Will the mini suit my needs? HD video editing and home theater...

[sk8ordie]

Possibly looking to pick up a Mac Mini for a home theater PC, using a 46" LED LCD HDTV as a monitor.

Will the mini be able to support the TV as a monitor easily? And will it turn into a slug when editing/rendering HD video?

I want to be able to go to websites like CBS and watch full screen episodes in HD, and I want to be able to edit HD video (GoPro/DSLR) from my couch with Final Cut.


Any recommendations? Will the base model handle all my needs or do I need the server model? I don't need a Pro machine (I can wait a bit for rendering), I just need something that won't stutter or lag for day to day casual usage. Thanks!

 

[Adamantoise]

Your TV's maximum resolution is 1920 by 1080 (unless you have one of those LG TVs just announced in CES )

Anyway, the HD3000 and Radeon 6630 can both drive a 1080p resolution without hiccups.

Not sure about the HD video editing though.

 

[GGJstudios]

Will the mini be able to support the TV as a monitor easily?

Quite easily.

And will it turn into a slug when editing/rendering HD video?

While it may not be as fast as other Macs, it certainly won't be a slug!

I want to be able to go to websites like CBS and watch full screen episodes in HD, and I want to be able to edit HD video (GoPro/DSLR) from my couch with Final Cut.

No problem.

Any recommendations?

I use a mini as my home theater server, using Plex. Check it out.

Will the base model handle all my needs or do I need the server model?

The base model will do fine. I'd bump it to at least 4GB using aftermarket RAM.

 

[Cmd-the-World]

You definatly need the upgrade the RAM to 8GB. I would suggest to buy the base model but either buy an SSD (I strongly suggest) or else at least a 7200rpm drive as the 5400rpm drive would slow the computer down when you are editing.

 

[sk8ordie]

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Thank you! I've been stuck in the past, editing standard definition video on my PPC G5 and am getting myself up to speed with HD requirements. Needless to say my near decade old G5 takes hours to process HD!

Good to know the mini won't be a slouch! Now I just need to decide to buy or wait for the next update...

 

[drmark]

I just bought one last month, it drives a 120" screen with no issue. All of my media is on a server.

I also use XBMC, it plays FLAC and all my video files perfectly and free.