http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Hey Steve.. I like the bag of hurt. ]]>Jun 20th 2010 6:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/"Howeve,r" ahah nice one big E]]>Jun 20th 2010 6:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/"Second, while Apple may have succumbed to the licensing fees of HDMI"

HDMI Licensing is 4 cents per port or $10,000 annually.
Are you seriously claiming that this fee will somehow put a monetary dent in Apple in any quantifiable way whatsoever!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

BluRay is a different story. Optical Media, in my opinion, is becoming obsolete for consumers. It still has a purpose for data archiving, but really, what do we need optical media for?

I have FiOS at my house -- I can download an entire blu ray disc in about 1-2 hours...and that is just the raw contents on the disc itself without being compressed. With compression, that time can change to 30 minutes, and even less...I have no need whatsoever for optical media...FiOS TV provides Movies \ Shows on demand, and what they lack in their catalog, torrent and other content provider sites on the internet fill in the gaps, and then some.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
The GPU in the Mac Mini is a Nvidia mobility chip, not Intel Integrated. These types of gpu's are par for the course on mini PC's, not just the mini. In fact, there are lots of mini pc's that use intel integrated, which is far worse.

Yeah, the ram offering could be better. But, once again, that amount of ram is par for the course on mini PC's. Most of them can only go up to 4 gigs at max and use ddr2 800's. The mini uses ddr3 1066 and can be upgraded to 8 gigs. On top of that, you can install your own ram now.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
We are years out from average consumers streaming down 35GB movies. Of course there are a lot of services that stream media, but they then badget their sub-DVD quality stream "720p" and somehow people eat it up.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Not that its required, but its only because of the pricepoint that I brought it up. When you hit the four digits mark, my expectations go up.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
herewegoagain.jpg

Nice try defending Apple by saying that physical media is obsolete. The day I can get the same level of both audio and video quality from the internet, in a reasonable time, is the day I will call it obsolete.

Seeing how things are going in the US, I don't think it will happen any time soon.

But hey, keep rationalizing your love for Apple.]]>Jun 20th 2010 8:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Very true, can get great results w/ a bit of compression, but I don't think the average American home has the bandwidth, patience, or equipment.

According to arstechnica, US broadband is currently at 4.8Mbps, or 1.9Mbps if you average in the rest. Too much buffer w/ risk of failure and would tie up an internet connection for quite some time, provided they have the gear.

For the average Joe, popping in one of the three Netflix disks they have at home that week, or picked up while at Walmart or Redbox kiosk (we have em at Krogers, McDonalds, Valero gas stations etc) is more convenient. ]]>Jun 20th 2010 8:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
It's $937 with 4GB RAM and wireless keyboard and mouse, not "over a grand".]]>Jun 20th 2010 8:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Its $1014.30 shipped to Houston, TX. As I said, "its over a grand shipped". Price to your door is usually what people care about. Only exception is Delaware and NH right?]]>Jun 20th 2010 8:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
To be honest, who cares. Even the vastly superior Windows 7 media center doesn't sell well to general consumers as exclusive htpc's. So this thing, with a greatly reduced feature set compared to media center won't sell well as an htpc, nor does it change the htpc market in any way.]]>Jun 20th 2010 9:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
And Alabama, Alaska (Juneau, Fairbanks and Ancorage), Arizona (parts), Arkansas, Colorado (not Denver though), Connecticut, Florida (parts), Georgia (parts), Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois (maybe in parts, probably not though), Iowa (parts), Kansas (parts), Kentucky, Louisiana (parts), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri (parts), Montana, New Mexico (parts), North Carolina (in theory parts), North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico (parts), South Dakota, Utah (parts), Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming (parts).

With a 6.5% or lower sales tax rate, it comes to under $1K.

And did you consider that it is possible to buy the same wireless keyboard and mouse you would buy for a PC and use it on this Mac to save money?]]>Jun 20th 2010 9:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Yes, $699 is a lot.

It has HDMI, but it comes with an HDMI->DVI adapter and it has a DisplayPort also which can run a 2560x1600 (30") display. So I think the argument that it's no longer a desktop PC is wrong.

Yes, size does matter for HTPCs. And quiet does also and this is quiet.

I can understand this is pricey, but for people for whom the price isn't an issue, it does have some advantages.

I only know one person who actually runs Windows Media Center. Most people I know who want an HTPC want it to view online content (both legal and pirated), not to DVR cable.]]>Jun 20th 2010 9:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
That may be true ... I just have yet to see it. I can notice a difference between my Blu-Ray discs and the same movie that has been compressed in the 8-12GB range.]]>Jun 20th 2010 9:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 9:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/well consider yourself lucky that you get fios, other places dont have anything faster than cable and even when you pay for for more than 15mb a second or what ever it is we dont get close to that. i think ive gotten like 1mb per second and i think it jumped once to 1.5mb per second. so you can download a blue ray movie in a few hours it takes me at least a day. so physical media still wins out. until i get that sweet fast ass internet everyone keeps talking about]]>Jun 20th 2010 11:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/I don't love apple, I'm just saying that I personally have no use for optical media because of my internet connection.]]>Jun 20th 2010 11:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
An optical drive is obsolete for me because I'm playing uncompressed 1080p content on a MacMini using PLEX. No loss of quality and no need for physical media. PLEX has hooks for Apple's Hardware Accelerated H.264 Decoding and my MacMini laughs at any content I throw at it.

Storage and the MacMini is a pretty steep barrier to entry, but there is a growing community of people supporting this setup, so although this is a small segment, its a group Apple recognizes. This is one of many small uses for the MacMini and many of the other uses doesn't rely on Blu-Ray or optical drives to be successful.

Vinyl is the only physical media allowed in the house. And once again, my music and video content matches the quality of the physical media you're arguing still needs to exist.]]>Jun 21st 2010 1:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/You are not playing uncompressed 1080p. Uncompressed 1080p would be 20GB/minute (373MB/sec).]]>Jun 21st 2010 3:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/If they're going to have an optical drive in it then there is no good reason it shouldn't be Blu-Ray.
They need to add 1080p streaming to the app store. Of course still give the option for 720p for those whose connections aren't fast enough.
FrontRow has a lot of room for improvement. It could use its own app store.
Finally iPod touch/iPhone should be used for search text input and remote function.

If I had a large television and apple made the product above then I would buy it.]]>Jun 21st 2010 3:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Still, you can't upgrade the HDD...]]>Jun 21st 2010 3:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
I'm not sure I understand the Bluray issue. HTPCs are for people that torrent their stuff. Why should it be an issue?

No ordinary non-geeky person want a full-fledged computer by their TV!]]>Jun 21st 2010 4:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Dude that is complete bollocks. You are not playing uncompressed 1080HD. The minimum requirement for no dropped frames is a 5 HDD RAID 0 hooked to esata and You better have a seriously good RAID case and controller not some no-brand crap.

Regardless that the mini has no esata and no slot to install a card. Minimum spec to do that for a current Apple computer is a MacPro or a 17" Macbook Pro. In either case a card is required.

I edit genuine lossless 1080HD, each frame is stored as TIFF LZW stored as a stream in AppleTIFF. I use this method because it is the lowest filesize (a tenth of uncompressed 422) and lossless (as in you can check individual pixels of source to end product and they are identical).

Finally, such a setup is completely POINTLESS unless you are playing back your own content and it was captured as RAW from a RED or as still frames from a DSLR (my method) or have the guts to sustain input quality through edit/effects processing cause any other content you are playing is already compressed to the crapper.

Bluray is shite compared to uncompressed.

That you even mentioned uncompressed in a comment against this article is ridiculous.]]>Jun 21st 2010 4:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 21st 2010 4:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 21st 2010 9:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
My apologies, I'm playing 1080p content that is at the same quality as your Blu-Ray disc.]]>Jun 21st 2010 4:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/35950/dell-zino-hd-amd-dual-core-athlon-x2-3250e-3gb-ddr2-250gb-hd-blu-ray-romdvrw-radeon-hd-3200-win-vista-home-basic-64-bit

$284 shipped to your door (thats with a BluRay drive)]]>Jun 25th 2010 2:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
And the fact that it isn't justifying anything...]]>Jun 20th 2010 6:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
The mini is not the only Mac with no display, although I know the Pro is easy to forget when it hasn't been refreshed in so long. Also, the mini retains two versions, not one - there remains a server version that includes an OSX Server license and an extra HDD in place of an optical drive.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 9:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
]]>Jun 21st 2010 3:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
It's kinda stupid for Engadget to hint it would be ok used as a media center. You're far better off getting a cheap media streaming box. This is way too much money to relegate to such a basic task.

This is a desktop computer that uses laptop parts so is as powerful as a laptop. People complaining about performance should note that 80% of computer buyers choose laptops now and aren't complaining.

If you want a quad Core i7 with a Radeon 5850, go get one. Just don't expect it to use under 10W idle and under 30W maxed out and btw, this machine will play Crysis on medium using under 30W.

It is expensive for the performance you get, no one would deny that but this product is clearly about size and it's pretty well built. $100 off and I'll pick one up.]]>Jun 21st 2010 7:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 7:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 8:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
This article is about an AppleTV alternative.

All that requires is a $200 Revo. A Revo is pretty much an AppleTV with a GPU upgrade.]]>Jun 20th 2010 9:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
So there you go. Either way, its a compromise. With Shuttle you compromise on size, with Apple you compromise on price. Apple's always been a Premier brand. Stop whining.]]>Jun 21st 2010 12:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Honestly, if you own an Apple TV right now I have to question whether you're a terribly choosy customer anyway. You did notice the only thing it does well is help you buy media from Apple, right? And by well, I mean "only up to 720p".]]>Jun 20th 2010 6:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Well, I use mine more as an iPod replacement in the home and as a media streamer from my Windows Home Server. I rent movies from it only occasionally.

I'm typically not a big fan of Apple products based solely on their price to technology ratio, but the AppleTV is the one thing I wish Apple spent more time on (In it's current form, I mean. The rumor that the new AppleTV is going to run a modified version of the iPhone OS has me scared for the future of the product)]]>Jun 20th 2010 6:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/I'm with Pacey. I have two ATV's (and a WDTV HD Live). I've never purchased or rented a movie from Apple. But it lets me share my 200+ movie collection from iTunes to my TV. And it it does so with an interface that is beautiful and intuitive. The WDTV is nice in that it plays 1080p, but the interface is equally as bad as everything else out on the market.]]>Jun 20th 2010 7:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/
Until something better comes along I'll stick with it. I also have a windows HTPC I use for Netflix and Hulu. Hulu is seldom used.]]>Jun 20th 2010 8:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/20/switched-on-new-mac-mini-a-mixed-apple-tv-alternative/Jun 20th 2010 6:16PM