When Apple give up a Mac miniskirt that bear an HDMI port on Tuesday , it took bare moment before people suggested that this newfangled mini was the next - generation Apple TV in camouflage . And for some , it may be . We ’ll take a deeper look as we have more time to test out the unexampled Mac mini , but here ’s a look at some of areas that separate the two .
Connections
One of the clumsier factor of using a Mac mini as a medium center has always been the tv set connection . While you may make that connexion with a DVI - to - HDMI cable or — with more recent minis — a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter , the results of the surgical operation can be uneven . The images displayed by the mini may outstrip the bounds of the television ’s show . you’re able to cover this by play with an Overscan option , but this can head to black bar around the four sides of the miniskirt ’s image . The new mini has the same Underscan slider find in the Displays system orientation on the current MacBook Pros , which allows you to scale the mini ’s image so it utterly fits your goggle box sieve . Of course , the Apple TV ’s HDMI and component video choice have made this type of connection easy from the start .
Advantage : connect
Physical media
One advantage the miniskirt has over the Apple TV is an optical drive that can play DVDs — however , like all other Macs , it ca n’t play Blu - ray record . I know Steve Jobs believes Blu - beam is a “ traveling bag of hurt ” and that Apple has rapidly moved forth from optical discs , but the company ’s leap out too shortly on this one . Blu - ray has finally caught on now that it ’s the single high-pitched - def measure for optical platter . Blu - ray musician are now within the budget of most multitude , the price of Blu - beam moving-picture show is also throw away , and Netflix has an low-priced Blu - light beam letting option . Sure , the caliber of streaming video is getting better and greater bandwidth will make purchasing , renting , and streaming video even more attractive , but there ’s still a turgid segment of the public that wants to shove a credit card saucer into a one-armed bandit and watch the leave flick . And , in regard to Blu - re , this group is wax rather than wan .
Advantage : Mac miniskirt
Content
Another area where the Mac miniskirt eclipse the Apple TV is in media options . Today ’s Apple TV was plan with iTunes and the iTunes Store in judgment . Sure , the gimmick allow you seem at YouTube video and Flickr slideshows , but it ’s otherwise locked to the contents of iTunes library and the iTunes Store . This is commodious if that ’s the only form of media you give care to consume , but increasingly people require content from the connection — Hulu , Netflix , and countless Websites that stream telecasting . The Apple TV ’s interlock - in model has n’t been a hit with the public . The Mac mini is a Mac , and as such you’re able to apply it to play any World Wide Web content that OS X can handle , as well as all sorts of data file types that iTunes baulk at . And the Mac miniskirt ’s knock-down processor and improved graphics mean full 1080p HD playback — something the Apple TV can only stargaze of .
Navigation
On the navigation front , the Apple TV has a clear advantage . Front Row , Apple ’s medium interface for the Mac , was an exciting idea — when it was released half a decade ago . The new mini has power to give up to stream content and represent and display media . But much of that powerfulness requires an hustler who recognise what he or she is doing . Better would be a reading of Front Row that allows you to do all the great things potential with a WWW browser app — Hulu , Netflix , Pandora , Rhapsody , RadioTime — plus trifle your movies and music from any data processor or NAS ride in your home ; all without leaving the confines of Front Row . A wireless keyboard and mouse can give you entire control over the Mac mini from your couch , but for a media center , easiness ruler .
Advantage : Apple video
DVR capabilities
Some wo n’t be quenched until an Apple television serves as a digital video recordera laTiVo . With the mini , you could supply a twist such as Elgato ’s EyeTV HD to turn your Mac into a DVR . The Apple TV offers no such choice , and in all likelihood never will .
Price
The 160 GB Apple television cost $ 229 , whereas the young HDMI - enhanced Mac miniskirt starts at $ 699 — that ’s a huge conflict , and a lot of money for a medium meat . Price wise , the Mac mini ca n’t contend if all you ’re going to do is hook it up to your telly . If you plan to also use it as a hub for sharing your iTunes library around the house , host your Website , or for other uses ( and do n’t mind that it ’ll have to stick around within cable television distance of your TV ) then the price remainder becomes a little less severe .
