Apple TV or Mac Mini
So right now I am trying to decide as to whether I should purchase an apple tv or get a mac mini to hook up to my home theater system...my main concern is how either component will be able to handle high definition content...now I know that the apple tv has HDMI output and you can rent high def content online...but does anyone know how well it handles high def content that is stored on the device itself or if it still looks good when being streamed over the network from a desktop...or would I be better off just using a mac mini to do so. Let me know what you think...thanks!
Comments
The AppleTV is limited in the types of file it can handle. The upper limit is 720p content (1270x720) at 24fps.
The Mac Mini has no such restriction and can manage 1080p. The AppleTV can't play MKV files at 720. It just is not fast enough. So MKVs have to be transcoded.
There's another restriction. Out of the box, the Apple TV will only stream from a server running iTunes. If that server is a Mac or a PC somewhere on the wireless network, you need a pretty stable network to handle the streaming. In a wireless network the data goes.
iTunes->base station->AppleTV (two hops)
This may work in 802.11n. But a 802.11g network will struggle. A server with an ethernet connection to the base station makes this more efficient. (One hop)
I found the restriction of having all the content in iTunes irritating. So I use a modified AppleTV which will play content directly from a shared directory, without the need for an iTunes server. So now I have a large USB hard drive plugged into an Airport Extreme holding a media library. The AppleTV can play this content really well. Including 720p content with 5.1 audio.
This type of file playing ability is built into the Mac Mini. The Mini has a DVI connector, and you can get a DVI->HDMI cable.
As far as I can tell, the only downside to the Mini, apart from the price, is HD rentals are not yet supported.
C.
How well does the Mac Mini handle the 1080p content? As of right now I have a Power Book G4 running dvi to hdmi into my plasma...but it doesnt handle to video very well...it gets really choppy and struggles through the movies...am I correct in assuming that my old power book just doesn't have to power to support that kind of media? Also when you talk about the restrictions of the Apple TV...for the most part it sounds like it struggles when streaming the media over a network, so does that mean it will handle all the hd content if it is stored directly on the apple tv or a hard drive that is connect to the apple tv through usb?
I've a G4 1.5 pBook and also a current 2.0 Mini. The Mini is WAY more powerful than the G4... I noticed the same thing, that the G4 sometimes starts to choke playing 1080 content. The Mini can play a couple 1080 QT windows at the same time.
I use the Mini as a TV device... Front Row is ALMOST as good as an AppleTV. But in addition to that, you get the full capabilities of a complete computer/OS.
... it sounds like it struggles when streaming the media over a network, so does that mean it will handle all the hd content if it is stored directly on the apple tv or a hard drive that is connect to the apple tv through usb?
Any wireless streaming of video requires fairly good network performance. Streaming 720p content over 802.11g can cause problems. An 802.11n network solves most of these problems.
If you have a single machine or NAS acting as a media server, the most efficient place to locate it is attached to router by ethernet. In my case, the router *is* the server. I use the Airport Extreme's USB drive feature to share media files.
Apple TV needs software mods (ATFiles) to make this work, a Mac Mini does not.
http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/ATVFiles
C.