As a brief introduction to what this site is all about, I wanted to detail exactly how my Intel Mac Mini acts as a media hub to demonstrate what YOUR Mini can do for you!

I’ve had a couple of request lately for a chart detailing exactly how my HDTV/Mac set-up is, well, set up. So I opened up Photoshop and put this together, detailing all of the components involved in viewing and recording free(!) HD programming onto a Mac and then watching it over my home network on multiple [...]

I’m all about consolidating as many components into as few devices as possible. But sometimes additional hardware is unavoidable. This is how I felt about my beloved Sirius Satellite Radio. Commercial-free channels like Chill, Alt Nation, and (yes) Big 80s mean I’ve been willing to add a Sirius receiver to my spartan set of HTPC [...]

BOTTOM LINE: Plex is hands-down the finest media manager/player available for the Mac HTPC enviornment. Gorgeous and exponentially more flexible than Front Row, it rules HD playback, handling 1080p material with ease.

Among the many features VLC brings to your Mac HTPC is the ability to create and save video playlists to control playback of more than one file at a time. And its compatibility with almost any format allows mixing more than one file type not a problem, unlike some other programs (iTunes, I’m looking in [...]

Well, it took Rogue Amoeba more than a year to develop and after many replies of “It’ll be released when it’s released” in their now-dead forums, RA released a major upgrade to their Airfoil application today.
At the top of the “Wow” list is the app no longer requiring Airport Express units to play audio on [...]

A definitive list of apps that help my Mac Mini HTPC realize its full potential.
Plex - Amazing (and free) media manager/player that has no peer. Read my full review here.
EyeTV - The only real option for a Tivo-like experience on a Mac is thankfully well-tended by its developers at El Gato Systems. Use it to [...]

JULY 2008 UPDATE: I’ve recently begun using Plex (aka OSXMBC) and it eats up ANY 1080p material I throw at it. My full review is available here but the short version is a strong recommendation to anyone interested in playing back 1080p on their Mini. It’s amazing.

Until now, my Mac Mini’s limitations haven’t slowed down [...]

 
Tonight, I found myself making an adjustment in VLC that I’ve been using for quite some time: easy tweaking to sync up audio and video. It’s so simple and I realized that everyone may not be aware of it. Simply put, use the “F” key during VLC playback to slow down the audio and the [...]

EyeTV is one of the cornerstones of my Mac home theatre system. I love the program and am eternally grateful to El Gato for continually refining and expanding the features it offers…particularly in light of the fact that there’s no real alternative for Mac users interested in an HDTV viewing/recording system.
So, based on the reality [...]