Thinking of buying Mac Mini for HTPC (questions)

[kbutler84]

I'm thinking about getting a Mac Mini. As of right now all my movies/tv shows are stored on a 2tb external drive connected to my iMac. I sync my iphone/ipad with this iMac. If I move the external hard drive to the Mac Mini, is there any way I can still sync via the iMac and still have access to the files on the external hard drive?

If not, what is the best solution to this?


Also, I'm still debating on if I should purchase the Mac Mini at all. I've been satisfied with my Apple TV 2, but the idea of having a full fledged Mac (with 1080p capability) connected to my TV sounds nice. Is it really worth it?

 

[EvilC5]

I have a mini as my media server, its hooked to a TV, but I almost never watch anything from it on that tv. instead I have 2 externals and a drobo connected to it to store all of my media to stream to ATV's in the house.

I have everything synced with my macbook, and I just point itunes to the library on the mini via a NFS sharepoint.

I do the same think on my iphoto library too and works great.

 

[Jimmdean]

It sounds like all your current content is in iTunes. In that case the AppleTV really is the most seamless and economical solution.

Reasons to go with a Mini would be to get true 1080P or to watch a lot more shows online than the AppleTV would be capable of.

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

Mac Mini also gives you full access to the internet. I find that helpful for some things.

Also games- if you have an i5 mini and you are into games.