Question about using Mac Mini as HTPC

adam h Wrote:Thanks guys; this is a super helpful thread. I am currently using a macbook pro as proof of HTPC concept, and I'd like to replace it with a mac mini so the lappie isn't tethered to the home theater. I was concerned that the mini's meager GPU specs compared to the MBP would disallow it from performing well enough, but it sounds like my fears are unfounded and I'll be good to go!

Awesome.

Secondary question; if I'm going to be using the mac mini to watch streamed content over hulu, has anybody tried that and run into performance issues streaming their higher quality content?

Thanks in advance!

adam

The 2GHz speed MacMini should work fine in most all cases.

Not tried hulu so not a clue, some else will need to answer this one.

adam h Wrote:Secondary question; if I'm going to be using the mac mini to watch streamed content over hulu, has anybody tried that and run into performance issues streaming their higher quality content?

Thanks in advance!

adam

Well, Hulu plays as well on the Mac Mini as any other PC would, with a good connection to the internets. As far as I could tell, the best quality available purports to be 480p (was watching the sneak peak of Life's second season opener, a show that was one of the best shows in last year's tragically foreshortened strike-season). It stutters, but that 's to be expected when watching with a browser.

I'd definitely would only watch Hulu for some small SNL or other 2-5 minute comedy clips...On my small laptop screen or 21 inch lcd monitor at the most. Watching Hulu on my 46-inch 1080p LCD TV would be horrifically blocky and rezzy. Ick!

True 'nuff! But Hulu 480p quality is still better than standard def TV, so I'm not gonna talk too much trash about it!

I guess the reason for my concern is I tried watching some hulu on my old powerbook G4 and it could barely handle the crappy def, and when I selected 480p it just said "no." Whereas the Intel powered Macbook Pro handles each very smoothly. I just wanted to make sure the mini would be on par with the Macbook's flash video rendering abilities; this is a CPU intensive act.

Thanks y'all! I think I'm going to go out and get myself one.