Use Mac Mini as a media center - how it works
Apple's smallest, the Mac Mini, is ideal as a media center for the living room at home. Together with the enclosed remote control, you only need the appropriate software.
Mac Mini as a media center: the hardware
With the small Mac Mini, Apple has created a great alternative to the in-house Apple TV. The Apple TV is much cheaper and structurally a bit smaller, but offers significantly less connectivity, performance and flexibility.
- The Mac Mini comes with a full-fledged Mac OS X Mavericks, so you can make full use of software and apps.
- With the Mac Mini, you don't have to worry about connections. In addition to four USB ports, Apple offers a network connection, Thunderbolt, audio in / out, SD card etc. With the remote control you can easily control the Mac Mini from the couch.
- When it comes to performance, the Mini depends on the Apple TV. Even some games are no problem for the Mac.
Full operating system in the Mac Mini
As already mentioned, you can use a full Mac OS X Mavericks with the Mac Mini. So you can play virtually any content with the software you want.
- Whether Spotify or Google Music, Amazon Prime Instant Video or Watchever - everything runs on the Mac Mini.
- However, we recommend that you adjust the font size in the display options so that you can see everything well from a distance.
Media center software for Mac Mini
In order to be able to really enjoy your media offer, you should use a media center solution. There are currently two alternatives: "Plex Home Theater" or "XBMC". Both allow sofa-friendly operation with large fonts, symbols and access to various media and extensions.
- XBMC is the more flexible solution in our comparison, but you have to configure more yourself. However, you can make XBMC look and operate as you imagine. XBMC also offers TV functions and can easily be equipped with extensions - for example for BBC News or Youtube.
- If you want a pure media solution for series, films, music and pictures, which also streams to all your other devices thanks to the server function, Plex is probably your choice. Install the server function, show it where the data is and you can access the films with "Plex Home Theater Clients" via Mac, but also with iPhone, Android or Windows. Of course, Plex can also do well with YouTube and Co.
If you also have a PC in your household, you can easily connect Windows PC and Mac in the network.