Mac mini Core Solo: Not a good switcher machine

Hey Guys,

I am a Hard Core Windows guy, and I just got the new Mac Mini Dual Core with 1Gig Ram and 100GIg HD. I am using it with the Sony Bravia XBR 40" via the VGA Adapter.

I can tell you that the Intel Video Card does not do a good enought of a job for playing movies. I am really disapointed in the quality of: Playing DVD's, and MPEG files and DivX. Wich is the main reason I got it for. I am still playing with trying to see if I'll get use to it, or maybe it's some of my settings, but I trully belive the probleme is the Intel Graphics Card.

I have been comparing the Video playing against my IBM Thinkpad T40p, wich has an ATI FireGL 3200, the quality on my laptop hooked up to the Sony Bravia is so much better. Will try to give more detail on my experience.

For what it is worth...

I have had my Solo for a 5 days now. I have not encountered any glitches yet. I will say my experience has been a pleasent one. The only complaint is the Solo won't do 1080p but it seems to handle 720p just fine.

Hope your replacement mini does the trick for ya.

Shane

In response to C.K.'s comment directed to me:

Fact 1) If you don't hint your video files you get a black screen and possibly a message saying the server is not responding. iTunes also likely crashes.

Fact 2) You are getting black screens, messages saying the server is not responding, and crashing iTunes. Essentially, *every* problem you describe is consistent with non-hinted videos.

Fact 3) In your article, you do not state whether your video files were hinted. You DO state the only iTMS files are working. iTMS files are hinted by default, while it is unlikely that somebody converting files by hand would bother with this. The fact that some files are working fine indicates there is not a global problem with the program, but there may be a problem with the files.

Fact 4) In your article, you never state whether the videos will stream through iTunes but not Front Row. Since Front Row is just a front-end for iTunes, iPhoto, etc., this is a CRUCIAL point that must be addressed before assuming there is a problem with Front Row and not iTunes or the video files.

Based on these points, I thus concluded that you hadn't hinted your videos. Also, you did not provided conclusive evidence that the problem is limited purely to Front Row because you make no mention of pure iTunes or iPhoto sharing performance. From my angle, based on the information you provided in your original article, you had simply neglected to hint your video files but had decided to tell everybody that Front Row does not work at all. I called you out on this as all evidence indicated you were spreading misinformation. That's it.

"James, do you have a Mac mini Core Solo sitting in front of you without all these problems, or are you just assuming that I am totally wrong in my assessments of the Front Row performance because that's how you react to most stances that are different from your own?"

Don't get all pissy with me because you didn't give enough detail in your article and I thought about the problem more critically than you. What "stance" do I have other than holding that your logic (based on the information you provided) was faulty? I was simply trying to 1) tell any other people experiencing the problem how to correct it and 2) prevent yet another case where somebody makes an exaggerated claim because they haven't investigated things properly. It is not that I can't appreciate your position: I had people accusing me of overreacting about the initial Intel iMac Front Row video problems. The difference is that I *did* test everything properly before I made any bold claims. Also, you are reviewing a product and holding problems that were potentially the fault of the user, not the machine, against it. Only in your reply have I learned that your videos were hinted. I still don't know if the streaming problems are present in iTunes/iPhoto or not as you have never said anything either way.

I am sincerely sorry your new computer is acting poorly... it sucks to get a brand new machine only to find some defect. It may in fact be that Front Row is completely buggy on Core Solo Minis, but you have yet to provide conclusive evidence of this. It does sound like you might have simply gotten the proverbial bad Apple, so hopefully a swap for a new unit will fix your issues.

Another aspect of your "switcher" argument which has some holes is that they won't be using Bonjour via Front Row with the exception of their music and any videos they may have downloaded via the iTMS (assuming they have iTunes installed on a Windows computer).

Otherwise, streaming through Front Row requires that you have other Macs running the iApps. This means there is no opportunity to stream iPhoto since this would be a switchers first Mac. Movies, unless users have moved all of their movies into iTunes (which seems unlikely), will also not be a problem.

I have to add that I have a Core Duo and do not have any of the non-Apple streaming video issues you report, so I think you may want to see if something is wrong with your mini.

Front Row, even with the 1.2.1 update, can be a bit temperamental.

I've found it helps on a new machine to fully prep iPhoto and iTunes manually (ie, launch each app and play around with it for a bit ESPECIALLY after updates) before even launching Front Row.

Front Row is really just a front-end for those apps, and if they need extra configuration, even something as trivial as agreeing to Apple's "we reserve the right to take your first born" dialogs that ALWAYS seem to appear after an iTunes update, then Front Row will splutter.

I too have seen Front Row (driving iPhoto) stutter over certain images: in my case they were ginormous TIFF files that must have taken ages to come over the wireless network. That too is another problem - if the AirPort signal is lost during use, Front Row may have a fit. I also had to reset my base station before the new mini would happily log onto it: Apple's setup assistant couldn't find it out of the box.

Knowing the tricks, I've been able to coax Front Row into perfect home theater use, even to the extent of streaming DivX encoded Firefly episodes onto the plasma in the living room.

I agree that Apple should fully work out all the kinks before claiming it is switcher-ready.

Yeah, I saw their review too, which again makes me think that maybe mine is a dud which needs to be returned.

Hmm seems like ars technica doesn't have any problems you mention in their article on the Core Solo

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/macmini.ars

Dave, good points, but I'm thinking Switcher as the target of Apple's marketing / Media Event on how great the new Mac mini and Bonjour is.

Consider the term "switcher". Three kinds come to mind quickly - and none of them similar to a developer like you CK.

(1) The professional. He/she wants something portable, runs Office, and able to network.

(2) The home user. He/she probably wants to run not just Safari, Mail... but also iWork and/or games too.

(3) The media user. He/she wants something that has less BSOD and complexity than a Media Center, and would love internet connectivity.

Of these, the MM is meant for only one - #3. And it's a very good fit too.

For type #2 you want something different. And yes, Apple has not addressed this niche. For me, that is totally meaningless too.

But I think you are confusing the broad term "switcher" with type #1. These professionals wouldn't want a MM anyways! What they want is a low cost product of a laptop form or close to it. And by April 1 I'm expecting you'll find Apple offering exactly that.