Mac mini home theater resource and OS survey

AVS Forum (AV Science Forum) is a free, discussion group Web site that offers a wealth of member-contributed information about home theater technology. Since June of 2005, it has offered a Mac subforum and the discussions in that group have increased with recent, Intel-based Mac mini sales.
Currently a poll in the main "Home Theater Computers" forum asks "What OS drives your HTPC?"
If you're a Mac user who's connected your Intel- or PowerPC-based Mac to a high-definition TV, you might consider taking part in this poll before it expires, though you do have to join the forum to do this. However, you just may find it to be a worthwhile experience, and your knowledge will undoubtedly benefit the Mac community using that site. I'm not formally affiliated with AVS Forum, just a member who has learned a lot there. The survey results have fluctuated between about 5% and 12% during the past few days, but as of today (4/19/06), the current "What OS drives your HTPC?" results are:
Windows: 83.40%
Mac OS X: 12.45%
Linux :6.64%
Other: 0.83%

Oops! I forgot the links:
http://www.avsforum.com
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/register.php? - (Registration)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=666858 - (OS Survey)

Similar Messages

2010 mac mini Home cinema sound and Home cinema headphones

Hello
im waiting for my 2010 mac mini to arrive,
ive experience with home cinema setups in the past.
Im looking to use my mac mini as a home cinema set up.
Im fine with the visual side ( projectors and hdtv).
The audio.
How on earth do i get home cinema sound into headphones.
due to where i live, headphones are the only option i have ( neighbours dont like noise.)
ive tried :-
sony mdr-drs7100
Pioneer SE-DRS3000c
pioneer dir-8000c.
the three above are ok as they have home cinema audio processing built in and worked with the optical digital output fine.
bass on the above 3 is weak.
i aso will prefer a wired set of headphones ( had enough of wireless)
im now looking at another route.
1) a decent headphone amplifier capable of playing DTS and Dolby digital 5.1
2) decent set of headphones to handle the above.
anyone any setups they can share that work
many thanks

Hey David,
My issue was resolved by ensuring that I was using a PAL resolution and frequency (720p @ 50 Hz or 1080p @ 50 Hz) for my PAL TV. Anything else causes audio stuttering through my HDMI cable.
Don't ask me why. Try this on your setup by using only the one of your TV's native resolutions and frequencies (Should say NTSC Television on every native TV resolution if you are in the US, PAL Television in Europe). If you do have an NTSC TV, then you might be able to use all of the 60 Hz frequency resolutions without HDMI audio out problems, but I wouldn't count on it.
From what I've researched on the issue, it is only TV's that have this problem, and it is a strange one, as it is actually a display setting problem with an audio error symptom.

Mac Mini Home Theatre PC + Lion = Big Bag of Hurt

I have a mac mini (2010) connected via HDMI to a switcher and on to either a TV or projector. The TV happens to be on a wall 90° to the projector screen. The audio is also wired via toslink/optical cable to the AV amplifier. The main speakers are aligned with the projection setup so its nice to have the TV sound come from the TV directly sometimes, even though the quality is dreadful compared to the main speakers (as opposed to rich sound coming from only the left side).
Running under Snow Leopard was fine - just switch the audio out from the HDMI to the Optical out at will (as one would expect through the sound output control panel).
Unfortunately I thought it would be cool to update to Lion to have a trackpad rather than the mouse on the coffee table. Bad idea!
Under 10.7.1 it all seemed to be working OK. Sound from main speakers, picture over HDMI on TV or projector. Sweet. Then I tried to change to the TV's speakers via the control panel. Nothing works. Click on either "optical out" or "Panasonic HDMI" and nothing changes, the audio keeps coming through the amplifier to the main speakers. Oh, well, the TV's sound was crap anyway, I could live with this at a push.
Update to 10.7.3. Whoops. Now the sound only comes out through the HDMI cable to the television. Permanently. Again, choosing either option in the control panel has no effect. Apple seems to have hardwired it this way and those options are an illusion. Now, I want to watch a movie - ZERO sound! The projector has no speaker, but apple is sending the audio there along the hdmi and I have no way of routing it to the Toslink cable anymore. Total train smash!! Silent movies - whoo hoo. Fail.
Annoyingly, this isn't a limitation of the hardware at all (it worked perfectly as expected in Snow Leopard) - its obviously a conscious decision. Or no one at apple bothers to test their stuff properly any more. All suggestions summarised - get new hardware - either new AV amplifier which accepts hdmi or extra cables to feed audio back from the TV to the amp!!?? Jeez. It used to work perfectly already without that.
Oh well, restoring to Snow Leopard as I type. Will have to find another use for that magic trackpad I stupidly bought on Monday. So if you have a Mac Mini Home Theatre PC and you need the options on routing video and audio separately, stay away from Lion!

You didn't need Lion in the first place for the track pad:
System Requirements
Bluetooth-enabled Mac computer
Two AA batteries (included)
OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.4 or later
I was using one with my 2010 Mini before Lion in my
HTPC setup.

HT201541 Our Mac-Mini has gotten slower and slower. Is there a utility that would help speed it up?

Our 4 plus year old Mac-Mini has gotten slower and slower. Is there a utility that would help speed it up or is there another?

Hello! I’ve offered the steps below to similar posts in the past and they helped out getting to the solution (or at least find the cause). I suggest them to you too in this case. It will take you about 30 minutes or less to do these, depending on how bad the problem on your Mac is.
The goal here is to boot your Mac to the so-called Recovery partition where you’ll have a chance to repair the disk and the disk permissions using the Disk Utility and Password Utility. This might solve your issue and even if it doesn’t- it’s still a decent maintenance step to perform. These steps won’t erase your data or reinstall your Mac in any way if you follow instructions carefully.
Here’s how:
1/ Make sure your computer is completely shut down.
2/ You’ll have to be quick next: Press the Mac’s power button. As soon as you either hear the loud chime, or see the display light up - usually after a second or 2 - on your keyboard press [cmd] + [r] Keep these keys on your keyboard pressed until you either see an Apple Logo with a loading bar or a spinning gear.
After a few minutes, you’ll be presented with a Utilities screen. This is the Recovery partition. If this step is already giving you problems, try using a USB-keyboard. It doesn’t have to be an Apple-keyboard. If you have a Windows-tailored keyboard laying around, use the “Windows-flag” key in stead of the [cmd]-key and it should also work.
3/ Choose Disk Utility and click [continue]
Disk Utility will display your computer’s harddrive in the left column. The default name for it is “Macintosh HD” and is usually the second one from the top. Click on it and click on the [verify disk] button. This will check your “Macintosh HD” harddrive partition for errors. If found, click [repair disk] unless you have a Fusion drive in your Mac and it says [fix] instead of [repair disk] please tell us before you continue! For a screenshot of what I mean, check this article from Apple: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202574
4/ Once done with the verifying or repairing of your “Macintosh HD” click [repair disk permissions]
This will check your partition for permissions errors. A common myth about this feature is that it will fix all permissions issues on your Mac, which is not true, but it will fix most systemwide issues. Also, here is a list of error messages that you can safely ignore if they pop up:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203172
5/ Lastly we shall do a permissions/Access Control List repair on specifically your user’s home folder with a somewhat hidden tool in the Recovery partition. Close Disk Utility and find the menu called “utilities” in the top left corner of your computer’s display. It’s in between the menus “edit” and “window” Don’t be confused with the menu called “os x utilities”
Choose Terminal. A somewhat old-fashioned looking window will pop up, waiting for a text command from you. This is the Terminal.
After the # type: resetpassword and press return. Note that there is no space between ‘reset’ and ‘password’
What you’ll see next is an rectangular window that gives you the option to reset passwords. We are not going to that, however. Instead, click on “Macintosh HD” at the top. In the pull-down menu below that, choose your user's accountname. Skip all the rest and at the very bottom click the [reset]-button.
A spinning gear will appear and may stay on for a second or several minutes. It’s hard to predict exactly how long.
If you have multiple users on your Mac, I advise you to repeat this step for all your users.
We’re ready to reboot your Mac now. Click on the Apple Menu and choose “startup disk” Choose to boot from “Macintosh HD” Please let us know if this solved your issue, or if the steps above did not work, or could not be performed for some reason.
If they worked I suggest you do these steps everytime your Mac becomes slow.

I transferred files from a NAS server to the Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server and now some of the files have Custom Access and can't be opened by some users. How do I fix this?

We're setting up our Mac Mini Snow Leopard Server, and in the process transferred files that had been stored and accessed from our Blackarmor NAS server over to the Mac. These files were all created on PC's and are Office Excel files, WordPerfect files or PDF's. When you look at the files on the Mac from the Mac and bring up Get Info for the affected file, it says that the file has Custom Access. The files that work properly don't have that configuration. I can access and open the files on some computers, but some users can't open the files from their computer even though they can see it. We're all using PC's and they get the Error: Access Denied-Contact your administrator--or something similar. I've seen on the web similar issues and it may have something to do with ACL permissions. I don't know enough about Mac OS to understand this, but what is baffling is that they can be opened from some PC's but not others, and all of the Users have the same accessibility to the files. Thanks for a solution!!

Oh, on the losing Internet, try this...
Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712
10.7 & 10.8…
System Preferences>Network, top of window>Locations>Edit Locations, little plus icon, give it a name.
10.5.x/10.6.x/10.7.x instructions...
System Preferences>Network, click on the little gear at the bottom next to the + & - icons, (unlock lock first if locked), choose Set Service Order.
The interface that connects to the Internet should be dragged to the top of the list.
Instead of joining your Network from the list, click the WiFi icon at the top, and click join other network. Fill in everything as needed.
For 10.5/10.6, System Preferences>Network, unlock the lock if need be, highlight the Interface you use to connect to Internet, click on the advanced button, click on the DNS tab, click on the little plus icon, then add these numbers...
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
Click OK.
PS. Your English is quite good & completely understandable.

I have a Mac Mini late 2012 version and i am trying to reset to factory setting.

Hello, I had a bought a Mac Mini late 2012 version a couple months ago, and after i tried to install "pro tool" on my Mac, and FAILED. my Garage band wouldn't open anymore. it only tells me "garage band quit unexpectedly" when i open it. I tried uninstalled it and reinstall it again, but it still won't work.
So now, I want to jus5 restore the whole Mac mini to factory setting and erase everything in it.
I had read some of the threads in the community, and the Mac mini late 2012 doesn't come with an OS disk.
Therefore, is there anyone can tell me how i would be able to rest the Mac Mini later 2012 version back to factory setting and erase everything in it?
Thank you very much!
PS: i am not using Apple keyboard.

See:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

I cannot get the new mac mini to wake from sleep and trigger the displays - this is the second mac mini I have had and both have had the same issues. It worked before on my macbook extremely well...

I cannot get the new mac mini to wake from sleep and trigger the displays - this is the second mac mini I have had and both have had the same issues. It worked before on my macbook extremely well...
Using 2 displays, connected via HDMI and thunderbolt
Been on to support a number of times now - is anyone experiencing the same issues?

BUMP.
I actually showed this to Apple geniuses when I took my computer to the apple store, and it's still here. In console it says:
kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: -128
I don't know if that's related or not, but maybe helps?

How do I set up my Mac mini to read iTunes and iPhoto files from my new Mac mini server?

Want my old Mac mini to read iPhoto and iTunes files from my new Mac mini server. Old Mac has no more room to store files. How do I do this?

Hello,
Have you tried enabling iTunes Sharing & iPhoto Sharing on the Server?
Or maybe...
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
http://www.apple.com/itunes/inside-itunes/2011/02/how-to-move-your-itunes-librar y-to-another-hard-drive.html
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1229

I have a Symphonic 32' HDTV (Dolby Digital Plus). can someone help me figure out how to configure it optimally with my Mac Mini? the display and sound is off. Do I need drivers/software? I'm new to macs.

I have a Symphonic 32' HDTV (Dolby Digital Plus). can someone help me figure out how to configure it optimally with my Mac Mini? the display and sound is off. Do I need drivers/software? I'm new to macs.

Hello, since nobdy else has replied...
Long shot, but...
Open Audio Midi Setup in Applications>Utilities, see the input & output options & KHz setting there.

Bluetooth lags on new Mac Mini w/ Wireless keyboard and Magic Trackpad

Hi everyone,
I just bought a new mac mini (the basic model) and attached it via HDMI to a HD TV. I bought the mac wireless keyboard and magic trackpad to go with it. Everything works except that both the keyboard and mouse are consistently slow. Not quite to the point of un-useable, but very noticeable.
I've read that it might be radio interference with the bluetooth signal. To test this, I put my Macbook Pro right next to the new mac mini (while it and the screen were on) and paired the keyboard and mouse to the macbook pro. Everything was super fast, no lag - so that leads me to think the problem is with the Mac Mini. I've tried playing with all the bluetooth options, to no avail.
Anyone have any suggestions? I've also tried attaching a bluetooth magic mouse and had the same slowdown. Nothing seems to affect the lag, it's very consistent and probably around half a second between keystroke or mouse movement and it's reflection on the screen.
Thanks,
-Mike

Hey All,
I've got the same issue with my Mac Book Pro and a new Samsung LED 3D TV. Its connected through a DVI out from the mac to a gold HDMI adaptor, then to HDMI into the TV. I've used this set-up with my last HDTV which was a Sharp LCD, and there was no lag and no issues.
I noticed that for me, the lag appeared on the TV, but not on the laptop, so I thought it might be the connection (If I went right to HDMI instead of an adaptor maybe it'd be better) but I don't think it is given that the last TV worked fine.
I then went to my display settings in the control panel on my mac and changed the refresh rate from 24 Hertz to 60 Hertz (NTSC) on the TV and the issue has pretty much completely dissappeared. Not sure why that was the default, but I imagine certain video and other media will play even smoother as well!
Woo hoo!
Hope you all figure this out too!
TS

My HD TV has two HDMI inputs which are being used by a home theater system and my RCN cable box. i want to be able to use my appleTV as well as those but do not have another HDMI input. How can i connect it so that i can use any 1 of the 3 at any time?

My HD TV has two HDMI inputs which are being used by a home theater system and my RCN cable box. i want to be able to use my appleTV as well as those but do not have another HDMI input. How can i connect it so that i can use any 1 of the 3 at any time?

Get an HDMI switcher. Plug in the ATV directly to the TV and then use the switcher on the other input.
Example
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-High-Performance-Switcher-Switch/dp/B0015YWKYY/ref=s r_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316918064&sr=8-1

Do the Mac minis support using AirPlay and all of its functions? I thought I saw a comment yesterday that suggested the Mac mini (particularly the late 2012 models) does not support AirPlay. Thank you.

Do the Mac minis support using AirPlay and all of its functions? I thought I saw a comment yesterday that suggested the Mac mini (particularly the late 2012 models) does not support AirPlay. Thank you.

Hello,
AirPlay Mirroring
Requires a second-generation Apple TV or later. Supports the following Mac models:
iMac (Mid 2011 or newer)
Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5444

Is the current top line Mac Mini with an SSD and 16GB RAM up to PS CS6 and LR5?

I currently have a 2007 MacPro 2007 2.66GH Xeon dual core ( 4 cores ) with 9GB RAM.
I had been thinking of the new MacPro but it will probably be hellishly expensive. I was thinking of getting a top of the line Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and an SSD and using USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt to run most of my programs and data storage externally. I use LR5 and PS CS6.
I was just wondering if the latest Mac Mini was up to the taks with 2-4 GB files and multiple layers? How well do this little guys hold up? I know that the power supply is now internal. Do they run cool enough.... even with an SSD?
Any Mini users out there care to chime in?

Well, the big drawback on the Minis is Intel integrated Graphics.
iMacs & Minis run far too hot in my Opinion, Apple likely tested them in a 68° F. air conditioned room.
I myself would be looking into an older iMac, or Widows PC!
iMac "Core i5" 2.5 21.5-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 7241/7970
iMac "Core i5" 2.7 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 7844/8565
iMac "Core i5" 2.7 21.5-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 7890/8647
iMac "Core i7" 2.8 21.5-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 10248/10690
Mac Pro "Quad Core" 2.66 (2009/Nehalem)... Geekbench: 8269/9237
iMac "Core i5" 2.9 27-Inch (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 9225/10271
Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.8 (2008)... Geekbench: 9162/10564
Mac Pro "Quad Core" 3.2 (2010/Nehalem).. Geekbench: 9850/10440
MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 27" Late 2011... Geekbench: 10706/11699
Mac mini "Core i7" 2.6 (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 11367/12807
iMac "Core i7" 3.4 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 11648/12651
Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.26 (2009/Nehalem)... Geekbench: 11864/13363
Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.66 (2009/Nehalem)... Geekbench: 14317/16093
Mac Pro "Eight Core" 2.93 (2009/Nehalem)... Geekbench: 15572/17619
Mac Pro "Twelve Core" 2.66 (2010/Westmere)... Geekbench: 20294/22605
iMac "Core i5" 2.7 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 8068/9145
Mac mini "Core i7" 2.3 (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 10626/11825
iMac "Core i7" 3.1 21.5-Inch (Late 2012)... Geekbench: 12490/14143
iMac "Core i7" 3.4 27-Inch (Mid-2011)... Geekbench: 11648/12651... Geekbench: 12857/13772

I run a Mac Mini 10.6.1 and a G5 10.4.11 - they share a screen. Yesterday the contrast on the Mac Mini went mad. Very very heavy contrast and now its impossible to retouch with Photoshop as I cannon judge the colours accuratly. The G5 is fine. John UK

I run a Mac Mini 10.6.1 and a G5 10.4.11 - they share a screen. Yesterday the contrast on the Mac Mini went mad. Very very heavy contrast and now its impossible to retouch with Photoshop as I cannot judge the colours accuratly. The G5 is fine. I keep the screen image I get on the G5 good and accurate with Huey. I believe I cannot use this with the "Intel Inside" Mac Mini. Does anyone know how I can restore the great screen image I got up to yesterday on my Mac Mini? Thanks. John Suffolk England.

Likely caused by one of the following: a bad cable, maybe a bad connection or (my guess) bad graphics hardware.
To rule out the software, see if booting from an installer DVD shows better color.
Swap the cables and check the connections.
Then call your hardware support provider.

HT201260 my mac mini build is 11G56 and mac osx is 10.7.5 how can i install latest mac 10.8 and above

my mac mini build is 11G56 and mac osx is 10.7.5 how can i install latest mac 10.8 and above

Simply purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store and it will begin installation after the download is complete. Note that it's a large download, about 4.5GB, so you should have a good Internet connection..
However... if I were you, I would just wait another month or so until Apple releases Mavericks - the 'latest' announced version of OS X -> http://www.apple.com/osx/preview/.
No need to pay for two upgrades in a months (or so) time...
Clinton

Mac mini home theater resource and OS survey

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