Considering new Mini

[bwfc0907]

Looking for access remotely, would I just install OSX Server on the Mini so I can access movies when away from home on iPhone and iPad?

How would I connect to a HD TV to watch the 1080p Blu-ray movies I have ripped & would keep on the hard drive.

Looking to buy new. Will also be using for other computing but trying to meet other needs aswell.

 

[Celerondon]

...How would I connect to a HD TV to watch the 1080p Blu-ray movies I have ripped & would keep on the hard drive...
Looking to buy new...

The 2014 (and other newer model) mini has an HDMI port. Just get an HDMI cable and plug it in. Any late model mini can drive two monitors if you want to use a smaller display as well.

 

[ixxx69]

Looking for access remotely, would I just install OSX Server on the Mini so I can access movies when away from home on iPhone and iPad?

Check out something like "Plex" (plex.tv). Very slick. I've been around for almost the entire PC era, but for me, riding on a bus and streaming a movie to my iPhone from my computer at home was one of those "I can't believe how far technology has come... this is almost surreal" moments. The kids today just take it for granted.

How would I connect to a HD TV to watch the 1080p Blu-ray movies I have ripped & would keep on the hard drive.

As already mentioned, you obviously can hook the Mini up directly to your TV. However, I prefer using an AppleTV to stream my media from my Mac... that way my Mac doesn't have to sit next to my TV, and I prefer the ATV interface rather than trying to navigate a computer (ATV will only work with media that works in iTunes, e.g. no MKV files). On the Plex front, there are some devices capable of streaming via Plex.

 

[bwfc0907]

Check out something like "Plex" (plex.tv). Very slick. I've been around for almost the entire PC era, but for me, riding on a bus and streaming a movie to my iPhone from my computer at home was one of those "I can't believe how far technology has come... this is almost surreal" moments. The kids today just take it for granted.


As already mentioned, you obviously can hook the Mini up directly to your TV. However, I prefer using an AppleTV to stream my media from my Mac... that way my Mac doesn't have to sit next to my TV, and I prefer the ATV interface rather than trying to navigate a computer (ATV will only work with media that works in iTunes, e.g. no MKV files). On the Plex front, there are some devices capable of streaming via Plex.

So did you just install OS X server so you could stream from your mini to your iphone?

My high end pc struggles with 1080p apple files I encoded myself. Will the mini struggle in the same way?

 

[George Dawes]

I've used my 2 tv's a sony bravia and a bang olufsen beovision 11 as monitors for various macs ( 2 x minis and a 2007 mac pro ) over the years and they've worked great.

As long as you don't sit too far away you'll be ok.

I've had 3 apple tv's and can never get the things to work properly , I've given up on the things.

 

[roadkill401]

If I was looking to do streaming to multiple devices, then I would not be looking at putting it onto a mac mini. There are better network solutions like the Synology DS415play. This has many DNA+ streaming programs that can be run on it, plus has the h263 and h264 hardware assisted transcoder built in.

 

[bwfc0907]

If I was looking to do streaming to multiple devices, then I would not be looking at putting it onto a mac mini. There are better network solutions like the Synology DS415play. This has many DNA+ streaming programs that can be run on it, plus has the h263 and h264 hardware assisted transcoder built in.

I'll have a look at it.

 

[ixxx69]

So did you just install OS X server so you could stream from your mini to your iphone?

No. Forget about OS X Server. It will not help with anything to do with streaming your media files, and you have no need for it.

Plex is essentially media "server" software.

My high end pc struggles with 1080p apple files I encoded myself. Will the mini struggle in the same way?

I don't know what your "high end pc" is, but any computer you purchase today can play 1080p media files just fine. How you encode them is another matter... there are maximum bitrates, etc., that a typical computer can handle. Most encoders, e.g. Handbrake, have presets that will make sure they're compatible with the device you want to display it on.

I don't want to discourage you from pursuing this, but it seems like your computer technical knowledge may not be up to achieving results you'll be happy with. If you really want to become knowledgeable enough to make this work well, you're going to have to put some effort into it. Start googling. Good luck!

I've had 3 apple tv's and can never get the things to work properly , I've given up on the things.

You're of course entitled to share your experience, but I have a hard time believing that someone with your skill level couldn't get an AppleTV to work properly. Maybe you want them to do something they're not designed to do, but as a way to stream iTunes media from the iTunes store/cloud or your (local) computer, there's nothing that beats it for simplicity. Are you intentionally trying to scare people away from it?

 

[George Dawes]

No , I wish I could get them working , but after all the problems I've had - changing routers from apple to bt home hubs ( which seem perversely much more compatible and reliable ) on 2 bt infinity lines , then buying 2 x mk 2's ( which worked better than the 3 ) and a mk 3 ( just awful , worst apple gear I've ever bought and I've been using apple gear well over 20+ years and never really had any major problems ) I just cannot get airplay or streaming to work...

The Mk3 seems much more problematic than the 2 , I thought I had the problematic faulty mk 3 , but my serial code didn't match up with the apple recall ..

Maybe I'm unlucky

I ended up buying a mac mini just to watch films from iTunes on and it's been amazing , I love the things !

 

[bwfc0907]

No. Forget about OS X Server. It will not help with anything to do with streaming your media files, and you have no need for it.

Plex is essentially media "server" software.

I don't know what your "high end pc" is, but any computer you purchase today can play 1080p media files just fine. How you encode them is another matter... there are maximum bitrates, etc., that a typical computer can handle. Most encoders, e.g. Handbrake, have presets that will make sure they're compatible with the device you want to display it on.

I don't want to discourage you from pursuing this, but it seems like your computer technical knowledge may not be up to achieving results you'll be happy with. If you really want to become knowledgeable enough to make this work well, you're going to have to put some effort into it. Start googling. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice, I am a tryer though. This isn't beyond me, just exploring at the moment. House is hard wired with ethernet and HDMI so connecting will be easy to get quality streaming. At the moment my PC acts as the server when on using iTunes home sharing software and I stream perfect 1080p movies but I want a 24/7 solution for movies and photo's.

The majority of my movies are MP4 but I have a few MKV's that I haven't converted yet. Will Plex allow me to stream all of these? I assume Plex won't work on AppleTV I will need to use Home Sharing still?