Filed under: Multimedia, Software, How-tos, Mac mini, Apple TV
TUAW Guide: Setting up the Ultimate Mac mini Home Theater
The Mac mini has always been the perfect form factor for a media center appliance (often called a Home Theater PC/HTPC). It's extremely small, almost completely silent and it can easily blend into an existing electronics shelf - or be hidden away completely.
The lack of a refresh (and rumors that the line was going to be discontinued), coupled with technical specs that didn't justify the price-point, have led many would-be HTPCers to write off the Mac mini as an option because they assume it is just too expensive.
However, as more and more content moves online and people become accustomed to getting their media from a computer, the idea of a HTPC is starting to make sense to more and more families. Taking off where netbooks left off, nettops are starting to enter the marketplace. These low-priced machines are diminutive, low-powered and connect easily to a television set. There's just one problem. Although nettops are pretty good at playing back regular video content, they absolutely choke when it comes to Flash, Silverlight or any other streaming content.
Still, when you look at the numbers, nettops aren't much more inexpensive than a Mac mini. You get what you pay for, too: the mini is much more powerful and can actually be used as a workhorse computer.
Although many of us have longed for Apple to release an official media center product that brings the Mac mini and the Apple TV together, the current Mac mini is more than capable of serving as that product right now.
Now that Apple has allowed the purchase/rental of some high-definition films via iTunes, the media content options for the Mac mini match that of the Apple TV and then some.
Last month, Robert wrote about his experience transforming his "Switcher-Dad's" mini into a nice Mac media center.
In mid-June, my fiance and I bought a 2009 Mac mini (the 1GB 2.0GHz model). For the last few months, I've been testing hardware, accessories and lots and lots of software to make it into the best HTPC around. My goal was simple: my Mac mini needed to work with my existing surround sound setup and it needed to seamlessly connect to the FreeNAS media server where several terabytes of audio and video files reside. It needed to connect and work with our other Macs -- as well as our Windows 7 machines -- and it needed to be silent and simple, with an interface that a visitor or guest could easily suss out.
Read on for tips and tricks to get the most out of your machine's hardware and software, as we transform a 2009 Mac mini into the ultimate HTPC!
Part I: the hardware side
Part II: the software side
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Heroin said 4:38PM on 8-21-2009
If a Mac mini were to have a Blu-ray player, it would be all you would ever need. Sigh... No go for me until then.
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Aygie said 5:00PM on 8-21-2009
Shhh don't mention Blu-ray around here!!! Apparently Apples bit starved HD downloads are the same shhhh!!! :D
Christina Warren said 5:02PM on 8-21-2009
Although I agree it would be great to have in one device, like I say later in the article, you can do better with a stand-alone player if you really want Blu-ray. Better audio-decoding (on-board options if your receiver doesn't support all the formats), better speed, and additional features like Netflix or Amazon Unbox support.
Michael Perry said 4:48PM on 8-21-2009
Unfortunately I have many times to use the Mac Mini as an HTPC and it's just not ready for prime time. If you use the compressed and down-sampled content from iTunes then sure it does just fine but if you play full spec 1080P content at a hi bit rate with a high 1080p profile (contrary to most people who aren't heavy into this stuff, 1080p isn't just 1080p; there are different profiles within 1080p for visual quality) the Mac Mini stutters along like a car that's popped two front tires and just rolling on rims. :(
The hardware needs to be beefed up to really be a true HTPC.
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Christina Warren said 4:51PM on 8-21-2009
Did you try this with the latest mini? I found that the latest mini with 4GB of RAM played back my straight ripped Blu-ray images perfectly. Like, not a snag at all. What type of source were you using?
I agree that earlier iterations weren't up to snuff, but I played back a 22GB file without any problem.
SeB_or_Sam said 5:32PM on 8-21-2009
I don't need or want Blu-Ray, but I understand that for some people, it's absolutely a requirement. I'm perfectly content with DVDs for now. Anyway, there are all those rumors about Blu-Ray playback in iTunes 9, but don't forget, they're just rumors. It will probably take Apple a little more time to get past the "bag-of-hurt" (sorry, I couldn't resist saying that :) )
Hobbes said 5:44PM on 8-21-2009
I agree with Christina. My Mini plays everything I throw at it with no hiccups. It's the ideal setup for me: Mini + Plex + DroboPro + HDTV + Internet = Nirvana. No more cable bills for me either. The internet has replaced cable here for quite some time now.
Minis rock!
Honza said 9:39AM on 8-22-2009
If this is your experience with a core2 mac mini then I'd have to ask you why you have the exact opposite experience to me. I have frame-perfect blu-ray bitrate comparible MKV playback, dolby DTS output, 50/60/24p support, and I never yet saw a dropped frame. Plus stuff I have ripped from my own HD-DVDs and remuxed (not converted) to 1080p M2TS plays perfectly on my full HD 1080p plasma panel. There IS nothing else which is comparable for HTPC otherwise I would have bought THAT instead. Maybe you are using and expecting too much from Front Row? If so, then you should have done a bit of research, and installed Plex.
Aelver said 12:45PM on 8-22-2009
Christina ... what do you use for backing up your blu-rays? I'm guessing it's not Mac software right?
Christina Warren said 1:34PM on 8-22-2009
Aelever,
Yeah, you have to do it in Windows. There are a lot of programs but I usually use AnyDVD HD http://www.videohelp.com/tools/AnyDVD. There's a free trial but if you rip a lot it is worth the money.
Nick said 5:03PM on 8-21-2009
I love the idea of all this -- and I love my Mac Mini -- but there's no way this would work for me. I watch HD programming on my DirecTV DVR and Blu-Rays on my PS3, and there's no Mac setup so far that can handle either of those. Most of the "HD-quality" video available online is unsuitable for screens bigger than 20", since it's far more compressed than even the worst offenders on cable and satellite.
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bob said 5:18PM on 8-21-2009
i couldnt recommend remote buddy more to control everything
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glenn said 5:19PM on 8-21-2009
I made the jump about 2 weeks ago, but with a 13" MacBook that was sitting around. While the video isn't crystal clear, as it was through the cable HD set up, I'm saving about $100 a month by dropping the cable service and DVR. Between HULU, Netflix, iTunes, the PS3 for BluRay and games... I don't mind missing certain things on TV at all. I'm a video producer, and I do enjoy the perfect picture... but for where I live, and the 10 or so HD channels I do get... this was just the way to go. So far... absolutely NO regrets... so far. :) Oh, and the MacBook can be controlled through my iPhone with Remote Buddy. I'm still shopping for a nice wireless keyboard though.
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Luc Vandal said 5:38PM on 8-21-2009
Nice article! In addition to the software mentionned, you may want to check out TouchPad (http://bit.ly/xBAQ2), a wireless trackpad and keyboard for your iPhone or iPod touch. It also support most multitouch gestures from the latest MacBook. I use it all the time to control my Mac Mini plugged in my Aquos!
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Hoo B said 5:53PM on 8-21-2009
I've been using the 2009 mac mini along with Plex since March and its been fantastic. I cut cable, cut Tivo and all that has saved me over $1,000 per year. Torrents work great for TV. Ripped DVDs are awesome on Plex and everything is server wirelessly, with no hiccups from a TB drive over the network.
I've used a Harmony remote, a wireless keyboard, and airmouse on my iphone all as ways to control. I've even set up Spaces so one space runs Plex, one runs the Hulu desktop manager, and one does TVU so I get my fill of international soccer and other live TV shows and channels (yes, CBS, NBC, etc..)
If you want to read the details, I've blogged all about it, including setup, problems, solutions, etc... at http://macminihometheater.blogspot.com/
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Matt said 6:00PM on 8-21-2009
I'm sorry, but the Mac mini fails terribly as a HTPC. Why? No HDMI output. Without HDMI you have to have a mess of cables and adapters to connect it to a home theater system, and the old fashioned SPDIF audio standard can't bitstream anything better than full-rate DTS audio. Plus the mini-DisplayPort standard has severe handshaking issues with HDMI, so that can create all kinds of havok depending on the display you have.
Plus the lack of HDMI kills off the possibility of adding blu-ray. Sure, you can install Windows and get a blu-ray reader. But then you only get half the upgrade. You get the video quality but you don't get the audio quality. The vast majority of blu-ray discs have either a lossless format (Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master HD) or uncompressed PCM. Either one of those formats is better than whats used in theaters (which is typically the lower 384kbps Dolby Digital). And let's face it, iTunes "HD" rentals are terrible. You get that low quality 384kbps Dolby Digital audio (which is lower bitrate than the vast majority of DVDs even) and the video? Ugh. Most of the HD video on iTunes/Apple TV doesn't even look half as good as a properly upscaled DVD. The compression artifacting is out of this world. It's worse than cable HD.
If the Mac mini had HDMI you could at least install Windows and get blu-ray, as well as Media Center (sorry, but all versions of Media Center look better than Front Row and are far more capable), and access to all of the neat TV tuners on Windows that can take 1080i signals in over component cables, so you can still have DirecTV or FiOS and save on monthly DVR fees. And yes, Media Center can take full control of a DirecTV or FiOS (or cable if you like to torture yourself) box. I know because I have it set up that way right now.
The Mac mini would be near perfect as a HTPC if Apple would just stop screwing us over with their video standards and adopt real standards. HDMI 1.3 was approved in 2006 and not only can it push a 30" Cinema Display, but it has a mini-HDMI connector that is about the same size as the current mini-DisplayPort connector. Yes I'm a little bitter. I hate the fact that it only takes 1 cable to connect my PC to my TV but if I hook my unibody MacBook up, it takes 2 cables plus 2 adapters and I have to mess with the settings on my receiver to get it to take audio in from a different connector than the HDMI jack.
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jb510 said 2:29PM on 8-22-2009
Both my HTPC and HDTV are more than 5 years old now and niether my have HDMI. That's fine with me since I send DVI from my HTPC to my HDTV and and Toslink to my DTS receiver.
My question is do most HDMI enabled TV's have digital audio out/switching that get passed/routed to a receiver? Otherwise this whole cry for HDMI seems much ado about nothing. What about when you're just playing music and TV is off, does digital audio still get passed through to the receiver?
Display port seems clearly superior for computer use (Aux Channel, Packet Based, Direct Drive)... One has to assume sooner or later we are going to have many more touch screens which will require much of this technology if you want to do it on a single cable.
mosxs said 6:48PM on 8-22-2009
The vast majority of receivers are audio and video receivers. You'd be hard pressed to find a receiver made within the last 3 years or so that didn't have multiple HDMI 1.3 inputs. Only low quality receivers wouldn't have had any.
In a proper setup, you'll run the HDMI cable from your HTPC, blu-ray player, game console, satellite receiver, etc. into the receiver. Then you'll run another HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV. The receiver grabs the audio and does its thing while sending the video untouched to the display. It's all digital, all the HDCP nonsense remains.
If you have 3 HDMI sources, you run those three into your receiver and still only need the one cable running out of the receiver because it works as a source switcher.
Yes, HDMI will still stream audio if the display is off. But if you're running a modern Windows based HTPC, why turn the display off? If you have a newer GPU, fire up Milkdrop 2 in Winamp ;)
Like I said, HDMI offers a lot more than just audio and video in one cable. Your TOSLink (optical) cable only supports 2 channel uncompressed LPCM and low quality lossy DTS and Dolby Digital. HDMI supports 8 channel uncompressed LPCM as well as lossless codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master HD. It also supports SACD and DVD-Audio. So theres a huge advantage audio wise. Like I said in another posting, don't forget that movie theaters mostly use Dolby Digital at 384Kbps, with a handful supporting DTS at 1.5Mbps. The vast majority of blu-ray discs sport either lossless audio or uncompressed audio. So with HDMI and blu-ray you're getting better audio than you would in a movie theater.
As for DisplayPort versus HDMI, DisplayPort only supports up to 2560x1600 60Hz 30bpp. HDMI 1.3 supports that resolution at 75Hz at 24bpp or 60Hz at 30bpp. HDMI 1.4 supports up to 4096x2169 at 24Hz, 36bpp. That would be the same as those theaters with digital projectors ;)
Shahar Goldin said 6:34PM on 8-21-2009
The mac mini is about 3 times as expensive as a nettop (ie, the system76 meerkat), and I don't have any reason to believe that a nettop with a 1.6 ghz dual core processor and 2 gb of memory would have any trouble with flash video, as my current htpc is a 933mhz pentium III with 512 mb of memory and it has no trouble. The big damn deal problems with the mac mini as an HTPC (for me):
1) 2.5" hard drives (the meerkat takes 3.5" hard drives, so I can store 2tb of video)
2) unupgradable optical drive (if I ever have a reason to get blu ray, it will cost ~200 dollars to replace the slim drive in the meerkat, less if I keep my current bulky htpc)
3) no esata: the meerkat doesn't have esata either, but the meerkat ion does (still half the cost of the mini) which means I can upgrade the disk with Just As Fast disk
4) I will always have to convert the output: my current gear is component video/optical audio so I have to convert the output of just about every computer I attach to it, but if I upgrade to HDMI stuff then I don't have to deal with it anymore. Not true for the mac mini, where I will still have to deal with it.
5) Cost. OSX is nice and is totally worth the extra cost on my laptops and desktops that I use all the time, but Linux is also nice and at the end of the day, I'll just be running xbmc or freevo or something, and I'll never see the niceness of OSX. So there's no reason to pay the premium.
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Christina Warren said 6:50PM on 8-21-2009
I just configured an Ion Meerkat. It was $441 once I upped the hard drive and added optical drive and Intel WiFi. It was $496 with 4 GB of RAM. I paid $640 for my mini plus 4 GB RAM upgrade. So we're between $150 and $200. Significant - except, you're getting a Core 2, faster RAM, Bluetooth, FireWire 800, etc.
You might want to look at some first hand Atom accounts. We built an Atom-based box in February. Basically identical specs as the non Ion Meerkat. Flash is unacceptable. Hulu isn't watchable. The Apple tv does it better.
My friend Brad runs Liliputing -- a netbook site. Even he says that the ion doesn't offer up enough oomph for Flash. Regular video, fine. Flash? Hell. Atom just doesn't do steaming adequately now. Maybe once adobe optimizes the build.
Until then, for roughly $200 more, you can get a system that handles it all. It might bemore than you want to spend, but be weary of atom and streaming video. Your P3 probably would beat it in Flash. Not Xvid, but flash.