MBP Makes Better Media Center Than Mac Mini

Anyone agree?
Mac Mini (dual core); iMac 5G (20"); PowerBook G4 (12"); iPod Nano (4GB) Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Bentley makes a better commuter car than Ford. Much nicer ride to work.

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Media Center - older Mac Mini

I have an older Mac Mini - Late 2005 (NON-Intel, running Tiger) sitting in the closet and I'm looking at alternatives that will allow me to finally sever the cord to paying for high cable when I don't watch most of the channels to begin with.
With the 512 MB, I'm wondering if it will allow me to get by enough to be able to use Hulu, boxee, my Airport and other sources to stream content to my HDTV that I'll connect with a DVI to HMDI cable? I've looked at lots of articles, but they all seem to be using an Intel model
I really don't want to buy an Intel mini, just to do this - although, all the money I save from not paying the cable company... hmmm.
Thoughts, tips, suggestions?

BSteely wrote:
Since you already have the mini, why not try it and answer your own question about whether you are satisfied with the outcome or not?
Generally speaking, I think you will find the G4 mini to be a bit under powered for what you have in mind. Adding more memory won't help much.
Thanks for the response. I had every intention to give it a shot, but wanted to see if anyone else had tried with such a low-powered model just to read about their experiences.
I bought the cable and the wireless keyboard and played around with it yesterday.
I came to the conclusion that I need to look for a bargain and invest in an Intel mini. The streaming was great. I only noticed that there was a buffering issue when I tried to watch a TV series from the 70s; it kept stalling every few seconds. (But) two movies and A Charlie Brown Xmas played fine.
I see great potential, once I obtain the mini, so time to check a few prices in a few places.
In the meantime, I can at least upgrade the current model to Leopard, just for kicks

How is iMac better than mac mini ??????

Is there a iMac 2014 ?? how to identify ??? is it netter to buy iMac desk top as oppose to Mac Mini ????? what is a good dvd player to buy if I buy iMac desktop

Go to http://www.apple.com/mac/compare/
It will should you a comparison of the iMac to Mac Mini
For a good source of an optical drive for Mac go to http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/optical-drives/

Windows movie maker/ windows media center question

I have a camera that records video in .mov .h264 format that I save on my pc using windows live movie maker. It converts it to a wmv video format still in the 1080P resolution it was shot in. The question I have is that when I go to burn these files to a dvd using windows media center does the resulting video end up down converted to standard definition instead of the HD it was saved as. Is there something I have to change in the settings on windows media center to be able to burn these files in same 1080P resolution it was filmed in, or do I have to convert the .mov files to something other than Windows media video to be able to keep the HD quality, or do I need a different burner other than DVD(blu-ray) for example to be able to burn these files. I have a blu-ray player.

I'll let others answer the question on Windows Movie Maker...
Keep in mind if you put an HD video on a DVD... not all DVD players will support it. You may wish to burn to a Blu-Ray disk.
Personally I use Premiere Elements or Pinnacle Studio. I create an MP4 file and then save it to a DVD for those without Blue-Ray

What is better for music editing mac mini or macbook air?

Which mac would you prefer for music editing a mac mini with 2,6gHz quad-core i7 CPU, 16 GB RAM and SSD 256GB or a macbook air 13" with 1,7 dual-core i7, 8GB ram and 256GB SSD? Both will be connected to a 27" screen so portability doesn't matter.

The Mac Mini would be better in performance; I tried simple photo editing on my MacBook Air and I was dissapointed.

Skip Recovery HD; make bootable clone of 2011 Mac Mini with 10.7.1 ?

Can I just skip Recovery HD palaver and make a bootable clone of 2011 Mac Mini with 10.7.1 ?
I have a large FireWire800 drive, and can partition a few gigs off on it with a GUID map.
What should I use to clone my current OSX 10.7.1 onto the external drive, and will this work?
Thanks

I finished setting up my Mac Mini today (52 GB of sys, apps and stuff), and used Carbon Copy Cloner to make a clone onto my external disk.
Works Great!
Now I not only have an Emergency boot Lion disk, but I also have all those apps and prefs and things in case I need to: Work Now!

How to make AirPlay mirroring working on Mac mini mid 2011?

Cannot figure out how to use AirPlay mirroring knowing That ii have:
1. Mac mini mid 2011
2. Apple Tv 3 5.0
3.osx 10.8
Please help

Hi Ikrupp,
For some reasons it doesn't work for me, i'm having a green screen whatever i do...
Any idea where the problem is coming from ?

What do I need to get better sound from my Mac mini

The sound from my external speakers is very poor. I am hard of hearing(50% in one ear) and I find it very difficult to follow a conversation etc.
I am now on Yosemite, and the speakers have been used on all my previous pc's successfully. I cannot find a control for the built-in audio, does one exist?

What do you mean by poor sound?
The Sound is controlled by System Preferences>Sounds>Output

Mac Mini remote administration (vnc) bug on 10.8.3

Hi,
I updated my Media Center PC (Mac Mini late 2012) to 10.8.3. If the TV is not switched off I normally control my mini with the build in remote controlling tool from my Macbook pro or iPad. Bug since 10.8.3 the windows will not refresh itselfs. I have to move the window or "wipe" with the mouse the areas i want to see. Its hard to explain so I made a Video.
It also happend with Teamviewer and Splashtop.
If the TV is on and switch on the Macmini imput there is no problem with vnc.
I hope you can help me.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SzsAKOhovBg

Yes I sometimes see the same issue. I believe it is due to when the display (i.e. TV) being turned off this means the video card in the Mac no longer gets a signal and it then shuts down, the Mac becomes 'headless'. This means all the screen display is (I believe) solely being stored and processed in main memory and not by the video card and the correct redrawing of objects on top of objects like a window on top of the desktop suffers.
If you drag a window arround it will force a redraw of what is behind it and moving a window in to the background and then back to the front will redraw the window. However other than leaving the TV on all the time, the only truely effective way to stop this is to use a Gefen DVI Detective Plus or HDMI Detective Plus these learn the signal from the display and then will continue to send that signal to the Mac even if the display is turned off or completely disconnected. The video card then stays active and the problem does not occur.
See http://www.gefen.com/kvm/ext-hdmi-edidp.jsp?prod_id=8005
This also stops the audio signal also switching back to the built-in speaker from the HDMI interface. If the Mac no longer thinks the HDMI is active it would otherwise switch the audio back to the built-in speaker.

How do i make HD2 on my mac mini server useable by my networked macbook pro for time machine?

What do I need to do to make HD2 on my new Mac Mini server useable for Time Machine on my MacBook Pro? I can access the server, but HD2 is not visible, although I have set it up to let everyone have read/write permission.

FWIW, I personally would not use any disk drive that is internal
to a Mini for a backup of anything. The reason for that is if something
should happen to the Mini, your backup will be unavailable. And of
course, that is when you will need the backup, Murphy's Law. getting a
drive out of a Mini is no small task.
Personally, I keep any backups on external drives, as they can be
easily moved and replaced.
The only case where I would keep a backup internal to a computer
would be in the case of a Mac Pro where you can easily remove and
swap hard drives.
Just something to consider.

Uses for older mac mini?

Upgrading to the newest mac mini, but it would be nice to find a good use for the older one. I've no need to turn it into a server, but I do have a lot of music and movies.
It's the 2009 version, so there's no hdmi. Is there another way to hook it up to a TV to make a media center?

Get a mini displayport to HDMI adopter.
The 2009 has two video connection, a mini DVI and a mini displayport.

865 - Remote works in HiFi but not w/ Media Center III. Girder??

First of all, kudos to all of you for supporting each other in getting the MEGA to operate as intended. I have a couple questions maybe you can help me with:
Does anyone know of a quick fix for re-associating the bundled remote with Media Center III? Mine worked initially, but when I loaded the drivers for the remote bundled with my MSI Personal Cinema FX-5200 card it stopped operating in Media Center III. The remote works in HiFi mode without a hitch, but not at all in PC mode.
Also, can the Girder software be used to program other remotes controls, like the one that came with my Personal Cinema card (NVidia remote, USB interface)? It is a much better remote than the MSI remote and would be a great replacement. I looked in the plug-ins on the girder website an could not find any related to the Personal Cinema product.
thanks for your help!!

Akumaisme,
I don't know about an independent karaoke function, but MSI has included a separate program for the radio part on the drivers disc: MSI Radio. Installing this program enables you to use the same functions of the radio in PC-mode as you can in Hifi-mode, without the need to install MCIII.
As far as Girder is concerned, maybe this will explain things: Girder is used to "catch" the commands (button strokes) from your remote receiver and (if neccessary) divert them to other programs. For this you need two things: a working pair of remote and receiver, and a Girder plugin that is written for the specific type of receiver.
So should you choose to be able to use the MSI remote (which I believe is not the case) with other programs than MCIII, you need the Girder plugin written by Nathan (see Sticky at the top of this forum).
I think you want to use the second option: a different (third party) remote. First of all, you most likely won't be able to use this remote with the built-in MEGA receiver. You'll need the receiver of your Personal Cinema card. Then you'll have to take a look at the Girder site / forum whether there is a plugin available for this Personal Cinema card, good chance there is. After installation, you then only need to configure Girder with the proper plugin AND need to learn it to divert the button strokes of your Personal Cinema remote to the MCIII application.
I hope you'll find this information useful.
Greetz,
JaDi.

Setting Up Mac Mini / iTunes Server Help

I have a new MacMini that I wanted to just leave on and use it as my iTunes media server for my various iDevices and ATV's. I have an external Thunderbolt G-Drive attached to the MacMini with my movies, music, home videos and photos on it. The MacMini will only be used for the purpose of streaming my media and nothing else. The MacMini drive has nothing on it but whatever it came with the initial OS. If anybody could provide me with any tips to keep this running as smooth and as fast as possible I would appreciate it.
This is what I have done so far.
I have a Cyberpower Smart App Sinewave UPS system connected to the MacMini. This allowed me to set up in preferences an automatic smooth shut down of the MacMini in case of a power failure. My router is also connected to the UPS system as well as the external drive. I do have a small monitor attached to the MacMini that I can turn on to the proper HDMI input to work on the MacMini, so it is not set up as a headless system.
Tha MacMini is dircectly conected to my router via ethernet so the WiFi portion of the mini is not being used.
Do I need to turn of the wifi via preferences manually or does the ethernet hook up take care of that an I don't need to do that?
Is there a way to get iTunes to automatically launch after the MacMini reboots?
How can I handle updates automatically to keep the MacMini up to date with minimum if any interference from me?
I know I can also schedule an automatic reboot at certan intervals but not sure where to set this up nor if its needed?
Should I set up the MacMini to Never Sleep Mode or let it put the hard drive to sleep?
I know some people have had issues with the hard drive not waking from sleep mode hence iTunes will not work properly. This has been via firewire hook ups and I am not sure if that would happen via thunderbolt or not. If there is anything else I can do via hardware or software that I am missing let me know.
Thanks

glass99 wrote:
The MacBook Pro is sometimes at work, or otherwise "off" in the house. I don't like having to go and turn it on, just to access my itunes library.
That's one downside of AppleTV2 - cheap, small and low power usage but lack of onboard storage means you need a computer on for streaming, which is less than ideal when you have a laptop.
So I've been thinking... maybe a mac mini is the solution? I could set it up near the TV, leave it idle and access media when I need it.
That would certainly work. I have both the current Mac Mini with HDMI and an AppleTV hooked up to the TV - I either use wireless keyboard/mouse or AirMouse on my iPad to control the Mini. You don't necessarily need the Mini connected to the TV but I do in order to do things AppleTV can't.
Right now all of my itunes is on my MacBook Pro. If I wanted to copy over the library is this possible?
Several ways to do it.
I don't want to do a complete restore on my mac mini of the macbook pro from time machine, since there is a lot of stuff that just isn't necessary to transfer.
Not advisable to restore a MacBook Pro to a Mini in any case. You should stick to the same hardware for restoring.
So is there someway to either sync the libraries, or copy things? Basically, I want to keep both libraries up to date, likely I'd download things on the MBP, but would then want to access this media on the mac mini... what can I do about this?
Easiest thing is to use Home Sharing - sign in to Home Sharing in itunes on both computers - this will allow you to copy material from one library to another, you can even configurre it to do so automatically if you want to. (Depending on your home network speeds this may be initially slower than say simply copying all the iTunes media to an external drive and then copying this into the Mini library, but once most stuff is copied, additional transfers will be incremental and relatively quicker.)
AC

Which Mac Mini is best for Editing in Final Cut Pro X i5 or i7 ?

Hey guys plz suggest me a good mac mini machine for editing in Final Cut Pro X. Is there any difference in i5 mac mini or i7 in terms of rendering or editing, and what is the use of an SSD drive in terms of editing in mac mini either than its 5400rpm HD, or should i buy imac i5 with ssd ?
Lets see if i buy mac mini i5 with 16gb ram and a ssd drive, Will it work better than mac mini i7 with 16gb ram but without ssd drive ?
So guys plzz suggest me the best mac specs for video editing
Thanks in advance

Your budget?
Take a look at this: http://www.barefeats.com/minivmp.html
The 2012 Quad-Core i7 Mac mini is a real contender when it comes to CPU power compared to our examples of a Quad-Core Mac Pro and Quad-Core iMac. We plan to add some other examples of Quad-Core desktop Macs (including a faster Mac mini) to these graphs in the days ahead but the point is made.
However, the GPU in the 2012 Quad-Core i7 Mac mini is weak in comparison to the Mac Pro (and iMac) as you can see from the "Heaven" graph.
That's going to affect its ability to handle advanced Pro Apps that make use of the GPU for certain types of effect rendering.
These apps include Apple's Final Cut Pro and Motion as well as Adobe's Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.
The Mac mini's Intel HD 4000 GPU will also hamstring hard-core gamers.
The Mac mini is also weak in support of OpenCL as you can see from the "LuxMark" graph.
It is forced to render the model using only CPU while the iMac and Mac Pro GPUs are able to render the model.
Why does this matter? Because apps like Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Photoshop use OpenCL acceleration for rendering certain effects.
http://www.barefeats.com/imac12p1.html
Even a Mac Pro (refurbished special 4-core 2.8 is $1819 and can be upgraded to more RAM, 4x4TB w/o going into Thunderbolt storage) and have multiple SSDs as the choice or need arises.)
Fusion drive + Thunderbolt but I think you are asking too much out of the mini. It is fine for a lot of uses.

Mac Mini and ipads for the family

In the near future, I would like to replace my older PowerPC G5 with a Mac Mini. Then, I would like to purchase a couple of ipads for my wife and two kids, who primarily use the G5 for email, web surfing, and light-duty work such as organizing (ical), filing documents, and using spreadsheets/word processing software, with occasional photo-editing. Essentially, we would set up accounts for each user on the Mac Mini where all of the files/photos/organizing would be stored, and then just tap into them via housefhold wifi with the ipads as needed. Any major computing could still be done directly on the Mini (and I also have a newer MacBook), as needed. An added bonus would be that we would also use the Mini as our household media hub for streaming music to entertainment center and video/movies to the TV. I really like this scenario, as it would allow for greater flexibility and portability, while still serving the needs of the family. I think this can be easily done, and suspect the experience could be enhanced by a few apps, but I haven't researched that end of things yet. First, I wanted to ask the folks here if this is a realistic plan? Also, would I be better off with the Mac Mini or Mac Mini Server? Any and all input is welcome, as well as helpful suggestions from those who have already done this. Thanks in advance!

It sounds realistic, I haven't done it though, & I don't think there'll be much diff between the Server & Client models for what you want to do.

MBP Makes Better Media Center Than Mac Mini

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