Posts: 50
Joined: Feb 2010
Reputation:
0
Hi all. I'm sure this topic has been covered extensively but not to my satisfaction so I thought I'd just ask.
I'm currently running an AppleTV, which I love for SD content. I have installed the crystalHD card and everything has been up and running for weeks. The HD content just doesn't play well enough for my liking, and I can never get my wife to watch a movie with me because of the buffering and the stuttering. I am thinking about buying a new Mac Mini the 2.53 dual core and installing XBMC on it because I freaking love XBMC.
A lot of the mac mini posts that I've read are people with older mac mini's my question is are the newer mac mini's powerful enough to play back 1080p content without and hang-ups?
Its going to be quite an investment, but worth it if everything works then I can have peace of mind.
Thanks in advance.
Posts: 75
Joined: Jul 2009
Reputation:
0
2010-06-06, 23:04
(This post was last modified: 2010-06-06, 23:06 by shadd22.)
I just did this about a week ago. I was basically looking for the same thing, something that could play SD and HD over the network and also connect for surround sound output.
I've thrown 1080p H264 MKV files at it and it goes through them just fine. No buffering, slowdowns or artifacting at all. And the newest XBMC will also be able to take advantage of the new H264 acceleration made available in the OS so that will also help.
Just one thing before you rush out to buy one though, wait at least until after the WWDC announcements tomorrow (7th) as there are strong rumors leading to a new upgrade to the Mac Mini.
Posts: 50
Joined: Feb 2010
Reputation:
0
I just saw the Crystalbuntu posting last night and am thinking giving it a try on my current ATV. Does it really offer better play back performance? I was under the assumption that installing linux or Crystalbuntu only improves interface performance and 1080p output.
Posts: 403
Joined: Apr 2009
Reputation:
2
Well, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you will have to draw your own conclusions.
Myself, I have 1 HD movie. It would not play under ATV OS, but is now watchable (and smooth) under Linux.
Depending on your resources, setting up the Flash drive is fairly simple and if not satisfied, you just unplug and the ATV is back to where you started. (and you have a new flash stick to use as you see fit).
Or, just buy the Mac Mini and be over it.....
Posts: 50
Joined: Feb 2010
Reputation:
0
Do the current Mac mini's the newer ones with a 2.53GHz processor send audio over HDMI? I can't seem to find any information on that from google. It just says they come with an HDMI port. If not how must you hook it up with the red and white audio cables?
Posts: 75
Joined: Jul 2009
Reputation:
0
2010-06-08, 05:02
(This post was last modified: 2010-06-08, 05:08 by shadd22.)
The current ones in the market only have Mini DVI and the Mini Display port. Both accomplish the same task, you can get 1080p out of them, but they do not send audio over the cable. You can pick up a Mini DVI for about 10-20 bucks, the Mini Display Port in my opinion isn't needed in your situation. They currently do not come with an HDMI port built into it, that is a rumor/mockup making the round on the net currently.
The Mini has an audio out port. You can buy a Toslink cable which allows you to send a digital signal over an SPDIF connection. This can also double as a regular audio out method as well so each method works. If your end goal is to hook the audio up using the red and white cables, I would recommend buying a headphone to stereo cable. These can be found at any dollar store.
Posts: 8
Joined: May 2010
Reputation:
0
I have and old mini (2007), worked great until I start ripping blu ray hd 1080p content, i had to make the upgrade and bought a new 2.53 core 2duo.
I connected via dvi-dvi to my 55" samsung series 7 screen, and toslink to an `Integra dtr 70.1 , for the hd content i can tell you this:
video for 1080p (1980x1080) @ 30 frames works very good, i have vlc, h264 files , and they all work very good, there is no stuttering, buffering, etc.....
however, the cpu usage goes over 130% in some movies, and even so, the video still goes smooth, but... , you can't do anything else, if you have another application runing, you will have problems, but if you only run xbmc, you will have a very pleasent experience.
As for the audio, even though i ripped my blu rays with hd-audio, it will only show on DTS-MA, will be downgraded to DTS, and dolby digital true hd , will be downgraded to dolby-digital, this is not xbmc fault, this formats can't be passed through by toslink, you have to have hdmi 1.3a at least, and none of the mini's so far carry them. But if you balance the results, i can live with that! hope this helps!
Posts: 34
Joined: Nov 2008
Reputation:
0
cjedj
Junior Member
Posts: 34
Would chucking more RAM in a Mac Mini make it handle higher bitrates better?
I'm assuming not, but would appreciate any confirmation.
