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Much Smaller Mac Mini Coming?

jnc said:
I've been hankering for a HDCP compliant ACD forever. Hopefully with more inputs than a single DVI ... at least 1xComponent and 1xHDMI input in addition - It's weird Apple makes displays its own :apple:tv can't use :confused:
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Yep, so much for the Mac being the center of your digital hub. The ACDs should at least have one additional input, for maybe an Xbox 360 or PS3, since Macs are lousy gaming machines. Or for your blu ray source (PS3, or BD player). I think the iMac should as well - at least the 24" version. It's like Apple exists in a void - nobody plays games and nobody could possibly want to use a second device.
 
Irishman said:
Try streaming a 1080p movie trailer. That'll give you an idea of whether or not it could play it.
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I'm pretty confident that a 1080p QT movie trailer is not going to have anywhere near the bandwidth of a Blu-Ray movie and that may play a part in how the system plays it back.
 
yadmonkey said:
Yep, so much for the Mac being the center of your digital hub.
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Well Microsoft is working hard to land that market (XBox, Windows Media Center, Windows Home Media Server, the new "Mediaroom" application) so that might force Apple's hand into evolving the Mini into a home media hub with more capability then the :apple:tv.
 
CWallace said:
I'm pretty confident that a 1080p QT movie trailer is not going to have anywhere near the bandwidth of a Blu-Ray movie and that may play a part in how the system plays it back.
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yes we seeing as though a 1080p trailer will play <2mbps and a BluRay DVD movie will play about 20-50mbps... its quite clear that thers a difference.
 
mini

maccompaq said:
I see the Mini growing in size to accomodate desktop components which will reduce the cost of manufacture which will reduce the consumer cost while giving a larger profit margin.
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Mini shall see a revival, and a decent quantum leap upgrade, soon we hope.
 
Irishman said:
Have you SEEN a Blu-RAy movie?
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Beautiful picture, yes I know... But you'd need a very nice (as in expensive) display to see all that beauty too.

And still, it adds no new feature to me, it just adds (a lot of) quality. It would be nice to start a blu-ray collection instead of continueing the dvd collection, but I'm in for a Mini, so no money for the very nice display and no for the still very expensive blu-ray disks...
 
Blue ray ... don't need it ,too expensive , DVD is just fine so no thanks to BR.

A CPU bump ,HD size increase and possibly an extra port or two ..oh and two gig RAM standard with a superdrive ....I'm happy at that and would buy


ahh come on no refresh till 2009 ,surely not
 
maccompaq said:
Very expensive data capacity. No thank you.
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DVD started out expensive. People will grow into it.

I'm not saying it should be in the MacMini, but BluRay DOES have a future in the PC world.

By the way, has anyone noticed that we're just two short posts from #713? Jobs will have no choice... 6/3/08 will be the magic day. ;):D

-Clive
 
zjokke said:
Beautiful picture, yes I know... But you'd need a very nice (as in expensive) display to see all that beauty too.

And still, it adds no new feature to me, it just adds (a lot of) quality. It would be nice to start a blu-ray collection instead of continueing the dvd collection, but I'm in for a Mini, so no money for the very nice display and no for the still very expensive blu-ray disks...
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Well, that's fine for you, of course, but what about those of us who want it?

I'm asking for options is all.
 
marbles said:
Blue ray ... don't need it ,too expensive , DVD is just fine so no thanks to BR.

A CPU bump ,HD size increase and possibly an extra port or two ..oh and two gig RAM standard with a superdrive ....I'm happy at that and would buy


ahh come on no refresh till 2009 ,surely not
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DVD works fine for you. Not for all of us. Remember, the headless Mac Mini is an ideal choice for a Blu-ray player in one obvious sense. It lets you pick your own display. What about those folks who just upgraded to a 50" 1080p plasma HDTV and who CAN watch 1080p, AND who have their music collection in iTunes stored on their Mini?

Why wouldn't it be a good idea for Apple to offer a Blu-ray player option so they can reduce component clutter and pay for one less thing?
 
Irishman said:
No need to be a smartass, sir. I was talking about the current one, of course.
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No sarcasm intended. I was only wondering how trying to stream 1080p on a current Mini would show any results since a Mini cannot handle it. You must have something else in mind, and I am interested in hearing it.

ABC TV offers streaming programming in SD and HD. Is the HD in 720p or 1080i?
 
Irishman said:
DVD works fine for you. Not for all of us. Remember, the headless Mac Mini is an ideal choice for a Blu-ray player in one obvious sense. It lets you pick your own display. What about those folks who just upgraded to a 50" 1080p plasma HDTV and who CAN watch 1080p, AND who have their music collection in iTunes stored on their Mini?

Why wouldn't it be a good idea for Apple to offer a Blu-ray player option so they can reduce component clutter and pay for one less thing?
Click to expand...

Of course everyone is different and your needs will be different from mine , that really goes without saying but for me the blu-ray addition to a mini wont happen.
If any Apple machine where to get blu ray then the macpro will get one first then maybe the MBP but for the mini I really don't think it would happen ....not that I would complain if it was added and the mini's price stayed the same as it is now.

..... if it where to bump up the price (which it would imo because it's silly money to buy those blu ray drives) then no mini for me ....

I just think that its not really a good thing to add blu ray to a mainstream consumer machine because of the cost involved and the relatively small uptake of content produced in that format ..
Plus the computer manufacturers , especially Apple, seem to want to get us to buy media content online thus leaving discs of any variety redundant fairly soon ,so what is the point .. imho none ,unless it is to say that you have the latest and greatest gadget out !... so I will stick with the lowly DVD and wait till all content comes down the pipe .
 
maccompaq said:
No sarcasm intended. I was only wondering how trying to stream 1080p on a current Mini would show any results since a Mini cannot handle it. You must have something else in mind, and I am interested in hearing it.

ABC TV offers streaming programming in SD and HD. Is the HD in 720p or 1080i?
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I believe, off the top of my head that ABC HD is 720p. I know that Fox Sports is, and ESPN is, and ABC owns ESPN. USA HD is 1080i, as is CBS, and NBC.
 
Irishman said:
I believe, off the top of my head that ABC HD is 720p. I know that Fox Sports is, and ESPN is, and ABC owns ESPN. USA HD is 1080i, as is CBS, and NBC.
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This is correct, HBO is also 720p. I prefer the 720p programing personally. Interlacing should have been dead with the switch to HD.
 
Wohoo!

marbles said:
you know , I think Steve is watching this thread and will release the new nanominitower when the posts get to No 713
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I must congratulate you brother/sister/other. We have made it. ETA for Mac Mini is with iPhone on 9th of June along OS X 10.6 Thindercat, Macbook touch, Intel 3 and Macbook Pro/Steve Jobs hollogram. Can't you love Apple:apple::):apple:?
 
This is correct, HBO is also 720p. I prefer the 720p programing personally. Interlacing should have been dead with the switch to HD.

I second that. I think 1080 is only necessary if your display is over 100 inches.
 
Looking at the Mini today and comparing it to most mid-range small form-factor machines you can buy today, it's holding up pretty well!
The mini hasn't been updated for 47 weeks, it's pretty impressive that it's keeping up with the current market. I just researched the possibility of creating a HTPC based on the mini running Vista MCE - and from what I can see the mini will have no problem what so ever playing 720p and 1080p content - aside from not having a bluray/hddvd drive nor built-in DVR, and a non-HDCP compliant graphics card (x3100 will change that) .. :)

But yea, I'm happy as long as the Apple people don't cut in the performance or add too much fat to the design of the mini :) The BluRay drive would be an awesome option, but I don't see it happening - at least not at first. Some people have said the mini probably wouldn't be the first in the mac-lineup to get the bluray option, and I have to agree with them.. But then again, what if the entire mac-lineup was given the option to ship with bluray while the mac mini upgrades were introduced? Ah well, to be realistic that wont happen during WWDC - it's a developer conference, not hardware related really.. :)

... 47 weeks is a long time to wait for an upgrade Apple (mini average upgrade cycle is 27 weeks!), don't keep us waiting :)
 
netherfred said:
Not to spoil your party, but do slot-in laptop BD drives actually exist? :confused:
Because I can't imagine Apple going back to flimsy plastic drive doors...

EDIT:
I stand corrected:
http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?products_id=338
But $999.95???
EDIT II:
But wait! Panasonic makes a "cheap" one, only $859,95, more than the price of a current mini!
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It could always be like the MBA SSD option...$1,000 upgrade for people who really truly want it, with the understanding that in a couple years it'll drop to $200.
 
netherfred said:
Not to spoil your party, but do slot-in laptop BD drives actually exist? :confused:
Because I can't imagine Apple going back to flimsy plastic drive doors...

EDIT:
I stand corrected:
http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?products_id=338
But $999.95???
EDIT II:
But wait! Panasonic makes a "cheap" one, only $859,95, more than the price of a current mini!
Click to expand...

They only make them in 12.5in height which would limit them to the iMac and Mini.
 
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