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Use Your Mac Mini as a Media Server
howtogeek.com — Apple has been pushing the use of the Macintosh as the heart of one ’s media center for a long time now, but more specifically since the release of the Mac Mini. With its compact size, low price and FrontRow, it’s the perfect computer to plug into your TV and watch some of those “archived” Lost episodes.
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- m00nb34m, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14I'll wait for all of the aTV hacks to come out. That'll replace my XBMC.
- melllvar37, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Mirror:
http://209.85.135.104/search?hs=sUq&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.howtogeek.com%2Fhowto%2Fapple%2Fuse-your-mac-mini-as-a-media-server-part-1%2F&btnG=Search - rulesaremyenemy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Bite your tongue! Nothing will replace xbmc in the near future. Especially considering all of those used xbox's to be had for $50-80. A used xbox, modchip, and HD cables costs half as much as an Apple TV.
- Ocelot13, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4long live XBMC!! well until XBMC 360 that is...yes...xbmc 360....precious
- simplenation, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7sorry for the comment abuse but can someone please answer this before digging me down: what is a good pc version of a mac mini? i want a compact sized PC with remote and bluetooth features. all the media PCs are towers and not clean looking. thanks
- Mootabolife, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5^you have to look for something small like a shuttle and get yourself a copy of either windows media center or vista equivalent
- Endd, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2@simplenation you cant, buy a mac mini.
- rulesaremyenemy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@simplenation Barebones Shuttle systems are a good start, go to newegg and build a system to see what the price will be for your needs. If you aren't that tech savvy, don't be afraid! Building a computer is basically just an expensive lego set, and google has plenty of guides to help you out. One suggestion: if it's gonna be in an exposed area make sure you get quiet fans (computers, in general, can be very noisy and you don't want that near your home theater).
- Heembo, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Yea, but modded xbox = no warranty. I prefer to buy apple products and max out the extended warranty.
- generalloy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"Yea, but modded xbox = no warranty. I prefer to buy apple products and max out the extended warranty."
softmods, my friend...
although I don't think any xbox's still have warranties, if that's what you're referring to instead of voiding the warranty by opening the box - wiihuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@simplenation
mac mini with bootcamp?
/serious suggestion - brianez21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1AOpen makes a Mini "knock off" that has similar specs and Media Center Edition.
- anarchistic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@simplenation: you can, buy this: http://minipc.aopen.com/Global/spec.htm
I'm using two MP945-Xs and 2 Mac Minis for my research. You can spec up the MiniPCs much higher. ;) - aussieaubs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1hey whats a great link to get started with XBMC??? google is corrupt and doesnt offer me the best site for xbmc....
- rulesaremyenemy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@aussieaubs Go to http://www.xbox-scene.com/. Look at the tutorials, forums, and FAQ's. Be prepared for a lot of work, but it's worth the rewards.
- melllvar37, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Mirror:
- Hazel8500, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1EEEK! I've been looking for this type of how to for a little while now. Thanks for diggin it!
- phoenixrip, on 10/12/2007, -7/+9So, MacHeads have worked out how to turn the AppleTV into a low cost Mac Mini, and how to turn the Mac Mini into a high-end Apple TV.
Now, if Microsoft users could just work out how to turn their grey boxes into either, the world would be a more shiny place.- xjimtx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11I believe MS Media Center Edition has been out for awhile now
- surfing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Next up, convert your Mac Mini into an iPod.
- buffalodan, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3the new spring update 360 could turn out to be pretty cool also.
- TheJas, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1Why does he say in the tutorial that you should convert the DVI to Svideo??? Doesn't a DVI to HDMI cable make more sense? Can a Mac Mini do HDTV this way?
- jersey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1My DVI to HDMI should be in the mail when I get home, so I'll soon find out ......of course, my set is only 720p.
- jersey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1My DVI to HDMI should be in the mail when I get home, so I'll soon find out ......of course, my set is only 720p.
- jersey, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I've been doing this for a while, and it rules. Have a mini, sitting on top of a 400 gig drive, hooked up to a Samsung in the living room. Best part is if I haven't transfer ed media from my laptop to the mini, I just stream it.
Oh, and Front Row skinned to look like aTV makes it just that much more fun. - melllvar37, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1it would be great to use the mini with your current monitor AND tv...
- microview2007, on 10/12/2007, -9/+0Front row won't play ripped DVDs unless you recompress them into Apple's mp4 format and incorporate into iTunes. Staying with MCE.
- meatmcguffin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Not true. You can use movies/aliases/aliased folders in your /users/*/movies folder
- mikenike88, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"Front row won't play ripped DVDs unless you recompress them into Apple's mp4 format and incorporate into iTunes. Staying with MCE."
Software available to do just that right here:
http://mysite.verizon.net/resohjb1/Projects.html
- allanpat, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2It's kinda dumb to waste $600 on a mac mini as a media center now before the full capability of apple tv is unleashed. Apple TV in the future will hopefully have features a mac mini will never have, such as direct movie rental downloads
- bsolidgold, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10In other news: A child finds out that he CAN make something other than what's displayed on his box of Legos.
- ThinkFr33ly, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Or, for about the half the price, you could buy an Xbox 360 and stream content from any PC you have in the house. Oh, and I think it plays games too.
- PedleZelnip, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1The 360 doesn't play DivX files natively though.
- jfinke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I would buy one, but it does not stream from any device in the house. From what I understand, it will not stream from my myth box. Only from some certified MS system.
- codexile, on 05/06/2008, -0/+0it'll play content from any uPnP share, I have a My Book World Ed. II 1.5TB drive that I enabled ssh access on and set up ushare on it. This does the trick, but it's rather cumbersome.
Where XBMC (or OSXBMC) really shines, however, is Library Management. I use XBMC on a modded XBox for most of my media needs, but anytime I want to stream High Def content I boot up the 360.
- codexile, on 05/06/2008, -0/+0it'll play content from any uPnP share, I have a My Book World Ed. II 1.5TB drive that I enabled ssh access on and set up ushare on it. This does the trick, but it's rather cumbersome.
- yonis, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3There's a whole category on Digg for this crap. It's called "Apple." Please use it.
- Rkstar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The best options to connect a Mac Mini to a TV are:
1) DVI->DVI
2) DVI->HDMI
3) DVI->S-Video
4) DVI->RCA
The bottom two result in significant quality loss do to them being an older analog signal. The best is #1 with a 1080p TV at it's native resolution.- fangorious, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0why is #1 better than #2?
- manitoba98xp, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Forgive me, but what's wrong with Component -> Component?
- opnickc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Since the mini comes with a DVI->VGA adapter, couldn't you use VGA (if your TV supports it) or VGA->Component? Or is there something I'm missing?
Also, for audio, I thought the mini had digital optical audio out. Odd that it isn't mentioned in this article. - pixelbender, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2fang is right, 1 and 2 are the same quality wise, just depends on what connections your TV has. If my TV had both, I'd use the DVI for the mini as I'm likely to need HDMI for other stuff instead of having anything else that uses DVI.
manitob - because the mac mini doesn't have a component out.
opnick - that MIGHT work for some sets, but none in the US (could we do anything with SCART, EU folks?). There are VGA-component adapters but I don't think the mac mini outputs a useable signal for that. So pretty much scratch that previous sentence.
The mini does have optical out but you'll need a 3.5mm adapter for your optical cable (I use this). On a side note, it takes FR forever to scroll through my h264'd movies, not sure why... - hskrodahl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0DVI-DVI will in most cases be superior to DVI-HDMI.
Why? Because if you use the HDMI port, your signal will go through all those picture processing circuits (for most TVs). - manitoba98xp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@myself + pixelbender
Wow, I was way too tired when I wrote that. I'm still thinking about the AppleTV :P
- MephistoX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You're better off getting an apple tv. I'm not sure if the cpu's match up, or the ram, but the apple tv already has an hdmi port, and it's more tv friendly than the mac mini is (like no cutting off the screen.)
Front row is downright horrible compared to front row 2 (backrow) , let alone windows media center's UI (one of the good things about windows is the MCE UI)
So if you have an xbox lying around, make that into a media center with XBMC. If you have $300 and you're aching for an apple, get an appletv. (and then open it up and add in a bigger HD)
There's really no reason to get a macmini anymore (for these reasons, anyway)- h12cjb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1i thought the apple tv couldn't handle hd resolutions
- MephistoX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2it can. Check the website. the apple tv can't do non-hd tv's though. The macmini can.
- robmcm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I do this and also use my Mini as a download server. Using Xtorrent and some apple script, I can send my mini torrents via email and they are downloaded when I get home :)
Using VLC you can play almost and file and there are some plug ings for quicktime so you can watch most of them through front row too.
Check my blog for more info... - robmcm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1which is www.pixelbox.net
;) - johnnevermind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have a Core Solo Mac Mini and the worst part is that 720p clips run better under Windows Media Center Edition then it does in OS X. It kind of irks me that I might have to upgrade to a Core Duo to quit dropping frames in OS X.
- HagbardCeline, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you know it's super easy to just upgrade your chip to let's say, a Core 2 Duo @ 2.33 right? I took your comment as meaning you would need a new macmini.
Do both your machines have matching specs? If not, it's probably not the OS, it's the hardware. - pixelbender, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0In the same boat, I got a core solo just b/c I could get it for $300 a month ago.
Now, can anyone point us in the direction of the cheapest core duo? It'd be much appreciated. - HagbardCeline, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1pixel:
This should give you a good litmus:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2+50001157+40000343+1050722265&name=Core+2+Duo
Now show me where the core solo minis are for 300 ;)
- HagbardCeline, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1you know it's super easy to just upgrade your chip to let's say, a Core 2 Duo @ 2.33 right? I took your comment as meaning you would need a new macmini.
- dport113, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0 how revolutionary Buried as the same mac mini blog story heard round the world.
- erikhensarling, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Mac Mini for the win.
Sidebar: Does your mac mini not burn DVD's? Pick up one of these: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=dvr-k05 - digitizit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Why bother? Spend half of the money and buy a Xbox and mod it. It works SOO much better!
- Stenosis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Argh! Why the heck would I waste my $500 Mini to serve up media when I can do it on my pawn shop bought $75 XBMC?!?!?!?!?!
- harpdog, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have been using a mac mini 1.66ghz intel core duo for about a year and connect it to a samsung HD TV. I download TV shows and it works fine. However it does not play 1080p content very smoothly and it pisses me off that apple have yet to release a 2ghz model I am sick of waiting so I am going to do the upgrade myself.
- catbeller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've an identical system. I assume you're running trailers and such? Works fine on my box. RAM might be an issue? If you've a lot of programs running with 512 meg of RAM, and try to run 1080x1920 movie clips, you might see some dropped frames, even lockups. Also, if you're using an ElGato eyeTV 250 or 500 with the original software, the older eyeTV program is Rosetta based and runs 1080 at a puny 12 fps, which sucked. I downloaded EyeTV2 (intel binary), got a lovely serial number from a nice Russian site, and my long pain was finally over with my lovely 29.95 fps 1080p ATSC TV programs.
RAM increase didn't hurt, tho. Seriously, a mac mini core duo has enough processing power to do 1080p. Just enough.
- catbeller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've an identical system. I assume you're running trailers and such? Works fine on my box. RAM might be an issue? If you've a lot of programs running with 512 meg of RAM, and try to run 1080x1920 movie clips, you might see some dropped frames, even lockups. Also, if you're using an ElGato eyeTV 250 or 500 with the original software, the older eyeTV program is Rosetta based and runs 1080 at a puny 12 fps, which sucked. I downloaded EyeTV2 (intel binary), got a lovely serial number from a nice Russian site, and my long pain was finally over with my lovely 29.95 fps 1080p ATSC TV programs.
- systimax, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5For once and all the dif between XBMC and a Mini or the appleTV is .... HD.
A xbox with XBMC cant support 720 or higher
http://ask.pvrblog.com/2004/10/quality_of_hdtv.html
now please shut up- HagbardCeline, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Sure it can. It supports both 720 and 1080. Now what it CAN'T do is play those files cleanly with a native resolution of 720 and 1080, but it does upscale 480. Saying XBMC doesn't do HD is spreading disinformation.
"A xbox with XBMC cant support 720 or higher"
Only Siths deal in absolutes. - rebotfc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I think its pretty obvious what he meant by 'supporting HD', in the link he provided it explains the upscalling point.
- HagbardCeline, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Sure it can. It supports both 720 and 1080. Now what it CAN'T do is play those files cleanly with a native resolution of 720 and 1080, but it does upscale 480. Saying XBMC doesn't do HD is spreading disinformation.
- xevidentx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1have fun with itunes and drm infested media server
- maybeinoregon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't think the 360 will ever be an entertainment hub. I have both the 360 and the mac mini right now...
I use the 360 for games only...yea I have downloaded a few of the movies (2-4 hours download time for an HD movie - too long!)....and yea I use the HD DVD drive, that I purchased...but Windows media player streaming through the 360 is just too clunky....it isn't user friendly.
I have a very computer savvy 10 and 12 year old...and they both always use iTunes...it's just more user friendly.
In addition to being more friendly, Apple just gets it - transportable media. I listen to a Nano iPod in my car...I have an 80GB video iPod that I can share pictures, videos or music with friends...all of it is transportable and manageable through the mac mini...
Personally, I think M$ is too late on the whole entertainment thing - heck my kids even make DVD's with the digital pics we take on the mac mini- do you know what it takes to do that on a Windows machine?
The 360 is a heck of a gaming machine though...but entertainment? No way!
I also disagree with a previous post that Apple TV does everything the mac does - it is exactly the opposite - I have my mac mini DVI to HDMI into my 42" plasma- all Apple TV will ever be is hardware - Apple has said so themselves.
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