Filed under: Multimedia, Tips and tricks, Mac mini
Behold! My Mac mini media center
For those of you that haven't heard me tell the beginning of this story on the TUAW talkcast, you might recall that my dad the switcher upgraded his Mac mini to a sweet new Mac Pro. So what could I do with an extra Mac mini? Maybe a server? Maybe a doorstop?
I know! A media center!
I had cable service, a DVD player, and a TiVo Series 2. My goal was to combine all of those things into one set-top-box -- the Mac mini -- and maybe even unsubscribe from some of the monthly services.
After I bought the Mac mini from my dad (the switcher), I hooked it up to my old, standard-definition TV. The Mac mini Media Center -- M³C for short -- was born.
The video experience was sub-optimal, owing mostly to my 10-year-old CRT that occasionally turned black-and-white (or lost video altogether). I knew it was time for a new TV. I promised myself that as a reward for finishing a series of challenging home improvement projects (replacing a bathroom sink and installing new floors, to name two) I would get myself the high-definition TV I always wanted.
That TV arrived on Wednesday. Now, I can share with you how to set up the easiest, most awesome M³C of your own -- for less money than you think.
Overview
First, let me start by saying that my entertainment setup isn't exactly complicated. I don't have a fancy surround sound system, and I don't have a Blu-Ray or other high-definition DVD player. In fact -- as I mentioned before -- my goal was simplifying my television setup to eliminate a lot of the extras that I really don't need.
That said, the M³C consists of four major components:
Mac mini: The Mac mini I have is not brand new -- it has a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, and you can pick one up used for less than $450. New Mac minis start at $600, and have faster processors and better video performance, which is something to consider if you want to use your M³C as a gaming device too. Displaying high-definition TV requires a Mac mini with at least a Core 2 Duo processor, though, so an old G4 Mac mini is probably not gonna cut it.
Sony Bravia 40XBR7 LCD television. This was the new arrival. It's beautiful, but a little spendy, at $2100. The 120Hz refresh rate is amazing, and works great with the Mac mini. (A version with a respectable 60Hz refresh rate is much less at $900.) Full disclosure, though: I got mine through a cousin who works at a Sony plant here locally, and was able to shave nearly half off the price through a friends-and-family sale.
Elgato EyeTV Hybrid. This part is optional, depending on if (a) you want to receive high-definition terrestrial broadcasts and (b) if you want to record them on the Mac mini (like a DVR). For me, the answer to both questions is yes, and the EyeTV Hybrid is an easy way to get your computer to receive high-definition TV. (An Equinux TubeStick is another great option.) The Elgato EyeTV Hybrid is about $130 at Amazon.
Alternatively, if I wanted to receive digital terrestrial television but didn't want to bother recording it, I could connect a digital antenna straight into the TV. Easy peasy.
Digital Antenna. Any kind of antenna would probably work, but the geography of San Diego is a little hard for UHF signals to traverse. I chose a powered digital antenna to try and get the best signal I can from indoors. It's $25 at Newegg. (My homeowner's association won't let me attach an antenna to the outside of the building, but that's a story for another day. If you can set up an exterior antenna, you're likely to get much better reception.)
Connecting it Up
I've heard plenty of stories about difficult HDTV installations. Even with all the right parts, the picture is grainy, blurry, or otherwise definitely not HD. One bad connection in the cable box (or no HD service from your cable provider) can make the whole installation a frustrating nightmare.
I needed two parts to connect the Mac mini's video output to the TV: An Apple DVI-to-HDMI converter, and a short length of HDMI cable. I ordered both the converter and the cable from monoprice.com, and the grand total was a whopping $16.06 with tax and shipping. Eat it, Monster Cable.
The Mac mini, contrary to the experiences of my friends and family, required exactly zero setup, and automatically detected the high-resolution display before I could even tell it was connected. In fact, the Sony Bravia had an on-board ColorSync profile that the Mac mini activated automatically. Once I tuned to the correct HDMI input, the picture was already there, beautiful as can be.
I used a standard 1/8" headphone to RCA cable for the audio. I know this might be sub-optimal for some, but for me it gets the job done. You can pick up one of these cables at Radio Shack for about five bucks, if you can't find one buried at the bottom of the box of cables in your garage.
The Elgato EyeTV Hybrid comes with everything it needs in the box. Start by connecting the antenna's coaxial cable to the EyeTV Hybrid. (Plugging in the antenna to power wouldn't hurt either.) Then, install the included software, and connect the EyeTV Hybrid when prompted. During the setup process, you can search for digital TV channels in your area, though you might not find channels or get a picture right away -- I had to fuss with the position of the antenna (as you might expect) before finding the sweet spot in the window where I got the best reception.
Software
The best part about the M³C is that it's still a computer. You can load whatever software you want to get all sorts of video playable on your TV.
The first thing you'll want to do is install Perian. We've covered Perian pretty extensively, and it works great as a self-described Swiss-Army Knife of video codecs to make sure you can open and play pretty much anything you want. You might also consider installing Microsoft Silverlight, for watching (say) Olympics coverage or using Netflix's Watch Instantly service through the M³C's browser.
Personally, the one app I use the most is Hulu Desktop. I know both Plex and Boxee work (for the most part) with Hulu, but the occasional downtime was enough to get me to use Hulu's official client. I have my subscriptions set up on the Hulu website, and my favorite shows are delivered to me automatically, every day. The picture quality is better than I anticipated. It looked good on my old standard-definition TV, and I always thought that I was going to be disappointed seeing all the video artifacts and pixellation on my new HDTV. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Next is Plex. I understand there's a vibrant debate between the benefits of Plex and Boxee, and to be honest, I really haven't tried Boxee. Plex seems to work great, and I'm happy with it. If you love Boxee, then godspeed and enjoy yourself. Plex has many, many plugins that allow you to pull web video from a whole host of sources. For example, Plex works great with Netflix's Watch Instantly service, which I enjoy as a Netflix subscriber.
Next, there's a whole bevy of apps built into Mac OS X that make watching video on the TV a pleasure. DVD Player works great for DVDs, as does Front Row and Plex. For movies and TV shows I have saved on my iMac, I can play them through Plex, through iTunes, or just by opening them in QuickTime Player. QuickTime Player also works great for live news streams, for example. All of these apps work great with the Apple Remote, something I know Dave enjoys.
Pros
I cancelled cable. Even when the M³C was connected to the standard-definition TV, I was able to cancel my cable TV service about two months ago. This, combined with the service fee for TiVo, saves me about $80 per month. That means the system (excluding the TV) will have paid for itself by the end of the year. If you want to take it further, it will have paid for the TV in another 15 months -- sooner, if you consider that cable TV bills are on the rise nationwide. For many, this plan, of course, is predicated on the fact that cable providers won't decide to implement draconian bandwidth caps on residential broadband internet service. I have a business account with mine, so I think I'm safe (he says, with his fingers crossed), but only time will tell.
I still get all the programming I want to watch (and nothing I don't want, come to think of it) via Netflix, iTunes, and Hulu -- much of it in HD.
It's everything! In one place! While my needs for entertainment may be less than my friends here at TUAW, I'm happy with keeping things simple. Two cables connecting the Mac to the TV, and I'm good to go. I've combined the DVR, digital TV receiver, DVD Player and Netflix device all into one -- and it's still a computer. Web browsing, Dashboard -- it's all there too.
Cons
It's not exactly intuitive for visitors. I didn't exactly expect this reaction, but I can understand it: People don't expect to see a computer running when they turn on the TV. If you have a house guest that wants to watch something, it's a little more work than just tuning to channel 4. Popping in a DVD automatically starts DVD Player, so at least that's intuitive. But starting EyeTV to watch live broadcasts, or Hulu to find a recording isn't easy the first time for people. It is a Mac, though -- so with a little re-education, using the TV is as simple as using your computer.
It sometimes requires a keyboard and mouse. While Apple's wireless keyboard and mouse work great for me, I can't really navigate with just the Apple Remote. Some might think of a keyboard and mouse as the paragon of complicated universal remotes, but it's not that bad. I've found that it's a whole lot easier to slap the spacebar or click the mouse to pause a movie than find the remote and press pause. Also helpful is setting up Zoom in the Universal Access pane in System Preferences. Since I'm much farther away from my TV than my computer screen, being able to zoom into certain parts of the screen to read text is helpful with the mouse's scroll ball.
The Mac mini gets hot. All this high-definition video puts my M³C into something of a fit: Playing video full-screen (especially with Hulu and its Flash-based playback system) kicks the Mac mini's fans into high-gear. Make sure there's plenty of cool air getting to your Mac mini, and it's not suffocating inside a hot entertainment center cabinet. On the other hand, newer Mac minis with more robust video chipsets might not have to strain as hard as my older model.
The Bottom Line
If your entertainment needs are simple, and you have an extra Mac mini lying around, it's a great way to use it. It can even save you money on cable bills. The video output is gorgeous, and takes full advantage of your HDTV's full resolution potential.
However, if you can't live without your Blu-Ray or surround-sound system, you'll want to stay tuned for the results of Christina Warren's Mac mini home theater experiment coming soon to TUAW. It can be done, and she'll show you how.
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 6)
Unknown said 11:13AM on 7-25-2009
You won't be able to stream 1080p Content smoothly over 802n. Tried and failed when only 30ft away. I strongly suggest getting a gigabit router and hardwiring the mac., It's what I use with the nVidia entry level mini with plex, hulu, eyetv and an HdHomrerun device
r.brick said 1:01AM on 7-26-2009
An alternative to WiFi is POE (power over ethernet). I use this to connect a Slingbox (downstairs) to my router (2 floors upstairs).
James Burley said 6:01PM on 7-24-2009
Same setup. With a huge external drive, it's even better. I love this rundown myself. http://www.iheartmatt.com/blog/2009/03/13/the-ultimate-mac-mini-htpc-media-center/
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Gryffin said 6:06PM on 7-24-2009
Another alternative to a keyboard and mouse is Screen Sharing. That's what I do, when I need to do anything on my Media Mini other than watch video or listen to tune.
Oh, and since I leave the Mini on 24/7, it also handles BitTorrent. I have Transmission watching a drop folder, and put a shortcut to the drop folder on my MacBook Pro for easy access.
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Joshua Ochs said 6:07PM on 7-24-2009
Heh, you overpaid by a LOT on your TV. It looks like you must have picked up their "40 inch monitor" instead of the "40 inch television". The specifications are almost entirely better on the TV than the monitor, yet the monitor commands over a 75% premium! Nevermind that with HDMI, any 1080p HDTV works just fine as a monitor - I have a 46-inch Samsung downstairs on my Mini now.
The current generation Sony LCD (with 240hz refresh) *52-inch* goes for about $2100 - a friend of mine picked one up locally a few days ago. And that doesn't even take into account online pricing which tends to be even better.
And *Phono-to-RCA*? What the hell? That's not only analog, but stereo only. Run that over optical - the minijack on the Mac Mini is also an optical audio out, so you'll get surround sound when you hook up the appropriate speakers and such.
As for Plex, it is great and gorgeous - but it's also a royal pain to set up. Settings are not organized well, the interface is non-intuitive to say the least, and the way it scrapes show information is fragile. All of that said, once you get used to it and get your shows in its database properly (plan on spending quite a bit of time massaging that), it is a glorious experience.
No mention of the keyboard? Well, you don't want wires, and you probably don't want a mouse - using it on upholstery is hard. :) I recommend the Logitech DiNovo Edge, as it has a convenient integrated trackpad, and these days it has Mac support. I bought a PC version before that came out, and use ControllerMate to program the various function buttons. One very nice use of that is to bind Universal Access zoom functionality to the magnifying glass buttons on the left side. Very convenient.
One recommendation on the software side is to pick up Remote Buddy, which will allow you to control most any application with the little Apple Remote (and do things like select which program you want it to launch/control - Plex, Hulu, Front Row, etc). It also has an iPhone app so you can control it sans line of sight - important since the IR receiver on the Mini is pretty weak. Finally, it sports a virtual mouse and keyboard that can be used in a pinch (the mouse is more usable than the keyboard, for obvious reasons).
And don't forget - having a Mini home theater means you now have a computer running 24/7. It's great for things like long downloads, P2P, and home server duties (I use mine as a web server and all-around gateway to my home via SSH or VPN).
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phunkidude said 9:19AM on 7-28-2009
The DiNovo Edge does not list Mac support on Logitech's website. Do you use third party drivers?
paavopetie1 said 6:12PM on 7-24-2009
The AppleTV interface is much more advanced than Front Row on the Mac.
Personally, I have my media center iMac in my bedroom connected to a 2TB external HD. It is way easier sitting at a desk because the keyboard/mouse are ergonomically placed and the CD/DVD drive is right there for ripping all of your stuff. And from time to time, you'll want to back up your media center's HD. Again, that proves easier on a desktop machine.
The 24" iMac also doubles as my TV in the bedroom.
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Megan Lavey said 3:59PM on 7-25-2009
This is the setup I'm going for. I have an AppleTV and the iMac is on the way. It's going to be the workhorse in my apartment - serving as both design machine and media center. If you're lucky enough to live near a Fry's Electronics, you can get a 1TB drive for less than $100. Or not, head to Newegg.
William said 6:46PM on 7-24-2009
For those of you that don't have friends that work for Sony, the Sony Bravia KDL-40XBR7 is available online for just under $1,200, including shipping. ( http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/plasma-lcd-televisions/Sony-BRAVIA-KDL-40XBR7-40/m89009873.html/search=40xbr7/sort_type=bottomline/st=sort )
You can even get the 240Hz model, the KDL-40XBR9 for just under $1,500.
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Bill Mohler said 7:04PM on 7-24-2009
It is against the law for your homeowner's association to prohibit you from putting an antenna on your roof.
The following is from the FAQ on www.antennaweb.org which is a great resource if you want to get rid of cable.
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/info.aspx?page=FAQ#_Ref28770286
As directed by Congress in Section 207 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Over-the-Air Reception Device Rule concerning governmental and nongovernmental restrictions on viewers' ability to receive video programming signals from direct broadcast satellites ("DBS"), multichannel multipoint distribution (wireless cable) providers ("MMDS"), and television broadcast stations ("TVBS").
The rule is cited as 47 C.F.R. Section 1.4000 and has been in effect since October 14, 1996. It prohibits restrictions that impair the installation, maintenance or use of antennas used to receive video programming. The rule applies to video antennas including direct-to-home satellite dishes that are less than one meter (39.37") in diameter (or of any size in Alaska), TV antennas, and wireless cable antennas. The rule prohibits most restrictions that: (1) unreasonably delay or prevent installation, maintenance or use; (2) unreasonably increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use; or (3) preclude reception of an acceptable quality signal.
The rule applies to viewers who place video antennas on property that they own and that is within their exclusive use or control, including condominium owners and cooperative owners who have an area where they have exclusive use, such as balcony or patio, in which to install the antenna. The rule applies to townhomes and manufactured homes, as well as to single-family homes.
The rule allows local governments, community associations and landlords to enforce restrictions that do not impair, as well as restrictions needed for safety or historic preservation. In addition, the rule does not apply to common areas that are owned by a landlord, a community association, or jointly by condominium or cooperative owners. Therefore, restrictions on antennas installed in common areas are enforceable.
On November 20, 1998, the Commission amended the rule so that it will apply to rental property where the renter has exclusive use, such as a balcony or patio. The effective date of the amended rule is January 22, 1999.
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kogyaru said 8:09PM on 7-24-2009
When (not if) the cable company puts a monthly bandwidth cap on residential cable Internet connections, we're going to have to get used to serious timeshifting and parsimony in choosing our video downloads. Or, if possible, choosing another "broadband" provider.
FWIW, I'm on the lowest Internet plan with my cable provider: 768 Kbit down, for $25/month. (Ugh.) That does get me about 200 GB a month if I were to fill the pipe for an entire month.
Comcast's cap is 250 GB/month, and if they hold to that, only serious video watchers are going to notice. Time Warner is talking about a 40 GB cap -- at the highest plan, and going way downhill from there. That's crazy.
HTPCs are indeed fun to talk about, and I've set up a heavily customized AppleTV to that end, but I fear they are an ephemeral phenomenon. The cable and entertainment industries just don't like them, and are even now effecting measures to make them less useful.
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Thargok said 7:29PM on 7-24-2009
I only use Screen Sharing when it is absolutely necessary, but I prefer to use teleport with my MacBook.
http://abyssoft.com/software/teleport/
Even when you are sitting across the room, you can use the Universal Access commands to enable zooming/zoom in.
I am also a big fan of the Gyroscopic mouse, it is quite useful when I need to quickly access the pause button without waking up my MacBook.
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prp said 7:40PM on 7-24-2009
Apple's lack of support for BluRay forced me custom build a Windows box for my HTPC. Otherwise, the Mac Mini would have been perfect for the job.
I'd suggest looking into the Logitech diNovo Mini for your keyboard and mouse purposes. It's small and easy to use without being too awkward. I wouldn't recommend it for writing out a novel, but for most navigation tasks and typing in the occasional URL, username/password or search text, it does the job fine. No official Mac support, but I expect OSX would treat it like any other Bluetooth mouse or keyboard.
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Blake said 7:48PM on 7-24-2009
I have a 52" setup with my Mac Mini, and I love it. Everything works great, except for Hulu Desktop. For some reason Hulu Desktop DESTROYS my CPU. The video turns into a slide show when I go full screen. I actually get much better results with the Hulu website itself.
My guess is that the integrated graphics can't handle the 52" image.
But Netflix, iTunes, and others all run fine...
Has anyone had this issue? Any idea how to make Hulu desktop run better?
I have some juiced out specs too:
2.33GHZ custom Core 2 Duo CPU (was Core 2 solo, but I swapped the processor)
2G Ram
GMA950 GPU
Thoughts?
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Joey said 7:48PM on 7-24-2009
I hate to say it but I replaced my similar setup for a Windows 7 Media Center. It just works better and, I hate to say it, has a better interface too. With my MCE I have dual tuners, I can record & watch OTA live TV, I get NetFlix, Hulu and all the other stuff without the headaches (or the keyboard). Best of all with my three, $100 Media Center Extenders all the rooms of my house have access to that same media library plus they also get live TV. Yep the extenders can remotely control the base unit's receivers, how cool is that?
The way I see it, sometimes you have to overlook platform loyalty for a better solution.
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rschoenburg said 9:51PM on 7-24-2009
Your homeowner cannot stop you from putting up an antenna or a dish. FCC rules. Check it out.
http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/otard.html
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ZipperSeven said 2:28PM on 7-26-2009
I was actually *just* about to post this when I saw it had already been done. I printed a copy of this page and the FCC Orders that it links to and mailed them to my local condo assc. when they started giving me shit about an HD OTA antenna. They pretty much shut up after they realized that a 3 ft. antenna fell well within the specifications allowed under these orders.
Robert Palmer said 4:04PM on 7-26-2009
I guess my situation is slightly more complicated (in a boring way) than I wrote about in the story. I live in a valley, and the two transmitters in San Diego county are on the two highest peaks nearby. The problem is, living in a valley, putting an antenna on my patio (as I live on the bottom floor) wouldn't help reception very much. If I was able to put an antenna on the roof -- now that's something, three stories up -- but prohibited by the HOA.
Mendo Dave said 8:02PM on 7-24-2009
Hi
I set this up last fall...but only have ISDN for internet, so most of the online stuff is...
s l o w
Mac Mini 1.86 Core Duo
to
Toshiba 32" Regza HDTV
and
Pioneer amp
really nice. I have an Airport Extreme with 1 terabyte drive for backup, a MiniStack enclosure with 1.5gb drive for storage of movies/tv, and a 160gb in the Mini used for iTunes.
Plex runs it all, I use iTunes with Airfoil to get music in all my outbuildings, barn, shop, geektogon (octagonal building for tech work), and rental trailer.
Looking forwards to Christina's article as well
I have only tried one HD movie, it played fine on my old beast.
David
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Stephen said 8:18PM on 7-24-2009
Air Mouse Pro for the iPhone is good, but Snatch is better. It has an app launcher function and programmable buttons. It also has a free app so you can test it out on your system first.
Way way cool.
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