5!! IT WILL BREAK AC3 PASSTHROUGH!!

I am waiting to get a 2nd mini for my theater (http://www.rickshanahan.com/theater/piney/default.htm) to replace the Whinedoes pc.

That's how I use my mini(s).

Rick

 

[err404]

MPEG-2 = Mini does very well, even 1080, since the GMA950 has acceleration for it.

H.264 = Mini can have issues with high bit-rate HD since the GMA950 has no support for it. Decoding is done by the cpu instead.

In general 720p h.264 is no problem, but high bitrate 1080p may have some skipped frames. The good new is that the newer builds of ffmpeg are better optimized for dual cores and a 2.0ghz mini plays back flawless for all but the toughest 1080p files.