Mac Mini for record/playback of Freeview HD

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Mac Mini for record/playback of Freeview HD

nigelramsay

80 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 18

#44293 26-Oct-2009 19:46

I've been taking a look at some of the older postings on using Mac Minis as an HTPC for recording and playback of Freeview. It looks like up until recently it hasn't been an ideal option.

But, time had moved on, and there are a bunch of new Mac Minis out. Also, Elgato is sure to have updated their EyeTV software a few times. Also, the video card in the Mac Mini is the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M.

Also, Windows 7 is out - and I see that as a potential option too (bootcamp).

So... can any fellow geekzoners out there give me some advice on if the new Mac Mini is suitable for a HTPC? Is that new video card able to do hardware decoding of HD content? Is the EyeTV option or Windows 7's media centre the best bet?

Thanks

Nigel

--

Nigel Ramsay
Wellington, NZ

Twitter: @nigelramsay

Read my blog at https://nigel.ramsay.org.nz
I work on AddressFinder at Abletech

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80647 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#267012 26-Oct-2009 19:52

I have the old Mac Mini model (the one with integrated video card) and using Windows 7 Media Center with a Hauppauge HVR-900 USB adapter - soon to be replaced with a HDHomerun.

No problems, it works fine...

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

nigelramsay

80 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 18

#267028 26-Oct-2009 20:36

And it works OK with the 1080 playback? I'd imagine that's quite a workload for it.

--

Nigel Ramsay
Wellington, NZ

Twitter: @nigelramsay

Read my blog at https://nigel.ramsay.org.nz
I work on AddressFinder at Abletech

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80647 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#267054 26-Oct-2009 21:33

It works ok on TV3 but don't remember watching any HD program on their channel. I guess the new Mac mini with NVIDIA should be better - but again make sure the video drivers are up to date.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

mruane

420 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 2

#267120 27-Oct-2009 09:30

Nigel

I also have a mini mac (1.8ghz model) running as a media client. I have the Media Portal TV engine running on a WHS server and the mini mac bootcamped into Windows 7 with the Media Portal client installed as well as W7 MCE. I do not record on the mini mac - it is purely a playback device. All of the recording is handled by the Home Server.

My experience is that SD quality is great, as is HD up to 720p. When I have tried TV3 at 1080i things have not gone that well. So now, I only watch TV3 in SD from the Freeview satellite. Other than that, the mini mac is a really useful media playback device as well as a useful Mac in its own right.

The newer models with a 2.2ghz CPU will probably perform better at 1080i.

Cheers Mike

bazzer

3438 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 267

Trusted

#267122 27-Oct-2009 09:35

TV3 is full time 1080i anyway right? Would it be more of a strain decoding "actual" HD shows?