A client of mine is a huge Apple fan, so I set up a home theater for him based around a Mac Mini. But it is getting pretty long in the tooth, being a 667 mhz, single processor Intel. He’s wanting to buy an Apple TV to play movies, TV shows and music from the rest of the Macs in his house. But I believe he should invest that money in a better Mac Mini and use Front Row.
Which is the better solution?
If he’s got other macs with storage and horsepower, it sounds like the new AppleTV with AirPlay might be a pretty good way to go…at $99, it’s certainly a cheaper experiement than a new Mini.
Neither is “better.” They each have their unique advantages.
The Mac Mini is a full scale computer, in a super-duper tiny box. He’ll be able to watch DVDs on it, and bluray movies (with an external drive), as well as playing with he new Magic Trackpad (a must for any Mac mini htpc), along with all the other benefits (programs, not apps) and detriments (potential malware, increased incidence of User Error, etc).
On the other hand, the AppleTV is cool, new, and much cheaper. It’s quick, easy to use, and for someone who doesn’t want to use the web, play games or anything like that – it’s perfect.
Don’t worry about it only streaming Netflix at launch, more will come, officially and unofficially. Its iOS and already jail broken.
To clarify: He has a Mac Mini already hooked up. It is the heart of the Home Theater system and he uses it to play DVDs, browse the web, etc. My question is: Does the Apple TV do the specific job of playing media from iTunes on other computers better than the Mac Mini or are both comparable? Does the Apple TV have a better version of Front Row? Does it have more capabilities, or is it exactly the same?