Yes Virginia, the Mini can play Blu-Ray (rips)

[Cave Man]

(Edit 12 SEP 2008: Forget Front Row and Quicktime, get Plex (http://www.plexapp.com/) and you'll have the best media Mac possible. It's such a great app, and it's free. The new update doesn't drop frames and handles all video and audio out there, including decrypted Blu-Ray rips with DTS-HD or True-HD audio.)

Just had an interesting hour or so testing out a 1080p Blu-Ray rip on my 2 gHz Core 2 Duo Mac Mini (3 gb RAM) using XBMC (http://xbmc.org/) and VLC (http://www.videolan.org/) 0.8.6i. Here's the file info:


I, Robot, Blu-Ray rip using AnyDVD HD (http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvdhd.html)
AC3 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track (converted from DTS-HD using eac3to (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=135095) on Windows XP under Fusion)
Video (H.264) and AC3 tracks were muxed as an m2ts file with tsMuxeR (http://www.smlabs.net/tsmuxer_en.html) 1.8.4b on Win XP


The resulting file was 22 gb in size; note, there was no transcoding of the video rip - it was simply extracted and combined with the AC3 track. It was encoded at a variable bit rate and from watching a few minutes of it, its maximum rate was about 30 mbps. Both XBMC and VLC correctly passed through the AC3 track to my Onkyo receiver by optical cable, which detected and decoded the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio correctly. (Of course, Quicktime cannot open m2ts files, but even if it could it would probably drop every other frame since it's so poorly coded. :rolleyes: )

The results:

VLC choked. Lots of dropped frames for the video, although the audio had no problems at all.

XBMC ran like a champ. No dropped frames in 30 minutes of viewing and audio was nice and clear. XBMC can send analog audio by optical cable, so even if you don't have a Dolby Digital capable receiver you can still get audio out of it. I don't know if it's in Dolby Pro Logic II (5-channel), but it does get passed through. All and all, XBMC is a beautiful experience. :D

So, there is no hardware limitation of the Mini for playing Blu-Ray content (the 2 gHz model, at least) with the right software. Of course, this does not address other limitations, principally HDCP (which is removed by AnyDVD HD). But it is clear that the Core 2 Duo has the muscle to decode 1080p H.264 video and the GMA950 of the Mini can do the 24 fps 1920x1080 video, and all the while pass through Dolby Digital to a receiver.

[BOSS10L]

Cool. How long was the ripping/encoding process?

I've thought about getting AnyDVD HD to convert my 50+ Blu-Ray and HD DVD titles, but for the space requirements and time investment needed, I'm not sure it would be beneficial to me. :)

[Tilpots]

So brilliant, only a Cave Man could do it.:)

Your threads and posts on these topics have educated and informed me. Just want to let you know that your hard work is appreciated.

[iknowyourider]

Thanks for your hard work. I am a mini fan too. I think you should have a link to your home theater info in your sig.

[Cave Man]

Cool. How long was the ripping/encoding process?

Well, I didn't do any encoding, just muxing of the raw H.264 Blu-Ray video with the transcoded AC3 audio file. The rip took about an hour on my MBP under Boot Camp, then the audio transcode took about 15 min. Muxing took another 30 min and it was ready.

I've thought about getting AnyDVD HD to convert my 50+ Blu-Ray and HD DVD titles, but for the space requirements and time investment needed, I'm not sure it would be beneficial to me. :)

Yeah, not to mention its price - US$100. Pretty painful (and probably why I won't buy it, just using the 3 week demo). I was just experimenting to see how the Mini would perform.

[BOSS10L]

Well, I didn't do any encoding, just muxing of the raw H.264 Blu-Ray video with the transcoded AC3 audio file. The rip took about an hour on my MBP under Boot Camp, then the audio transcode took about 15 min. Muxing took another 30 min and it was ready.

Hmm, not too bad, but still nearly two hours a movie, I can't see it being worth it because it is easier to just pop the disc in the PS3 or HD-A1.

Yeah, not to mention its price - US$100. Pretty painful (and probably why I won't buy it, just using the 3 week demo). I was just experimenting to see how the Mini would perform.

I don't mind the $100, but storage space would be a problem, and of course as I said I just can't see spending 2 hours per movie when I already own it. The SD DVDs are a different story because I don't want the wife/kids handling them anymore, but I'm the only one who handles the Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs.

[Cave Man]

A quick update on the Mac Mini 1080p home theater: It has trouble if you have just about anything else doing tasks. Copying large files, recording or exporting from Eye TV software, etc., makes the playback of the m2ts files with XBMC a bit choppy, even passthrough of audio. If iTunes and Eye TV are running (but not doing anything) there's no problem at all. Only if other tasks are running does the system suffer a bit.

[Cave Man]

Well, this past weekend saw a major bug-fix release of Plex (http://elan.plexapp.com/) (0.5.14) that has the app running very nicely. It still has some stuttering issues with some Blu-Ray rips on the Mini, but it is shaping up to be the app for playing Quicktime and non-Quicktime compatible files. It has a very nice interface and does other things as well that Front Row doesn't. It's still a ways off, but getting there. I'm looking forward to each new release.

[DoFoT9]

OP, have you tested converting these files to be playable on QT? i play a lot of my (aahem) BR Rips with quicktime (passthrough from the mkv) and they seem to play ok. just wondering if you could test that for me, i am thinking of getting a current MacMini and need to know if it will be able to play my movies!! (surely it will be more powerful than my current MBP?)

[Cave Man]

Doh! Just saw your post in the other thread (re: mac mini home theater).

I did transcode one Blu-Ray video into a 10 mbps vbr QT 1080p h.264 movie and it played just fine on my 2 gHz Mini, but the new QT breaks AC3 passthrough, so no Dolby Digital 5.1 surround (only AAC). Back down to QT 7.4 and passthrough works just fine with Perian installed.

[DoFoT9]

Doh! Just saw your post in the other thread (re: mac mini home theater).

I did transcode one Blu-Ray video into a 10 mbps vbr QT 1080p h.264 movie and it played just fine on my 2 gHz Mini, but the new QT breaks AC3 passthrough, so no Dolby Digital 5.1 surround (only AAC). Back down to QT 7.4 and passthrough works just fine with Perian installed.

haha i was a step ahead of you on this one :p i normally do a search before going somewhere else.

plays just fine does it?? ok thats very good to know, i have been playing 1080p rips on my MBP CD (see specs) and it jitters a lot. i was just after the results in difference between the CD and C2D, i knew the lower speed of the macmini wouldnt have made much difference.

umm is that plex program similar to the XBMC program? i have downloaded XBMC and found it very unreliable as it wouldnt play the audio and was just hard to use.. maybe ill get used to it?

cheers.

[Cave Man]

Yes, Plex is da bomb! The thing about it (compared to XBMC) is that the dev team is Mac-only. They are coding it specifically for Intel Macs, thus it is highly optimized for OS X (Leopard only). I use my Apple remote to control Plex and while it's a bit different than using it with Front Row, it's not more difficult - you just have to memorize things differently.

The Blu-Ray rips play just fine through Plex. It can handle all three video formats (H.264, MPEG-2 and VC-1) without any hiccups that I can see. What's particularly cool about Plex is its ability to transcode on the fly from Dolby True-HD to Dolby Digital (AC) and DTS-HD to DTS (my receiver cannot decode the HD audio), so I get digital surround sound out of every Blu-Ray movie, no matter what format it's encoded in. I've decided it's time to sell my 720 projector for a 1080p. :D I'll probably pick up a 1.5 TB drive and another Harmony remote for it, as well. (This home theater stuff is like a drug; it gets expensive after a while.:()

[DoFoT9]

Yes, Plex is da bomb! The thing about it (compared to XBMC) is that the dev team is Mac-only. They are coding it specifically for Intel Macs, thus it is highly optimized for OS X (Leopard only). I use my Apple remote to control Plex and while it's a bit different than using it with Front Row, it's not more difficult - you just have to memorize things differently.

The Blu-Ray rips play just fine through Plex. It can handle all three video formats (H.264, MPEG-2 and VC-1) without any hiccups that I can see. What's particularly cool about Plex is its ability to transcode on the fly from Dolby True-HD to Dolby Digital (AC) and DTS-HD to DTS (my receiver cannot decode the HD audio), so I get digital surround sound out of every Blu-Ray movie, no matter what format it's encoded in. I've decided it's time to sell my 720 projector for a 1080p. :D I'll probably pick up a 1.5 TB drive and another Harmony remote for it, as well. (This home theater stuff is like a drug; it gets expensive after a while.:()

oh wow. thanks for that information! i just downloaded it and ill be using it as my main program! :) i have ordered a DVI-HDMI cable for when i finally get a mini, in the mean time ill try it with my MBP.

the screen res is at 1080p so hopefully there wont be many jitters from the old lappy until the mini comes along :(

plex seems like an amazing program!!!

thanks for your help, muchly appreciated

[neoelectronaut]

Out of curiosity, is there even a external BR drive that works in OS X? Assumedly FW800 if possible?

[DoFoT9]

Out of curiosity, is there even a external BR drive that works in OS X? Assumedly FW800 if possible?

nothing natively can be played on osx... DVD player doesnt support it. not 100% sure if there are any external apps or whatnot.

youd probably have to custom make the BR drive (i.e. buy a FW800 LaCie dvd burner, buy the BR drive and change them over yourself, then find the right software to run it!)

[neoelectronaut]

nothing natively can be played on osx... DVD player doesnt support it. not 100% sure if there are any external apps or whatnot.

youd probably have to custom make the BR drive (i.e. buy a FW800 LaCie dvd burner, buy the BR drive and change them over yourself, then find the right software to run it!)

Yikes. It's a shame that I have this great 24" display but nothing to really take advantage of it outside of Movie Trailers.

[DoFoT9]

Yikes. It's a shame that I have this great 24" display but nothing to really take advantage of it outside of Movie Trailers.
*cough*torrents*/cough*

nah but seriously, it would be amazing.

internal bluray drives for PCs are cheap!! might invest in one of those

[Cave Man]

Out of curiosity, is there even a external BR drive that works in OS X?

All of them should work with OS X in the sense that you can mount any properly-formatted disc. I have a Sony BR-ROM drive in a USB enclosure, and it properly mounts Blu-Ray discs. Heck, I can even copy or image those discs. Unfortunately, Apple (nor any third party) has provided a Blu-Ray DVD Video disc player (ala DVD Player for DVDs). If/when someone does this, then we should be able to play Blu-Ray movies straight from the disc.

Assumedly FW800 if possible?

Yes, but it's unnecessary if you're talking about future BR disc playback under OS X. USB2 is fast enough.

[DoFoT9]

All of them should work with OS X in the sense that you can mount any properly-formatted disc. I have a Sony BR-ROM drive in a USB enclosure, and it properly mounts Blu-Ray discs. Heck, I can even copy or image those discs. Unfortunately, Apple (nor any third party) has provided a Blu-Ray DVD Video disc player (ala DVD Player for DVDs). If/when someone does this, then we should be able to play Blu-Ray movies straight from the disc.



Yes, but it's unnecessary if you're talking about future BR disc playback under OS X. USB2 is fast enough.

no firmware upgrades/driver installs at all?? just plug n play??

[Cave Man]

No, no installation of anything. Just plugged it in, inserted a disc and the volume mounted on my desktop.

[DoFoT9]

No, no installation of anything. Just plugged it in, inserted a disc and the volume mounted on my desktop.

awsomeo ill definately be looking into this :)

[neoelectronaut]

All of them should work with OS X in the sense that you can mount any properly-formatted disc. I have a Sony BR-ROM drive in a USB enclosure, and it properly mounts Blu-Ray discs. Heck, I can even copy or image those discs. Unfortunately, Apple (nor any third party) has provided a Blu-Ray DVD Video disc player (ala DVD Player for DVDs). If/when someone does this, then we should be able to play Blu-Ray movies straight from the disc.



Yes, but it's unnecessary if you're talking about future BR disc playback under OS X. USB2 is fast enough.

Well, can you recommend an inexpensive drive and enclosure? I'm sure someone will come up with someone will come up with a player soon.

Also I said FW800 simply because I don't have anything else that uses that port and I may as well have something use it rather than use up a USB port.

[Cave Man]

I have this drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827131054&Tpk=bdux10s) and this enclosure (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392021). You'll need to find a 5.25" enclosure with FW800 if that's what you want to use.

[neoelectronaut]

Wow, $159? I didn't realize that they got that cheap. Back when I worked at CompUSA they were still around the $600 mark.

[basesloaded190]

Is there any other software for a mac that will rip blu-ray movies or is it just that anyDVD, because i know that's windows only?

[belunos]

This thread title is misleading.. you're not actually playing BR discs, you're playing video files. Don't get me wrong, the info is top shelf, but I've been looking for a way to use a Mini to actually play BR, and I've been out of luck.

Since it isn't supported in OS X, I can only assume it would have to be a hack program to do real-time decryption as the movie plays, in which case it wouldn't advertised

[DoFoT9]

This thread title is misleading.. you're not actually playing BR discs, you're playing video files. Don't get me wrong, the info is top shelf, but I've been looking for a way to use a Mini to actually play BR, and I've been out of luck.

Since it isn't supported in OS X, I can only assume it would have to be a hack program to do real-time decryption as the movie plays, in which case it wouldn't advertised

youll need an external BR drive, and then osx still cant play it.. nothing can actually play it (such as DVD player etc). probably best to get it on a PC for the time being.

[Cave Man]

This thread title is misleading.. you're not actually playing BR discs, you're playing video files.

The title doesn't say anything about discs.

Don't get me wrong, the info is top shelf, but I've been looking for a way to use a Mini to actually play BR, and I've been out of luck.

The point of it, as stated in boldface font the first post, is that the Mac Mini has the muscle to play Blu-Ray-encoded video, which is 1080p, at extremely high bit rates and encoded in H.264, MPEG-2 or VC-1 with up to True-HD or DTS-HD digital audio.

Since it isn't supported in OS X, I can only assume it would have to be a hack program to do real-time decryption as the movie plays, in which case it wouldn't advertised

It's more than encryption, there's also HDCP compliance, which I doubt the current Mini is (i.e., its gpu). If the Mini ever gets x4500HD, then it would be HDCP-compliant (still need BD drive and monitor that are HDCP-compliant).

Is there any other software for a mac that will rip blu-ray movies or is it just that anyDVD, because i know that's windows only?

Nope, only AnyDVD HD can decrypt as far as I know. There are a couple of others (Windows side as well), but they are not reliable in my experience.

[hazelbrook]

Hi Caveman, I am new to this game, and very interested to get a Mini. Your posts are very helpful, many thanks for that. I am curious which cables did you use to connect your mini to your TV and your sound system. TIA.

[Cave Man]

For audio, I have a toslink cable with a mini-plug on one end for the Mini. Your receiver or TV needs to have optical input for digital audio (e.g., Dolby Digital, DTS surround sound). Otherwise, and analog cable with 3.5mm stereo jack on one end for the Mini, and whatever is appropriate for your receiver/amp on the other end (usually RCA R and L jacks).

For video, I have a 25' VGA cable to my projector. But you have good timing. I just ordered a 1080p projector this morning and it has HDMI, so my video will be sent to it with a 25' DVI to HDMI cable. :D

[DoFoT9]

caveman^^: wow that would have set you back a lot!!!!

i downloaded plex. WOW is it amazing. plays videos perfectly on my 2.16ghz MBP even when its running at 1ghz!!!

[Cave Man]

i downloaded plex. WOW is it amazing. plays videos perfectly on my 2.16ghz MBP even when its running at 1ghz!!!

Why are you running your MBP without its battery?

I think what's most remarkable is that Plex shows how poor Quicktime is at playback. Apple should be embarrassed.

[neoelectronaut]

I'm baffled as to why a 2.16Ghz processor is running at 1Ghz in the first place.

Anywho, I have my Mac Boot Camp'd with XP and I'm considering putting together an external drive so I can watch Blu-Ray movies.

Yet, I hate to have to reboot every time I want to watch a damn movie.

Here's hoping for Blu-Ray support in 10.6

[Cave Man]

I'm baffled as to why a 2.16Ghz processor is running at 1Ghz in the first place.

If you remove the battery and run the MB(P) off the PS, the cpu downclocks to 1 gHz to avoid burning out the PS.

[Trip.Tucker]

The title doesn't say anything about discs.
<snip>

The title states the Mini can play Blu-Ray. The way a Blu-Ray disc is played is in a reader and played directly. The assumption can be drawn from the title of this thread that as per normal usage, the Mini can play a Blu-Ray disc directly.

If you had elaborated and rephrased it as "Yes Virginia, the Mini can play Blu-Ray ripped content" then you might have a point, but as it stands, it is misleading based on your approach.

[Cave Man]

The title states the Mini can play Blu-Ray. The way a Blu-Ray disc is played is in a reader and played directly. The assumption can be drawn from the title of this thread that as per normal usage, the Mini can play a Blu-Ray disc directly.

If you had elaborated and rephrased it as "Yes Virginia, the Mini can play Blu-Ray ripped content" then you might have a point, but as it stands, it is misleading based on your approach.

Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Besides, the thread was only directed at Virginia, and nobody else. :rolleyes:

[Trip.Tucker]

Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Besides, the thread was only directed at Virginia, and nobody else. :rolleyes:

Who is this Virginia and is she single? Myspace page? :p

[DoFoT9]

Why are you running your MBP without its battery?

I think what's most remarkable is that Plex shows how poor Quicktime is at playback. Apple should be embarrassed.
it gets too hot for my liking and the fans are loud, it also saves battery cycles because i dont plug in the adapter and pull it out every couple of hours. gives you less grunt but i couldnt give. it still plays so im happy.

I'm baffled as to why a 2.16Ghz processor is running at 1Ghz in the first place.

Anywho, I have my Mac Boot Camp'd with XP and I'm considering putting together an external drive so I can watch Blu-Ray movies.

Yet, I hate to have to reboot every time I want to watch a damn movie.

Here's hoping for Blu-Ray support in 10.6

bceause of the battery not being there.

i would like to get a bluray burner.. theyr super cheap atm!!

If you remove the battery and run the MB(P) off the PS, the cpu downclocks to 1 gHz to avoid burning out the PS.

i reckon its a good idea my apple :) i know some laptops cant work without the battery in, making it useless if your battery randomly dies and you need to do work on it.

[Superman07]

The title states the Mini can play Blu-Ray. The way a Blu-Ray disc is played is in a reader and played directly. The assumption can be drawn from the title of this thread that as per normal usage, the Mini can play a Blu-Ray disc directly.

If you had elaborated and rephrased it as "Yes Virginia, the Mini can play Blu-Ray ripped content" then you might have a point, but as it stands, it is misleading based on your approach.

Sorry CM, I gotta go with Tucker on this one. Another reason being that the encodes from some old HD-DVDs have been ported over for BR, so really you'd be playing HD-DVD and that's not true either! You're actually playing the encoded/decoded content of the Blu-ray disc. That's like saying you're playing DVDs if you've backed up a DVD (forget that the Mini can actually read/play DVD through the slot drive).

Also, the Mini cannot output the next generation audio encodes that are found on many of the discs. You had to rework the audio in order to get it to play over the Toslink cable.

All that said, I agree that the post is informative and a lot can be learned from it. However, to those less informed on the matter it could sound like the Mini can handle Blu-ray discs. Specifically, the own BR organizations highlights that the name is the disc, not the digital media aspect. http://www.blu-ray.com/info/

Finally, I suppose the next Mini (or any other Apple computer) would need to have an HDMI 1.3 enabled audio/video solution to solve audio issue? How does that work on the new Dell compact that came out?

EDIT: CM: I saw in another thread that you said, "[Plex] also transcodes True-HD and DTS-HD audio to DD or DTS on the fly." Can you elaborate on this? Based on your comments above I thought you were having to manually do this in order to output the audio from the Mini.

[Cave Man]

EDIT: CM: I saw in another thread that you said, "[Plex] also transcodes True-HD and DTS-HD audio to DD or DTS on the fly." Can you elaborate on this? Based on your comments above I thought you were having to manually do this in order to output the audio from the Mini.

Plex will drop True-HD or DTS-HD down to Dolby Digital or DTS (or analog) as the file is being read, then pass it through the audio port. This is good for people like me whose receivers can only play DD or DTS, and thus still get 5.1 surround sound. I don't have to do anything as I'm using the version of Plex released just a few days ago (which introduced this feature). Very nice.

[rw3]

Most HD-DVDs and BluRay disks are made from the same VC-1 video that was originally recorded, so the statement that CM is playing HD-DVD and BluRay is simply false. Cave Man is playing VC-1 High Def video on his Mini.....

[Superman07]

Plex will drop True-HD or DTS-HD down to Dolby Digital or DTS (or analog) as the file is being read, then pass it through the audio port. This is good for people like me whose receivers can only play DD or DTS, and thus still get 5.1 surround sound. I don't have to do anything as I'm using the version of Plex released just a few days ago (which introduced this feature). Very nice.

I assume that means it won't work for digital out? Does it automatically detect? Do you have both digital and analog out if that is the case?

[Cave Man]

Yes, it does work with digital optical out. My Mini is connected to my Onkyo by optical port and Plex sends True-HD and DTS-HD audio to it as Dolby Digital or DTS. When I play these movies, I am getting true 5.1 digital surround sound. However, if I play the same movie files on my Hackintosh or MBP with built-in analog speakers, I still get audio (albeit analog). I cannot tell you if this is analog surround (e.g., Dolby Pro Logic), only that it does work. Plex is just simply the best home theater app for the Mac.

[Superman07]

Yes, it does work with digital optical out. My Mini is connected to my Onkyo by optical port and Plex sends True-HD and DTS-HD audio to it as Dolby Digital or DTS. When I play these movies, I am getting true 5.1 digital surround sound. However, if I play the same movie files on my Hackintosh or MBP with built-in analog speakers, I still get audio (albeit analog). I cannot tell you if this is analog surround (e.g., Dolby Pro Logic), only that it does work. Plex is just simply the best home theater app for the Mac.

Excellent feedback. Thanks!

[yrsonicdeath]

Cave Man, sorry if I missed this, but do you have any idea if 7.1 would work using your method. What I understand from reading the thread is that you don't have a 7.1 capable receiver so you obviously wouldn't have reported on it. Thanks!

[Cave Man]

Yes, it should work just fine. That's the beauty of optical (or coaxial) digital audio - it simply passes the audio file to the receiver; it's the receiver's job to decode it, not the computer's. It shouldn't matter if it's 5.1 or 7.1 or 9.1 or 2.0; so long as it's digital (True-HD, DTS-HD, DD, DTS) it'll get passed through and properly handled by your receiver.

[yrsonicdeath]

Yes, it should work just fine. That's the beauty of optical (or coaxial) digital audio - it simply passes the audio file to the receiver; it's the receiver's job to decode it, not the computer's. It shouldn't matter if it's 5.1 or 7.1 or 9.1 or 2.0; so long as it's digital (True-HD, DTS-HD, DD, DTS) it'll get passed through and properly handled by your receiver.

Nice, after I get married in a few weeks I'll be buying a mini and a 7.1 receiver and begin delving into the mac mini home theater.

[belunos]

The title doesn't say anything about discs.



Not to nic pick, but blu-ray is a disc spec. Without the disc, it's not blu-ray mate.

In any case, here's to hoping 10.6 will bring about a HDCP compliant mini, with a br drive. I could see myself ripping a collection of regular DVDs, but not those big arse hunking HD movies.

[mix123]

I have a few simple questions......

- What mini do I need in order to play Blue ray using plex? Will the 1.83 core 2 duo work with the ram maxed out?

- I currently have an imac as a desktop...My Library of videos will be coming to that machine...The mini will be plugged directly into my router....Imac is wireless... What is the most efficient and easiest way for the mini to work with my library? Should I just have an external drive on the mini and move everything on that over the network? Or just keep everything with the Imac on an external and have the mini pull everything off that...What do you guys do? What size drives are you guys running?

[alphaod]

Is there any other software for a mac that will rip blu-ray movies or is it just that anyDVD, because i know that's windows only?

AnyDVD HD is the only one. Plus the term to use is "backing up", not "ripping", because the former is allowed by the DMCA and the latter is considered pirating. ;)

[DoFoT9]

I have a few simple questions......

- What mini do I need in order to play Blue ray using plex? Will the 1.83 core 2 duo work with the ram maxed out?

- I currently have an imac as a desktop...My Library of videos will be coming to that machine...The mini will be plugged directly into my router....Imac is wireless... What is the most efficient and easiest way for the mini to work with my library? Should I just have an external drive on the mini and move everything on that over the network? Or just keep everything with the Imac on an external and have the mini pull everything off that...What do you guys do? What size drives are you guys running?

- no experience on this but apparently the 1.83ghz should play it fine, the 2ghz will definitely play it though.

- you will need at least 802.11n transferring wirelessly, since the mac mini doesnt have that then you would need it to be connected via gigabit to the router. i am quite certain that the imac will have enough bandwidth to transfer the data through wireless to the router wirelessly.

[mix123]

- no experience on this but apparently the 1.83ghz should play it fine, the 2ghz will definitely play it though.

- you will need at least 802.11n transferring wirelessly, since the mac mini doesnt have that then you would need it to be connected via gigabit to the router. i am quite certain that the imac will have enough bandwidth to transfer the data through wireless to the router wirelessly.

Since the imac might be shut off, asleep, or the external HD shut off...would it make sense to just plug a terrabyte external into the mini and transfer from the imac onto that? Keep all video files on that drive as opposed to having them on the imac's external? Can you leave an external HD on all the time? I would be wanting leave the external HD plugged into the mini on at all times....

Im just trying to figure all this out so any help would be awesome.

[DoFoT9]

Since the imac might be shut off, asleep, or the external HD shut off...would it make sense to just plug a terrabyte external into the mini and transfer from the imac onto that? Keep all video files on that drive as opposed to having them on the imac's external? Can you leave an external HD on all the time? I would be wanting leave the external HD plugged into the mini on at all times....

Im just trying to figure all this out so any help would be awesome.

of course you can leave an external drive on, that would be just like leaving your computer on!! it probably would be a better idea to have a tb external, maybe even 1.5tb (you can buy them these days for around $200US)

[Superman07]

WRT Plex: Is there a way to launch it from a remote control, and/or can you it be setup so it runs on startup to essentially turn the machine into a dedicated media device?

[Cave Man]

WRT Plex: Is there a way to launch it from a remote control, and/or can you it be setup so it runs on startup to essentially turn the machine into a dedicated media device?

Yes, Plex is supposed to be configurable so that you can launch it with the white Apple remote. It is in the settings menu and by default it is turned off. Once you turn it on, I believe you have to quit Plex and relaunch it once to activate it, but I don't use that feature so YMMV.

[Tom Sawyer]

I am SO glad to see XBMC ported over with great passion to the Mac OS X platform. I have been an XBMC user on the XBOX for years. Since getting into HD content I had to abandon that aging hardware and go with PS3's. Sucky menu system compared to XBMC (or :apple:TV for that matter), but gorgeous 1080p HD. I've played with Plex on my iMac and now my MacBook AL and it's a gem in the making. I will wait for the next gen Mini which I'm certain will come and sack both my PS3's off and jump on the Mini setup. Can't wait!!! I've missed XBMC almost as much as my wife does! :D

[phrehdd]

- no experience on this but apparently the 1.83ghz should play it fine, the 2ghz will definitely play it though.

- you will need at least 802.11n transferring wirelessly, since the mac mini doesnt have that then you would need it to be connected via gigabit to the router. i am quite certain that the imac will have enough bandwidth to transfer the data through wireless to the router wirelessly.

Forgive my intrusion on this tangent but let's be careful on wireless. You can COPY nicely with 11n but don't expect to play content smoothly via wireless. What I have found -

Wireless on iMac, airport express both* are less capable than using an airport extreme as a wireless bridge. I use presently 2 airport extremes in wireless bridge mode now. One resides by my graphics station and the other with my TV and PS3. The PS3 takes the benefit now of wireless N. On playback, about 1/2 my movies play just fine. 1/4 have moments of judder and the last 25 percent ..I end up having to run a long cable between the routers.

Btw- yes, I am absolutely in the Plex mix now. It is by far the best of the front end/players for MAC. (I rarely use superlatives such as 'best' but it applies here easily.)

My adventures with Plex have only been on an iMac 2.0ghrz. The results so far have been great though, a few movies do have some screen issues. Ideally, a new Mac Mini will come out with a bit more power/mem or I'll have to swap a CPU on a present model. The challenge is that not all blu ray are created equal and judder, screen tears etc do occur that a 2ghrz or less machine should not be considered sufficient. (Might consider a hackintosh if the Mini doesn't pan out.)

Last - If one is absolutely keen on using wireless 11n, they should do some homework, there are other router set ups that are very good and a couple off strange hacks that allow one to add external antennas to Airport Extreme and I believe a combo N + external antenna for Mac Mini.