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Who has experience with Mac mini as Media Center?

I also use a Mac Mini as a media center. Recently purchased the new Core 2 Duo mini (low end model, don't need a DVD burner) and installed Equinux MediaCentral, that plays virtually all files out there. Apple TV and Front Row aren't even close. MediaCentral is completely controlled by the Apple remote.

Connected to LCD TV through a DVI-HDMI cable and an optical cable to the surround receiver for 5.1 sound. All music, video, photos, etc are streamed from a LaCie ethernet disk mini connected to a D-Link DIR-655 wireless gigabit router. As written earlier, there is sometimes some choppiness with wireless streming of video (as VIDEO_TS folders) to the mini (which lacks an n card), but I plan to test D-Links USB adapter DWA-140 which offers the n protocol. Last way out is of course an ethernet cable.

I am very happy with this set-up. I chose not to go with a complete solution including TV recording, since we have digital cable in our area not supported by any Mac TV device. Instead I use a Sony DVD/HDD recorder with 1080p upscaling for that.
 
I have the 1.5GHz Core Solo model set up as a Media Center on my son's tv - a older 21" Sony (tube) using the DVI to Video Adapter. All his Spongebobs and Diegos and such are encoded in h.264 (Handbrake AppleTV preset) and all run really well and look great - much better than constantly switching out DVDs all the time...
 
iDave said:
For some reason, Front Row just seems cumbersome to me, when the Finder does the same thing, as long as you have a mouse.
Click to expand...

I find FrontRow to be acceptable, although I do notice that if the movie folder is too large there seems to be a large pause while waiting for the folder to load. I cannot say though if this is the actual cause of the delay though. Because it seems to cure itself sometimes.

FrontRow is free, and overall is a necessary interface for the others in my house who are anything but tech savvy. Therefore I needed something simple and approachable. This is not a family house its a bachelor pad with 3 guys, and occasional girlfriends.
 
Tom Sawyer said:
The only reason that I didn't go with a Mini for my media center was that front row doesn't seem to have any way of playing iso's over the network. That may have changed since I looked at them a year ago.
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iDave said:
I can't get a video_ts file to play with Front Row over the network.
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Take a look at DVD Assist. Instead of ripping DVDs to iso images, just rip them using MacTheRipper or whatever to get the VIDEO_TS folder. DVD Assist worked for me in my tests, accessing ripped VIDEO_TS folders over the network from my Macbook via Front Row. Still haven't gotten around to getting a dedicated mini for that stuff, but I know it should work! ;)
 
motulist said:
Don't count on it. The switch off date has been significantly moved back time and time again. There's no reason to believe that the new switch off date wont just get moved back again.
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Except for the fact that the high-powered digital broadcast facility being built by the majors out of Denver is due to be finished this spring. Can't wait for that - already the low power signals are great when I get them (I'm about 50 miles from Denver). It's coming; real soon...
 
iDave said:
I prefer to use a mouse and keyboard and play videos with QuickTime Player or VLC instead of Front Row. For some reason, Front Row just seems cumbersome to me, when the Finder does the same thing, as long as you have a mouse.
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It is somewhat cumbersome, especially as the interactivity is limited even with the new BT keyboard. That's another reason why Windows Media Center with it's wealth of hardware support makes a whole lot more sense than trying to bend a relatively crappy wannabe MC interface to your will.
 
I dont have much of an issue with playing a disc as I dont intend on it being a multi room server. I just want to be able to play my video, music and any other media I have on my computer on my TV. But alot of my videos are Divx and i would prefer to not have to convert them to anything. I just got a mini last week and I plugged it into the tv. Made some alias files for some DVDs that I had some Divx files on and it worked great. Right into front row (after adding divx support to quicktime that is) and it played great. Im planning on getting a 2nd one so that I can keep it up front permanently and just stream the videos from a central file server I already have set up in the house. As a front end i think it works great and you can add support for just about whatever you are looking to add. It does take a little bit of prep on your end (playlists and some file organization) but after all that, it would work great. Alot easier to work with than a windows system or linux system.
 
i am also looking at getting a mini to be a media center...

what do you guys do? leave it in sleep mode all the time or do you start it up each time you want to watch or listen to something?

what should the minimum specs be? core solo?
 
If you want HD, you need a Core duo.....you may get away with 720p with a solo.

I don't actually have an Intel mini yet for my Media computer - waiting for leopard. But I decided to try it on my Macbook to see if it was acceptable. ( months later, I'm still using it as DVD/PVR/Music player etc.

The EyeTV software is the best TV software I have used. Easy, dependable (although I have to remember to leave Macbook switched on at the wall socket) and the quality is very very good.

I play Video's from the HDD but will move them to a fileserver over a gigabt network soon. Music is fine....just through TV speakers but will also be connecting up to 5.1 AV Amp soon.

Front row serves it's purpose. It could be a whole load better. I find the Trailers VERY slow to download (just on wireless at the moment though) and the movies folder can be slow to open. Once viewing though, it's a pleasure.

I use the Apple remote - though I will investigate other devices. I also intend to have a BT keyboard and mouse for archiving/fiddling etc. I have the old style BT keyboard but the new one looks perfect for a media centre.
 
I run a Core Solo as my Media Centre. Works a treat, but used soley for playing Divx stuff that I've recorded off TV and rendered for watching later, and movies I've rendered.

Never switched off, or sleeps !
Uses an external USB2 disk to store Media and it works a treat.
It's also wired to my Home LAN so no worries about wireless speeds.

At work I run Bitvise Tunnelier so I can SSH, SFTP and can VNC to it securely from work. It's fab :)
 
I use an eyetv diversity on a my G5 iMac, works great, very easy to fill up a hard drive though.
I think a major omission on front row is not being able to integrate with the EyeTV sofware. That really would make it a proper media centre.
 
iDave said:
Sure your analog tuner/receiver will work with a converter. That's the purpose of the converter.

I know the date has been pushed back a few times. I believe February, 2009 if a firm one though. The spectrum is being auctioned off. The time has come.

Sorry for the off-topic comment. I just wanted to point out that it's not wise to buy any analog TV device at this time.
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All that's being shut off is analog broadcast tv. Cable can be analog. VCRs can be analog. DVD player output can be as well. . . . Not saying buy analog stuff, but it will all continue to work, you just won't be able to get over-the-air TV.

It's about time, and auctioning off the spectrum will mean that the buyers of spectrum will exert pressure on Congress not to let the date slip again, which the broadcasters keep pushing for.
 
Jowl said:
Front row serves it's purpose. It could be a whole load better. I find the Trailers VERY slow to download (just on wireless at the moment though) and the movies folder can be slow to open. Once viewing though, it's a pleasure.
Click to expand...

Odd. I am rather impressed with the consistency of the movie trailers speed. Almost never any hiccups in speeds. Though my movie folder sometimes lags.

Core solo would be sweet, but I only use a G4 Mini and it is perfect. Never any problems w/playback. Though I do not use HD, but I could care less (might as well get a PS3 or blu-ray/HD-DVD for that).
 
I use a 1.6GHz CD Mini, and it works fine. If you've used Windows MCE you might find it a bit limited, but I have Perian installed and it should play pretty much whatever I want on it. I use mostly FrontRow and the Apple remote. I have a mouse attached but no keyboard. If I have to do computery stuff, I VNC from another Mac when no one's watching anything on it.

FrontRow may be an MCE wannabe, but what's most important in a media center in the family room is WAF (wife acceptance factor). It was hard enough getting her to accept a Mini under the TV, never mind a full sized PC. I looked at building my own small form factor PC but it would have cost much more with Windows MCE than the refurb mini we eventually got. (Yes, I could have gone the open source route, but remember the WAF).

I played around with a MacBook connected up for a couple of weeks and decided that we could live with FrontRow.

The mini works great. It's quiet ... in fact, the fans of my Dell laptop in the next room drown out any sound the Mini makes ... and there's no more searching through 10 Dora the Explorer DVDs trying to find which one has "A Letter for Swiper" on it.
 
afd said:
I think a major omission on front row is not being able to integrate with the EyeTV sofware. That really would make it a proper media centre.
Click to expand...

Well, EyeTV interfaces with Front Row...sort of. You have to record a program and export it to iTunes (all automatic), but you can't, of course, use Front Row to display live TV from the EyeTV hardware; that would be really great.
 
To me these days, a big part of TV is watching it online. (Abc.com currently has the best player.) You can't watch this at full screen without dual processors. It's pretty nice to be able to watch shows you missed, days or weeks later with fewer commercials, without needing a DVR.
 
Cave Man said:
Well, EyeTV interfaces with Front Row...sort of. You have to record a program and export it to iTunes (all automatic), but you can't, of course, use Front Row to display live TV from the EyeTV hardware; that would be really great.
Click to expand...

You can use the remote to control EyeTv. I just back out of front row and pull up eyetv with the remote. Never touching a mouse or a keyboard.
 
shu82 said:
You can use the remote to control EyeTv. I just back out of front row and pull up eyetv with the remote. Never touching a mouse or a keyboard.
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coming out of a media interface to run another media interface seems a bit clunky and probably has a very low WAF...
 
plinden said:
I use a 1.6GHz CD Mini, and it works fine. If you've used Windows MCE you might find it a bit limited, but I have Perian installed and it should play pretty much whatever I want on it. I use mostly FrontRow and the Apple remote. I have a mouse attached but no keyboard. If I have to do computery stuff, I VNC from another Mac when no one's watching anything on it.

FrontRow may be an MCE wannabe, but what's most important in a media center in the family room is WAF (wife acceptance factor). It was hard enough getting her to accept a Mini under the TV, never mind a full sized PC. I looked at building my own small form factor PC but it would have cost much more with Windows MCE than the refurb mini we eventually got. (Yes, I could have gone the open source route, but remember the WAF).

I played around with a MacBook connected up for a couple of weeks and decided that we could live with FrontRow.

The mini works great. It's quiet ... in fact, the fans of my Dell laptop in the next room drown out any sound the Mini makes ... and there's no more searching through 10 Dora the Explorer DVDs trying to find which one has "A Letter for Swiper" on it.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, I don't have to compromise for a dumbed-down solution, am not drawing comparisons to clapped-out old gear and also have the imagination to be able to specify decor-friendly gear which is not admittedly offered on a plate.

My main stereo will not get the WAF for sure (especially when it can buy her an H1 for those bulk shopping trips), but the inoffensive, relatively compact, silenced (and I mean truly silenced) Vista MCE setup will very likely get the WAF. Life is surely about compromises, but I like to avoid it whenever possible - which is why I wouldn't touch an OS X based HTPC solution right now with a ten-foot bargepole. As ever though, I'm doing my best to cast around and when truly viable solutions appear along with the hardware, I'll say as much.
 
What kind of remote do you have?

So what do you guys use for a remote? the little white one from apple or an third party like the Logitech 525...also what kind of wireless keyboard do you guys like?

I am trying to get stuff in order...just got myself a mini from ebay should see it next week...can't wait!!!
 
designtemple said:
So what do you guys use for a remote? the little white one from apple or an third party like the Logitech 525...also what kind of wireless keyboard do you guys like?
Click to expand...
I use a wireless mouse from Microsoft and Apple's new wireless aluminum keyboard. I occasionally use the little white Front Row remote that came with the mini but prefer the mouse and keyboard.
 
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