G'day,
Just set up a last gen G4 Mac Mini as a HTPC to replace my AppleTV 160GB (1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 64MB video card, Combo drive, Airport/Bluetooth).
Installed 10.5.8, upgraded Quicktime to 7.7, installed latest Perian, upgraded Front Row to 2.1.7, added VLC...
Added Rowmote and Hippo to my iPhone, as well as turned on Screen Sharing on the Mini so I can remotely control it using MacBookPro or G5 PowerMac.
I had been using NitoTV on the ATV to play my AVIs/etc, and liked that I could tell it to play an entire folder at once... This appears to be something Front Row cannot do... which is annoying, as otherwise it would be perfect - a nice simple interface even my 5yo could use.
Instead, so far I'm looking at VLC, which can play an entire folder by drag/drop... but the simple Rowmote interface wont cut it...
Can anyone recommend a simple solution to this?
ALSO... The ATV struggled with any HD files... When I tried the Mac Mini, it also failed miserably to play a HD avi. Would this be due to the RAM, or will the 1.5GHz G4 processor just never handle a HD file? Is there a better program to try than FrontRow/VLC for playing HD? (Not urgent, as I'm only using a 32" S4 Samsung LCD with 1368x768, but I'd like to know for later)
Thank-you!
cheers
cosmic
Just set up a last gen G4 Mac Mini as a HTPC to replace my AppleTV 160GB (1.5GHz, 512MB RAM, 64MB video card, Combo drive, Airport/Bluetooth).
Installed 10.5.8, upgraded Quicktime to 7.7, installed latest Perian, upgraded Front Row to 2.1.7, added VLC...
Added Rowmote and Hippo to my iPhone, as well as turned on Screen Sharing on the Mini so I can remotely control it using MacBookPro or G5 PowerMac.
I had been using NitoTV on the ATV to play my AVIs/etc, and liked that I could tell it to play an entire folder at once... This appears to be something Front Row cannot do... which is annoying, as otherwise it would be perfect - a nice simple interface even my 5yo could use.
Instead, so far I'm looking at VLC, which can play an entire folder by drag/drop... but the simple Rowmote interface wont cut it...
Can anyone recommend a simple solution to this?
ALSO... The ATV struggled with any HD files... When I tried the Mac Mini, it also failed miserably to play a HD avi. Would this be due to the RAM, or will the 1.5GHz G4 processor just never handle a HD file? Is there a better program to try than FrontRow/VLC for playing HD? (Not urgent, as I'm only using a 32" S4 Samsung LCD with 1368x768, but I'd like to know for later)
Thank-you!
cheers
cosmic