[tjpoe]

I have an older mac-mini dual core 1.6 or something like that. I know it isn't capable of playing 1080p without a few upgrades, but I was wondering if there is any way I can get it to just downgrade the video to 720p r something like that? similar to what the Apple TV2's do?

[aaronb]

The AppleTV is not downgrading the video. It can decode 1080p, but it can only display 720p. The heavy lifting is the decoding, which is where your older Mac Mini falls short.