The new Mac Mini was released by Apple last week. After getting a good look at it I must say it is impressive. The question that everyone has been asking is “Is the Mac Mini a Media Center. In a sense it is. Apple has built a media center tool into their operating system called front row. Which allows you to use your Apple remote, via IR, to control your media library. This allows you to store, navigate and view movies, music, television shows, pictures, and much more. Below is a look at how front row looks in action.
So now that you have seen Front Row. What makes this Mac Mini so much better than the previous generation?
THE GOOD
- HDMI Output
This allows the mac mini to plug directly into any HD display that supports HDMI, which is most of them. This is the first Mac with a true HDMI output. The other great thing is that the Mini supports multichannel audio over HDMI which means one cable from the mini to your A/V system is all you need.
- Size
The Mini may be one of the smallest computers ever built. at 1.4” high and just 7.5” wide and deep the computer has a footprint that is similar in size to the Apple TV and about half the size of most consumer DVD/Blu-Ray Players.
- Capability
While Processor speed is not dramatically increased, the HDD size, memory expandability alone make it a worthy upgrade, couple that with a graphics card that can keep up with some of Apple’s pro level Notebooks and Desktops and you have a computer that is seriously powerful.
The old mac mini was no slouch, and a lot of its problems carry over to the new one when it comes to using it as a true media center PC. Here is a short list of things that still need to change.
THE BAD
- No Blu-Ray Drive
Yep thats right folks Apple didn’t put a blu-ray drive in this little guy. There is no defending it as far as I am concerned blu-ray is the future of disc media. The argument is that soon discs will be obsolete but until then how are you supposed to watch your blu-rays….a separate player. Thats no fun.
- No Drop and Rip Capabilities
All the great media centers have it. Drop a disc in the drive, it rips and automatically adds it to your library. iTunes will do it with CDs but not with any kind of video media. This is kind of a bummer.
- Tired old front row interface
Front row has needed a facelift for about a year now. Apple TV has a sleek UI and runs really smoothly, front row is kind of an old lackluster interface that needs serious improvement. It also needs to add some non apple content like HULU, Amazon Unbox, or Netflix. I know Apple wants everyone to buy everything from iTunes but seriously you would sell a lot more hardware if you just made a few little tweaks.
The Verdict
Mac Mini is a very cool, very capable little computer, but it still isn’t the pinnacle of the media center PC world, however it is a very good start. For the tech savvy user who isn’t afraid of using 3rd party software to rip movies, and who doesn’t mind having a blu-ray player sitting underneath their mac mini, this baby is pure gold. The novice end user, should probably wait until the thing is perfect before they run out and buy it.
