Home Media Centre

Fed up with PC performance, I want to branch out into the mac world. Not a rich man, I will have to buy a mac mini. Not a problem in itself, but I have big plans for it.

I want to have my old Yakumo 19 WJT with D-Sub 15pin connection as my desktop monitor, but I also want to buy a larger screen for watching movies/tv on.

Q1 Is my present monitor compatible with a mac mini?
Q2 What should I be looking for in a LCD/plasma screen to make it compatible with a mac mini?
Q3 Having never used a system with 2 screens before, how dies it work?

I have digital tv and broadband via cable. I want to my new system to be my tv, tv recorder (a la TiVo), dvd player/burner etc..
Q4 What, if anything, would I have to purchase to make this possible?
Q5 Is the mac mini as quiet as I have heard?

I am concerned that when I have bought a suitable surround sound system, that there will be cables trailing all over my apartment. Obviously I can buy a wireless speaker system, but...
Q6 What is the best way to connect all the hardware I have so that I can minimise cable strangulation?

You know, I am not the most computer savvy guy in the world. Is there anyone out there that has a system similar to my requirements? or has anyone dealt with individual problems regarding home media systems. I would like to hear your stories/cock ups so that I may learn from others.

Any help appreciated

mucho tack!

Ugglan

ugglan said:

I want to have my old Yakumo 19 WJT with D-Sub 15pin connection as my desktop monitor, but I also want to buy a larger screen for watching movies/tv on.

Q1 Is my present monitor compatible with a mac mini?
Q2 What should I be looking for in a LCD/plasma screen to make it compatible with a mac mini?
Q3 Having never used a system with 2 screens before, how dies it work?

I have digital tv and broadband via cable. I want to my new system to be my tv, tv recorder (a la TiVo), dvd player/burner etc..
Q4 What, if anything, would I have to purchase to make this possible?
Q5 Is the mac mini as quiet as I have heard?
Q6 What is the best way to connect all the hardware I have so that I can minimise cable strangulation?

Click to expand...

A1. Not as it is. Minis use DVI out put. I looked around, and you can get a D-sub to DVI adapter.
A2. I would be looking for DVI inputs. It isn't too uncommon, and that would make your life easy.
A3. You can set it up a few different ways. You can have the two display the same thing, or you have have one as eht main screen and the other as a work screen. If you have one as main and the other as a working screen, it works as follows: One will dosplay your dock and desktop with icons and all. The other will just be empty space. When you move your mouse off of one scree, it will go over to the other one. You can drag windows there and use it as a "working" space. It works really well, and gives you alot more surface area so you don't have to have overlapping windows.
A4. To watch TV, you will need a TV Tuner. I don't know what you have in Sweden, so I'll leave you to find that one. Once you have that, you can record/watch/burn/do whatever you want with the shows.
A5. Minis are extremely quiet. The only sound you might ever notice is the fan going, but even that puts out very little noise.
A6. You're probably just going to have to deal with cords. Wireless speakers are expensive and the quality is less than good. I don't know exactly what your whole setup will be when you're done, but I drew a picture, and it didn't seem too bad. There will be lots of cords, but most of it should be behind a desk/entertainment center.

Sounds like a really cool project, and best of luck to you getting it all to come together.

if you want info about mini's and home-theater setups, checkout 123macmini.com - there is a TON of info about mini's as HTPC's there. (Sorry admin if I broke a rule by referring someone out for help!).

nukemm said:

if you want info about mini's and home-theater setups, checkout 123macmini.com - there is a TON of info about mini's as HTPC's there. (Sorry admin if I broke a rule by referring someone out for help!).

Click to expand...

Good site. I have been there before, but not in a while. Definitely not against the rules to give links. Sending people to web sites with more specific information on their question always helps. Mac-Forums contains really broad topics and information. Good call on 123macmini.com though.