Mac Mini to older HDTV as a media center...is it possible?

As the title suggests, I would like to purchase a Mac Mini and use it as a media center, hooked to my older Sony HDTV (with component inputs only). Is there such a thing as a DV to component adapter that will work with the Mac Mini?

The 2007 mini is Intel based.
You need to search for "DVI to Component transcoder." A good forum to look at is http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=824143
Here is a low end version that might work: http://cgi.ebay.com/DVI-to-RCA,Component-Video,Format-Transcoder-Converter_W0QQi temZ220472953830QQcmdZViewItem

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I have no audio from the mac mini to the hdtv via hdmi cable.

This started immediately after the latest "apple software update" I updated it automatically on 6/24/2011. I have an elgato eye tv connected to the mac mini that provides BOTH audio and video through the HDMI to the HDTV. The elgato eye tv works fine. I get both audio and video.
However, I only get picture and NO sound from the mac mini to the HDTV via the HDMI output. No streaming audio either - only picture. Ive tried pandora, netflix, hulu, etc. I even put in a DVD into the mac mini and again I receive a picture through THE HDMI but no audio.
I've shutdown and rebooted. I've disconnected power and reconnected power. I've gone into the system preferences, audo, and highlight the SONY HDTV as the output. But still nothing. I do notice when I toggle between the "internal speakers' and the HDMI option, the audio arrow on the lower right is bright blue during the internal speakers option but is grey when the HDMI option is connected.
I called apple care. Since I'm 98 days past my 90 days of coverage there is no help via human being. They offered me to set an appointment at the local apple store but they suggested I bring down my 60 inch HDTV with me to the store to be sure it is not a "Sony" issue. I hope someone can help me resolve this without having to put this mac mini on craigslist and taking a $ hit.
This was not an issue yesterday. It became an issue after the latest and greatest "update" to prepare our machines for the lovely lion.
Thanks.

I have the same issue. I also have the 2010 mac mine and use hdmi for audio to my receiver. I get audio from eye tv with no problems, but it seems to lock the path so that only it can use that path for audio. If I restart the computer and do not start eye tv everything else works with hdmi audio. I have tried using the system settings and changing the source there but it doesnt seem to matter.
David

Do I need a more recent mac mini to use my iphone 4 with. Im unable to download snow leopard because my mac mini is older. Do I need to get a new mac or is there something else i can do

Do I need a more recent mac mini to use my iphone 4 with. Im unable to download snow leopard because my mac mini is older. Do I need to get a new mac or is there something else i can do

Get Leopard.
System Requirements
Apple ID (required for some features)
Internet access6
Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:
Mac: OS X v10.5.8 or later
PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
iTunes 10.5 or later (free download fromwww.itunes.com/download)
http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

HT4628 I have Mac Mini that I connect wirelessly. I want to share that internet on this mac mini with my receiver using wired internet. Is it possible? How?

I have Mac Mini that I connect wirelessly. I want to share that internet on this mac mini with my receiver using wired internet. Is it possible? How?

Is it the same user/iTunes account or...?
Syncing to a new computer should give you the opportunity to replace the exisiting contents with the new.

How can I move my itunes movies from my iMac to my mac mini which is serving as a media server attached to HDTV?

I want to move my itunes movies from my iMac to my Mac Mini, which is hooked up to my HDTV, so that I can save space on the iMac and use the direct source Mac Mini to view the iTunes movies that I purchase and download. Can anyone give me ideas on how to do that?

iTunes does not have provision for automatically storing one kind of media on a separate drive, so you have some basic decisions to make first. Do you want these movies to still appear in your iTunes library, or are you content with browsing filenames on a drive in Finder when you want to look for one? The second's the easiest thing because then you don't have to have an external drive permanently turned on and attached to your computer (wired or wireless). To do that you literelly only need to drag your movies folder to an archive drive and delete movies from iTunes. To watch them again you can add it back to iTunes while holding down the option key so the movie is used from its location on the external drive.
There's ways to move the movies to an external drive while keeping them in iTunes but the external drive iwll always have to be turned on and connected to the computer or you will see a bunch of broken link exclamation marks.
Realize what you are talking about is not "backup". Backup (which you should do) is putting a second or more copy of items on external drives for the day when your internal drive fails and everything on it is lost, inclduing all your home photos and perhaps things that have been pulled from the iTunes Store and can no longer be re-downloaded.

Mac Mini DVi on HDTV - PROBLEM

hey all,
i am using a mac mini (1.42 G4 80gb 512 combo) on a sharp HDTV using a DVI to HDMI cable.
everything works but i have a problem that it is slightly blurred, this makes text (especially small fonts) very difficult to read.
is there any way to alter this or at least improve the visual quality?
thanks anyone who can suggest.
Dan Harris
Nerox9

i am using 1280 x 720 resolution, the other resolutions have the same blurred problem but it makes all the icons and stuff bigger.
The tv / monitor is 26 inches.
thanks

TS4456 New Mac mini and older wireless keyboard connect, but don't pair

In setting up my brand new Mac mini, the wireless mouse paired with no problem, but I'm having trouble with the keyboard. I am using an older mouse and keyboard from my previous mini, which is completely shut down. The keyboard shows as being connected to the computer, but when I enter the code and press Return, the code disappears and nothing else happens. After a while the code reappears and I repeat the process with the same results. After several attempts, nothing else happens. I've tried rebooting twice, checked the keyboard batteries, made sure the keyboard light is blinking to show it's discoverable, but I can't move past this screen. I don't know what else to try. Please help!

Hi, it isn't paired to another device is it?
Might see this...
http://www.christopher-parsons.com/blog/technology/solved-bluetooth-devices-not- connecting-to-osx/

Mac Mini Purchase Question HDTV

Hello,
I want to buy a mac mini for an entertainment computer. I think the hdmi out will be great.
All I want to do is watch movies through my samsung 55" HDTV.
I am wondering if the basic model will be enough or should I get a suped up model.
If I need a suped up model, what do I need. More RAM, Processor Power, or what? I use a shared network drive at home so storage is not an issue.
Thanks,
James

"Watch movies" could mean a lot of things. If you are talking about purchased iTMS content then a minimum configuration will be fine. If you are talking about movies from other sources, then it becomes harder to answer the question without knowing more about the sources.
Certain very high bit rate content, like 1080p at high frame rates and encoded in such a way that hardware decoding can't be used...movies like that could give trouble without some thought and care put into the configuration. But most likely, you will be fine with a minimum configuration.

Mac Mini to Samsung HDTV

My new mini should be here Wed. I was going to connect it to my Samsung HDTV. I just noticed that the mini has a DVI-I connection in back, while my TV has a DVI-D connection in back. Is there a cable for this? I'm not having much luck finding one.

I suggest you read this primer on DVI interfaces, it will answer many of your questions:
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html#Page02
Basically, the mac mini having a DVI-I plug is good, meaning it can go either way -- DVI-A (analog) or DVI-D (digital). You will simply want a DVI-D cable to connect to your TV, and you should be good. a DVI-I cable would also probably work.

Mac Mini or Apple TV as a media server.

I am planning on setting up a media server and I'm not sure what would be the best choice. I would prefer to use a Mac Mini, but would I loose the video quality that I would get from an Apple TV?
The Apple TV specs indicate:
Video formats supported
* H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
* iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
* MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
The Mac Mini specs dove give me enough information to compare.

Anything the AppleTv can play-the mini can.
Playlists from the iTunes store videos can be done on AppleTV, but not
on the Mac Mini. There are third party solutions, but they are hardly easy to setup. I'm working on a setup right now where it is quite a bit more complicated on the Mac Mini:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10519644#10519644

Mac Mini Doesn't Recognize DVD/CD media

I've tried most of the suggestions given on the boards, including the SMU reset, but my Mac Mini still has problems with burned CD's and trying to burn DVD's. I've tried several different brands of DVD media and the DVD's just get kicked out. On the CD side, I load a burned disc from another machine it just shows up as a blank disc. I'm running Leopard 10.5.3 on this machine. Any ideas?
Rich
Model Name: Mac mini
Model Identifier: Macmini1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core Duo
Processor Speed: 1.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 2 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MM11.0055.B08
SMC Version: 1.3f4
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-846:
Firmware Revision: FM3J
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 2048 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

The fact you're having problems with both DVDs and CDs is not a good sign, since it is more likely to mean a faulty drive than if one or other media were problematic, but the other worked OK.
Do you get any error messages when you insert a blank DVD or burn a CD?
One thing you might want to try is to use a lens cleaner on the drive since the slot loading drives are a little more prone to dirt and debris than tray loaders. Normally if a head is dirty you'd be able to work with one media but not the other, so the fact both are troublesome either means it's not a simple matter of a dirty head or that the drive is significantly contaminated.
If the lens cleaner doesn't help, I think the symptoms suggest the drive itself has problems. In that instance, it may be a loose connector, or that it needs to be replaced. If the latter, I'd normally suggest an external drive for greater flexibility and better performance - typically at a not much different price than an internal drive, but obviously not then requriring any service time of cost.

Mac Mini HDMI Samsung HDTV colors washed out

Hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Just upgraded from a 2009 Mac Mini to a new one. Using HDMI, the colors are washed out and off (greenish purplish) at the default 1360 x 1768. If I pick one of the other (like 720p) the colors are right but resolution is screwy. Any thoughts?
And... Thank You.

If you haven't already, make sure all firmware
is up to date. There has been some recent updates
that may not have made it to your machine.
As for the 720p issue, go to the Samsung setup
screen that deals with screen size and set the mode
to "Fit to Screen". Pretty sure it says that or something
similar.

Mac Mini 3,1 running Windows 8... is it possible

I install it just fine but then everything stops after the initial reboot.
This is what I posted on the Windows 8 forums...
Trying to instal Windows 8 on a mac mini (version 3,1) but the screen loses signal after the initial reboot.
I have been wanting to put Windows on my Mac for a long time so I thought this would be a great way to see if I'd like it. After the initial installation, the computer reboots itself to the partition dedicated to Windows. The fish appears but after that, everything just stops.
I've tried using a different monitor, I've tried booting in low-rez mode, I've tried booting in safe mode (it wont let me because it says it still needs to finish the installation), and I've tried both 64 and 32 bit versions of the OS. I'd really like to know what the problem is since I was hoping to at least purchase Windows 7 soon but I don't want to be out of luck with that one, too.
My Mac Mini is a dual core Intel machine with 8 GB of RAM (I upgraded it). I installed Windows 8 via Apple's Bootcamp and I gave it a partition of 50 GB. I've tried booting to Windows with no disc in the drive, with my OS X disc in the drive and with the Windows 8 disc in the drive. Nothing changed. I've also tried booting to the Windows 8 disc again to see if there was something more to be done from the DVD, but it just gave me the same screen it did when I originally started to instal Windows 8 in the first place.
I initially downloaded the ISO and used the Windows 7 Download Tool (as I was told) to create the disc image that I've been using.
I am desperately hoping for an answer here as I am in dire need of an MS-DOS operating system.

The RAM. Swap it. Reset it. Windows will not accept marginal or issues - which goes against the grain and tradition - I've gone through with a couple people now.
Even downgrade for the install to minimum memory
One was due to DIMMs being loose in the socket.
Another pulled their 3rd party and was fine.
The ISO you burned? reburn it at slowest burn speed is also well known to cause bad installs.
Try those.

Problem connect mac to internet with pc w/windows media center os

I share a wireless DSL connection with my roommate. Everything was working fine for a long time until she bought a Sony PC with Windows Media Center OS on it. Every time she connects to the internet, she doesn't think it works very well for her. But, if she leaves the house (and therefore is not using her computer online) I can reset the DSL modem and the wireless router and then my internet connection from my iBook works like a lovely breeze. Then she comes home, connects her computer and the internet doesn't work for either of us. She insists it is not "her computer" and doesn't believe that I could be receiving such a seamless connection when she's not around. Does anyone know (1) if there are issues with Windows Media Center OS that would cause this problem and (2) What I can do to fix the situation?

Actually, it sounds like her computer might have a Static IP set, which tries to grab your IP... you might cure it by changing your setup to "Using DHCP with Manual Address" and using a couple numbers higher than what it says when it does work.

1.83 Mac mini as media center?

Does the 1.83 Ghz Mac mini have enough juice as a media center? My iMac works great at this, but I want to move it to another room and replace it with a Mac mini. I tried my Powerbook, but it was not nearly powerful enough to push the content, particularly the HD content.
Thanks,
Ed.

You can't really equate the performance of your PB and the mini, because despite the PB's dedicated video card and VRAM, it is limited by the processor. The mini on the other hand can amply handle HD resolutions, and the processor is significantly more capable - not just because of the added speed, but also the dual core architecture.
I'd be surprised if you didn't find comments here regarding the current mini's capabilities in this regard if you search back through prior threads on the subject.
Do you think that Apple will come out with a mini after Macworld that has the video upgrade in the new Macbooks?
No-one really knows - and speculative thoughts on what may or may not happen are not permitted. However, it would seem to me that if you were in a position of deciding whether to buy a mini or wait, with this particular function in mind, it would make sense to wait the few remaining days to see if a new model was forthcoming and if so, whether it's capabilities for HD work were more clearly defined.

Mac Mini to older HDTV as a media center...is it possible?

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