Welcome and thanks for visiting MiniMediaCenter.com. This site is meant to explore the possibilities of Mini Home Theater PCs and specific attention will be paid to the Mac Mini Media Center.
The Mac Mini is probably the least appreciated and most misunderstood member of the family of Apple desktop computers. Perhaps this is because Apple has failed to market the computer in a way that is desirable for consumers.
For the past several years fans of the Mac Mini have created capable and attractive media centers around this minimalist designed computer. Creating a Mac Mini media center is an excellent option for those who want to eliminate cable programming costs and to take control over their consumption and storage of media.
Incidentally, you will also have OSX access from your living room couch. That means if you choose you can check email, and browse the web using your TV as a monitor.
So what exactly is a Mac Mini Media Center?
It all depends on what level you want to take it. Some people don't mind navigating on their tv just as they would with a normal desktop and monitor setup. Some will want a seamless media center experience that will allow any one user to access content without going through unnecessary folders and menus.
At the very least for a Mac Mini Media Center to work you need:
- A Mac Mini (at least with a Pentium processor, it doesn't have to be the latest 2009 model)
- A TV
- Cables to allow audio and video to flow from your computer to the tv
- A keyboard or some other device for controlling your Mini
You will most likely also want to add:
- Software to organize and present your media such as tv shows, movies, and music.
- An external drive for storing media
- An eyeTV TV tuner for recording live TV
- Software for ripping DVDs
There are many detailed resources online for setting up your Mac Mini media center. This website will guide you on what components you may need and where you can find them at a great price.
PS. This media center is an expression of your personality. There are no rules. Some of the options people have added to their setup include game emulators, external hard drives, tv tuners, various programs for encoding and organizing media, and varied peripherals like wireless keyboards, universal remotes, and mice. Maybe your Mac Mini media center will just be used for streaming podcasts, YouTube, and Hulu and if that's the case your needs are different than someone who wants to archive every episode of their favorite TV show. Experiment and see what works best for you.
I agree that the Mac mini has not gotten the attention that it deserves. I have a question though, How does the mini connect to the HDTV, What type of connections and software is required? Thanks for the info.
The Mac Mini Media Center sounds like a really cool piece of equipment. I assume (as the other commenter asks) that the connections to TVs, external drives, etc are done via wifi, right? I assume that its existence as a part of your home network that facilitates it’s connection to other devices, otherwise you still have the issue of wires.
Am I making the correct assumptions?
Macs are great for a whole range of entertainment options – and I have found that hooking my mac up to a HDTV with a wireless keyboard is a nice way to work on my computer as well as watching TV or playing games.