Using a new HDMI Mac Mini with my TV: Early days

This will be the first in a continuing series of posts about using a brand new Mac Mini with an HDMI port (purchased in June 2010) connected to a high-definition television. To read all of our adventures jumping through hoops, losing remotes and forgetting the password to bypass parental controls, see this page with all my DIY home theater posts.

Searching along with my fellow TV and movie junkies for the home theater holy grail, I’ve wandered in the wilderness for many years. We have a pretty typical 21st century entertainment consuming household with adults and kids watching cable TV, DVD movies and stuff from the Internets including Youtube videos, purchased movies, shows and music videos and, increasingly, rented movies. Hardware-wise, we’ve been hooked on Tivo for a few years now, we obviously have many iPods, the occasional iPad and, though our music collection is entirely digital at this point, a gazillion DVDs. For purchased downloadable content, iTunes is our go-to choice though increasingly we rent from Amazon Unbox which can send flicks straight to our Tivo.

When Apple TV hit the scene in 2007, I took a long, hard look. In many ways, it seemed like just what I wanted: an easy to set-up, easy-to-use digital storage box for all our digital photos, videos and music that could be played back via HDTV or stereo. But the limitations were much too limiting — only compatible with a few video formats, — and the tiny storage capacity was even more ridiculous. So I passed.

I also began avidly followed the niche crowd that was trying to use Mac Minis as souped up Apple TVs. The challenges involved get clean digital signals with sound to the TV screen as well as finding a good software interface to manage a multimedia library. It never quite seemed simple enough to be worth all the trouble.

Until now…

When Apple recently unveiled a new, souped-up Mac Mini with an HDMI connection — the exact port needed to send both sound and video to an HDTV set — I jumped. It was time to get off the sidelines and join the experimenters.

The first choice was which Mac Mini to buy. I opted for the server version which has two speedy 500 GB 7200 RPM hard drives (totaling 1 TB) and no DVD drive. Since the plan was to rip all our DVDs to the hard drive, the only physical disks I’d be wanting to play would be Blu-Ray and Apple’s drives aren’t compatible with that higher definition format. The server Mac Mini’s double the storage and faster drives made it the more logical choice.

Once the little guy — and I do mean little — arrived, I hit the next challenge. The server operating system had no iLife programs — no iTunes or iPhoto. Luckily, iTunes is a free download and I own a “family pack” of iLife 2009, so it was easy to load up the new server with those two critical programs. The server mini did come with Apple’s limited if serviceable front-end for playing media on big television sets known as Front Row.

After installing the software, I copied all the media files from my laptop where they currently live to one of the server’s drives and imported them into a brand new iTunes library. That went pretty smoothly, though some audiobooks purchased long ago wanted to be authorized by Audible.com and my account had apparently used up its allotment of authorized computers. A quick email customer service sorted that out.

Then I brought the mini into the family room and connected via an HDMI cable to our Samsung HDTV. The display automatically configured itself to the proper 1080P output although the edges of the screen, including the critical top menu bar, were out of view. But there’s now a simple setting to fix that problem in System Preferences > Displays called Overscan. There’s a slider control you adjust until the invisible outside edges become visible. I believe that was one of the issues that drove folks crazy a few years ago trying to get minis and HDTVs connected. I also had at the ready a Logitech diNovo Edge bluetooth keyboard (Mac edition). This guy has a touchpad built-in so you can sit on the couch and wirelessly operate your TV-connected Mac without a mouse. Very handy. It also has dedicated buttons to bring up Front Row, control the iTunes player etc. (You have to install Logitech’s control center program to get the special buttons working properly).

I called up Front Row and it played everything just fine. Sound initially emanated from the mini’s own tiny speaker until I went to System Preferences > Sound > Output and selected the TV.

I had an old Apple infrared remote, the one that looks like a pack of gum, lying around but it seems unable to make a connection to the 2010 Mac Mini. I verified that the Mini does indeed have an infrared receiver, so that’s just a matter of grabbing the newer Apple remote that’s more tubular in shape at some point. UPDATE: No — as commenter Mikeo below points out, the server mini just has communication with the remote turned off by default. To turn it back on, head to System Preferences > Security and unclick the check next to “Disable remote control infrared receiver.”

Alright — well, that’s as far as I’ve gotten in the first couple of days. Future plans include ripping a whole bunch of DVDs, experimenting with other user interfaces like Plex, seeking out some streaming web video and using an iPhone or ipad as a remote control. Check back later…

Comments

39 responses to “Using a new HDMI Mac Mini with my TV: Early days”

  1. Boblob Avatar
    Boblob

    Excellent review, but I really want to know how the picture quality was. And do you have an LCD or plasma TV?

  2. Bozo Avatar
    Bozo

    Re: Apple Remote

    The battery may be dead. You may have to pair it to the new Mac Mini.

  3. ampressman Avatar

    We have a pretty recent LCD TV (Samsung UN46C6500). Picture quality is awesome but completely dependent on source quality. A movie movie bought from iTunes in standard def looks about as good as a DVD.

  4. mikeo Avatar
    mikeo

    Regarding the remote, check the security panel in the System Prefs. It may have the remote disabled as the default setting for a server-mini.

  5. BrianM Avatar
    BrianM

    Instead of messing with Overscan, check your TV settings for display options “zoom” “dot by dot” etc… On my Sharp, the “Dot by Dot” aspect means perfect picture from a Mac mini.

  6. Tom Avatar

    Thanks for the review. Now even more excited about my 'soon to ship' Mini.
    Maybe I should have gone for the Server edition. Does that lack any other features/functions?

  7. carlhoughton Avatar

    I highly recommend you try out Boxee too. I really like Plex but really like Boxee too and use it in my theater on my last rev Mac Mini

  8. ampressman Avatar

    As far as I can tell, the only losses on the server version are the super drive and iLife programs. In exchange, you get the two faster hard drives.

  9. ampressman Avatar

    You were absolutely correct! I've updated the post. Thanks.

  10. ampressman Avatar

    Downloaded Boxee last night. Amazed by all the free TV shows.

  11. Hank Avatar
    Hank

    I'm doing this same experiment, replacing my old Apple TV plus remote iTunes server with a new Mini doing both jobs…

    I have a few issues currently:

    1) If I turn off the TV for a while when I left Front Row up, when I turn the TV back on I get a solid blue screen and have to reboot the mini. If I remember to turn off Front Row, the finder doesn't seem to have this problem. I'd love if you could see if you have this same issue, or if it's just being mean to me. :)

    2) The Front Row interface is a step back from the Apple TV 3.0 interface (it looks a lot like the old 1.0 interface)… I'd switch to Plex, but Plex can't play all the TV shows and movies we own from iTunes purchases…

    Other than those two things though, it's nice! Smooth 1080p playback, good sound, fun to play WoW in the family room, and a convenient place for us to sync up all the iPods, iPhones, and iPads littering our house nowadays… :)

  12. Bob2k2 Avatar
    Bob2k2

    I just got mine and have a Samsung 42″ 1080i Plasma too and frankly I am underwhelmed by the picture quality vs the mini I am replacing. I think the picture is actually crisper when I start up in bootcamp than OSX. The text (file names) looks just as clunky as they were with my old mac mini, but slightly more readable now – but not was I was hoping for. I plan to call Apple, as I hope it's just a connection issue – but I fear not.

  13. Bob2k2 Avatar
    Bob2k2

    BTW, I vote for Boxee vs Plex or Front Row based on my . Also, I use Rowmote Pro from my iPad which is awesome and also use a Logitech Harmony Pro to control my component.

    Thanks for the review too.

  14. Tom Clarke Avatar

    Boxee is great, but only if you're in the USA (possibly Canada too, I'm not sure). A lot of the free TV shows are blocked for people in other areas.

  15. ampressman Avatar

    If we turn the TV off while Front Row is up and turn the Tv back on later, there is a blue screen but almost immediately cuts back to the computer, no reboot necessary.

    The Front Row interface does kind of stink, agreed. Apple are you listening?

  16. Dennis Avatar
    Dennis

    I have a Samsung LCD (B750). I plugged it in via HDMI to the new Mac Mini and it detected the 1080p settings. However, I'm experiencing image delay when moving the mouse around and I also have video/audio syncing problems. Are there certain settings on the Mac or TV that I need to make?

  17. Jhardi22 Avatar
    Jhardi22

    I'm seriously thinking about doing this. Just to be sure, you connected your Mac Mini(2010) to your T.V. via HDMI to HDMI.

  18. Bob2k2 Avatar
    Bob2k2

    I only use Boxee to watch movies. i like the fact that it will search for subtitles for foreign films.

  19. ampressman Avatar

    Yes – one cable for sound and video.

  20. Bob2k2 Avatar
    Bob2k2

    I connect through my surround sound receiver by HDMI, which in turn connects to the TV (SAMSUNG) HDMI to HDMI and get video and surround sound. If you use just your TV for audio then you would get video and audio from the mac mini HDMI connection to the TV's HDMI input.

  21. Kpop Avatar
    Kpop

    Has anyone tried using picture in picture with their mac mini and a tv? I just hooked up my new mac mini to my sony bravia via that hdmi and it appears that the pip function only works with the pc rgb input on the tv.

  22. Jim Avatar
    Jim

    Hi. I've had a 2010 mini for a couple weeks now and have just started noticing this problem. For me, I've had the blue screen when I switch to another input (Game,Antenna,etc.) on my TV (Panasonic Viera) and then come back to the mini later. Not sure if I've seen it when turning off/on. And I've had iTunes open not Front Row. So maybe the mini is losing some kind of talk-back it needs from the display? On the other hand, up until a couple days ago I had seen the blue screen briefly but it would pop right back to the computer without any trouble.
    Overall I am happy with the set-up but I'm still working through some nuisances like this.
    BTW, my HDMI is connected directly to the TV.

  23. myronaiii Avatar
    myronaiii

    I, too, just purchased my mini after doing A LOT of research. My wife and I kept discussing canceling cable, and after I told her what we could do with the new Mini and EyeTV, she gave the OK to start making purchases. I got the baseline Mini, an EyeTV Hybrid USB Tuner, a second USB tuner from a different company, an apple remote, apple wireless keyboard, and a cheap bluetooth mouse. In all, it was around $850, but after canceling cable, it will pay for itself in about 8 months.

    To make things short, we love the setup. I have OTA antenna going through a splitter to the 2 USB Tuners. I have 2 so that we can record 2 shows, record 1 while watching another, etc. — just like we could w/ our cable company DVR. The recordings are uncompressed and playback is great. I highly recommend the EyeTV PVR program. It's pretty amazing and doesn't take too much work to fine tune. Right now, all of our TV show recordings go on the internal hard drive. I'm ripping movies and will place those on an external soon. We watch movies, some TV shows, and netflix through Plex. Boxee is good too, but I just started using Plex more often and stuck with it. They are also releasing a big update on Plex sometime soon.

    A piece of software that I am also using is called Remote Buddy. It's a trial for 30 days and probably around $30 after that. It allows you to use the Apple Remote to control pretty much every application you will use for your setup (Plex, EyeTV, Hulu Desktop, iTunes, Front Row, etc.). It will also allow you to use your Harmony Remotes with your Mac Mini's IR receiver by making the Mac think the Harmony is multiple apple remotes. Great little program.

    One issue I am having, sometimes when I reawaken the computer, the audio automatically goes to the internal speakers, not the HDMI Out. I then have to go to Settings -> Sound and switch the audio out. Anybody know why this is? If needed, how would I go about making an Automator program to ensure HDMI is the audio out everytime the mac reawakes?

    Thanks!

  24. Vimster Avatar
    Vimster

    How is picture quality and what is it like saybchecking email and reading news online. Lastly do you have sluggish mouse or keyboard responsiveness on the tv like some have complained about?

    Thanks.

  25. Tommy Avatar
    Tommy

    On my new Mini HDMI linked to a 50″ Panasonic Viera plasma, I get a blue screen when switching to another source about 50% of the time. I need to reboot the Mini.
    This happens both from iTunes or Front Row…..very unfortunate

  26. Tommy Avatar
    Tommy

    Hi Myron.
    No solution, but sometimes, randomly, my Mini goes to internal speakers too. An Automator program would be neat, but outside my limited knowledge I'm afraid

  27. Ottothefish Avatar
    Ottothefish

    What about imovie ?

    I would like to play my HD-camcorder movies via HDMI to TV-box (Flatscreen)
    Does anyone have experience with quality and performance?

  28. Ottothefish Avatar
    Ottothefish

    with mac mini of course

  29. Weilkevin Avatar
    Weilkevin

    Have you had any issues with the audio going out of sync through HDMI? I’m doing basically the same thing and every so often my audio will be a little off. If I switch to speakers plugged into the headphone jack, the issue disappears.

  30. Dennis Avatar
    Dennis

    The filters are probably set too high on the television.

  31. Brendan Avatar
    Brendan

    Quick question. When you DVD’s through your mac mini into your HDTV, do the picture quality ever getting jittery or do you have motion problems? I ask because i just recently got a plasma and when i plug my macbook pro into it, I have motion problems with it like you wouldn’t believe. DOes macmini have that issues. Any help would be greatly apprecaited. Thanks!

  32. ampressman Avatar

    I have the server version without a DVd drive. There’s a separate blu-ray player for the tv. sorry.

  33. […] Using a new HDMI  Mac Mini with my TV: Early days […]

  34. Tomsemiterrific Avatar
    Tomsemiterrific

    When I first set up my Apple Pro Desktop computer with my 32″ HDTV I had frustrating issue with audio/video syncing. My connection was DVI to HDMI, and audio from Mac audio out to HDTV audio in. The problem was very frustrating, but when I went back to my old monitor the same issues occurred. So, I concluded it was not the fault of the TV or the nature of the connection, but something I was doing wrong. So, I went back and did the connection from the beginning just like the book says: TV unplugged and computer off. Perform the audio/video hook up, turn the TV on–THEN turn the computer on and let it boot up. Select my input (HDMI 1)and bingo; perfect syncing.
    If I start the computer first, then the TV the syncing problem recurs.
    So, now, whenever I put the computer to sleep I turn the TV off. Before I wake the computer up I turn the TV on until the HDMI 1 appears, then wake the computer and syncing is fine. This sounds different from what you are experiencing, but I hope it can help others who have the problem–I’ve seen several folks mention it on Apple’s support site with no answer. So, if you’re frustrated and haven’t resolved this syncing issue this might help––it’s worth a shot!

  35. Hebhansen Avatar
    Hebhansen

    Nice going – sounds pretty much like my own efforts. I assume you got Plex 9 running by now. and you are probably as thrilled as I am…

    I would highly recommend you invest in Elgato EyeTV Hybrid for your setup, The reason beeing, brilliant EPG, smooth integration to iTunes, recording ability, conversion to iphone,ipod,ipad purposes,Channel playlist for individual favorites and much more. Furthermore you can control recordings and view channels over 3G directly to your iphone.

    I would also recommend active speakers for you setup. Grab audio from your mac and pass it directly to speakers. Sourround receiver is old style and not needed at all. Distribute amping, and move tv tuning to the mac :-)

  36. Adriano Castro Avatar

    How is this working out for you? Did you give Plex a go? What about Boxee? What’s your current favourite setup for local files and internet streaming?

  37. Edmundo Monteiro Avatar
    Edmundo Monteiro

    I had the same problem that is now solved thanks to your hint.
    Thanks a lot!

  38. Stevenstratton Avatar
    Stevenstratton

    This sounds very similar to my new HTPC project using the new Mac mini. I have been having audio sync problems playing DVD’s from the external drive. Have you had any issues with sync? Are you running your sound through an AV receiver?

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