[pooh]

Hi all,

Sorry for the newbie question!

I am about to buy a Mac Mini, and I want to learn all about XBMC on the Mac Mini. However, I never owned a 'Mac' before so I am a bit puzzled by the many posts on 'Apple' topics and 'Mac OS' (and naming convention).

My questions to this audience would be:

1. Is the Mac Mini suitable for running XBMC
2. Can I run movies in HD quality
3. Is there a remote with the Mac mini that works with XBMC
4. Would the Mac Mini a good choice in general for use as 'general purpose' device to be connected to my HD TV AND running XBMC at the same time
5. Should I buy it and just do it?
6. Would the Apple TV be a better option.....?

I know XBMC since the very early days (it kept alive my old xbox beyond any gaming) and am aware that XBMC for other platforms is still in beta stages. But hey, tim to ditch the old XBOX and get a new 'XBMC/HD-TV compatible' device :-)

Thanks for your input, much appreciated!!

[jmarshall]

Hi there, and welcome to the forums

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes - the one that comes with it works OK, but with 6 buttons it's a little limited. Note that the soon to be released Beta 2 will have improved Apple remote usage.
4. Yes
5. Up to you
6. Possibly - it's half the price, but doesn't have the same power for HD material.

Cheers,
Jonathan

[pooh]

Jonathan,

You gave the answers I was hoping for. Regarding #6, yes, for I would like to use the Mac Mini as a 'general internet/media/fun' device' where horsepower comes in handy.

Way back, when I started using XBMC (mediaplayer) I was very impressed, never expected to see XBMC go cross platform. Hence the whole reason why I now specifically for XBMC buy a new device.

Anybody in the need to for an old XBOX? ;-)

Thanks a heap, cheers!!

ps. When the New Mac mini is in tha house, where do I start, meaning, from factory default to full up and running XBMC/MN (how-to's etc). A polite request

ps 2: Thank you for welcoming me!

[MrHipster]

Hi, I'm an XBMC Noob, but never had an XBox until I bought a used one to soft mod a week before they released the cross platform software only DL. I'm running it on an iMac Intel Duo core with Tiger, but am wondering if I really am taking a step forward ? Ok the mini is meant to be a media player and thus the XBMC software will make it more versatile than Front Row. Should I still soft mod the old Xbox so I have a standalone media player which I think is more practical since my iMac does not sit next to my TV as your mini will ?
Your opinion would be appreciated.
Thanks

[jmarshall]

You have the xbox, and softmodding it will have no cost associated other than time. So sure, why not softmod it and try the software out to see what you think.

The xbox works great for SD material.

[natethomas]

I have a follow-up question. How well does a mini 2.0 ghz work with larger m2ts files? Let's say a 39 gig file that runs about 25 mb/sec

[tyche]

Keep in mind, Macworld is in January and the rumours about is they will announce a new mac mini. If you can hold off for a couple weeks, it might be worth waiting.

[prn_star]

Keep in mind, Macworld is in January and the rumours about is they will announce a new mac mini. If you can hold off for a couple weeks, it might be worth waiting.

Well that was disappointing.

I'm not a mac user (yet) but I have a newbie question, can you turn on a mac mini from your couch using the remote?

[IB134866]

Yes you can resume the mac mini from sleep using the remote. The key here is to resume from sleep. There is no way that I am aware to boot the mac mini from off using the remote.

I am using remote buddy to map all functions of XBMC to my harmony one remote. I have included sleeping the mac mini when I press the power off button on the remote and the mac mini will wake up when any button from the remote is pressed.