There goes thetv then
That, regarding AppleTV, was my first thought as well. We hardly knew ye, AppleTV.And it seems about blinking well time!! And one less adapter to purchase.
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Apple Preparing to Add HDMI to Macs?
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It's a RUMOUR, it's not news - and that goes to all the ones saying "bye bye atv" too.
Seriously? Anyone making the decision between a mini and an ATV based on whether they need a $20 dongle to connect the mini to thier TV is an idiot.
Mini's still cost 2-3x what an ATV costs and Mini's still do WAY more... server? ARD? Screen Sharing?
That'd be like choosing between a motorcycle and a minivan based on the size if the tires...
Mini's still cost 2-3x what an ATV costs and Mini's still do WAY more... server? ARD? Screen Sharing?
That'd be like choosing between a motorcycle and a minivan based on the size if the tires...
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The report's sources claim that the Mac mini prototypes include NVIDIA's MCP89 chipset, although a licensing dispute between Intel and NVIDIA over chipsets for Intel's Nehalem platform suggests that Apple may have to continue using Intel Core 2 Duo processors in the next-generation Mac mini models if it is planning to use NVIDIA's chipset. Alternatively, Apple may choose to utilize an Intel chipset that would allow it to take advantage of Nehalem processors.
Well, this could be good, bad or ugly news.
Good: Intel stop being arses and we get ION2 and Corei3/5 minis
Bad: Intel carry on being arses and we get Core2Duo and ION2
Ugly: Intel carry on being arses and we get Corei3/5 minis with Intel graphics
I'm hoping for good but fearing the worst
There goes the
Yeah, because $229 and $599 are the same.
Seems like a dubious rumor to me considering HDMI’s resolution and bandwidth limitations, not to mention additional licensing fee.
Apple hasn’t marketed the Mac mini as a HTPC since the Intel launch. They don’t even ship the little remote with it anymore, and Front Row hasn’t been updated in two and half years.
720p? No kidding. Why did you get that POS the in the 1st place?I regret more and more having bought an
Limitations?
You mean transporting Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA while Diplayport unable to do that? The licensing is only 4-5 cents per device, not sure if that would be show stopper. 
The only "new" feature would be HD/lossless 7.1 audio from blurays streamed over HDMI cable.
Stereo audio over HDMI is ALREADY possible using a Kanex adapter. (the audio is taken from USB and put over HDMI by the adapter)
Compressed (AC3, DTS, etc) 5.1 audio over HDMI is ALREADY possible using another (more expensive) Kanex adapter. (the 5.1 audio is taken from the mini-toslink output which have been shipping in every Mac for a couple of years)
Stereo audio over HDMI is ALREADY possible using a Kanex adapter. (the audio is taken from USB and put over HDMI by the adapter)
Compressed (AC3, DTS, etc) 5.1 audio over HDMI is ALREADY possible using another (more expensive) Kanex adapter. (the 5.1 audio is taken from the mini-toslink output which have been shipping in every Mac for a couple of years)
There goes the
That's a good point. There'd be no reason to get an Apple TV if this is true.
I'm looking to get a new Mac soon but Apple's range (at the moment) looks rather poor. Mac Pro and MacBook Pro lines haven't been updated in an age.
I guess the Mini has a few months off before a refresh.
So is there any evidence of this or just photoshopped Mini pictures? Yeah, I would like it but some random photoshops aren't very good evidence!
You're on the wrong site then, mate!
A photoshop mockup or blurry photo is what we usually get!
Im not sure HDMI can be considered the "next level." More like playing catch-up with the rest of the industry.
HDMI does a lot of neat things.
DisplayPort, as a standard, has been around for several years now. Outside of Macs, its basically failed to be adopted. Even PC manufacturers that include DisplayPort throw in an HDMI port for good measure.
Apple doesn't allow audio over DisplayPort. HDMI does video and audio over one cable, and has more bandwidth available for audio than DisplayPort.
HDMI 1.3 supports 2560x1600 over a single link cable, with 8 channels of uncompressed LPCM audio.
HDMI 1.3 also has a "mini" connector thats about the same size as the current mini DisplayPort connector.
More importantly, HDMI is everywhere. Every respectable computer display made within the last half decade has had HDMI connectivity. HDMI has been standard fare on PC notebooks with dedicated graphics for the last 3 years, with Intel GPUs coming on board in the last 2. Even some netbooks include HDMI. Desktop GPUs have had HDMI connectivity for many years now. Apple is basically the only computer manufacturer that doesn't support HDMI. Even the Zune HD supports HDMI!
Let's just hope Apple does this right. This would be fantastic for the Mac mini. But Apple has a thing for giving one new feature while taking away another. It would be very disappointing, but not entirely surprising, if Apple went back to Intel integrated graphics for the Mac mini. Last year the Mac mini finally got its first respectable GPU since the G4 days. Let's hope Apple doesn't take that away.
Let me say this just to anyone from Apple reading this: a Mac mini with a faster Core 2 Duo, GeForce 9400M, and HDMI would be better than ANY Mac mini with a Core i3, Intel GPU, and HDMI. The GMA 950 Mac minis were a huge step backward from the Radeon 9200 powered G4 Mac minis. Don't take that step backward again. The 9400M is still faster than any Intel GPU, and a Core 2 Duo and GeForce 9400M would be a better combination than a Core i3 and Intel GPU. A Core i3 might be slightly faster than a Core 2 Duo, but that doesn't matter when you're cutting one of its legs off by pairing it with Intel integrated graphics.
No space and it costs extra plus I doubt Apple likes having dual GPUs in Mini (another might be disabled though)
hmm.. maybe I shouldn't have rushed into my mac mini purchase last week
Oh well whats done is done.
Oh well whats done is done.
Connect video and sound to a modern TV with one cable only and without needing any adapters. On my TV, I have only one separate sound input, so I needed some innovative cabling to connect everything I want to connect simultaneously.
The word is _directly_ and _no adapters_. In other words, you don't.
A few hundred dollars is "no reason"?
This would be interesting. Just out of curiosity, how many computer displays use HDMI? It was my impression that one reason why Apple had both DisplayPort & DVI on the Mac Mini was so that all Macs could support dual monitors. However, I would imagine that most people who would want multiple screens would want something more powerful than a Mini.
I really wish Intel & nVidia would solve their problems so we could have both Nehalem & nVidia graphics. Intel graphics are seriously subpar.
If the Mac Mini does take the place of theTV, I wish it could display at 1080p for when doing slideshows. I also wish Apple used better compression with its movies & TV shows. A lot of them I've seen look awful on my TV. Poor coloring, pixelated, etc. Too bad the internet infrastructure is so awful it would take days to download a 1080p movie for most people. Maybe Congress could give the internet service providers a bailout to make our internet faster.
I have one, it's pretty awesome. I have a bunch of my favorite TV shows & movies on it, plus I could rent movies on it without having to go to Blockbuster or wait for Netflix. Sure, video quality isn't great, but it's good enough for my needs.
I really wish Intel & nVidia would solve their problems so we could have both Nehalem & nVidia graphics. Intel graphics are seriously subpar.
If the Mac Mini does take the place of the
TV, I wish it could display at 1080p for when doing slideshows. I also wish Apple used better compression with its movies & TV shows. A lot of them I've seen look awful on my TV. Poor coloring, pixelated, etc. Too bad the internet infrastructure is so awful it would take days to download a 1080p movie for most people. Maybe Congress could give the internet service providers a bailout to make our internet faster.I have one, it's pretty awesome. I have a bunch of my favorite TV shows & movies on it, plus I could rent movies on it without having to go to Blockbuster or wait for Netflix. Sure, video quality isn't great, but it's good enough for my needs.
Also of much importance to those using the Mac Mini as a HTPC is that the HDMI would allow the use of newer audio codecs such as DTS-HD and TrueHD. The current Mini only allows DTS because the optical audio port does not have the bandwidth to support the newer audio codecs. This seems like it would likely accompany the inclusion of Blu-Ray drives in the Mini, which would be awesome for users of Plex and XBMC as it would most likely enable direct Blu-Ray playback from those programs.
1. Not going to happen. There server farms all over the world with infrastructure built to hold the Mac Mini (all generations). This one of the largest single uses of the product and would be a massive inconvenience to these companies if so. This is the reason why the case has never changed in dimensions.
2. A black top is a not a redesign, and black instead of white would make the back panel difficult to see in low light (aka server rooms, behind a tv center).
The HDMI port is so pointless since I just picked up a MONSTER DVI to HDMI cable for 8 bucks, and plan to have the audio come from the audio port
