Intel Mac mini media center coming soon?
It's only a rumor, but it's a juicy one. Think Secret alleges that Apple will soon showcase the Mac mini as a digital media center outfitted with:- Front Row 2.0
- TiVo-like digital video recording capacity;
- a built-in iPod dock; and
- an Intel processor.
The Mac mini makes sense as a digital hub, given its no-frills profile and relatively low price. Picture it in your family room hooked up to your iPod, TV, and sound system, unobtrusively humming along as the control center of your home theater. Is this just a pipedream, or do you agree that it may have a ring of truth?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Christian said 9:13AM on 11-29-2005
Sorry, but how is this a rumor? Apple said their low-end Macs would be the first to go to Intel. Furthermore, the Mac mini has always been positioned as a possible AV device; that Apple didn't run the first two revisions of the mini as AV devices doesn't mean that it wasn't in the plans all along. Look at how many Mac mini AV accessories there are, and look at Apple's recent AV-related software (FrontRow, et al.). I think a "digital hub" Mac mini is the logical continuation of what Apple has been doing. Oh, and this "rumor" has been around (albeit in less substantive forms) since about 13 seconds after the Mac mini was first announced at MWSF in January.
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Craig Morey said 9:18AM on 11-29-2005
the tricky bit is the tuner hardware, it's different all over the world. Would Apple really have a plug-in strategy for ATSC, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-S, ISDB - and thats not even the analogue options. Not to mention US HDTV cable customers being tied into their proprietary hardware & protocols (short-termist paranoia fuelled madness on the cable companies part!).
I'd love to see a mac mini pvr - hell, I've got a mac mini and an eyetv DTT box doing that job at the moment. But I'd love to see how they tackle the "what box do I need" problem. They may provide the UI and OS hooks, and partner with someone like elgato for a mac mini stacking box that hold the localised tuner and 3.5" hard drive...
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TSsucks said 9:33AM on 11-29-2005
Maybe I should start my own rumors site... This isn't news or even a rumor; it's common goddamn sense. Then again, I guess this is why I don't go to ThinkSecret anymore.
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J said 10:03AM on 11-29-2005
I would buy one in a flash. This is the missing link. I love my Tivo, but they have left me the mac user in the dust. I have tried the DVR offered by my cable provider (Time Warner), and the thing is a joke all crashy and cludgy. I dig buying seasons of programs on the itunes music store, and I would continue to do that as show offerings grow, but to be able to capture my shows as they broadcast right into my mac with a dedicated dock built in. SIGN ME UP!
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Dinesh said 10:10AM on 11-29-2005
Hey ... I was thinking about it too. An intel Mac mini media center will be cool. I also thought , what if Jobs includes Gaming console features in it too ... will it not be a wholesome living room entertainer ?
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jomy said 10:17AM on 11-29-2005
I don't think they will handle different broadcast standards with different breakout boxes. That would go against Apple's design sense. It has to be simple. A single box that does it all and nothing more to buy.
I hope this device puts "the fear of God" into the BigMedia execs. If they aren't going to allow Apple to sell their content, Apple will be forced to allow customers to get it for free. No skin off of Apple's back. Apple will be laughing all the way to the bank while Bigmedia cries foul.
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Wry Cooter said 10:44AM on 11-29-2005
Will it be able to crunch and push HD? Or will it be a stopover until a HD capable unit is around?
Would it be stupid for Apple to release this if it could not handle HD? I think I would still buy one - a mac Tivo.
My bet- They may use this to help push dot mac subscriptions in some way... programming aids or storage or extra features or content.
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SoloMalee said 10:59AM on 11-29-2005
I'm with #2, that's the reason I haven't anything but a highly proprietary DVR so far...but...the company that makes a useable device that supports TWO DVB-S tuners wins my $s.
btw: Tried Myth...too damn complicated...not gonna try MSMC...too damn Microsoft.
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MacLover said 10:59AM on 11-29-2005
This is nothing new. Leo Bodnar posted about a mysterious connector on the CD/HDD riser board in February '05.
http://www.lbodnar.dsl.pipex.com/macmini/macmini_ipod.html
Hmmm...is that what the universal dock adapter shipping with the nano and iPod w/video is for?????
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darleen Michael-Baker said 11:12AM on 11-29-2005
OOOOOOOOH. I'm drooling already!!! Yes yes yes! gimmee.
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jomy said 11:13AM on 11-29-2005
Dinesh, I like your gaming idea. they could sell Bluetooth controllers separately.
I helped a friend set up their new HP media center PC and it can bundled with about a dozen games from HP and another half-dozen from M$. Games don't have to have bleeding edge graphics to be good.
Apple should buy Freeverse http://www.freeverse.com/ and bundle some of their games with every Mac mini. Use dotMac for finding other gamers.
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fishpatrol said 12:16PM on 11-29-2005
Apple is not a game company, and I don't imagine they'll ever be. Too far away from their core. Freeverse is great, but the wrong direction. Apple's made a few half-hearted attempts to pitch Macs as gaming machines. Too much to conquer in media applications right now, and Apple's holding too many trump cards, to take off in different directions.
I've got a mini and EyeTV myself, would have no complaints about Apple pushing out their own unit. Add hardware decoding of HD and I'll buy one in a moment. I don't see much use of a iPod dock, but I wouldn't complain. Except, this doesn't sound like a Mac mini. It's becoming a pretty specialized machine, and that costs money. And it's a functionality that other Mac users--people who need more than a mini--would want to have. Maybe this will be a Front Row-type test case. Whatever it is, bring it on out.
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Universe Man said 12:37PM on 11-29-2005
"Maybe I should start my own rumors site"
"Furthermore, the Mac mini has always been positioned as a possible AV device"
You guys are being obtuse. ThinkSecret has insider information and they are predicting specific features and the exact DAY the product will be launched. They're not saying, "someday the Mini will be an AV device."
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Eric Carroll said 3:28PM on 11-29-2005
Assuming it would output at 1080i and or 720p natively (hell or even if they sold me a DVI to Component convert for like $100-$200) I would order one of these on announcement day. It'd be great for TVs with DVI in or HDMI in, but what options are there for those of us who have TVs with only Component in?
That being said I would ideally like to have a front row dedicated machine running hooked up to a projector, like I did a few days ago: http://www.asthmaticavenger.com/?q=node/view/231 So Much Fun...
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DerekJ said 4:09PM on 11-29-2005
Give it a 160GB HDD, airport, and bluetooth for $500 and I'm in.
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Durvivor said 8:16PM on 11-29-2005
My guess is that Apple wont provide the DVR folks are looking for. I can't imagine the hassle of tuners. Do you get your signal from OTA, Cable, or Sat. Is Apple going to mess with IR dongles, etc.
However the HTPC, with FrontRow that is probably coming.
I cant wait (or I guess I don't have to, I should get started) to start ripping my DVD collection into nice compact mp4s for eventual access & playback on my TV via a Mac Mini attached to my TV.
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Rudolph said 2:58AM on 12-02-2005
I'd be the first to get one if it comes out. I have a video ipod and believe me, getting content onto it is somewhat of a pain. I use a Dvd-recorder to record my media. Then I have to rip my dvd to my harddrive and encode it to Mpeg4 H.264. If my Mac Mini did it for me I'd be one happy monkey. BTW the iPod video is truely amazing.
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