AppleTV vs MacMini - Which one is Better?

CoffeeGirl wrote:
Pros: Mac Mini will play DivX (which a lot of our movies are)

True and it will also play higher resolution video, however you will find there are some other file formats it won't play as well

Cons: MacMini will not stream video, but with iSync it should auto copy from our computer(?); MacMini does not have a cute remote (but we have a wireless keyboard?);

Mac mini will stream video and does have a remote

Sooo... does anyone know of any unforeseen problems we might have if we want to utilize a the mini to be appleTV?

Yes
Cons: the resolution will not exactly match that of the tv, you won't be able to rent HD movies on it.
Pros: You'll be able to play DVD's on it and do other stuff as well (but don't expect it to look as good as on a dedicated monitor.

CoffeeGirl wrote:
- if we can still rent tv shows and HD movies with a mini, why get the AppleTV...

You can only rent the HD movies with the AppleTV - in addition the SD rentals via the AppleTV will be higher quality than the SD rentals via iTunes.

Also HDMI is only available via AppleTV.

Jeff SD wrote:
You can only rent the HD movies with the AppleTV - in addition the SD rentals via the AppleTV will be higher quality than the SD rentals via iTunes.

Also HDMI is only available via AppleTV.

I'm not sure I follow that Jeff.

Are you saying that the downloads for SD are different for itunes and the tv, or that there is a difference in quality when played back because the mini doesn't have HDMI.

If the former, I can't say for sure but those that have downloaded them so far seem to report that they are DVD quality and not the ipod quality that was previously available on itunes, not really sure but this wasn't my understanding, can you clarify.

Whilst the mini doesn't have HDMI, it has DVI. And although you will need to connect the audio separately and it won't have 5.1, the video will be the same quality.

I have about same doubts when comparing ATV and Mini.

1. ATV has HDMI, Mini doesn't
2. ATV has 160 GB HD and Mini 120
3. ATV costs 350 versus 850 for Mini (Canadian pricing!), that is more than twice cheaper
4. ATV has digital audio out (optical, 5.1)

but...

5. with Mini you can browse Internet, ATV can't
6. Mini can play Internet radio, ATV can't
7. with Mini you can check and answer e-mail with ATV you can't
8. you can attach huge external HD to Mini, to ATV you can't
9. to Mini you can easily append (import) any music, video, whatever... to ATV you can't. If you want to add new library (another MAC) it will delete whatever was there and that *****!
10. with Mini you can play any DVD and ATV doesn't have DVD drive

Conclusion: if somebody would solve problem of having HDMI output on Mini I would say that Mini is much better option!
Bye
Zack

Two items that haven't been mentioned... First question, isn't there a possible issue at some future (distant?) point with 'enforced' HDCP? And second, athough AppleTV is, by design, made to accommodate consumer electronics devices (timings), the mini is not. So, isn't is likely (pretty much a certainty) that mini users will need to fashion custom display timings to utilize the entire display (via third-party sw)? Otherwise, they'll have to accept standards that will leave a slightly diminished display space. FWIW.

plus if you put all your music on it to avoid people spillig beer on your cd's
and later on then pass out or go to the hospital to have you stomach pumped

you friends cant use the atv to send love letters to tom cruse or delete all your im contacts or exchange all your videos with sheep pr0n
like they are bound to if the get access to the awesome power of miniMac 😉 :P

Zack P. wrote:
I have about same doubts when comparing ATV and Mini.

1. ATV has HDMI, Mini doesn't
2. ATV has 160 GB HD and Mini 120
3. ATV costs 350 versus 850 for Mini (Canadian pricing!), that is more than twice cheaper
4. ATV has digital audio out (optical, 5.1)

Just to clarify, the Mac mini also has optical out (it's the same jack used for the analog stereo output jack... you need something called a 'mini TOSlink adapter.' Used to be hard to find them, but now I've noticed a lot of TOSlink cables just come with a mini-TOSlink adapter in case it's needed. My own Mac Mini is connected to my home theater system this way.

Also the Mac Mini does have both Firewire and USB 2.0 ports... so connecting an external hard drive to increase the storage is no problem. There are a few companies that make external hard drives that look just like the Mac Mini and are designed to stack. LaCie makes one, but I really like the ones from NewerTechnology (their website is macsales.com. They call it the 'ministack').

But essentially you've nailed the real issue... which is that a Mac mini is, well, a computer. It can do anything any other Mac can do. But it's designed to connect to a computer monitor -- not to a TV. A lot of TV's have an input for computers, but they are almost always the 15-pin D-sub connectors (aka 'VGA' connector) and the TV usually either (a) is very fussy about resolutions they will accept or (b) downscale the picture to something they can handle.

AppleTV is not intended to work as a general purpose computer -- it's intended to work like a giant video iPod with an HDMI output.

What about DVI output from Mini, how hard is to get good picture out of it on big screen TV??

Zack

Winston, soon after the Macworld Keynote, Greg Joswiak of Apple reported to Macworld.com that in fact SD rentals downloaded to the AppleTV would be "DVD quality" while SD rentals downloaded to a Mac or PC would be "near-DVD quality".

If the differences in the rentals are distinguishable in real life, I have no idea. I'm just going by what Mr. Joswiak said. Here is the quote in Macworld:

"Movies downloaded directly via Apple TV, in contrast, will only be playable on Apple TV. Apple VP Greg Joswiak described standard-definition Apple TV movie rentals as "DVD quality," while non-Apple TV rentals are downloaded in a "near-DVD quality" format compatible with Macs, PCs, iPods, and iPhones. High-definition rentals are full 720p films with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack."

http://www.macworld.com/article/131580/2008/01/itunesmovierentals.html

Message was edited by: Solid

@Solid and Winston

Solid I believe you are correct, this is from apple.com, doesn't address completely, but Atv downloads are not playable on iTunes (iPods, iPhones, ect) and iTune rentals are not playable on Atv

"A resolution worth keeping.
When you download movies from iTunes, you get a 640-by-480-pixel image2 that’s great for watching on your computer and positively brilliant on your iPod or iPhone. And iTunes makes playing movies a pleasure, thanks to convenient onscreen controls."
http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/movies.html

Now that the update has commenced, You can transfer your rentals to the AppleTV