"Apple TV" or "Mac Mini" good enough for XBMC?

[griffore]

If anyone has an AppleTV or Mac Mini, can they do some tests to see if they are powerful enough to run XBMC and play 720p videos?

I will be purchasing something shortly after MacWorld and being able to run XBMC and play 720p videos is mandatory. :grin:

Elan, keep up the great work and THANKS!

[gurkburk]

Hello griffore, My Mac Mini 2.0Ghz plays 1080P mkv in VLC so in power I think there should be no difference if it should be played thru XBMC.

From what I have heard the AppleTV don't play 720p mkv due to the power in the processor.

Elan and Ezar:

Keep up the good work, is there someway we (users without programming skills) can contribute?

[ultrabrutal]

does it support 1080p24 and is it able to output latest HD soundformats?

[monkeyman]

@gurkburk: If you can use a compiler, I'm sure they'd appreciate it if you tried to compile it and run it.

If you get any compilation errors, report them.

[gurkburk]

@ultrabrutal: Do you have something I can test with? Lastest soundformat I don't know, I use a (very good ;) ) 2 channel stereo.

@monkeyman: Can give it a try when I have time, maybe in the weekend, as it is now there are lot of other things I have to do :)

[ultrabrutal]

yes I have a plasma tv which supports 1080p24 input. do you need my address for sending the macmini ;)

[Gamester17]

If you read the hardware discussion threads in the Linux user forum you will find that it is the general consensus (among those who tried to play back native 1080p MPEG-4 AVC H.264 video) that you need at least a Intel 2,4Ghz Core2 Duo processor to be able to play most 1080p H264 videos that are available, ...howvere even a such fast processor like that has stumped in the playback of some very high-bitrate intensive scenes one or two specific movies.

Remember that XBMC only uses the CPU to decode video today, (no assistance is given by the GPU in the actual decoding), which is why you need a very fast CPU to decode 1080p MPEG-4 AVC H.264 video.

[petsounds]

does it support 1080p24 and is it able to output latest HD soundformats?

Well, 720p/1080i on the Mac mini is certainly doable. 1080p might be pushing it. As for DD5.1, the mini has a digital audio output so it's certainly possible to passthrough a 5.1 signal to an external decoder.

The Mac mini is definitely the target platform for my next media center. It's powerful enough for most media center tasks, it's dead quiet, and looks a lot nicer than a mini-ATX case. The only drawback is its wireless - the internal card is 802.11g. There are some expensive 3rd-party solutions available to get the mini up to 802.11n speed, but they involve some slicing and dicing of the hardware. The best bet is probably hooking it up via ethernet to an 802.11n wireless bridge. Still not cheap, but then again nothing in n land is right now.

It's funny, I have been looking at running Linux on the mini for XBMC, but due to the good graces of elan (named after the Lotus?) it seems I won't have to dual boot. :grin:

I'm happy to try to compile XBMC under Eclipse, but I only have 10.4 here. Are there any lib dependencies on Leopard?

[Gamester17]

There are rumours (from well informed sources) floating around the internet that Apple will announce and release updated Mac Mini's at the next Macworld Conference & Expo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macworld_Conference_%26_Expo) (January 14 – 18, 2008 at the Moscone Center). That might also bring the price on the Mac Mini down a bit, well maybe (I hope)...

Now those 'new' Mac Mini models might just have updated/faster Intel processors (45nm CPU, code-named Penryn), but it is also possible that they are based on the newer Intel chipset; Montevina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrino#Montevina_platform_.282008.29) (refering to the fifth-generation Intel Centrino platform), and that features Intel's X4500 graphics technology and the new Intel combo WiFi/WiMAX Link mini-PCIe adapter (code-named Echo Peak) which supports 802.11n (Draft-N).

There are also rumours that there will be a new AppleTV announced, but most likely that will only have a larger harddrive and new software features (so unfortunate no other hardware upgrades).

[jdavila]

If the mini itself is an Intel powered mac, the hardware in the AirPort Extreme card is already 'n' capable, you only need to get a hand on the 'enabler' package that comes with the Software bundled into the AirPort Extreme Base Station CD (dig the net or let me see if I can post it anywhere) load it into the mac, and you're done. Did that on 2 of our macs and worked like a charm.

As long as it is Intel powered, the restriction on supporting the 'n' draft is software-only.

Hope this does any good on the effort to port the XBMC to the mac :laugh:

Thanks 'n take care, will be reading forward to see if I can be of any assistance to the cause. Peace.

[petsounds]

If the mini itself is an Intel powered mac, the hardware in the AirPort Extreme card is already 'n' capable, you only need to get a hand on the 'enabler' package that comes with the Software bundled into the AirPort Extreme Base Station CD (dig the net or let me see if I can post it anywhere) load it into the mac, and you're done. Did that on 2 of our macs and worked like a charm.

As long as it is Intel powered, the restriction on supporting the 'n' draft is software-only.


No, the Mac mini is excluded from the list of Macs the enabler supports. Apple probably did this because 802.11n requires beefier antennas when running at 5Ghz. I'm curious if they will increase the size of the mini when/if they update. I can't see Jobs authorizing the use of an external antenna hanging off the back, but it would be pretty tough to stuff it all into the current form factor.

[Gamester17]

btw with the mac mini you can update the cpu to one of the faster onesWhich type of CPU socket does the Mac Mini and up to how fast FSB (front side bus) do they support?

[EDIT]: I found the answer to my above question:Mac Mini - Core Solo and Core

With the switch to the Intel Core Solo and Duo line, Apple has begun to use a socketed CPU in their desktop computers which allows for the processor to be replaced. The Mac mini uses the older 667 MHz front side bus and 945GM chipset (with the Intel GMA950 graphics chip).

[griffore]

Apple Mac Mini 1.83GHz (Model: MB138LL/A)


Processor: 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Memory: 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two DIMMs; supports up to 2GB
Graphics: Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Hard drive: 80GB Serial ATA 5400-rpm
Optical drive: Slot-loading Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW), Superdrive build-to-order option
Ports: One FireWire 400 port, Four USB 2.0 ports; DVI output, VGA output (adapter included)
Networking: Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless: Built-in 54-Mbps AirPort Extreme wireless networking, Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) up to 3 Mbps
Audio: Built-in speaker, Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack), Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)

[griffore]

Apple Mac Mini 2.0GHz (Model: MB139LL/A)

Same as above, except:
Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Hard drive: 120GB Serial ATA 5400-rpm
Optical drive: Slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

[senz]

Does anyone know if Apple released any new mac minis in their expo goin' on right now?


br

[Gamester17]

Does anyone know if Apple released any new mac minis in their expo goin' on right now?I know (I kept track of the MacWorld Expo (http://www.macworldexpo.com) this year for that reason), and no, they did not release any updated Mac Mini.

I guess that you have to buy an 'old' Mac Mini and replace the CPU yourself if you want a fast one.
...or buy a AOpen MiniPC (http://minipc.aopen.com) barebone instead (but that is off-topic discussion for this topic thread).

[madmax]

I just finished installing Ubuntu 7.10 on my 1.6 Ghz mac-min. Compiled XBMC and got my xbox remote working and digital pass-through. The 1.6Ghz in this config can play 720P just fine.

I still have some problem getting suspend to work all the time and I didn't have any test files to check how bad the 1080P would be, but my guess is that a no go...

I also checked and the fastes CPU on hand for this socket is a Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 Merom 2.33 Ghz.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16819111300

just a little $$$ for my taste, but I might wanna try...that could be fast enough!

[nikothebouriko]

madmax : when you say "xbox remote working" you plug ir on USB or native ir mac support any remote ? thx

[Gamester17]

@madmax, please respect that this specific forum is for XBMC running on Mac OS X (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=HOW-TO_compile_XBMC_for_Mac_OS_X_from_source_code)!
(Not XBMC running on Linux!, for that you want to post in the XBMC for Linux forum (http://xbmc.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=52))

[madmax]

nikothebouriko:

I have my xbox IR reciver plugged into a USB adapter cable one side got a Xbox female plug and the other side a normal usb male connector. I just like to use my original xbox remote for XBMC.

Gamester17:

I posted that to confirm that the mac-mini is "fast" enought at least under linux to run 720p content. And the add. info that one could upgrade is mac-mini up 2 2.3 Ghz. is valid for both Linux and OSX! don't be so harh on those rules...

I didn't start a new topic or something...I also try to compile and get the same I did under Linux under OSX right now...

madmax

[nikothebouriko]

Thx i found an adaptater photo

http://www.servicesconsoles.com/images/XB-USB-convert%20cable.jpg

[Nick8888]

yes or there are ones on ebay which allow upto 4 controllers to be plugged into it.

[Neil]

...I also try to compile and get the same I did under Linux under OSX right now...

madmax

You have had a couple weekends to work on it since that post. How is it going?

[kay.one]

No, the Mac mini is excluded from the list of Macs the enabler supports. Apple probably did this because 802.11n requires beefier antennas when running at 5Ghz. I'm curious if they will increase the size of the mini when/if they update. I can't see Jobs authorizing the use of an external antenna hanging off the back, but it would be pretty tough to stuff it all into the current form factor.

I just checked apple tv in wikipedia to makesure, and it has draft n, so i don't think it has anything to do with form factor, since apple tv is alot smaller.