_sinnerman_ Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 Hi All, I'm thinking of buying a Mac Mini core duo w/ 2GB RAM & 160GB HD to use as an HTPC. My reasons: * It has DVI out, which is capable of driving my 1080p HD LCD TV (Sony Bravia 40x2000) * It has optical audio out (which I presume can drive my 5.1 surround system) * It has integrated 802.11g wifi (I have an existing wifi network) * It has integrated bluetooth (I have a bluetooth keyboard & mouse) * It's quiet * It's small * It's fairly cheap A few questions: 1. Any general feedback on this plan? 2. I plan to run Windows XP on it -- has anyone done this, and have any advice? 3. I read one review that the Mini's video out wasn't the best -- does anyone have feedback on this? 4. Is it quiet enough? I really don't want to hear a fan in the lounge room. Thanks for your feedback.
nis200979 Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 Hi All,I'm thinking of buying a Mac Mini core duo w/ 2GB RAM & 160GB HD to use as an HTPC. My reasons: * It has DVI out, which is capable of driving my 1080p HD LCD TV (Sony Bravia 40x2000) * It has optical audio out (which I presume can drive my 5.1 surround system) * It has integrated 802.11g wifi (I have an existing wifi network) * It has integrated bluetooth (I have a bluetooth keyboard & mouse) * It's quiet * It's small * It's fairly cheap A few questions: 1. Any general feedback on this plan? 2. I plan to run Windows XP on it -- has anyone done this, and have any advice? 3. I read one review that the Mini's video out wasn't the best -- does anyone have feedback on this? 4. Is it quiet enough? I really don't want to hear a fan in the lounge room. Thanks for your feedback. I run a WinXP MCE computer at the moment and believe the Mac Mini is a much better HTPC. They are vertiually silent, and the 6 button Apple remote is just simple. The importing of video into iTunes sucks, but it's possible. I wouldn't bother running XP, as a HTPC Mac OSX should be fine. Video quality - The monitors that Mac make are sensational, 1920x1200, so I don;t think the video quality of the MacMini is bad. It isn't a games machine, but it's a damn good HTPC and general office machine.
???? Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 Video quality - The monitors that Mac make are sensational, 1920x1200, so I don;t think the video quality of the MacMini is bad. No - but the VIDEO OUT is not so great... Other than that - buy one Will be quiet enough for you I'm sure, and XP is no problem... lots of info around to get you set up easily.
hired goon Posted April 19, 2007 Posted April 19, 2007 G'day, See this thread for recent discussion on using a Mac Mini as a HTPC. --Geoff
_sinnerman_ Posted April 20, 2007 Author Posted April 20, 2007 No - but the VIDEO OUT is not so great...Other than that - buy one Will be quiet enough for you I'm sure, and XP is no problem... lots of info around to get you set up easily. Jeez, but the video is the main reason for an HTPC, isn't it? How bad is the video out? I have a very expensive HD LCD, and I'm only interested in something that will output a good image. Will I be able to drive TV at full 1080p?
_sinnerman_ Posted April 20, 2007 Author Posted April 20, 2007 G'day,See this thread for recent discussion on using a Mac Mini as a HTPC. --Geoff Thanks. That thread seems to indicate that the Mini has good video out, at least with DVI/HDMI. I'm almost convinced!
Gutty Posted April 20, 2007 Posted April 20, 2007 Not having read the thread linked by Hired Goon, i do know surroundfan runs a MacMini on his Sony LCD. Maybe PM him about it ?
DC5R Posted April 22, 2007 Posted April 22, 2007 (edited) Hi All,I'm thinking of buying a Mac Mini core duo w/ 2GB RAM & 160GB HD to use as an HTPC. My reasons: Mac Minis work great as a HTPC. whats the reason you want to run XP on it, if its to be able to use Windows Media Centre, then dont bother. Front Row which is built into Mac OSX is a fantastic interface to use for a media centre. If you do use OSX, you wont need to import any of your movies into iTunes, that Nis1009797 implies, you can just put all you movies into the 'movies' folder of the finder. you can then just access all this on your display through Front Row. Edited April 22, 2007 by DC5R
ejm Posted April 22, 2007 Posted April 22, 2007 I recommend that if you do buy a Mac Mini, wait until Leopard is out. By then they may have been updated to Core 2 Duo CPU's and will come with Leopard and even if you do not need or want these two things, you will be able to get the current models dirt cheap.
???? Posted April 22, 2007 Posted April 22, 2007 Jeez, but the video is the main reason for an HTPC, isn't it? How bad is the video out? I have a very expensive HD LCD, and I'm only interested in something that will output a good image. Will I be able to drive TV at full 1080p? Forgive my brain snap - video out looks great - especially over DVI. When video out was mentioned before I was thinking of This (as in rca video out). Sorry for the confusion
_sinnerman_ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Posted May 22, 2007 whats the reason you want to run XP on it, if its to be able to use Windows Media Centre, then dont bother. Front Row which is built into Mac OSX is a fantastic interface to use for a media centre. I use JRiver's MediaCenter software (windows), which is the best I've ever tried (I don't know why JRiver hasn't sued MS over the name -- they've been using it for much longer). http://www.jrmediacenter.com/
_sinnerman_ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Posted May 22, 2007 I took the plunge this week and bought a 1.83MHz Mac Mini duo w/ 1GB ram. Last night, I hooked it up to my Sony 40X2000 1080p LCD via a DVI->HDMI cable. The result? It looks like crap :-( Can anyone give any pointers? I've read several posts that claim that any DVI->HDMI cable will work, as the signal is digital, and the quality of the cable is not an issue. Is this really true? BTW, when I say the quality is bad, I'm basing that on the PC desktop image, not on video (which I haven't really tried yet). I did set the TV to 1:1 pixel mapping, so the image is the right size, and I'm definitely getting 1920x1080 resolution (50Hz), but all of the text appears smeared (mostly vertically), and is very hard to read. My previous cheap laptop hooked up via VGA looked *much* better.
DC5R Posted May 22, 2007 Posted May 22, 2007 (edited) try downloading some of the hi-def trailers from http://www.apple.com/trailers/ and see what it looks like, most of the times ive connected computers to large flat panels the desktop doesnt look very good. but get some good material on them and they look pretty good. Edited May 22, 2007 by DC5R
_sinnerman_ Posted May 22, 2007 Author Posted May 22, 2007 try downloading some of the hi-def trailers from http://www.apple.com/trailers/ and see what it looks like, most of the times ive connected computers to large flat panels the desktop doesnt look very good. but get some good material on them and they look pretty good. I'll give that a go, but I need this setup to work as a PC as well. As I said, when I previously had my cheap laptop hooked-up via VGA, I got a fantastic image. Why would a Mini with a decent GPU and an all digital data path (DVI->HDMI) be so much poorer? If I can't improve the desktop image, I'll have to return the Mini. :-(
jakes Posted May 23, 2007 Posted May 23, 2007 I'll give that a go, but I need this setup to work as a PC as well. As I said, when I previously had my cheap laptop hooked-up via VGA, I got a fantastic image. Why would a Mini with a decent GPU and an all digital data path (DVI->HDMI) be so much poorer? If I can't improve the desktop image, I'll have to return the Mini. :-( It kind of sounds like you may not be getting proper 1:1 mapping. How have you set the resolution on the Mini? Did it just auto-detect? You might need to use something like SwitchResX to get it to work exactly. I'm pretty sure that SwitchResX has a free trial for a few days that should let you play around with it to see if it fixes your problem. The suggestion to test VGA might also be worthwhile, in order for you to be able to compare the results. edit: I've only just realised that my info, in relation to SwitchResX may not be relevant given that it's an OS X app, and you had indicated that you were going to install XP. However, basic issue remains, and that's that it may not actually be 1:1 mapping properly.
anotherdavid Posted May 23, 2007 Posted May 23, 2007 just a thought, but do you have clear-type set on the mac? Maybe that's causing the smearing you describe...
_sinnerman_ Posted May 23, 2007 Author Posted May 23, 2007 It kind of sounds like you may not be getting proper 1:1 mapping. How have you set the resolution on the Mini? Did it just auto-detect? You might need to use something like SwitchResX to get it to work exactly. I'm pretty sure that SwitchResX has a free trial for a few days that should let you play around with it to see if it fixes your problem.The suggestion to test VGA might also be worthwhile, in order for you to be able to compare the results. edit: I've only just realised that my info, in relation to SwitchResX may not be relevant given that it's an OS X app, and you had indicated that you were going to install XP. However, basic issue remains, and that's that it may not actually be 1:1 mapping properly. I set the graphics card to output 1920x1080 @ 50Hz, and I know the panel is receiving that resolution because I get a "1080p" message on the panel when I switch to that input. The panel definitely is setup for 1:1 mapping. > You might need to use something like SwitchResX There are equivalents for WinXP, but I also recall some software for Windows which provides a huge range of tweaks for graphics/monitor settings. Unfortunately, I can't remember its name. Does anyone know of the program I'm thinking of, or have recommendations? > Can you try the Mini via VGA? I'll give that at try. > just a thought, but do you have clear-type set on the mac? Maybe that's causing the smearing you describe... I don't know. I'll try turning it on/off.
angryofmayfair Posted May 23, 2007 Posted May 23, 2007 The Win software is called Powerstrip. I'm surprised that your PQ looks so bad - my MacMini looks totally stunning played into my Pio507 via a DVI to HDMI adaptor. The desktop is not pixel perfect as the HDMI input has overscan but it still looks crisp and sharp from my couch which is 10' away. HD movie trailers look superb, as do EyeTV recordings - things like Getaway look better than the Pio's inbuilt HD tuner...
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