[micahmac]

In reply to:

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But take a Mac mini, include the Front Row software; an IR sensor for the Remote; an optical audio output for connecting to your home theater system; and an S-Video output for connecting to your TV (in case your TV wont take DVI), and youve got a compact, easy to use home media center"the first one I think people would buy en masse. Unlike Windows MCE, it would play the music and video downloaded from the iTunes Music Storeyou know, the one with 84 percent of the market. And add a keyboard and mouse (such as Belkins MediaPilot) and it also just so happens to be a full-blown computer running Mac OS X. Now thats something Id like to have in my family room. Id buy one in a heartbeat; in fact, Id probably buy two.

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Wow, that paragraph made my li'l Mac-lovin' heart race! I'd love to be able to put this as well as the article posted a few months ago about automating your house with Macs to good use. Mac mac maccy mac mac.

[Mav]

In reply to:

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Anyways, the main point was that the Mac mini form factor is perfect for Front Row and hopefully what Apple has planned for the future.

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I think that's exactly what's going to happen. (I've heard about a conspicuous extra space in Mac minis where some kind of remote connectivity could possibly be added in the future.) It's only a question of when, IMHO. The answer probably involves Pentium Ms (much as I don't like the idea of laptop chips in desktops, Pentium Ms are ideal for such a small form factor, and are decent performers from all I've read), a speedier architecture to match, and faster laptop HDs.

[Nobody]

In reply to:

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... hopefully its just a precursor: a way to introduce people to the idea of a good home media interface before Apple releases the true killer media product.

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Think that hits the nail on the head.
I'm not into buying prototypes so I'll just have to wait till Apple matches what a Windows MCPC does, and more.
I am truely puzzled what is holding Apple back from the most significant move it could make to steal market share from Windows, maybe even dominate a market like it has with the iPod.

[clayshima]

I couldn't agree more with Dan.
I've got myself a pretty good collection of Macs,
2 PowerBooks and 3 PowerMacs. Even after the
advent of the iMac and the eMac, the Cube and
etc, I've been ever looking up for the perfect Mac
to fit my living room, and never succeeded to fill
those boots. I remember the Performa Series,
those black ones with Remote Control and etc.
Almost got me one of those.
So, when the Mac Mini came up, I was glad that
Apple took on that direction and I was (am) looking
forward to get me one of those to put there where
family gathers.
Now, I'm a big fan of big TV sets (who's not?).
My living room TV set until June was a 29" Sony
Trinitron, your regular "deep" CRT cabinet.
In June I got meself a 42" Plasma babe, also from
Sony that, simply put, ROCKS. It's got a D-sub
connector, and I've tested connecting my Dual 800
Quicksilver. Man, that is GREAT. It gives you any
standard resolution between 640x480 and
1900x1600, including the native HDTV format
resolutions. All in pristine 24 bit depth. Quartz
Extreme NEVER looked better for video (my
computer display is an Apple Cinema 21, and I
think that, for video, the Plasma TV is WAY better
than it).
The thing that still stops me from getting a Mac
Mini is the lack of a elegant and simple approach
to the interface. Enter Front Row and I would get
me one of these in a snap. Or even TWO (my old
29ner now sits in my bedroom, gathering dust....
waiting for a so capable Mac Mini, maybe?)
With Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, plus Airport
Extreme, maybe I can finally turn my PowerMac into
an entertainment server, tucked away in the basement,
and use all my media from the Mac Mini in the living
room? (Granted, having Gigabit ethernet instead of
Airport would be even more appealing, even with all
the fuss of the wires.)

[clayshima]

On a second thought, maybe Apple is just waiting
for the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD impasse to be solved
before coming up with a Media Center solution?
Why have a breakthrough product based on
obsolete technology? That's not Apple-like.
When new technologies are around the corner,
Apple is known to wait a bit before implementing,
just enough to be BEFORE anyone else.

[pcharles]

I could not agree more.
One time in the recent past (1998 to 2001) I owned a Gateway Destination system. It was one of the earliest media systems. It had a 27 inch 800x600 monitor and all the TV inputs and channel lists. The whole thing was huge!
If Apple could squeeze a decent video card, and TV tuner into the Mini, I think it would make a great media center. I have to think this will be one of the first things that Apple makes with the Intel processors.

[iBode]

Just wait until January for a Special Media Mac mini running off Intel.
It could quite possibly be the January Macintel Steve promised.

[kreiggers]

This is just Apple dipping their toe in the water.
The mini is the perfect form factor for the living room -- however it might be a bit underpowered and doesn't record TV. Back when the mini came out I was speculating that the mini needed an extra add-on (Asteroid anyone?) that plugged into firewire and offloaded the HDMI interface/AV duties that were missing from the stock mini. Think of something in the same form-factor that stacks under the mini. this way Apple has their low-end machine, and a good margin "must-have" peripheral.
I am a Tivo owner and love it. It makes TV work for me. I've also been considering a HDTV. The deal breaker is the lack of HD DVR options. Apple, with their unique position int he industry as the computer company that has been able to negotiate the licencing/DRM quagmire for music, could posibly be the only company positioned to create the first usable, mass-market, and popular media center. This IS what Apple is about. Put it together, Apple's HD initiative, H.264, Front Row, new more powerful Mac minis, plus their demonstrated ability to bridge the computer/entertainment industries, and it seems to me to be an obvious and very lucrative direction to go. Think Tivo (plus more features), but with the mass appeal (and numbers) of the iPod.
I love my Tivo, but it doesn't do HD. I don't really want to rent something from the cable company (I think there's only one option out there anyway), but I'd LOVE an Apple media solution... Front Row with HD in/out. Hell, Apple can combine the program info (what a Tivo subscription pays for) with .Mac and I'd be happy to pay for it ($99 a year would be worth it then).
Microsoft, with their Windows MCE are not really making strides in this area. They may be the leaders, but I don't care... so someone who is less in tune with the geeky-tech world (i.e. 90% of current iPod users) don't care more than me, and.. did I mention that I don't care? Given how much people like their iPods, it would be an easy sell for the Apple media solution.
If Apple could put together the HD media solution and package it in something that is like the Mac mini, they'd have another high margin iPod phenomenon on their hands, winning accolades, and making a butt-load of money. If they could only do id like Dell and make the HDTV too, Apple could have my $2k for the HDTV as well as whatever they charge for their HD Mac mini DVR system.

[Nightveil]

So all we really have to do is sit tight and wait for Steve Jobs to say "there is no "component-ready" Mac Mini in the foreseeable future".
It seems from recent history that's been the clue that something is in the offing. The Video iPod is just the most recent case.
It would require a speed boost and probably a HDD size boost as well, especially if it were to be a true Media Hub solution.
Sits and waits

[bastion]

In reply to:

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It could quite possibly be the January Macintel Steve promised.

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Did I miss something? Last I heard, the first Intelish Mac was due "about a year" after WWDC. That's distinctly not January.

[hayesk]

No offence, but that is fake. The system you describe would cost way to much to be sold as a home theatre component.

[Peter Cohen]

In reply to:

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Did I miss something? Last I heard, the first Intelish Mac was due "about a year" after WWDC. That's distinctly not January.

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Absolutely correct. What Steve Jobs said at this year's WWDC was that Intel Macs would debut in June, 2006. One analyst on this week's conference call pushed for an Intel Mac time table, and Apple VP Tim Cook wouldn't budge -- he said they're sticking to the June 2006 milestone.
Not sure where the reader gets the January date, but I believe he's mistaken.

[JScott]

Well, you know if all us losers are sitting around thinking this stuff up the geniuses at Apple have already thought of it and then some.

[chewygoat]

I absolutely agree, but it needs a G5 or an Intel processor under the hood to pull off H.264, certainly for HD use. I can only presume that Apple is thinking the same thing, and probably working on it. Also I'd like to see the front row software released for use with other Macs, along with a remote and a USB receiver box. Further I'd like to see the front row software working with other remotes. One big thing, though: either the Media Center Mac mini needs to come with 100 meter bluetooth built in, or it should not ship with bluetooth so that we can add such a USB module (or provide a way via software to disable the internal bluetooth so an external one can be used). I love using Salling Clicker to control and interact with my current music box Mac (a slot-load iMac G3), and you need 100 meter bluetooth to make it the most useful.