Mac mini specs for transferring blu ray rips to ATV3?

[JimBanville]

I have 3 ATV3's. I have a 2tb passport hdd and airport express router (small house, I get good/fast service thru it). As I understand it, I need a Mac mini running iTunes (24/7) to transport rip files from hdd to the router via Ethernet, which I can access wirelessly on my ATV's. True? The mini wouldn't really be "playing" the movie, just as a transport for the files from hdd to router over wired Ethernet, true? What's the minimum model # / hardware requirement for this task? I want to use Mac mini because I will be using a MacBook air to rip the movies. I do not want to use the MacBook for playback. I'm looking for seamless/Netflix style access to my movie rips thru the ATV. I want no interaction with the mini. Thanks you for any help and advice!!! 🙂

 

[kbutler84]

Any computer running itunes can serve this purpose. It does not have to be a mac mini, or even a mac for that matter.

 

[JimBanville]

So any old $99 mini I can get off fleabay??? Any processor/ram/OS? I would b creating the files on the hdd from my MacBook. Any PC could "see" those files and transfer them? I have an old netbook. Asus 1008ha. That would work with no "interaction" beyond leaving it on? I imagine I can install a mouse and jiggle it to wake it up occasionally. THANK YOU!

 

[paulrbeers]

So any old $99 mini I can get off fleabay??? Any processor/ram/OS? I would b creating the files on the hdd from my MacBook. Any PC could "see" those files and transfer them? I have an old netbook. Asus 1008ha. That would work with no "interaction" beyond leaving it on? I imagine I can install a mouse and jiggle it to wake it up occasionally. THANK YOU!

I've used a netbook in my car for this very purpose. Why even let it sleep? just have it turn it's display off but keep the hard drives and processor awake. You will never have a problem.

The only problem with using too old of a Mac is that if it isn't supported by the newest OS then you probably won't get the newest iTunes (for example old G4 Mac mini's should be ignored).

 

[Lord Hamsa]

If you're just having it acting as a glorified file server, pretty much any computer modern enough to be part of a LAN will be able to handle the workload.

 

[JimBanville]

Thanks ya'll! I'd need a Mac (mini, in this case) to transfer the movie rips from the hdd, which were made from a 2014 MacBook air, yes? A pc netbook running xp wouldn't work, would it? I'd prefer the mini only because it would look better setting beside the airport express and passport hdd, haha.

If so, can u recommend a model # for an old mini that would do the trick? Thanks again 🙂

 

[Lord Hamsa]

I don't see why you couldn't transfer the files to a Windows computer if you wanted to.

 

[jamesdmc]

I have 3 ATV3's. I have a 2tb passport hdd and airport express router (small house, I get good/fast service thru it). As I understand it, I need a Mac mini running iTunes (24/7) to transport rip files from hdd to the router via Ethernet, which I can access wirelessly on my ATV's. True? The mini wouldn't really be "playing" the movie, just as a transport for the files from hdd to router over wired Ethernet, true? What's the minimum model # / hardware requirement for this task? I want to use Mac mini because I will be using a MacBook air to rip the movies. I do not want to use the MacBook for playback. I'm looking for seamless/Netflix style access to my movie rips thru the ATV. I want no interaction with the mini. Thanks you for any help and advice!!! 🙂

As others have said, you don't need the most up to date mini to accomplish your goal. I'm doing pretty much the same thing as you're attempting to do. I have a 2008 mac pro that does the ripping, encoding, and tagging. I then transfer the finished files to iTunes on a 2007 mac mini in the basement. The mac mini has no keyboard, mouse, or screen attached to it. The only peripheral is a USB 2.0 enclosure that houses a 4TB hard drive that holds the iTunes library. The mini sits there, powered on 24/7, serving those files to the ATV3 upstairs. Works flawlessly.

Disclaimer: I've been waiting for the low end 2014 Mac Mini's to hit the refurb store to upgrade my 2007 mini. Despite the bashing the 2014 minis have taken since their debut, I think the entry level model is perfect for this task. Now that the refurbs have started showing up, I'll be swapping out the 2007 for a 2014 for longevity's sake: software updates and a little more responsiveness when interacting with the mini via screen sharing. It's a want, not a need.

 

[JimBanville]

Thank you very much! I reinstalled the factory XP SP3 OS on my daughter's old Asus 1008HA netbook last night and installed latest iTunes. I may use it since it's free 🙂 It's not sluggish. I'll turn off wifi and use Ethernet to the router. Rather than formatting my movie storage Passport HDD to Mac, I'll just rip the movies with a borrowed windows machine.