[digit79]

Hi,

i was using XBMC with Linux for many years. My Hardware died, so i went to a MacMini.
(Really pleased with mac on Laptop/Desktop Side).

But i have many little issues which do not help me and my wife to get a flawless xbmc experience.

So what would you propose: Install XBMCubuntu on the MacMini or just sell it on ebay and build a new HTPC by myself ?!

(Usecase: Mostly silent due to living room placement, capable of XBMC with any file formats, and some CPU Power to do NZB par checking well )

I really like the optical appereance of the mac mini. It is also silent!
But i want a flawless experience. No Hangs whatsowever. Bitstream Audio. etc etc.

Really hoping for your opinions.

[FernetMenta]

IMO the Mac is way too expensive. In case you have a 2011/12 model with i5/i7 I would keep it because those are powerful enough for software decoding. If your model is older, I am sure you'll find a better system.

[digit79]

It is a core i5 based model.

But why should i use software decoding ?! HW Based decoding is possible.
At least i thought that the last weeks

I really like the HW...do you think it will work better with XBMCUbuntu/native Ubuntu ?

[wsnipex]

an i5 usually works well with hardware decoding via vaapi on linux.
What issues do you have with MacOS btw? Might very well not be OS related.

[FernetMenta]

an i5 usually works well with hardware decoding via vaapi on linux.

In case it's the 2012 model. The 2011 i5 has AMD graphics with only 256MB vRAM.