Mini Mac or ATV

[Adsta]

Looking for a bit of advice as I’m unsure on both items. I’ve been looking at purchasing an Apple TV as a kind of media hub. On the other hand I’ve also been considering a Mini Mac also as media hub. Cost aside the Mini Mac seems like it would be able to do everything the ATV would do and more. I could use the Mini Mac to still watch Netflix, stream music, display photos and play videos etc. Also I assume a Mini Mac would have sufficient power to stream 1080 content to a TV. I assume I could also still airplay (I’m not 100% on the terminology) things from my ipad/iphone to the Mini Mac? On top of that does that mean I could play games on my iphone/ipad but have it display on the TV via the Mini Mac? .

The only thing I see the ATV as an advantage is not having to drive it like OSX and it being iOS –afied so it having apps and being able to use a remote to navigate looks easy. But I seem to find info on streaming stuff from an external hard drive to the ATV... which is why I’m leaning towards a Mini Mac. All my music and videos I keep on an external HDD and would like to be able to connect that up and just use it to the TV.

I’ve owned a Macbook Pro before in the past and I did like OSX, the only reason I got rid of it was I couldn’t really justify the cost for what little I was using it. The Mini Mac I could setup and leave as is and still benefit from a media hub and OSX into one. So apple peoples which one would you go for? I have to say I am a bit confused why the ATV is even there considering the Mini Mac (at least on face value and assuming I am not missing anything) does everything an ATV can do and more.

 

[Billzz]

I’ve had a Mac Mini which I have been using as a media server for about 18 months now and I absolutely love then flexibility it gives.

I mainly my mini as a Plex server for media streaming from a NAS which works well. For Airplay, I use an app called AirServer which allows streaming from iPhone/iPad/another Mac. Using this, you can play games on your iPhone/iPad and have it mirrored to your TV via the Mac Mini. Any Mac Mini sold within the last 3 years would have more than enough power to stream 1080 content.

To control the Mac Mini, I use an app on the iPad/iPhone called Rowmote Pro which allows a virtual trackpad/keyboard and remote functionality. The nice thing about this is that it connects directly via wifi (not over a wifi network) so performs lag free between the devices. It’s a great and very neat solution.

I guess the Apple TV is a good device for 90% of users who just want to hook up and use the usual stuff but for those of us who want a little more flexibility, the Mac Mini - for me anyway - is a great solution.

Hope that helps, let us know what you decide!

 

[Ghosteh]

Quick reply, as I'm on my phone. But have you thought about getting a RaspberryPi and setting it up as a media server with your hard drive plugged into that, then Getting the AppleTV, may be a cheaper option, and the AppleTV is very good.