Mac Mini - Media

Vote 4 Pedro

Would a new Mac Mini make a good media player, the basic one,
If i had it under the TV screen and I would be wanting to play iso and avi file mainly would it be up to the job.
Thanks

whiterebel

There's a few threads around about it. Heres one from page 2.....

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056381443

Willbbz

I think in the 2011 Mac mini Apple removed the optical drive so it won't be any use if you did want to use DVD's

2010 model has an optical drive

Also yeah it can play avi and iso depending on what software you're using to play it. I recommend VLC media player

J-blk

It makes a fantastic HTPC - I've used one for years and my current one is the previous form factor and Core 2 Duo CPU and handles everything I throw at it. The new ones would be even better (and have HDMI built in) but as Willbbz said, the 2011 models no longer have a DVD drive if that's really important to you.

As for software, there are plenty of choices, Plex (my favorite), XBMC, Boxee, etc - all free and designed for HTPC usage.

Vote 4 Pedro

It's kinda what i want but i have seen a few threads saying thay there just not up to it without upgrading things.

It's either the mini mac or a WD media player but then I still would be unsure of which one to get.
I'm wrecking my head trying to buy the right thing.

J-blk

Vote 4 Pedro wrote: »

It's kinda what i want but i have seen a few threads saying thay there just not up to it without upgrading things.

Like what? Is there anything specific you have in mind? Like I said, I have an older model now, the 2.26Ghz Core 2 Duo and only 2GB of RAM (Late 2009) and I can throw anything at it with regards to HTPC use (e.g 1080p MKV files) and it never has any issues. The current i5 based ones should be a lot more powerful.

That said, there's a massive price difference between a Mac Mini and something like the WDTV (which is also a very good device) but I don't regret going for the Mini. I sometimes end up using it for other general tasks as well and I like the ability to be able to customize everything with the like of Plex, something which is not possible with a dedicated box like the WDTV.

Vote 4 Pedro

The mini mac would be the way to go I think, although the money is a issue but i also think the mini mac will probably hold more resale value if i ever need to upgrade,

But as for the use.
I just want a good quality device i can plays my downloaded movie collection on, DVD play back is not a problem although it would be nice.

Then it's my two teenage kids that are driving me to get something sorted,
They don't care what make it is as long as it works but i like my imac and i'm thinking of the quality/reliability side of things.

The wife is thinking of the cost of it and want's me to get the WD live tv. coz it's only €87 + a hard drive (dabs.ie)

It's the hole thing that's wrecking my head.
I hate buying the wrong thing, Sometimes i buy things that are a bit over the top and then wish i had spent less money because i haven't used it as much as i thought we would,
and them sometimes when you go for the cheaper option you can be disappointed with the quality side of things.
So basically i'm a wimp and carn't make my mind up..

J-blk

Well, I'm obviously biased but I would say go for the Mini but it all depends on what you want to do. In fairness, the Mini will take a bit more work on your end to get software like Plex/XBMC set up and be "wife/kids" friendly but IMO it's worth it. You can customize every aspect of the experience to suit your needs and you can do other things with the Mini when it has "downtime", like converting videos for portable devices, etc. You could also add capabilities that you may not be considering right now, like adding a TV tuner, etc.

And like you said, it will hold more resale value - most Macs do but Minis in particular seem to sell very fast whenever they come up on Adverts.ie (that's what makes it difficult to find a used one which might be one way to save money - like I said, even a 2009 model should be more than enough for what you want).

Still, it's at least a €400 or more difference between the entry level Mini and a WDTV + HDD so it is a tricky decision in that regard.

FWIW, the WDTV is also a neat little player - I got one of the first gen. ones for my parents and it works well (except for lack of support for DTS audio tracks but that was fixed in subsequent versions). It's just that for my needs, I found it a bit too limited.

Vote 4 Pedro

J-blk Thanks for your advise,

going to go to get the mini mac,

J-blk

Enjoy! I'm sure you'll love it as a HTPC and general all-rounder. If you get stuck with anything, just start a new thread or search - there's a few regular posters here besides me that are using Minis as HTPCs and would be able to help out with any queries.

Discostuy

Just to add my 2 cents. I picked up a 2011 Mac mini for the purpose of using it as a HTPC and couldn't recommend it enough.

I had a Popcorn hour originally, and while its a great little machine, its just not very user friendly and takes way to much work to manage.

The Mac mini with Plex is the job. I picked up the external dvd drive and have been ripping dvds at about 20 minutes a pop. Plex then scans the library (movies, tv shows, music and photos) and does all the hard work with getting the artwork details and then displays it all in a real "eye candy" setup. It couldn't be easier.

I also have it streaming to 2 AppleTV2's in other rooms which is great to. So easy to setup and it means you can access you music or movies from elsewhere in the house.

If you have an iPhone you can use that as the remote too.

There are systems out there that could do the same thing for a lot cheaper. But having gone from the Popcorn hour to the Mac its just no comparison. The Mac is so easy to setup with Plex and is by the far the most user friendly setup i've used.

Its also a PC and will you can download games real easy from the app store too, so it covers a lot of bases.