Mac Mini Question

creativedrinker

Hi, im a long time pc user and im thinking on moving over to a mac.

I was thinking on getting the mac mini so i could use it as a media centre and have some questions if any body could help.

1. Is there a big difference between the 2.53 GHz and the 2.66Ghz processor? is it worth the extra money??

2. I'm going to be running it off a 40" hd tv, will it be clear enough that i can use it as a computer from sitting on my couch a few feet away...

3. With itunes can you redownload your content (songs and apps) on to the mac free of charge that you bought??

and lastly does any body hav and good or bad experience with runing a mac in this way?? and is a apple care plan needed or are these reliable machines??

Thanks

banquo

1. Meh
2. Get and install boxee, from boxee.tv
3. Yes, you can.
4. Very reliable, though apple care always recommended

J-blk

+1 to everything Banquo said, with the exception that I favor Plex instead of Boxee - purely a matter of personal taste though.

I have a very similar setup to what you are considering, a 2.26Ghz (the Minis come in 2.26Ghz and 2.53Ghz, not 2.53Ghz and 2.66Ghz) connected to a 1080p 40" Samsung TV. The 1920x1080 resolution works fine to use for general computing tasks, though TBH, I never do any web browsing or anything on the Mini, just media center, burning DVDs, etc.

As for reliabillity, before I got the 2.26Ghz late last year, I had the 1.66Ghz Core Duo one for almost two and a half years. I've since given it to my dad and it's still working away with no issues whatsoever (and is left on almost 24/7).

john__long

1. Not for what you intend to do. Either machine will perform perfectly

2. Yup. Get a HDMI adapter for it. That will allow for max supported resolution. I assume the Mini's are now using MiniDisplay port? I got a DVI one...

3. Redownload? Sometimes. You have to email Apple and tell em you lost your stuff. A straight drag n drop would work too. If streaming from other machines, I recommend ethernet. WiFi just doesn't usually cut it. Maybe with max speed 802.11n though.

4. I've a MacMini hooked to a 50" plasma using DVI -> HDMI. Works flawlessly! Hulu/Boxxee, BlackVPN for streaming from US and your away! If you have an iPhone or iPad, I recommend the apps "AirMouse" and "Rowmote". VLC is a must get video player too!

Extras ::

• Set up and secure SSH on the machine.
• If you own iPad or iPhone, set up AirVideo on the MacMini and port forward the relevant ports to your MacMini! Remote transcoding of your TV content!
• Get extra HD space! You'll need it eventually!
• Convert your DVD collection using HandBrake

Apple care always recommended! Machines are reliable. Hard drives can be iffy but that's with all machines, Apple or otherwise! If the HD lives for first 3 months, it should* last for about 3 years minimum!

* = May not last 3 years! May last more! Who knows! :-P

banquo

J-blk wrote: »

+1 to everything Banquo said, with the exception that I favor Plex instead of Boxee - purely a matter of personal taste though.

Your personal taste is incorrect

(I jest)

creativedrinker

J-blk wrote: »

(the Minis come in 2.26Ghz and 2.53Ghz, not 2.53Ghz and 2.66Ghz)

Your able to upgrade the mini to 2.66 in the configure menu, i was asking a friend who knows a good bit about that stuff and he was saying its not worth he extra money, apple have it priced at 135 for the upgrade..

Thanks a million for the answers!

I have one more question though, on the site it says thet a mini dvi adapter cable comes in the box but i was wondering since there is a mini display port too, which is the best one to use? am i better of buying a mini display port or the mini dvi port.

Convert your DVD collection using HandBrake

Didnt know about this at all.. could turn out very handy!!!!

J-blk

creativedrinker wrote: »

Your able to upgrade the mini to 2.66 in the configure menu, i was asking a friend who knows a good bit about that stuff and he was saying its not worth he extra money, apple have it priced at 135 for the upgrade..

D'oh! I completely forgot about BTO options for the Mini for some reason. TBH, I wouldn't even bother with the 2.53Ghz though, the 2.26Ghz is plenty powerful for what you seem to want, the only limiting factor might be the 2GB RAM, but unless you want to virtualize other operating systems or use Photoshop or something, that won't be an issue either.

As for which display port to use, there's not much difference really (neither support audio) but I went for a mini-Displayport to HDMI adapter (from eBay) for the simple reason that if you buy another Mac down the line (and it's very likely you will ), it will have mini-Displayport out, but not mini-DVI which is being phased out... So you could use the adapter for that other Mac too when/if needed.

creativedrinker

J-blk wrote: »

D'oh! I completely forgot about BTO options for the Mini for some reason. TBH, I wouldn't even bother with the 2.53Ghz though, the 2.26Ghz is plenty powerful for what you seem to want, the only limiting factor might be the 2GB RAM, but unless you want to virtualize other operating systems or use Photoshop or something, that won't be an issue either.

As for which display port to use, there's not much difference really (neither support audio) but I went for a mini-Displayport to HDMI adapter (from eBay) for the simple reason that if you buy another Mac down the line (and it's very likely you will ), it will have mini-Displayport out, but not mini-DVI which is being phased out... So you could use the adapter for that other Mac too when/if needed.

I know its not nessicary but i get the student discount for being in college.. I just ordered it there, the 4 gig memory and 2.53 ghz processor wit 500gb hard-drive.. i know i mightn't ever use all the power on it but it may come in handy some time as in thinking on giving computer dj'ing a shot and maby down the line record my guitar on it.... cant wait for this to be delierved now :D:D:D:D

jpfahy

You're going to need the little Apple Remote, I think I heard somewhere that it no longer comes free with the Mini. For movies download Handbrake. This free program will let you rip DVDs to your hard disk and you can watch them through Front Row. You'll find your hard disk fills up pretty quick. Performance on Macs drops a lot if free space is limited so you'll end up getting an external hard disk. If you do, consider getting a firewire one. USB disks have problems going into sleep mode on Macs where Firewire ones don't. Think longevity, noise and power consumption.

J-blk

creativedrinker wrote: »

I know its not nessicary but i get the student discount for being in college.. cant wait for this to be delierved now :D:D:D:D

Cool - enjoy it, I'm sure you're going to love it . I started with a Mini a few years back and I'm on my fourth Mac already (none of them have failed though, I just get the upgrade bug...).

jpfahy wrote: »

You're going to need the little Apple Remote, I think I heard somewhere that it no longer comes free with the Mini.

It doesn't come with any Mac for free any longer - Apple charges the rather outrageous amount of €19 for it now but yes OP, if you want to use the Mini as a media center, the remote is great to have...

jkb_dub

You could also get a Logitech Harmony remote to control the mini which will then work with your TV/DVD etc etc... I use one with Remote Buddy installed on the mac, works really well.

I also have an EyeTV hybrid hooked up to my Sky box to allow me watch TV in a window and/or record onto the mac.

My recent purchase was Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard which I got on adverts.ie, again works well via Bluetooth.

+1 for Handbrake, I'd also recommend ffmpegx & iSquint for converting video.

creativedrinker

J-blk wrote: »

It doesn't come with any Mac for free any longer - Apple charges the rather outrageous amount of €19 for it now but yes OP, if you want to use the Mini as a media center, the remote is great to have...

I got a docking station a while back when i got an ipod touch and it came with one of those remotes, I've hardly ever used the remote so it'll get a good work out wen i get the mac!

jester77

I have a similar setup, 2.53 cpu, maxed the RAM at 4GB and went with the smallest HD, forget what it is. I've a 42inch Samsung and all my media stored on an NAS drive in another room connected with ethernet. I've the mini connected via VGA using native resolution and optical out to my amp. I prefer Plex over Boxee (but that's a personal thing, not that interested in the social media side of things) and it runs so smooth without any problems. Setting up plex took a bit of initial effort but they are releasing v0.9 soon, preview video of it released last night showing the new media manager, looks fantastic and will make things very easy.

Controlling with the apple remote is simple, they really made it easy, no need for a harmony unless you just want 1 remote to control tv, amp and plex. You can also start and sleep the mini with the remote. You can remote desktop or ssh into the mini with another pc/mac or iphone/ipod touch if you ever need to do something to it and working on it from the other side of the room is no problem. If you don't have a remote then Controllr (it was purposely built for plex) from the app store is a decent app, not amazing but does a good job of controlling and displaying your media on an iphone.

I would highly recommend it. Previously I had my own self built windows media center and it didn't run as smooth or quiet as the mini and it took up more room and was not as elegant looking. Can't fault my current setup.

creativedrinker

I was looking up vids of mac mini setups ect on youtube and saw someone using a ps3 bluetooth remote ( The one to control the blue ray) does any one know if its an app yo get to use the remote or does it get picked up by the mac's bluetooth?? would be handy to use if its compatible

jkb_dub

I thought the same about the Ps3 keyboard when I got the Logitech DiNovo mini, it should be possible... I saw some people were using an application called Controllermate to help reassign and map buttons to specific functions. I haven't tried it myself as my keyboard works fine for what I need..