The Mac mini as a Media Computer
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 16, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
Final Words
What we've touched on in this article is far from the full gamut of HTPC applications for the mini (or Macs in general). Elgato, for example, offers a series of internal and external TV tuners for Macs, including a Mac version of ATI's TV Wonder USB 2.0. You can get a remote for the Mac and there are tons of freely-available, user-designed AppleScripts that are great for browsing your DVD collection. There are even multiple open source projects underway to bring about a Mac media center type of application.In the past, Apple hasn't seen a place for a Mac in the living room. Many have theorized that the mini is Apple's way of bringing online movie and music downloads into the living room, but there's a lot that has to happen before Apple can get to that point. As it stands right now, Apple needs to make significant improvements to their DVD player, whose image quality simply isn't up to par. The other issue is that DVD decode performance on the mini is simply unacceptable for any sort of multitasking environments. While Mac OS X does a great job of making sure that other, inactive windows don't take priority over the DVD decoding threads, as soon as you switch window focus, the DVD player no longer enjoys its priority and playback can suffer.
The mini obviously doesn't have the built-in storage capabilities to act as a media server, but with an external FireWire drive, those problems could easily be solved. In its ability to act as a DVR, the mini has some potential, assuming that either Apple or some other adventurous developer puts the time into exploiting those capabilities. But obviously, what's lacking is the media-centric interface (or 10-foot UI) of something like Media Center Edition. If Apple is truly going after this market next, it's an area on which they must focus.
We were quite impressed with the mini's ability to function as a content creation box with its performance in iMovie HD. The box is far more responsive than most entry-level machines that we've played with in the past, thanks in part to the excellent thread management and caching systems of the OS.
Through our continued use of the mini, we still find it an excellent way to get introduced to OS X; although, we are still frustrated by its performance at higher resolutions, thanks to its meager 32MB of video memory. We've heard from many PC users that while they are tempted by the mini, they will wait for what will essentially be version 2, hoping that it will have more video memory, and maybe even an updated graphics core. Given that the current mini makes use of the Radeon 9200, we'd expect its successor to use ATI's X300, which would bring it compatibility with Core Image and Quartz Extreme 2D. With the mini having just been launched, don't hold your breath for an updated version anytime soon, however.
Our recommendation still stands that, if you can, a PowerBook is a much better way to get introduced to and reap the benefits of OS X. But as a second choice, the mini still seems to work very well, even if not as a HTPC.
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Thresher - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
This was an excellent read.I have a PowerBook and PowerMac G5 and never knew about the Firewire cable box. I am excited about hooking that bad boy up.
CrankyTodd - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
Anand,Regarding playback of HDTV Mpeg-2 streams, El Gato's EyeTV software for their EyeTV PVR products is currently far and away the best performer. The software is a free download from their site, and doesnt require you to own one of their PVRs.
Incidentally, by default it EyeTV won't open certain filetypes... this is an interface issue, not a capability issue. Holding down ctrl-apple while clicking on "Open Quicktime File" in the file menu will allow you to select any file.
MIDIman - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
Superb article."The result is that playing a DVD eats up between 40% - 60% of the 1.25GHz G4 in the Mac mini..."
This and the visual problems are huge fallbacks as DVD and mp4 playback likely one of the best uses for a mac mini. Granted, not including certain HTPC features (digital audio, CATV in) shows that Apple isn't necessarily orienting this towards such users, but I have a number of friends who plan on purchasing this specifically for this purpose - DVD player, Internet on TV, etc.
IMHO, this issue alone makes mini-itx desktop-based systems a much more usable alternative. They haven't quite reached the size, but I think they're well within an inch or two.
Here's a second hand for seeing mp4 codec captures and how the mini handles them, as well as some method of getting in on the nvidia hardware decoding.
paulbeers - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
What about the new Myth TV port for Mac OS X. I know it just came out probably too late for this article, but it is VERY interesting. It doesn't make the Mac Mini an HTPC by itself (the mac mini actually only acts as a front end with a "server" on the network to do all the recording). This actually makes the mac mini even more interesting to me, as per I can build a cheap and basic pc with as many tv cards and storage as I want that could be built from the many parts I have sitting around my house (and be as loud as I want because it isn't in my living room) and have the mac mini in my living room (attractive and quiet) actually playing the content.I do agree with Reflex that the lack of digital audio out is a disappointment, and I am riding the fence right now as to whether to buy a Mac Mini or wait for Part Deux as per I am disappointed with the GPU mostly. I would love to hear everyone else's opinions on the matter.
Gatak - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
As for deinterlacing... Well, that shouldn't be a problem if you are connecting to a TV which will render the fields as single frames (as all TVs do, except some new TFT and plasma screens).When rendering on the monitor it should be using BOB mode - each field scaled up to a full frame and then rendered at twice the normal framerate (as you have double amount of frames). Even better if there are some smart motion compensation features together with BOB =).
AtaStrumf - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
I'm quite surprised you didn't even try testing how the Mac mini handles different Mpeg 4 video codecs, diffrent audio codecs, different subtitle formats, etc. basicly how it plays "DivXs". With there still not being a perfect set top Divx player I guess I was hoping a MAC mini could serve as one.I also missed any mention of how to connect a mini to a SD TV. We have said here under comments, that there is a DVI->S-VIDEO adapter available for MACs, but I think you should make note of it in your article since I'm sure many don't read the comments section or at least not all of them.
I agree that stereo sound is a bit of a dissapointment, but I don't think all that many people have surround sound in their living rooms to really miss a 5.1 sound output.
hopejr - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
#10, you're forgetting that the first Macintosh, which came out in 1984, was an all-in-one (and I think the Lisa was too).Reflex - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
First off, they neglected to mention the largest thing that keeps the mini from being an acceptable HTPC: Lack of a digital audio output. If you want to watch your movies in stereo audio, great, but thats only half the experience that DVD offers.Put me in the "Cool deal, but I'll wait for v2 crowd". I am interested but its shortcomings are just too much yet even at that price...
#8: The iMac and iPod were not the first in their class. All-in-One cheap PC's have existed since 94 or so, I know because I owned an old Compaq Presario integrated PC(486 w/14" monitor built in). And MP3 players existed for several years before the iPod. I will say that Apple was the first one to do these things *well* and actually attract media attention to them, but they were not even close to the first in those markets....
faboloso112 - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
great article...keep it up!Zebo - Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - link
" had phone calls and emails from reporters and other news writers asking me if the mini was a threat to the PC"Apple is innovative no doubt about it, but if the Mini works for Apple then dozens of PC clones will come out with thier own PC Minis negating the threat. I kinda feel sorry for Apple sometimes. Always breaching new ground with innovative products only to be copied. IPOD, IMAC are other instances of that.
Anyway great read as usual from the Master.:)