I used to run a Mac Mini as a HTPC back in the days, and when we switched to the AppleTV, the experience just got SO much better. The Mini is now just running as headless media server for said AppleTV.
I used to run a Mac Mini as a HTPC back in the days, and when we switched to the AppleTV, the experience just got SO much better. The Mini is now just running as headless media server for said AppleTV.
Yes, an Apple TV is definitely better for media consumption. The advantage of the Mac mini is that you can do more though (at the expense of poorer media consumption).
I use a mac mini M1 (base model) as a smb file server for local network storage and as a tv/media computer with a logitech keyboard/trackpad combo in the living room. I connected two external usb hard drives for more storage. Works great for that purpose, and it consumes very little power.