Help configuring a Mac Mini dedicated HTPC running XBMC
#1
Question 
Hi all. I'm trying to build a dedicated HTPC using OSXBMC on a brand new Mac Mini Intel core 2 duo 1.83mhz.

What I want:
I want the computer to boot up straight into OSXBMC in fullscreen mode with no mouse or keyboard attached (I intend on using the included mac IR remote). I also want to share my source folder over my network so that I can drag and drop movies I've downloaded from my other Windows computers in my house straight into the OS X directory. And lastly I want to be able to push out some 1080i HD.

Problems thus far:

When booting there is an annoying light blue screen that shows up when the desktop is loading. I was hoping to just make the deesktop a blank black background with menu bar and dock hidden so it looks as though the computer is loading straight into OSXBMC.

Whenever I boot up without the keyboard and mouse hooked up OS X pops up an annoying "Searching for bluetooth keyboard/mouse" window. Anyone know how to get rid of that?

I'm using the xTV skin - when XBMC loads I see the menu and THEN the startup video runs... is there anyone to get the startup video to run immediately after OSXBMC loads so it doesn't look awkward?

Lastly, I've found the mac mini remote finicky and not quick to respond... I'm hoping to find something at least comperable to the standard Xbox remote. Anyone know of third party remotes that work with the built in mac mini IR receiver?

All help is appreciated and before anyone says it - yes. I realize that OSXBMC is still in the development phase so I know I'm not going to be able to get EVERYTHING I want...
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#2
Sorry, can't help with any answers. This may not be relevant to your questions as they seem to be more hardware and/or osx configuration, but you should know that osxbmc and xbmc for OSX are separate apps, so if you're looking for osxbmc specific help you should head over to http://www.osxbmc.com/.
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#3
snoxbox Wrote:Sorry, can't help with any answers. This may not be relevant to your questions as they seem to be more hardware and/or osx configuration, but you should know that osxbmc and xbmc for OSX are separate apps, so if you're looking for osxbmc specific help you should head over to http://www.osxbmc.com/.

That's interesting because on osxbmc.com they use the name "OSXBMC" and "XBMC for OSX" interchangeably. For example their site FAQ clearly calls it "XBMC for OS X"
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#4
bdanger Wrote:That's interesting because on osxbmc.com they use the name "OSXBMC" and "XBMC for OSX" interchangeably. For example their site FAQ clearly calls it "XBMC for OS X"

Yes, I noticed that too. You can read about the "fork" here:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=33463
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#5
bdanger Wrote:That's interesting because on osxbmc.com they use the name "OSXBMC" and "XBMC for OSX" interchangeably. For example their site FAQ clearly calls it "XBMC for OS X"

They just haven't changed or updated their site yet because they like to focus on pumping out releases
But he is right they have their own forum for this stuff
If you really want a dedicated htpc then I suggest you go for the linux version because it dosn't require any desktop running under it like the windows and OSX versions do.
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#6
Jezz_X Wrote:They just haven't changed or updated their site yet because they like to focus on pumping out releases
But he is right they have their own forum for this stuff
If you really want a dedicated htpc then I suggest you go for the linux version because it dosn't require any desktop running under it like the windows and OSX versions do.

Doesn't the linux version require the Linux desktop running under it? I chose the OSX port over linux because the mac mini for some reason took much longer to boot when I had Ubuntu on it than it does for OSX...
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#7
Under linux all that's NEEDED is an xsession which can be had with startx. There's really no reason OSX should boot noticeably faster than linux other than gdm (which you don't need) takes a painfully long time to do its thing with the framebuffer. Also, OSX may give you a desktop while it's still doing things that need done before it is usable in the background (like winxp does) giving the impression it booted faster.
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#8
As althekiller said The linux version dosn't need a desktop like gnome or kde or anything to run all it needs is an xsession if you want an example of this the LiveUSB version on the forum does this it just boots straight into xbmc with nothing else running except XBMC and linux basics like network and filesystem and other needed things ( no linux gui stuff at all )

But if you want XBMC can run on a desktop aswell as you have seen
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#9
althekiller Wrote:There's really no reason OSX should boot noticeably faster than linux other than gdm (which you don't need) takes a painfully long time to do its thing with the framebuffer. Also, OSX may give you a desktop while it's still doing things that need done before it is usable in the background (like winxp does) giving the impression it booted faster.

I'm not really sure why but after pressing the power on button the white screen shows up that usually has an apple on it and the computer hangs for a good 15-20 seconds before even starting to load up linux. It seems like it's looking for the boot files or something.

Jezz_X Wrote:As althekiller said The linux version dosn't need a desktop like gnome or kde or anything to run all it needs is an xsession if you want an example of this the LiveUSB version on the forum does this it just boots straight into xbmc with nothing else running except XBMC and linux basics like network and filesystem and other needed things ( no linux gui stuff at all )

But if you want XBMC can run on a desktop aswell as you have seen

I have heard about the USB version. I'm just not sure I'm good enough with linux yet to go 100% command-line. How would I go about running the LiveUSB version of XBMC as a desktop without using the USB everytime?
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#10
These guys are right. I'm using the Mac Mini running Ubuntu w/o a desktop manager as my home HTPC and it's perfectly awesome and very wife friendly. I did get the Mac IR remote working, but in short order switched to a MCE remote. You're really limited by the six buttons with the Mac remote.
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#11
JeffElkins Wrote:These guys are right. I'm using the Mac Mini running Ubuntu w/o a desktop manager as my home HTPC and it's perfectly awesome and very wife friendly. I did get the Mac IR remote working, but in short order switched to a MCE remote. You're really limited by the six buttons with the Mac remote.

Jeff your setup sounds pretty good. Is there anything you can't do without having a desktop? Can you give me a brief overview of how you setup xbmc to run without the desktop? I pretty much know how to install Ubuntu and I know a few commands but that's really it... Better yet if there is a tutorial on how to do this that would be great too!
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#12
For the remainder of this guide we will assume the user is "xbmc"
and that you are using a fresh install of Hardy.

1) We need a way to auto login to a terminall...
$ sudo apt-get install mingetty

2) Lets make our user auto login to tty1
$ sudo vim /etc/events.d/tty1
Change...
exec /sbin/getty 38400 tty1
To...
#exec /sbin/getty 38400 tty1
exec /sbin/mingetty --autologin xbmc tty1

3) We need to start an xsession
$ echo "startx" >> ~xbmc/.bash_login

4) And we'd like XBMC to start automatically
$ echo "xbmc" >> ~xbmc/.xinitrc

5) Finally we need to kill GDM
$ sudo chmod -x /etc/init.d/gdb
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#13
bdanger Wrote:That's interesting because on osxbmc.com they use the name "OSXBMC" and "XBMC for OSX" interchangeably. For example their site FAQ clearly calls it "XBMC for OS X"


Sorry for this confusion, I updated the links and naming scheme for now. Hopefully we can figure out a proper name in the near future so users won't be as confused.
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#14
icekiller Wrote:For the remainder of this guide we will assume the user is "xbmc"
and that you are using a fresh install of Hardy.

1) We need a way to auto login to a terminall...
$ sudo apt-get install mingetty

2) Lets make our user auto login to tty1
$ sudo vim /etc/events.d/tty1
Change...
exec /sbin/getty 38400 tty1
To...
#exec /sbin/getty 38400 tty1
exec /sbin/mingetty --autologin xbmc tty1

3) We need to start an xsession
$ echo "startx" >> ~xbmc/.bash_login

4) And we'd like XBMC to start automatically
$ echo "xbmc" >> ~xbmc/.xinitrc

5) Finally we need to kill GDM
$ sudo chmod -x /etc/init.d/gdb

Thanks Ice I appreciate it! I'll try a wack at it tomorrow when I get back from work. ...A few questions though before-hand: so I do a fresh install of Hardy and then from the desktop I go into the terminal and enter in the commands? What does "tty1" mean? and I'm guessing it'd be easiest to configure XBMC with the desktop still running before I do any of this right? Lastly, once I do all this is there a way to start GDM again if I need to do anything? Thanks again.
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#15
bdanger Wrote:Hi all. I'm trying to build a dedicated HTPC using OSXBMC on a brand new Mac Mini Intel core 2 duo 1.83mhz.

What I want:
I want the computer to boot up straight into OSXBMC in fullscreen mode with no mouse or keyboard attached (I intend on using the included mac IR remote). I also want to share my source folder over my network so that I can drag and drop movies I've downloaded from my other Windows computers in my house straight into the OS X directory. And lastly I want to be able to push out some 1080i HD.

Problems thus far:

When booting there is an annoying light blue screen that shows up when the desktop is loading. I was hoping to just make the deesktop a blank black background with menu bar and dock hidden so it looks as though the computer is loading straight into OSXBMC.

Whenever I boot up without the keyboard and mouse hooked up OS X pops up an annoying "Searching for bluetooth keyboard/mouse" window. Anyone know how to get rid of that?

I'm using the xTV skin - when XBMC loads I see the menu and THEN the startup video runs... is there anyone to get the startup video to run immediately after OSXBMC loads so it doesn't look awkward?

Lastly, I've found the mac mini remote finicky and not quick to respond... I'm hoping to find something at least comperable to the standard Xbox remote. Anyone know of third party remotes that work with the built in mac mini IR receiver?

All help is appreciated and before anyone says it - yes. I realize that OSXBMC is still in the development phase so I know I'm not going to be able to get EVERYTHING I want...
Is the boot procedure really relevant? The mini is made to be switched on all the time, with no activity it goes in sleep mode (user configurable) with no sound and very little energy consumption. I am leaving my on continually...

If you define XBMC as a startup item i System Preferences/Accounts the mini will launch XBMC automatically every time it is switched on.

I am using v0.5.0b8 and my remote works 100%. Memory is cheap now so I recommend putting in 3GB, everything works smoother (maybe also your remote)...
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Help configuring a Mac Mini dedicated HTPC running XBMC0