more specifically the comment posted by Check out powertobeyourbest's post!
Please let me know if you try that yourself
Here's my setup: MacMini i7 (8GB RAM,
128 GB SSD) quad-core running OSX Server running various sharing
protocols (so no need to have high-end graphics there) and its
low-profile design works great and a 'must' for my needs. It's also
connected to various drives containing all my media (video formats
include avi, flv, mov, mp4, 1080p mkv's, etc) not to mention my music
and family photo library.
These are 'accessed' from any of our computers (both mac and windows) for personal use. To watch a movie our iPads also serve to 'navigate' our media library (using the AirVideo iPad app, and the free AirVideo 'server' app, yes running on the MacMini). Within AirVideo we chose which TV in our home we want to watch this on (each of our LCD/LED TVs at home is setup with an AppleTV, which also works great as a stand-alone media device for also watching Netflix or any of he other various built-in sources). Did I mention we can watch all of our home media while we're away from home? (via AirVideo).
I would suggest an AppleTV as your first option (low-cost media device), and for the gamers out there as was suggested earlier either an Xbox of PS3 (we have Xboxes however the kids use them strictly for gaming ;-)
I guess it would depend on your media needs and where your 'media' sources will be coming from (if you don't have a media server like I do then the many online services like Netflix will work fine and all you'll ever need is a $99 AppleTV). Because I have years of personal media stored and collected (music, photos, tv and movies) a 'Server' is a must and the MacMini provides a perfect combination of this. Management of this server can be done using ssh, or my preferred Apple Remote Desktop. As for watching TV? we haven't watched 'live tv' in years (cant's stand to watch mindless commercials and ads and I would prefer to watch television shows on my schedule, not some networks - which is why the shows that I do watch are 'pre-recorded' by the online community and made available commercial-free in HD ;-)
ps. I access (listen) to my music from the iPad/iPhone/iPod app 'iSub' (or free 'Subsonic' app on my Android phone), and as for photos it's viewable from the iPad app 'ImageBank' (which you can AirPlay to any TV). These apps have their associated 'server' components which run on the MacMini.
These are 'accessed' from any of our computers (both mac and windows) for personal use. To watch a movie our iPads also serve to 'navigate' our media library (using the AirVideo iPad app, and the free AirVideo 'server' app, yes running on the MacMini). Within AirVideo we chose which TV in our home we want to watch this on (each of our LCD/LED TVs at home is setup with an AppleTV, which also works great as a stand-alone media device for also watching Netflix or any of he other various built-in sources). Did I mention we can watch all of our home media while we're away from home? (via AirVideo).
I would suggest an AppleTV as your first option (low-cost media device), and for the gamers out there as was suggested earlier either an Xbox of PS3 (we have Xboxes however the kids use them strictly for gaming ;-)
I guess it would depend on your media needs and where your 'media' sources will be coming from (if you don't have a media server like I do then the many online services like Netflix will work fine and all you'll ever need is a $99 AppleTV). Because I have years of personal media stored and collected (music, photos, tv and movies) a 'Server' is a must and the MacMini provides a perfect combination of this. Management of this server can be done using ssh, or my preferred Apple Remote Desktop. As for watching TV? we haven't watched 'live tv' in years (cant's stand to watch mindless commercials and ads and I would prefer to watch television shows on my schedule, not some networks - which is why the shows that I do watch are 'pre-recorded' by the online community and made available commercial-free in HD ;-)
ps. I access (listen) to my music from the iPad/iPhone/iPod app 'iSub' (or free 'Subsonic' app on my Android phone), and as for photos it's viewable from the iPad app 'ImageBank' (which you can AirPlay to any TV). These apps have their associated 'server' components which run on the MacMini.
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