2010 Mac Mini vs AppleTV

Finally succumbed to temptation and bought a new Mac Mini today.
Partly an impulsive purchase.
Haven't unboxed it yet, and it might be something I'll regret later, especially with the new AppleTV on the horizon.
Will report back.

As I say an impulsive purchase, but an itch that needed scratching in effect, ever since it gained HDMI.
My rationale:
1 - Using my Mac Pro for AppleTV iTunes duties is overkill, and wasteful - new Mini 10W or so idle, 2008 Mac Pro 155W idle. Off the top of my head it might take a few years for the Mini to pay for itself in energy savings, but potentially a benefit over time. So plan is to use Mini as iTunes server for AppleTVs.
2 - My other Macs are not lounge/TV room friendly or WAF compliant!
3 - We can debate all day whether or not there's much benefit in 1080p vs 720p vs 540p for home video playback, but when you have 1080i/p capture devices without the option to capture at 720p, your forced with AppleTv to re-encode, even with the new machine. I've mentioned before I don't have the patience to edit video, and consequently a lot of it goes unwatched. So I see this device as a way just to play the video quickly without embellishments.
4 - I plan to locate the new device near the hi-fi to allow high-quality recording and playback of some old vinyl using an ADC/DAC, clearly AppleTv is not designed for this, but as we know AppleTv is limited to 44.1kHz 16 bit PCM for stereo. The mini isn't and it'll be feeding a DAC for playback.
5 - I've bought some high quality studio master quality FLAC audio, admittedly not much, but I don't have a suitable playback vehicle without a computer/DAC combo, and again the form factor is important here.
Yes, it would also allow internet browsing/e-mail etc and more varied codec/container support which are not necessarily as important, but in many ways it's just something I want to try and seeing as the new AppleTV is not entirely what I want I convinced myself to try this.
I'm bound to buy a new AppleTV for it's unique features, and it may be just the ticket for domestic usage streaming via the Mini.
Just thought I'd add another comparison overview, seeing as I'll be in a position to do so before long.
Getting late now, and I think man flu is taking hold so may not have much chance to play in next day or so.
AC

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Message was edited by: Allan Eckert
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