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mac mini or appletv?

D

dwd3885

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Dec 10, 2004
2,137
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i recently purchased an hdtv and already have an imac. I am interested in streaming or at least hooking up either an appletv or mac mini to my hdtv and watch video on my tv through that. just for tv shows or movies. What have most people done here? i understand the refurb appletv is like $279 and a refurb mac mini is around $250 more.

Any thoughts on which small apple device to buy?
 
I have a mini which I use with OSXBMC as an HTPC and I have a couple of extra FW400 disks attached for storage as well as Time Machine backups for my other Macs around the house. Its a bit more fiddly to set up and operate than an :apple:TV but if you are not going to be using iTunes to get the content, I think its a better arrangement.
 
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I have an AppleTV and stream all of my content to it through my time capsule. It works great plus you can rent HD movies on the AppleTV.

I did run into one bug when I hooked up an airport extreme base station as a wireless bridge. It didn't seem to want to sync with iTunes. I'm guessing that something is wrong with that base station though since it is the very first 802.11n model that Apple sold.

I would recommend the AppleTV unless you plan on surfing the web or doing other things on your new TV.
 
i guess if i got the mac mini i'd need to get a dvi to vga adapter. but that isn't an issue. i probably won't be surfing the net on it, but i could go to sites like abc.com and watch video in full hd from the website, instead of purchasing from itunes or downloading a torrent. so that counts as surfing the web i suppose.

i think the mini would be more complete media center option, where as the appletv would be mainly a streaming option..idk.

any more thoughts?
 
The only thing you would miss out on with a Mini would be HD move rentals. They're only available through an AppleTV.
 
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I'm about to trade my ATv in for a mini. I don't rent movies often, but I've got a ton of mkv videos. :)
 
i've heard that the whole experience is better on the appletv. as in, all you need is the remote, no keyboard, etc. you don't need front row, and front row doesn't work as smoothly as the appletv application. any thoughts on that? making me lean towards an apple tv instead of a mini.
 
The biggest advantage of a Mini is that you can run XBMC on it. It is the best playback software available in terms of decoding power. Quicktime, even with Perian, is pretty weak in comparison.

The biggest disadvantage is the interaction needed with the Mini. ATV has it beat in that area. AC3 passthrough is also easier to work up on the ATV.
 
Is your content you want to stream compatible on the AppleTV w/o additional actions (e.g. transcoding)?

Video formats supported
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
Click to expand...

http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html

If the answer is no, then you'll rue the day you bought the AppleTV...Best case, you could cobble up something in Automator to do it - but even then you have an issue with a generational loss of quality.

Edit to add: I recall reading about a company that will send you out a flash drive with some extra codecs on it for the AppleTV, but thats another 50$ and interfaces changes.
 
Full of Win said:
Is your content you want to stream compatible on the AppleTV w/o additional actions (e.g. transcoding)?

i can always encode into appletv, but what i have mostly is .wmv files, and need to convert to itunes usually.

while appletv is cheaper, i think the mini might be a better solution. i would spend more, but i could view anything, even go to websites and view the video directly from there.

i'm only thinking that when i move i'm going to get a cable box with dvr and will be able to record shows i miss. the mini would mainly be used for renting movies from itunes i suppose or with just regular web browsing, computing on my hdtv
Click to expand...
 
dwd3885 said:
that's sweet. hopefully if i buy it here on macrumors it will be included too :)

is there such thing as a dvi>hdmi converter? is the best way to connect it through the vga? what about sound
Click to expand...

Yes, the converters for DVI > HDMI do exist, and are pretty cheap from monoprice.com, about 3 - 5$. Incidentally, I run my computer DVI through a 4 port HDMI switch and use a hybrid cable, also from monoprice, that has DVI on one end and HDMI on the other (cost: ~7$). For sound, the Mini has an optical out, so you can use any fiber-optic cable you like, so long as it has the adapter on the end, which all seem to do.

Hybrid cables (DVI and HDMI)
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10231
 
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