Look further down at Post #17 for my first progress report.
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I'm considering using a Mac as a HTPC. Has anyone done something like that before?

I'm thinking of getting a Mac Mini since it's nice & small and would look great in the living room. OSX comes with FrontRow & a remote so that's a part of it solved. Is the Mac Mini powerful enough to play x264 HD content? Another thing I'm not too sure about is the TV tuner. Any recommendations?

I'm currently a Windows user. My last Mac was a PowerMac 7600. I've been reading up on the new Macs but I'm definitely a newbie all over again.

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I've started the first steps towards my project. Here's what I've have ordered/bought so far.

LCD: Dell 22" (ordered)

Thanks.

This post has been edited by miramar: Jun 16 2007, 03:14 PM

bingo, but this is old tech. CRT TV is ok... cant power LCD TV.

http://mymug.org/forum2/index.php?topic=2695.0

Interesting project! I called machines just now looking for a TV Tuner. They have 2 brands. One's a Miglia EyeTV. The other one I forgot the name but both costs around RM1200. Ouch!

My main concern now is whether the Mac Mini will be able to play HD content or record from the TV tuner since the tuner has no hardware encoder which means the Mac Mini will have to handle the encoding in software.

A friend suggested that I go for a PC instead or a PC running OSX86 but I really like the looks of the Mac Mini. AppleTV is also a possibility. I read somewhere that there are 3rd party tuners for it though I don't know if it will be able to record.

In any case I've already taken the first step last week and ordered a Dell 22" LCD.

I think it's cheaper to get a TV box for your LCD. Since we do not have HD content to "tune" over. But if you need recording, look for some cheaper alternate online. eyeTV products for example.

720p should work "ok" on an intel macmini. Forget about 1080p. As of encoding, it depends on your quality setting. But it will be hefty job for a macmini.

Thanks for the info, wei. Yeah, I'm worried that the Mini might not be powerful enough. HD space is also a concern, might have to get external HDs. Might have to go for a faster Mac.

In any case. I've started to buy the things needed for the HTMac. The next few days should be fun.

I just checked. I can receive RTM's trial DVB-T transmission but non of the channels are actually in HD. I can receive RTM1, RTM2, RTMi and 6 radio channels. What's RTMi? Haven't heard of this channel before.

Is that the digital RTM channel that's in test run?
You might want to check this out: link to the article.

HD can be upgraded easily. I think the main concern here is more on the things you can't upgrade, for example, GPU... The CPU can be upgraded if you dare to.

This post has been edited by wei: Jun 11 2007, 10:52 AM

That's the one though the programs transmitted aren't in HD.

The Mac Mini is nice but like you say, upgrading not so practical. I don't have much of a choice though bcos if not the Mini then it has to be a Mac Pro cos I don't want an iMac sitting next to my LCD TV.

Nevermind, I think I will start with Mini and see how it goes.

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Added on June 11, 2007, 12:46 pmWei, since you're on MyMug forum, do you mind sending the admins an email? There're seems to be a problem signing up as a new user. I tried signing up for the forum yesterday(username: miramar) but I have not received the confirmation email despite requesting it several times.

Thanks.

This post has been edited by miramar: Jun 11 2007, 12:46 PM

Jut hold on, I will activate it for you.

maybe u can have a look here, if u not yet...there is a section for mac mini as htpc and photos of mac mini setup too...it could be a guide...

http://www.123macmini.com/

It's a bit overkill if to get MacPro as HTPC... lol.
Maybe you can consider some older PowerMac. Some are pretty much still very capable of doing many task. But it's hard to get good deal in Malaysia. I think your best bet is still a MacMini, get the stock one, and slower tune and upgrade if necessary.

alternatively you can have a PC and a Hauppauge WinTV tuner (RM199) and then install Sarah Media (Frontrow clone for WinXP) from http://www.osx-e.com/downloads/applications/sarah_media.html

thats what i bought this weekend. have not connected the WinTV yet though

for me it was more of putting the Apple Remote from the Macbook to use. Can't find a place that sold a USB IR Receiver. so ended up getting a Hauppauge TV tuner cos it has a USB IR. oh and it came with a full remote controller. overkill no doubt.

not keen on the tv recording feature of the WinTV since i download what i watch. but is there anything truly worth recording from free-to-air tv anyways?

oh i have a Dell 2405FPW. loads of connection options. got astro connected via S-video too. not sure about the 22" though.

you might also want to look at Girder 4 http://www.girder.nl/
this will allow you to map your existing remotes to control your PC.

hope that offered you more options than a mac mini.

d@odao, thanks for the tips for the MacMini. Great website. Wei, overkill indeed but I can't afford one anyway.

bola, thanks for the info. The 22" only has DVI & VGA so everything must go through the TV tuner including Astro but that's a moot point since I don't have Astro.

In any case, I've decided to be a bit more adventurous. Since the Mini is a tad too underpowered for me & upgradability is going to be a problem and an iMac is out of the question as I don't want to have it sitting next to the LCD TV eventually and the MacPro is way out of my budget, I've decided to build my HTPC/Mac on generic PC hardware running OSX86.

I've already started. I've got most of the hardware(old & new) and my Dell monitor has arrived. The only thing I've yet to buy is the TV Tuner & an IR receiver.

Off to the shops.

I have an Intel Mac Mini dual-core 1.66GHz. Granted I don't have a display that can handle 1080p but I've played the Quicktime HD videos downloaded off of Apple's website at half size and it can handle the not too heavy H264 1080p ones very well. The high movement scenes stutter a bit but otherwise it's great.

I've tried the Barber of Seville and One Six Right and Higher Ground and the Mac Mini is pretty damn good for such a small package. My favorite is One Six Right... I just like flying

Disk space is definitely an issue, but if you don't mind going for an external Firewire drive you should be ok. Also isn't the Dell 22" only at 1680x1050?

do let me know how it goes. i tried installed osx86 10.4.8 on my shuttlePC but it didnt boot.

would try again later on. i want to put the apple remote to use dammit!
now it just sits in a drawer.

I really like the Mac Mini as well. It's simply beautiful. I just wish it had more horsepower but I understand that compromises had to be made in order to fit it into such a small & fanless enclosure.

The Dell 22" is indeed 1680x1050 but I'm already thinking of getting a larger LCD, maybe a 30".

In any case I'll be assembling the PC whenever I have time this week, most likely the weekend I guess. Let's see what happens. If it doesn't work I can always put Windows MCE or Vista on it. :-)

If you're getting a 30" LCD TV then the Mac Mini can definitely handle it since most of them are 720p to begin with. If you're getting a 30" PC LCD then you know what you'll need

I've gone through the HTPC phase, but after using the Tivo for awhile, MCE and Frontrow is clunky. I like MythTV and the possibility it provides but the setup is a a headache...

OK a quick progress report.

PC: Core 2 Duo 6600, 4GB Ram, Asrock 945P mobo (not sure what brand), 160GB 320GB HD
+ Galaxy 256mb 7900GS + Dell E227WFP (upg to 30"?) + Dlink DBT-120(with Apple's firmware) bluetooth
+ black Centurion 5 case and rm45 cheapo ATX PSU
+ 1 genuine white Apple Sticker (to comply with OS X EULA, OK maybe not)

TV Tuner: Pinnacle Hybrid analog/DVB-T USB (essentially the same hardware as the Miglia EyeTV(try selling your Miglia now Machines) but about RM800 cheaper, however only comes with EyeTV Lite, Miglia comes with full version) Also it's in black, Miglia is white. Currently receiving RTM1, RTM2, RTMi & radio stations digitally (Wow, big deal.)

Sound: Creative Live 24bit external(XMod better for 2.1?) + Aego M 2.1 speakers (won't be going for 5.1, no space, wife not happy with cables all over the living area)

Keyb/mouse: Logitech Cordless MX Duo (has Command key!), testing Logitech Mediaplay Mouse & Apple Mighty Mouse, Logitech S530 (Didn't get this, nice but it's white)

Webcam: iSight Firewire, still have to test Logitech Ultra Vision & VGear CCD

Wireless: none

Remote (giving me the most problem), candidates for now are:
1. Apple Remote (can't find a compatible IR receiver)
2. Pinnacle's Remote (only works in EyeTV)
3. Nintendo Wiimote (via bluetooth HID? but white in colour, works great)
4. Logitech Mediaplay Mouse (no OSX drivers, Steermouse?)
5. Pinnacle's MCE transceiver/remote (OSX doesn't take the new style IR receiver, RM399 down the drain, this one got IR Blaster which means it can be use to change channels on the Astro, nevermid I don't have Astro anyway)
6. Yaocoo so-called "MCE" remote control (emulates a keyboard, kinda works actually, RM70)

7. Griffin Airclick RF USB (So ugly, so few buttons, didn't buy)
8. Keyspan Remote for iTunes (cannot find locally)
9. Hauppauge WinTV 150MCE (has IR receiver that works with Apple Remote, expensive)
10. Microsoft Remote Control for MCE (has IR receiver that works with Apple Remote but not even Microsoft can tell me where to buy it)
10. Philips OVU4003 ir receiver. Works with Apple Remote. Website got, Philips Malaysia don't have. I'm starting to get the feeling that Apple Remote compatible ir receivers are banned in Malaysia or there's a trade embargo on them that I don't know about.
11. Sony BD Remote (bluetooth, works great)

Software
-Jas OSX86 10.4.8 with ppf1 + other fixes OK
-Uphuck OSX86 1.3
-OS X Tiger 10.4 ori (does this count as a legal license?)
-Front Row 1.3 OK (next try Front Row 2.0 from AppleTV)
-EyeTV Lite works great
-VLC playing all my hidef stuff OK
-mPlayerOSX
-Remote Buddy (for remote control support, cool)

Most of the Apple stuff is from my wife's iMac so she's a bit pissed with what I'm doing right now. Looks like I'm spending a fortune but most of the stuff are old. CPU & ram is new. Remotes & ir receivers are costing me a fortune though. I can't find ir receivers alone so I end up buying TV tuner MCE kits just for the receiver.

That's all I can think of right now. It looks good so far. Just got to get the remote solved. I'd really like to get the Apple Remote working. Really, really.

This post has been edited by miramar: Jun 23 2007, 03:13 PM

well , there is one small thing if u want to budget .
buy a DVD player with DIVX supporter and USB .
connect ur external HDD to it . and play .

Been there, done that. Seriously though, I have the Sarotech DVP-570. It takes a 3.5in IDE HD internally and plays hi definition Divx (up to 720p I think.) It's good but I wanted something that can play x264 without conversion. Wife wanted something that can play rmvb. In fact it just came back from warranty. It got hit by lightning almost 4 weeks ago. The warranty claim was taking so long that I couldn't wait and decided to build a HTPC.

I'm a big fan of media players. Before this I had the Neuston MC-500 which streams video off a networked PC.