[Suave]

Hi All,

My knowledge is very little & very limited so please forgive & make allowances for this! If I understand correctly, one area where Apple really trails badly compared to Windows is in the HTPC arena - I have read many a Mac fan complain about this!

I will be setting up a home entertainment/multimedia centre some time soon and before I switched to Macs, I just arrogantly assumed that anything a Windows PC could do, a Mac could do ten times better! Ideally, I never wanted to ever go back to Windows again but even without the HTPC part, I find occasions where one can do things on a PC that one cannot do so easily on a Mac. I have resisted any temptation of loading Windows on my Mac as I was not sure about the safety aspect of things but after reading that one can partition a Hard Drive and run OS X & Windows discretely in each partition, I became a little more interested - When (not if!) I get malware on my Mac, at least, it will only be on the Windows side of things!!!

With Windows 7 coming out now, I am wondering what to do - partition the hard drive and use one for OSX & the other for Windows 7. That way, I can log on to Windows 7, download thing like movies, HD stuff, TV & satellite channels etc and then watch on a HDTV and/or I can easily go out and buy a ready made HTPC to hook my UMBP to so that the two work together. Is this a good idea?

Is there a Mac version of a HTPC coming out soon? Ideally, that would be perfect as I can do away with Windows completely then but it must be at least as good and expandable as a decent HTPC. I am happy to wait if this may be the case. I know Windows 7 is supposed to be really great but I am still very concerned about viruses and security and that was my main reason to switch to Mac's -I just do not want that hassle again!


Suave!

[Adam K]

a mac mini and plex is perfect for playback of HD content, not really sure what you are suggesting the mac isn't capable of?

i have both a core2duo mac mini, and an htpc, both of which are used for htpc duties, and tbh since setting up the mac mini with plex, i haven't turned the pc on in months.

my only complaint is the lack of a decent newsgroup client for the mac, but at the moment i can use vmware on the mac to run a windows client if i want.

my setup consists of the current model mac mini upgraded to 4gb of ram, and a 320gb 7200rpm hard disk. i then have a 1tb time capsule with 1.5tb of external storage attached to it, so that 2.5tb of storage is available to any machine on my network. i also purchased the apple remote control which is pretty vital for controlling plex effectively, although you can use a 3rd party remote like the logitech harmony too.

[MrSossidge]

Originally Posted by Adam K

my only complaint is the lack of a decent newsgroup client for the mac, but at the moment i can use vmware on the mac to run a windows client if i want.

SABnzbd+ is the way to go IMO. Sits quietly in the background, downloads, unpacks, tidies up. An absolutely brilliant piece of software.

There is a thread on here about newsgroup clients.

Also, if I was to put a HTPC with my big telly then a Mini with Plex is the way I'd go.

[Suave]

Hi,

Wow, you guys seem to really know your stuff! May I ask then, is a Mac Mini with this Plex and Newsreader thingies as good if not better than a decent HTPC? Is there anything that it would be lacking in terms of features, functions, usability, expandability, options etc? I only ask since I keep reading things like the PC side is "Light Years" ahead of Mac on the HTPC side of things!!


Suave!

[Playalistic]

Originally Posted by Suave

Hi,

Wow, you guys seem to really know your stuff! May I ask then, is a Mac Mini with this Plex and Newsreader thingies as good if not better than a decent HTPC? Is there anything that it would be lacking in terms of features, functions, usability, expandability, options etc? I only ask since I keep reading things like the PC side is "Light Years" ahead of Mac on the HTPC side of things!!


Suave!

That is exactly my setup. Works perfectly for me. I would say the only thing that I wish it did was pipe my sky HD through but that is no fault of the mac's. There was a freesat tuner add-on released recently though so I will be taking a look at that.

In terms of features I would say Plex is light years ahead of Windows Media Centre. With the added benefit that Plex is open source software and new features are not tied to operating system releases as per Windows. New features and refinements are added to Plex literally every few weeks/months.

[alanrob]

As all have said, a Mini and Plex is the best looking and functioning HTPC money can buy. Only thing missing is a Blu-Ray player and then it would be the all in one package for all things hi-def.

[baldrick]

I think you need to define what it is that you want your HTPC to do and then you can start to decide if an Apple will do what you want!

The term HTPC is quite generic so are you looking to playback a specific media type or do you want something that will give you full PC functionality on your TV?

If you are happy to play in Apple's court re. file formats then a Mac mini is great out of the box! FrontRow gives you a nice tidy I terrace through which to access you content and it will even let you navigate through to ripped, VIDEO_TS files, as long as they're in your 'Movies' folder.

If you want compatibility which non-Apple content then you have to start looking at some of the 3rd party solutions.

Another consideration is Apple TV which is a nicely packaged way to access your iTunes content from your home cinema with the addedd bonus of direct links to the iTunes store for movie rentals etc... This is my current solution and the great thing is that you can easily add an extra ATV in another room and have access to all your content.

So as to my first point, define what it is you want from a system and then see if Apple provides a solution!

[domlof]

I'm interested in an Apple HTPC but I've heard that it does not decode any of the HD lossless audio formats, and I'm not even sure if it'll output Audio via HTML (full 5.1/7/1 channels).

I don't think you can call any PC (Windows/Linux or Mac) a HTPC these days if it can't do basic BR playing with the ability to stream HD video and audio!

I mean who just wants to play DVDs!? Is that really 'Home Theater'?

Just my thoughts ...

[baldrick]

Originally Posted by domlof

I'm interested in an Apple HTPC but I've heard that it does not decode...

The point of this thread is that there is no Apple "HTPC" per se. There is the Mac mini that a lot of people use as an HTPC and the Apple TV which is Apple's own media player/extender that acts as a link between your home cinema and your iTunes library...

[pixelated]

Whatchu wanna do with it? Apple TV is very cool... can stream movies from either another PC or you can put movies right on it.. same with songs etc. It will also connect to iTunes and you can buy/rent new films and buy new music from your TV.

I love mine.

[rick1409]

Another big vote here for a mac mini with plex.

I used to run a noisy pc with xp Media Centre edition in the front room, and it did the job o.k. But buying a mini and setting Plex up with is the best decision I've made in a long while. Plex handles any video format I've thrown at it, plus the customization is brilliant. Just got a couple of external hdd's tucked in the back of the tv cabinet.

And as for newsgroups, as MrSossidge pointed out, SABnzbd+ is definitely the way to go.

Rick

[dejongj]

I used to have a purpose built HTPC in a nice Silverstone Tek 'HiFi' friendly case...I've sold it and now have an AppleTV...Do I need to say more...

Main reasons;
1. I like like to watch movies, not tinker with a PC all the time
2. I like it instant on, not have my fingers crossed whether it responds to the remote control or do I need to get that keyboard out again
3. The holy grail of 1:1 mapping is overrated, and unless you also buy the right panel (not TV) not even possible...
4. Blu-Ray, DVD's, pah so old fashioned. Life streaming from my network or the internet any day thank you very much
5. My wife can operate it each and every time, no remote PC support required...

Nah if you like tinkering go down the HTPC route, I prefer the appliance feel to things....And you know what, when something has got a good story line you don't mind a bit less quality...I've wasted to many hours of my life looking and comparing...Just enjoy and you won't look back...

[alanrob]

Originally Posted by dejongj

I used to have a purpose built HTPC in a nice Silverstone Tek 'HiFi' friendly case...I've sold it and now have an AppleTV...Do I need to say more...

Main reasons;
1. I like like to watch movies, not tinker with a PC all the time
2. I like it instant on, not have my fingers crossed whether it responds to the remote control or do I need to get that keyboard out again
3. The holy grail of 1:1 mapping is overrated, and unless you also buy the right panel (not TV) not even possible...
4. Blu-Ray, DVD's, pah so old fashioned. Life streaming from my network or the internet any day thank you very much
5. My wife can operate it each and every time, no remote PC support required...

Nah if you like tinkering go down the HTPC route, I prefer the appliance feel to things....And you know what, when something has got a good story line you don't mind a bit less quality...I've wasted to many hours of my life looking and comparing...Just enjoy and you won't look back...

1. Couldn't agree more - that's why I bought a Mac
2. Mac Mini up and running in under 20 seconds. And it plays everything!
3. Well, my panel is 1:1 pixel mapping my Mini so no trouble there.
4. Not a great fan of having to buy yet another copy of all my movies, but until such times as the Hollywood studios get their finger out then what are we to do, but downloading illegal copies off the internet? And don't say use iTunes as it's a total rip off for the lack of quality IMO
5. And is a Mini with Plex any harder to operate?

All for a good story, but it has to look good and above all sound good. To many years of watching poor quality movies in cinemas means that I demand the best at home.