StreamingTV via a Mac mini

I want to get rid of my cable TV subscription since I am basically paying to get a few sports channels and never watch all the other channels. Streaming movies to my Sony Bravia HDTV from Netflix is taken care of using a WiFi LG BlueRay player. Whta I'd like to know is whether I can use the Mac mini to stream live sports broadcasts that are available over the internet. These streams work fine on my laptop but I don't want to have to hook that up to my TV every time. Also, the laptop has only a 14" screen so would doing this through a Mac mini hooked up to my 32" HDTV give me sufficiently good resolution?
Finally, I notice that there are a number of small Windows-based desktops from eg. Zotac and eMachines that seem to offer the same possibilities as the mac mini but are half the price. Anyone know how these compare performance-wise with the Mac mini? I'm a Mac fan but saving $300 is saving $300!
Thanks in advance.

im confused. i watch on my Apple TV via the iPad without a mac mini. i just load up my tv service i want on the ipad and mirror to the Apple TV. Most services scale up the res so it looks good on a TV...
is that what you mean?

Similar Messages

2015 Macbook Air connect internet via 2005 Mac mini's modem?

2005 PPC G4 Mac mini 1.25 Ghz, 512 MB ram, 40GB HD, FW 400(DHCP)
Tiger OSX 10.4.11, internal Modem (PPP),
Built in Ethernet.
No Bluetooth.
No airport card.
Basic copper wire telephone line connection.
No ADSL line.
No local WiFi signals.
No mobile phone.
I live in the mountains of Asia, and have been connecting to the internet using dial-up daily for the last 9 years with my trusty 2005 PPC G4 Mac mini. Bought new from Apple, and still working perfectly using TenFourFox browser (the valiant PPC port of FireFox 31).
In 2015 I shall force myself to buy a new Mac, and the touted, paraphrased, 12" Retina Mac Air sounds perfect as my "desktop", except for the fly in the ointment; modems have been phased out.
Since my homebase is limited to modem dial-up connection, is there any way I can use my PPC Mac mini to connect the Mac Air to the internet?
I'm not concerned about "speed", just as long as I can get the same decent connection I currently enjoy on the mini.
I'm thinking along the line of using the mini's Ethernet to set up a local network, and then getting a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter cable to connect the two Macs. (Since the Air won't have an Ethernet socket.) There's also the possibility of connecting the mini's 400FW socket to the Air's 800FireWire socket too.
An unusual request; nonetheless, can it be done?
Thank you for your help.

There may be several possible solutions to a problem like this (speaking generally about a modern Mac without a modem for dial-up).
One could perhaps be to look for a new hardware-based USB 56k modem with confirmed support for the operating system in question.
Another would be to look for an (older) wireless (Wi-Fi) router with Ethernet ports and an internal 56k modem. Depending upon the make and model, connection/security/setup may or may not be OK for a modern Mac operating system. Apple had an AirPort Extreme base station (A1034) model with a built-in modem (http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA436/en_US/AirPortExtremeBaseStationSet upGuide.pdf).
Sharing an existing connection (Internet sharing) could possibly be another alternative. Connecting a wireless Ethernet bridge (such as WNCE2001 from Netgear or WET610N from Linksys) to the Ethernet port of the old computer may add flexibility. If necessary. more information about Internet sharing can be found through the Apple support site.
Jan

Using iMac and Mac Mini together to share screen and data

I may buy a Mac Mini in addition to my iMac 27" (Mid 2011), mostly so that I can use it for slide show presentations via a digital projector. But I don't have a separate monitor (or suitable TV), so I wouldn't be able to use the Mac Mini other than with a projector. Not a good idea. So I backed away a bit.
TDM Mode
Then I found that I could use an iMac screen as a monitor if I connect the two via a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt cable in Target Display Mode, TDM (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924). A short cable costs $35.
Then I thought about those times when Photoshop is tying up my computer for hours while I batch process heaps of images (you can't use Photoshop while it is batch processing), and I wondered: why not jump across to the Mac Mini during those times?
I store all my data on external firewire drives. Nothing on the OSX drives. This leads me to a few questions. Assume I have the Mac Mini connected to my iMac in TDM via a Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt cable.
Ques 1
What is the best way of being able to access my data files (on external firewire drives connected to the iMac) via the Mac Mini? A scenario might be:
I've started a batch process on the iMac which ties up Photoshop and much ties up;
I switch the screen to display the Mac Mini;
I want to access my data on the firewire drives, drives that the iMac is already accessing.
Ques 2
Can I use the thunderbolt connection to not only transfer screen data, but ordinary data?
Ques 3
Or should I run an ethernet cable between the two and set up a network?

One question, how does this affect syncing to iTunes? Will it recognise the iPhoto drive on both computers (depending which one has the drive at that time) if I sync photo albums to my iPhone and iPad?
iTunes will always sync with the last iPhoto library that has been used on the computer. If you make sure, that the drive has been connected, before you launch iTunes, it will work, like Old Toad said.
Also, if I do it this way doesn't it become vulnerable due to not being connected at all times to time machine?
if you use the drive with the library the mainly on your iMac, you could exclude it from the TimeMachine backup of your Laptop. Keep it connected to the iMac, when you are not using it on the LapTop.
What would be the process if I only wanted to do this periodically and wanted to keep the main library on the iMac. Could I work on the drive on the macair and then save it back to the iMac? How do I do that without duplicating the files? If I just select copy and paste, will it only overwrite the changed files?
You would have to copy the entire library back and forth again and again, or use iPhoto Library Manager, to merge the changes into the library on the iMac. It would not be an easy workflow.

Can I run 4 super drives with my Mac Mini Server

I have Lion Server downloaded to my Mac Mini (set up as a TV server) and would like to be able to access the 4 USB Super Drive ports via other Mac Mini's in other rooms, 2 Apple TV's if possibe through Apple TV software and maybe Macbook Pro via AirPlay. Are these things possible. The Mac Mini Server is the Best Home television distribution network. Cheaper hardware and fast internet connection based on devices. The above is my goal.
My individual questions...
Can I place 4 Super Drives in the 4 USB slots and run them?
What is the most effiecent way to be able to server those drives on ONLY my Apple Network (other Mac Mini and 2 Apple TV's)
Can I access multiple drives at once from different devices on my Apple Network?
Can I restrict access to teen and child users based on the TV Rating displayed on DVD in Super Drive? (ex: iTunes recognizes CD's by times of songs and digital fingerprint when I input my Store bought CD or adds it to the Database if its a new title.)
These would help so much!
Thanks,
Stefan
Have any questions on how to turn your Mac into a home Multimedia System, ask.

no
a dvd drive can never be shared over a network in order to play the dvd drives content
the dvd encryption makes this imposible
you have to rip (which is illegal) each dvd disc to a computer in order to do what you wish to do
and it's not an apple thing it's the case no matter which computer you own

Mac Mini not visible in Mac network (shared drives, remote desktop)

Hi,
I got the following problem since a few months and can't figure what the problem could be.
My Mac Mini in not visible on my other macs in Finder oder Path Finder.
With unsing Apple + K shortcut I can connect to alle Mac Mini drives.
- Both machines have 10.8.4. installed
- Router is a Time Capsule
-> MBP connected via WiFi
-> Mac Mini via LAN cable
- IP Adress will be set via DHCP (static IPs won't help, tried that of course)
- Remote Desktop und Sharing is activated on both machines within preferences
- MacMini sees my MBP und my GFs MB
- MBP is able to see my GFs MB, but not my MacMini
- No Firewall acticated on both machines
- rights have been checked and repaired with the harddrive tool
Anybody an idea what I can try next?
Thanks!

Error resolved. It's was obviously my fault...
I changed the plist to deactivate multicasts a long long time ago
http://blog.tsunanet.net/2010/02/how-to-disable-bonjour-on-osx-106-snow.html
After deleting the entire line my mac mini is visible again.

Mac Mini & iMac G5

Hi Everyone
I am thinking about getting a Mac Mini. I already have an iMac G5 / Airport setup and have a couple of questions -
1. What administration capabilities are available within OSX for me. The Mini would be for my son and I wanted to take control over the administration of the OS and other applications on the computer for him.
2. What recommendations do people have for a flat screen? I dont want to spend many £'s and thought that it might be sensible to have one with speakers built into it to keep clutter down.
TIA
David

:D!
iBackup is another 3rd party program, for some users like me, it has served as a replacement.
Yes its completely possible to have access to all files and folders on the remote mac, in fact here's how to do the complete setup!
( Dave, I know you're WAY above the technical level i'm describing everything at! I'm not trying to talk down to you, and i know you're more than capable of finding buttons etc! I've written this detailing every step as closely as i could just so that if users are following on this discussion, they can apply the steps to their skill-level too. So apologies for the simplicity! )
With both macs on ( sorry, i know its obvious but even i forget that step sometimes - you can imagine the laughter )
Login to the mac mini (remote mac) as an administrator ( your admin account ).
Open up system preferences and click on 'sharing', its under 'Internet and Network'.
Under the Services tab, check the box next to: "Personal File Sharing", itll take a moment saying 'Personal File Sharing Starting Up', and then when its finished revert to 'Personal File Sharing On'.
If you have the os firewall on, the settings for file sharing will already be enabled.
Just a note here. Personal file sharing only allows access to the mac if the computer you are connecting with is on the local intranet, so no worries really about long-distance oddities accesing your mac's hdd.
Now we just go ahead and create your son's personal account to prevent him from changing any settings he might accidently bump into. To do this, click the back button in system preferences to bring you back to the main page. Click on Accounts under 'System'.
Now we just want to make your son a limited user account, preventing him from accidently changing those settings. From here you can go ahead and even apply parental controls and more to his account!
Click on the little plus button below the button that reads 'Login Options', itll bring up a dialog asking for your son's user details. Go ahead and fill in the name and password, but make sure the checkbox reading:
'Allow user to administer this computer' is UNchecked.
Once the account is created, to save your son any confusion we might want to have the mac automatically log on to his account, not displaying yours as a login option where no doubt, he'll probably have a shot at guessing dad's password. ( hey! i would! ).
Go ahead and click that 'Login Options' button i mentioned earlier. On the right hand side you can set the user you want to automatically login to the machine. In this case its your son's limited account we just created. You'll need his password to enable this setting, so you better hope you didn't just forget it, as i'm prone to doing!
Once done, you'll have the option to set parental controls for your son's account at your discretion by clicking on his account name and clicking on the Parental Controls tab.
One last security measure - head on back to the system preferences main dialog by clicking the back arrow. Click on 'Security', under 'Personal'.
Make sure you've set a master password for the mac, and go ahead and check the box reading:
'Require password to unlock each secure system preference'
and:
'Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver' ( this is just incase you leave your account logged on his mac by accident. Yikes! After the screen saver engages the account will be locked ).
So a quick review of what we've achived!!!!
we've enabled file sharing so that the mac can be seen on a network.
we've created that limited account and set it to automatically log in.
we've locked down the settings of the mac from accidental changes.
we've set a master password and secured the mac completely.
Now... here's the more fun bit.
We want to set up the network so that the iMac can access the mac mini, but not vice versa. Luckily, Mac OS X makes this a breeze.
Go ahead and jump on the iMac, and open up a finder window. To the left you should be able to see an icon named 'Network', if you cant see any icons on the left, click the little bubble button on the top right hand corner of the finder window to bring up everything nicely.
Click on network and after a few seconds it should display the mac mini. Go ahead and click on that, you may have to click the Connect button.
A prompt will appear asking you to supply a username and password. Supply the username and password of the administrator account on the mac mini (your account). Itll ask you what volumes you want to mount.
You can go ahead and select 'Macintosh HD'.
This means complete access to the entire Mac Mini HD, your son's user files and.. everything! This also of course means that if your son connects his iPod to the mac mini, you'll be able to mount that using the network too.
To prevent your son doing the same to your iMac, make sure you have each account on it secured with a password, and open up system preferences, back to sharing, and make sure you disable file sharing.
Final setup?
1 mac mini with automatic limited account login and locked down system preferences.
1 iMac with full admin rights to mac mini, and the iMac is secured from access via the mac mini.
All done. Appreciate your post Dave, i've enjoyed learning the steps to carry this out and sincerly hope that nothing goes wrong for you. If it does, jump back on the forum and post about it!
Good luck mate!
ps. I forgot to proofread. be nice. lol!

After upgrading to ios8 iCloud won't recognise password on iPhone and iPad only on my Mac Mini and Macbook Air

After upgrading to ios8 my iPad and iPhone could not sign in to iCloud. The error was either 'server error' or verification failed. I reset the password and verified I could log in via my Mac Mini and Macbook Air but I still get the error on my two iPads and iPhone that verification failed.

somehow, after delinking my apple(icloud) id with iphone, i erased my iphone to start with new, in hope that it should work now, but nothing seems to be working,
now my iphone is blank, i erased all data and after trying several times, its showing while setting up iphone.
Could Not Sign In
There was an error connecting to icloud.
also after upgrading to ios8. i m unable to login even at website icloud.com
there is something like this
Connection error
icloud encountered an error while trying to connect to the server.

Airplay mac mini can't see apple tv, but itunes does

it seems that my mac mini can't see my apple tv for airplay, macbook on same lan does see it
both are connected via ethernet, mac mini has hands off installed
i try to use guest account but can't see from there too

I'm not referring to the latest version, I'm asking if your mini is 2011 or newer?
Click the link I posted previously.

IPad mini using Mac mini's AirPort Card

My new iPad mini is connected to the internet via my Mac mini's Internet File Sharing in the system's folder. The iPad's WiFi shows mostly as three to four bars, but it is very slow to load web sites.
My iPad mini is running IOS 6.0.2.
My Mac mini has 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, and is running OS X 10.6.8. It is connected to the Internet by DSL with speed .5 to 1 Mbps.
I'm wondering if I buy an external router will I get faster speed or do I just need a faster DSL connection?
Thanks for any advice.

I've had trouble in the past setting up the older finicky Extreme Base Station and Expresses and ended up settling on WDS to get them to work at all. Is the alternative to set them "join an existing wireless network"?
If you do that, the AirPort Express (AX) is not wirelessly extending your network. It is merely acting as another wireless client and merely provides streaming music and remote printing capabilities.
Also, I was considering upgrading all 3 Airport units (base station and 2 expresses) to the newer 802.11n units. Would this matter considering we're currently using an older iMac. (My daughter has a MacBook Pro that's also from 2006).
If you did that you could use 802.11n's "extend network" feature instead of WDS. You would still need to operate them in an 802.11g compatible mode.
However the new AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) can be configured to operate simultaneously at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. So your early 2006 iMac can be connected via 802.11g at 2.4 GHz while your 802.11n clients could connect via 802.11n at 5 GHz.

I have just tried to connect my Mac book pro to an LG Plasma TV via an iWires Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable. All I get on my TV is the Mac wallpaper and nothing else. I am missing something really silly, could anyone help please.

I have just tried to connect my Mac book pro to an LG Plasma TV via an iWires Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable. All I get on my TV is the Mac wallpaper and nothing else. I am missing something really silly, could anyone help please.

Hi there. I also bought an iWires mini Display port to HDMI cable and have an LG LED/LCD TV. I plugged it in to my MB Pro and followed the very small writing that came in the package and got both audio and video going. You need to change the audio settings from within System Preferences on your Mac to select your TV as the audio output.
My concern is the data latency - do you experience a delay between moving your mouse on the MBPro and the TV displaying the movement? It is only a fraction of a second, but certainly enough to be annoying, especially in a cable as expensive as the iWire.

Mac mini display is flicking via HDMI to DVI adapter and DVI cable

i have received mac mini server (mid 2011) recently. mac mini is connecting the display via HDMI port using DVI cable with a HDMI to DVI adapter.
the display shows constant flicking. white dots/lines show randomly. it is like those signal noise when watching analog TV.
the same display works fine and well with macbook pro (early 2008) via DVI port.
please help. please advise.

So you know the display is working.
It seems to me you have a few possible problems.
1 HDMI-DVI cable is bad
2 DVI-cable is bad
3 Connections between cables or computer or monitor are bad.
4 HDMI port on the computer is bad.
I assume you've tried #3, and re-connected cables and wiggled inputs. So then try replacing 1 and then replacing 2 which are cheaper fixes than replacing/fixing 4.........
FYI, I'm connect my mac mini using the same setup you describe, with no issues....also inspect the cable ends carefully to look for any problems.
jb

G4 mac mini via dvi to hdmi problems

I am trying to get my g4mac mini to work via a dvi to hdmi cable to a new sony lcd screen kld-46x2000. I can connect ok via the vga/pc input but the max resolution the lcd will support with the pc input is 1360x768. It is supposed to be one of the new true1080p screens that will support 1920x1080@60hz via the hdmi input. All I get when I try is a black screen and a message saying unsupported signal. Any ideas on how I can get this to work?

Assuming you actually have a KDL-46X2000, the manual clearly states that PCs should be connected to the PC input, so it sounds like Sony doesn't support what you are trying to do. And Apple of course doesn't claim the mini will work with all DVI displays, just most of them.
The G4 Mac minis are notorious for having issues with DVI-connected displays. You might try a third party application like SwitchResX to try and get the video settings to agree with your Sony.

When I connect my Mac Mini 2011 with Lion to a TV via HDMI and an earphone cable is plugged in, it´s not possible to choose sound out via hdmi, as opposed to connection via minidisplay port. Anybody knows how to fix this?

When I connect my Mac Mini 2011 with Lion to a TV via HDMI and an earphone cable is plugged in, it´s not possible to choose sound out via hdmi, as opposed to connection via the minidisplay port. Anybody knows how to fix this?

Was just on the phone with Apple about this.
The solution was as follows for me anyway...
Go to your Finder
Choose the Go Menu
Choose Computer
Choose your Macintosh Hard Drive
Choose your "Library" Folder
Choose the "Preferences" Folder
There should be a folder called "Audio"
Move that whole folder to the trash
Empty the Trash
Restart from the Apple Menu
When you are back up and running;
     Choose System Preferences from the Apple Menu
     Choose Sound
      In the output tab you should now be able to make the HDMI "Sticky"
      Enjoy your sound over HDMI and no more dirty knees or broken backs unplugging the desktop speakers!
Mac Mini 2011 2.5Ghz 8 GB of RAM - Planar 17" VGA via display port adapter and Samsung 26" LCD TV via HDMI

Mac Mini on Toshiba Regza Z3030 42" via DVI- HDMI

Hello,
I'm trying to connect a Core2Duo Mac Mini (running 10.4.11) to a 42" Toshiba Regza Z3030 Full-HD TV via a DVI-HDMI cable. The TV does 1920x1080 (both i and p), but when I select 1920x1080 (interlaced) from the display resolution menu in System Preferences, I get a black frame around the image that is twice as large on the right side of the picture than it is on the left or top/bottom sides (so even if I enable overscan, the picture is not acceptable, as it's missing a strip of the desktop on the left, top and bottom sides then).
I'm running the TV on "Exact Scan" mode, which (according to the manual), should display a 1080 signal exactly the way it is received from the source, no stretching or scaling at all.
Incidentally, the grey screen with the Apple logo and the spinning progress indicator fills the screen completely in 1080i, but as soon as the login panel comes up, the picture gets the black bars, so I think it's a MacOS X issue. Can I somehow tell the Mac not to switch the display settings after the booting process is finished, as the image during the boot process is perfect?
Any hints on what I could try?
Thanks in advance,
Georg

Ok, I decided to take some more time and googled for how SwitchResX actually works and what all the settings in the "custom resolution" view mean. I stumbled across a very useful tutorial in this forum thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=751713
Following these instructions (basically, I just had to play with the "front porch" and "back porch" parameters until the image was perfectly centered), I ended up with a custom resolution in which the image is centered, but still has black bars around it.
Next, I simply turned on "Overscan" in the Display preferences while setting the TV's HDMI port input to "Exact Scan", meaning it will display the image exactly the way it comes over the HDMI port, without extra scaling.
With this combination, I now ended up with a picture that fills the whole screen and has (according to a test image) a "1 to 1" pixel mapping. Also, for some reason, this new resolution that I made myself rather than taking the values off the internet "sticks" between sleep and wake cycles as well!
For some reason, though, the TV only reported that it supports 50Hz vertical sync in 1080p when I used the "Export DDC" function in SwitchResX, even though according to the manual it also does 60Hz (and the default 1920x1080, 60Hz resolution from the Display preferences works as well). Therefore, I was only able to make my custom resolution for 50Hz, as I need the values from the DDC export as a starting point.
I only want to use this Mac Mini/TV combination as a media center for movies and music streaming via iTunes, so I guess it won't make any difference wether I'm running it at 50Hz or 60Hz?
Anyways, I hope this thread might help other people with the same TV who are having similar problems with their Mac Minis.

No picture when connecting Mac Mini GMA 950 to Panasonic TX-PF42G10 via HDM

Hi !
I have a Mac Mini Core Duo 1,66 GHz with GMA950 chipset (MacMini1,1 sold from february 2006 to september 2006) which I was using as a Plex mediacenter connected to an old CRT display via an s-video adapter.
I purchased a brand new Panasonic TX-PF42G10 plasma screen the other day, and for the life of me I can't get my Mini to feed anything to the HDMI inputs via a DVI/HDMI cable.
When I remotely connect to my Mini with ARD or VNC, I can see it successfully detects I have a "Panasonic-TV" and lets me choose 1920x1080 either in 24Hz, 50Hz or 60Hz. I tried all three : no picture.
Tried connecting this Mini via the VGA input: works fine.
I tried to install SwitchResX but I don't really know what to do with it. Tried to install Snow Leopard too, but it didn't help either.
YET I FOUND SOMETHING RATHER INTERESTING.
I have another more recent Mini (one of the new 2009 models), hooked up to a Samsung T240HD display via DVI. Since this display also has an HDMI input, I tried to connect the other, older Mini to it. And then... the Samsung display wouldn't let me pick the HDMI input from the source menu!
I thought "***???", and then I tried to connect the newer Mini to this HDMI input: works great! I then kept the HDMI end connected to the display, unplugged the DVI end from the newer Mini and plugged it back to the older Mini : BINGO, picture at last...... except the display kept showing a "No signal, check cable" message (even though it was displaying my Mini desktop!).
So I thought "OK, some handshaking problem I guess". I unplugged the HDMI connector from the Samsung display and replugged it immediately: like I thought, once more the display wouldn't let me pick the HDMI input!
So I guess this is the same problem I'm having with the Panasonic plasma: this older Mini is unable to tell the TV that it is connected to it, even though it can perfectly read the TV specs. I've had no time to check what happens if I connect the newer Mini to the Panasonic plasma, but I'd bet it will work just fine.
So basically, my question is: will I ever be able to use this old Mini of mine with this shiny new plasma screen, or will I have to purchase another 2009 Mini? Is there anything I can do with SwitchResX? If so, what should I try?
Thanks for taking the time to read, and thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Sounds quite possibly like the Panasonic enforces HDCP over its HDMI inputs and the older GMA950 equipped mini is unable to oblige.
That's what I thought too, as the newer Mini works just fine with my two screens, using the very same cable I used with the older Mini. Bugger...
FYI, I tried 720p : no picture either.
Does the Panasonic's user guide make reference to making computer connections over HDMI? It could be that only one of the HDMI inputs on the TV is designated for computer input, e.g. only one of the TV's HDMI inputs can work from a non-HDCP compliant source.
I do think I tried all 3 inputs, and the user manual never suggests that one of them is designated for computer input (I know some Samsung screens work that way, but this Panasonic doesn't seem to). Anyway, I'll give it a try once more, but I have little hope...
Meanwhile, I connected my Mini via VGA, 1366x768 resolution. Not too bad when viewed from the sofa, but it kills me not to be able to use the digital input...
Thanks for your replies, though

StreamingTV via a Mac mini

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