Mac mini as home server/ media centre?

ZV Yoda

Hi folks....

Our XP based home pc is 7 years old. It had been running fine until the fan blew recently (it just wasn’t up the task of converting the kids DVD collection to MP4!).

Anyway, I’m now considering my options. I’d like to get advice from folks who have experience using a Mac mini as a home server / media centre. What really appeals to me about them is that they’re so small & have very low power consumption. The new ones have a HDMI cable, so I can just pop it in behind the TV in the sitting room, get a wireless keyboard & will have a full computer / media hub in one.

I know it runs on the older Intel C2D technology, but the most processing power we’d realistically need will be the usual family stuff… web browsing, photos, editing home movies & playing music / movies. I’d need it to be able to stream content from iTunes to an Apple TV, iPad & iPod. We’re lucky enough to have 15Mb broadband at home.

Any thoughts?... I have somebody heading to the US shortly & they’re less than €500 over there vs. €719 from the Apple store here.

whiterebel

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Hi folks....

Our XP based home pc is 7 years old. It had been running fine until the fan blew recently (it just wasn’t up the task of converting the kids DVD collection to MP4!).

Anyway, I’m now considering my options. I’d like to get advice from folks who have experience using a Mac mini as a home server / media centre. What really appeals to me about them is that they’re so small & have very low power consumption. The new ones have a HDMI cable, so I can just pop it in behind the TV in the sitting room, get a wireless keyboard & will have a full computer / media hub in one.

I know it runs on the older Intel C2D technology, but the most processing power we’d realistically need will be the usual family stuff… web browsing, photos, editing home movies & playing music / movies. I’d need it to be able to stream content from iTunes to an Apple TV, iPad & iPod. We’re lucky enough to have 15Mb broadband at home.

Any thoughts?... I have somebody heading to the US shortly & they’re less than €500 over there vs. €719 from the Apple store here.

Don't forget to add sales tax, and VAT at 21% if stopped coming back. Although even if you add all that, still cheaper than the irsh price.

jester77

Fantastic media center, I've been using one for the last 2 years and couldn't be happier with it. Before that I was using a windows setup with media center and it was just awkward, cumbersome and didn't exactly look good in the living room. I have mine fully automated with sabnzb and an NAS server in another room. I use Plex as the media center, fantastic piece of software that can handles videos smoothly, so the newer mini's should have no problem. I would go with 4GB of RAM, with everything else as default.

It's very easy to control with the apple remote and you will rarely need to actually connect to the pc. I've an ssh client (issh) on my phone that I use for the rare times that I need to do something, it also has a vnc client which is handy when you want to install updates on the mini.

The only thing lacking is good TV integration so that might be something to consider.

ZV Yoda

Thx for the replies… yip, I’m aware of the sales tax/VAT, but like you say, it’s still a better deal from the US.

Anybody else got any comments… from everything I’ve read, it seems to a be a great piece of kit for what I need… although as always with Apple it’s a trade-off between older hardware & higher cost than a pc equivalent… but it’s a better designed box that integrates well with other Apple devices & uses very low power.

J-blk

I've been using a Mini for years as well, would not trade it for any other solution. I used to have a 1.66Ghz Core Duo model and since have upgraded to the (now previous gen./shape) 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo. The Core 2 Duo can handle pretty much anything thrown at it, even 1080p mkv files, which can be quite demanding. Not sure I'd bother with 4GB RAM if all you will use it for is HTPC/general computing though - 2GB is more than enough and either way, the new Mini has easily upgradeable RAM too.

I've been using it with Plex all this time, which is a brilliant Mac OS X specific offshoot of XBMC. If you have an iPhone or iPad, an excellent iOS companion app exists too and works very well.

As Jester77 mentioned, TV integration is easily the weakest link (when compared to Windows Media Center), though if you are willing to put some effort into it, it is possible to get it all working to a satisfactory degree.

ZV Yoda

Cheers… for my benefit, could you explain what you mean by “TV integration”?... I’m happy with our existing UPC TV service, so I wasn’t thinking of using the mini to get TV stations as such… I’d see it more as computer that’s connected to my TV… giving me the benefits of iTunes content (either streaming of from my hard drive)… with the added benefit of compatibility with my iPod & iPad

… am I missing something here? I’ll have to check out Plex – hadn’t heard of that before.

Wossack

as a htpc I'd imagine it'd excel

a home server is something different mind

J-blk

ZV Yoda wrote: »

could you explain what you mean by “TV integration”?

What I mean (and I would imagine most people) is the ability to plug in a TV source (UPC, Sky, bog standard aerial, whatever) to a TV tuner and then use the Mac to get Sky+ like features such as pausing live TV, series link recording, EPG, etc. If you already have something like that already (Sky+ or the UPC equivalent) then it probably doesn't matter to you, but it is possible to get these features via the HTPC.

In my case, I have a "standard" UPC box (no recording features and a crap EPG) connected to an Elgato EyeTV 250+ tuner and get all of the above on the Mini via the EyeTV software. The original point I was making though is on the Mac, this is a bit trickier than using a PC with Windows Media Center which is pretty much designed for this. Still, once properly set up, it works very well.

Plex is seriously awesome and way ahead of Apple's own Front Row interface:

http://www.plexapp.com/

ZV Yoda

J-blk wrote: »

What I mean (and I would imagine most people) is the ability to plug in a TV source (UPC, Sky, bog standard aerial, whatever) to a TV tuner and then use the Mac to get Sky+ like features such as pausing live TV, series link recording, EPG, etc. If you already have something like that already (Sky+ or the UPC equivalent) then it probably doesn't matter to you, but it is possible to get these features via the HTPC.

In my case, I have a "standard" UPC box (no recording features and a crap EPG) connected to an Elgato EyeTV 250+ tuner and get all of the above on the Mini via the EyeTV software. The original point I was making though is on the Mac, this is a bit trickier than using a PC with Windows Media Center which is pretty much designed for this. Still, once properly set up, it works very well.

Plex is seriously awesome and way ahead of Apple's own Front Row interface:

http://www.plexapp.com/

Ok, I see - makes sense now. I have the UPC plus box, so I can record/freeze TV using that.

Plex looks interesting... I don't know much about the whole HTPC side of things tbh... some clever stuff out there. I think I'll go ahead with the mini... Should have it in a week or so, so will be interested to see how it all works out

J-blk

ZV Yoda wrote: »

I think I'll go ahead with the mini...

Enjoy . I'm sure you'll love it as an HTPC especially.

Plex will also easily stream anything in its' library to your iPad and iPod if you get the iOS app (which thankfully is universal):

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/plex/id383457673?mt=8

In the last couple of days I've discovered a third party alternative as well, called KLEXi HD:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/klexi-hd/id391096729?mt=8

You could use that instead of the "official" Plex iOS app (Plex on the Mac itself is a free download and both Plex and KLEXi will work with it). It actually looks a lot nicer at the moment and has some features the Plex iOS app doesn't. That said, the Plex app is constantly updated so it could catch up soon enough.

kjl

Well firstly I would say there is a one stop shop for software here.

XBMC and Boxee,

These are two of the best media center software around.

Combo boxee with a US vpn, and you streaming access to all the america tv shows for free. Well worth it.

If you have any questions give us a bell.

ZV Yoda

Thanks for the steer on Boxee & XBMC... I'll have to play around with those too..

I was checking online for a suitable wireless keyboard (preferably with a built in track pad) so I can control the Mac mini from the sofa... then I came across this app...

Mobile Mouse

... it turns the iPod / iPad into a remote keyboard / mouse / dock for pc or mac (not just a remote like the App for iTunes - it's a full wireless keyboard that changes depending on the software or application you're using at any point in time).

Now that's really clever... and the full iPod version is only €1.99! I tried it just now on the pc & it worked flawlessly.

J-blk

ZV Yoda wrote: »

I was checking online for a suitable wireless keyboard (preferably with a built in track pad) so I can control the Mac mini from the sofa... then I came across this app...

Mobile Mouse

... it turns the iPod / iPad into a remote keyboard / mouse / dock for pc or mac (not just a remote like the App for iTunes - it's a full wireless keyboard that changes depending on the software or application you're using at any point in time).

Now that's really clever... and the full iPod version is only €1.99! I tried it just now on the pc & it worked flawlessly.

Yep, TBH, since you have an iPad anyway, there is no real need for a physical keyboard/mouse connected to the Mini after initial set up. You can get a free (but more basic) software keyboard/mouse app from Logitech too:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touch-mouse/id338237450?mt=8

I prefer to use a VNC client though since you can see/use your entire desktop as normal, without having to switch on the TV, etc. Macs have a built-in VNC server, so all you need is an iOS app:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vnc-viewer/id352019548?mt=8

The Apple Remote app is also great for controlling iTunes itself on the Mini and was recently updated to support the iPad resolution too:

http://www.apple.com/itunes/remote/

kjl

me personally, I need a physical remote to control my media center, the phone is grand as a back up, but to take it out, swipe to unlock, launch program, wait for it to connect to your network, every time you want to do something gets boring very quickly

Creamy Goodness

kjl wrote: »

me personally, I need a physical remote to control my media center, the phone is grand as a back up, but to take it out, swipe to unlock, launch program, wait for it to connect to your network, every time you want to do something gets boring very quickly

you'll want this then

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W5RBQE?tag=unclutterer-20&link_code=as2&creativeASIN=B000W5RBQE&creative=374929&camp=211189

bluetooth keyboard and touch pad all in one

best of both worlds

J-blk

kjl wrote: »

me personally, I need a physical remote to control my media center, the phone is grand as a back up, but to take it out, swipe to unlock, launch program, wait for it to connect to your network, every time you want to do something gets boring very quickly

I agree completely - the apps above are mostly for substituting a keyboard/mouse which is not really essential all the time for an HTPC. For actually controlling the media software, be it Plex, XBMC, Boxee or whatever, a physical remote is a good idea.

Which actually brings up another point OP: you might want to buy an Apple remote if you don't already have one. It's no longer supplied with the Mini (or any new Mac for that matter).

ZV Yoda

Yeah, it's hard to beat using a physical keyboard - although I'm not really a fan of those laptop style trackpads. I always use a wireless mouse with my work laptop.

That's a good point about the Apple remote - I have an Intel C2D iMac (I use it for music production running Protools, so need to keep it separate from the home / media stuff). I'll use the Apple remote from the iMac with the mini instead.

Once I get the mini, I'll see if I can live with using the iPad or iPod as a wireless keyboards... if not, that Logitech yoke looks like a good bet.

Wossack

I my logitech dinovo mini

ZV Yoda

Took delivery of my Mac mini today... very impressed so far. I used a normal usb mouse & keyboard to get set up & then tried using the mobile mouse app on the iPad... it does work, but it's just not as intuitive as a proper keyboard... so I ordered that Logitech PS3 wireless keyboard / track pad from Dabs... I read a load of reviews & it boiled down to that or the Dinovo

rordeb

What about the mac mini server - is that overkill for a home environment as I am seriously considering buying a hp home media server.

ZV Yoda

rordeb wrote: »

What about the mac mini server - is that overkill for a home environment as I am seriously considering buying a hp home media server.

Well, I'm not a real techie as such, but for me the server version doesn’t really make any sense… it costs €500 more than the normal Mac mini and there’s really only 4 differences that I can see:
• 500Gb vs 320Gb hard drive (but I already have various external firewire hard drives, so don’t need the extra storage)
• 4Gb vs. 2Gb RAM (Apple Store RAM is extortionate, so I’ll do what I did with my iMac…sell the 2 x 1Gb sticks it ships with & buy 2 x 2Gb sticks for €80 (delivered) from here
• 2.66GHz vs. 2.4GHz CPU (for me, that’s barely noticeable)
• Snow Leopard sever vs. Snow leopard desktop (which I don’t need)

So, while the Mini Server might make sense for some people, there’s no way I could justify paying an extra €500… for what is effectively just an additional 180Gb of hard drive, 2Gb extra RAM & a marginally faster CPU. Not to mention the mini server doesn’t have DVD/CD drive (which is a PITA if you wanted to rip a DVD collection to iTunes!)

J-blk

rordeb wrote: »

What about the mac mini server - is that overkill for a home environment as I am seriously considering buying a hp home media server.

+1 to everything ZV Yoda said, plus you might find the Snow Leopard Server OS quite a bit more confusing than the "standard" Snow Leopard variation.

I actually have an HP Home Media Server EX475 as my main media storage (my only Windows machine left ) and it makes more sense than the Mini (which is my HTPC). For starters, all storage expansion on the Mini would have to be external, whereas with the HP you get four HDD bays, so you could easily go to 8TB easily enough (I don't think the current Windows Home Server OS can support 3TB drives yet so it might be worth waiting for the next edition, "Vail" if you want a more future-proof WHS).

Dont be at yourself

I use it exclusively as a Media Centre in conjunction with a time capsule.

Media goes on to the time capsule, Plex scans it and adds it all to the library. I control it via wireless kb/mouse or the Plex app on my iPad. If I need to mess around with something and don't want to fire up my projector, I just log into it via my laptop.

randombar

Plus one for plex, a great piece of sw!!

rev2.0

GaryCocs wrote: »

Plus one for plex, a great piece of sw!!

Plex and a vpn

randombar

Just bought 4TB of hard disk, trying to get a deal on a NAS now on ebay!!

rordeb

So it looks to me...,wait for the next gen HP Home Server; buy an apple mini as my desktop instead of an iMac and when possible get a MacBook next year when possibly the new chips are out. When (fingers crossed) I get the MacBook I'll move the mini to the TV (budget permitting that is)

Sounds like a plan.... Is the mac mini up to photo editing and limited movie editing?

J-blk

rordeb wrote: »

Sounds like a plan.... Is the mac mini up to photo editing and limited movie editing?

Should be fine for that, depending on exactly what you're doing of course. You might want to get 4GB of RAM at least but the nice thing about the new design Mac Minis is that the RAM is finally easily user-replaceable so you could always order the cheaper spec from Apple and get the RAM yourself from the likes of Crucial.

rordeb

Thanks for the help. Now to find the cash before the IMF takes it all!

ZV Yoda

J-blk wrote: »

Should be fine for that, depending on exactly what you're doing of course. You might want to get 4GB of RAM at least but the nice thing about the new design Mac Minis is that the RAM is finally easily user-replaceable so you could always order the cheaper spec from Apple and get the RAM yourself from the likes of Crucial.

Absolutely... I'm fully intending to use mine for family photo editing & home movie stuff too... sure even my old pc with 3.2GHz single core pentium & 1Gb of RAM was able to handle all of that stuff... def get the RAM upgrade if you can though