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An iPhone remote for a media-center Mac

#15 User is offline   pistogrih Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 02:06 AM

I was eagerly awaiting the new Mac Mini's as well... but I don't think I'll be buying a new Apple Computer for a while thanks to the price increases.
I built a PC from barebones that acts as my media centre waiting for the new Mini, but it doesn't do wireless networking, doesn't play DVD's, outputs VGA, and doesn't run OS X. Also, I can't get it to network reliably in my mixed 10.4/10.5 house.
However, it was a third of the price of the new Mini. If anyone has an old Intel Mini they want to sell on, do let me know!
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#16 User is offline   b00le Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 03:33 AM

Any idea what sort of overhead the server application requires. I installed a different remote App on my iMac G5 but it rendered Front Row unusably slow so I had to trash it
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#17 User is offline   wbarek Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 04:42 AM

This sounds really interesting, but I have a question as to what are the reasons to use MacMini vs AppleTV. Advantages and disadvantages of both. Any feedback appreciated before I make the decision to buy.
Thanks William
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#18 User is offline   Philbert Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 05:46 AM

Jason Snell said:

Yes, you use a mini-optical to SPDF cable for the audio.


Thanks for that but does the Mini's headphone jack also output digital audio? I figured since the Mini doesn't include an optical out, analog was the only option.

-phil
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#19 User is offline   Keleko Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 06:13 AM

Try using the Understudy plugin for Google. You can control Hulu and Netflix streaming from Frontrow that way.
http://www.edibleapp...-with-frontrow/
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#20 User is offline   kleebaker Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 06:38 AM

The mini-stereo output doubles as optical (toslink) out which is digital.
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#21 User is offline   kleebaker Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 06:40 AM

I have the same setup and I use Hoofien's Snatch. Seemed to work better than the others I tried.

http://hoofien.com/Snatch/Home.html
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#22 User is offline   stlatham Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 07:46 AM

I thought Air Mouse Pro was the perfect solution to use with my Mac Mini connected to our HDTV, and it does work... just not consistently. The server app on the Mini has to be restarted every couple of hours after it becomes unresponsive. This means I have to keep a BT mouse handy, defeating the purpose of the app. Also, when typing in url's or search text in Google with the Air Mouse Pro app on my iPod Touch, the letters aren't displayed.
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#23 User is offline   rab777hp Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 02:20 PM

Um, there was a very recent MW article mentioning Hulu and front row and stuff, you don't need to do much, if you download Understudy, a plugin for front row, it brings hulu to front row
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#24 User is offline   JazzFan Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 02:47 PM

You can run XBMC on the mini and use Xmote on the iphone. XBMC is open source Media Center software that runs on the original Xbox, Linux, Intel OSX, Windows, and Apple TV. Try it out, it won't cost you anything. I'm not sure about watching movies in iTunes with it, but if you have content stored on your home network, it's great. It's a uPNP client so it will find your media server too. You can also customize it with scripts or plugins for Hulu, YouTube, etc.
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#25 User is offline   abdon7 Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 03:18 PM

I use this app with my macbook. Setup was a breeze. I've been seriously considering a mac mini just because of this app. I would hook it up to my 42" 1080i monitor. Would Elgato's EyeTv be a good compliment to such a system? I would like over the air HD.
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#26 User is offline   JazzFan Icon

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Posted 05 March 2009 - 05:53 PM

Look into Mediaportal. It's a fork from XBMC that is focused more on PVR functionality. Plex is another fork just for Mac OSX Leopard.
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