Size and price differences aside:

--No IR receiver for remote?
--Noise? (the ones I've seen I though to be remarkably quiet, but they weren't playing a 1080i EyeTV recording.)
--Apple comes out with Blu-ray support in six months and there is no way to upgrade their older machines?
--Other downsides???

Advantages -- even the low end 2.66GHz Quad Core should be plenty powerful enough for all HTPC needs I can think for the next 5+ years.
You can totally use it simultaneously as a PC in one room attached to a ACD, and a HTPC in another room attached to attached to 1080P LCD, if you can find a long enough Display Port cable (supposedly DP does much better with long runs than HDMI).
4 FW800 ports, full size TOSlink, and for me the number one reason -- 4 internal SATA HD bays -- which means 8TB internal disk space (and more in the future with the advent of > 2TB 3.5" HDs.)

P.S. store.apple.com is showing them as 2~3 weeks delivery -- a hot item?

I can't speak for the new MacPros, but when added two G5s to my house running 12/hrs a day I noticed a considerable spike in my electricity bill. I have always been a fan of the expandability of the Pro models, but because of this I'm seriously considering external storage on a mini instead of loading up and old pro.

Brad

http://www.apple.com/macpro/environment.html
Supposedly the new MacPro is more power efficient -- at least compared to the previous Intel model. No idea how that stacks up against the G5s.

I put a "Kill-a-watt" on my dualie-G4 (1.42GHz) ... it was ~$140/year of power consumption.

While it might be quiet now, one would imagine that loading it up for 4 drives would turn up the power requirements, and thus heat, and thus fan noise.... maybe.

I put a "Kill-a-watt" on my dualie-G4 (1.42GHz) ... it was ~$140/year of power consumption.

While it might be quiet now, one would imagine that loading it up for 4 drives would turn up the power requirements, and thus heat, and thus fan noise.... maybe.
My DP G4 sounds like a vacuum cleaner, compared to Intel Macs.

I am basing my quiet hopes on a friend's fully loaded gen one MacPro -- he has 4 HDs, 16GB of memory, dual displays, you name it. Again though, the most CPU intensive thing I saw him do was video games like Second Life -- no EyeTV.

So far as the drives, unless they are in active use, they wouldn't be spun up, just as is the case with my external disks, right?

I've been using a first Gen Mac Pro for the past 6 months for HTPC (theater doubles as office - which makes paint choices difficult! settling in medium gray) and it's great. The ability to run 4+ screens is spectacular (I have a 30" LCD, 24" in portrait mode, a 720p projector and plan to get a third monitor to finish it out). The IR can be solved with a $25 USB add on from here (http://twistedmelon.com/mira/hardware.html) (link for others reading as I'm sure Ted knows this already) and it is quiet - although mine gets louder when it gets dusty inside and since it's a chore to unhook everything, I don't do it as often as I should. The whole thing is a cooling windtunnel (cheese grater design is good for cooling but bad for dust - although I live in a very dust environment). The optical out is nice although of course there's no uber-highres coming through that just AC3 (Dolby Digital) and DTS at the max. Display Port doesn't pass audio on Macs, either, from what I've read.

Probably not for everyone, but I have gamed on the projector before (BT mouse and keyboard) and it was pretty cool, but the higher res 30" is preferable.

Expandability makes it a great long-term Mac and resale value is crazily good.

If the money doesn't bother you, it's a fantastic HTPC. And should the need arise to re-encode anything, you got the right machine :P

The IR can be solved with a $25 USB add on from here (http://twistedmelon.com/mira/hardware.html)
Thanks for all the info, Nightfly! Do you need to use their Mira software, or will the Apple Remote work as on a Mini by just attaching the Manta USB IR device?

Well, I've ordered a Mac Pro, (base quad core model (2.66GHz with 6GB RAM)) will report when it gets here. No sales on 2TB Western Digital drives at the moment (seems like it is $300 from all the usual sources, so I'll start with one, and get more when prices start dropping).

Now, as Apple still hasn't upgraded the 30" ACD to Display Port, I am ready to return to my display Hamlet act. on LCDs. Samsung has new LED displays Samsung Luxia (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LUXIA-Black-Flat-Panel/dp/B001YI6W4A/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1239205787&sr=8-5), as well as new 1080P LCDs at cheaper prices, but since Apple is moving to LED based displays, I'd think that is the way to go (better for environment, lower electric bills, brighter, higher contrast ratio). Of course I'd be a guinea pig yet again -- I need to find a B&M where I can plug in my MBP for some sanity testing for 1080P compatibility with Display Port.

Sorry Ted I haven't ordered the USB jobber yet. Still lunge up from my chair and hammer the spacebar... although I have taught my 2 and 3 year olds to 'pause the computer' and they hammer the spacebar for me... works 70% of the time :P

I run 2x Dell monitors quite happily.

Let us know how you like it!

The Mac Pro arrived last night. Initial, non-scientific impressions:

It is amazingly quiet, makes less noise than the Mini, really virtually silent -- I can only hear the internal drive when it is doing heavy work (installing software), but not when recording/playing EyeTV. The whole MacPro makes less noise than a single external drive.

EyeTV works fine.

It is screamingly fast. I installed it by copying everything over from my MPB, and so far the only software I was forced to re-install was Xcode (the Mac developer tools).

It came without an Airport card(!) Had I payed attention when I configured it, I would have noticed that it wasn't being included by default, but it never even occurred to me that was a possibility. Now, of course the machine is (and was intended to be) connected via ethernet (it has two gigabit ports, so I can always extend the wired network through it if I am out of ports on the base station). But still, you never know when you'd want to go wireless, so I may have to call up Apple to get an Airport card.

Bottom line: if you were hesitating getting a Pro vs. a Mini do to noise issues -- don't.

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum but came across this thread and am hoping that some of you may be able to help me with some questions I have about a potential new setup. I am moving soon and what I would like to do is use my mac pro as an HTPC but it would be in a separate room (office) than my TV and stereo. Some of the questions I have are:
1) I currently have the mac pro connected to apple LED display through display port - can I use the dvi connection to connect to my receiver with a dvi to hdmi cable while still using the displayport to connect to the monitor?
2) Would the dvi cable need to be directly connected to the TV or can I connect to the receiver first?
3) My main concern is about sound as I heard somewhere (not sure if this is correct) that dvi does not carry sound? If that is the case, how would I get sound to the receiver?

Sorry for the overload of questions - just trying to examine some options before the move - hoping to avoid the purchase of an apple TV if possible. Thanks in advance for any advice / suggestion, cheers

1) Yes
2) Yes, but sometimes a direct connection works better
3) Optical (TOSLink) out to the receiver.

Thanks very much for the response!

I'm also looking into a Mac Pro. Not necessarily as a full time HTPC, but I do intend to connect it regularly to my Mits 65735 DLP. Couple of questions:

1. Any thoughts on real-world performance differences between the two video cards that are available for the Mac Pro? They are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB and the ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB. I know the ATI card is a bit beefier, but am I going to realize any real gains as far as HD video playback is concerned? Are there any compatibility issues that would cause me to choose an ATI card over an NVIDIA card?

2. Any of you know of a solution for Blu-Ray disc playback on a Mac? I know that a couple of Mac-compatible Blu-Ray external drive solutions are currently shipping, but can you actually play back a Blu-Ray disc with high-res sound and the whole works?

1. Any thoughts on real-world performance differences between the two video cards that are available for the Mac Pro? They are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB and the ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB. I know the ATI card is a bit beefier, but am I going to realize any real gains as far as HD video playback is concerned? Are there any compatibility issues that would cause me to choose an ATI card over an NVIDIA card?

2. Any of you know of a solution for Blu-Ray disc playback on a Mac? I know that a couple of Mac-compatible Blu-Ray external drive solutions are currently shipping, but can you actually play back a Blu-Ray disc with high-res sound and the whole works?
1) It would be hard to imagine a performance difference for HT purposes, although with CPU work being off-loaded to the GPU by Snow Leopard there may be over all performance differences. One thing I have to say if the NVIDIA is silent (so far anyway). Some video cards are noisy, though I have no info on this ATI.

2) AFAIK, booting into Windows is the only way play back Blu-Ray on a Mac as of right now. Boot Camp should work, not sure about VMWare. Obviously VMWare would be the better solution *if it works* as you wouldn't need to reboot the machine to play a BD.

I'm also looking into a Mac Pro. Not necessarily as a full time HTPC, but I do intend to connect it regularly to my Mits 65735 DLP. Couple of questions:

1. Any thoughts on real-world performance differences between the two video cards that are available for the Mac Pro? They are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512MB and the ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB. I know the ATI card is a bit beefier, but am I going to realize any real gains as far as HD video playback is concerned? Are there any compatibility issues that would cause me to choose an ATI card over an NVIDIA card?

2. Any of you know of a solution for Blu-Ray disc playback on a Mac? I know that a couple of Mac-compatible Blu-Ray external drive solutions are currently shipping, but can you actually play back a Blu-Ray disc with high-res sound and the whole works?

Get a PS3 for Blu-ray and you can stream almost anything from the Mac to it.

two G5s to my house running 12/hrs a day I noticed a considerable spike in my electricity bill. I have always been a fan of the expandability of the Pro models, but because of this I'm seriously considering external storage on a mini instead of loading up and old pro.
U watch TV 12 hours/day? Dunn u put puters to sleep when not in use? But I personally would not use a tower box for this purpose just because of the noise contaminating my AV environment.

U watch TV 12 hours/day? Dunn u put puters to sleep when not in use? But I personally would not use a tower box for this purpose just because of the noise contaminating my AV environment.
MrBobb:
The 2009 MacPro is silent, it makes less noise than a MacMini, noise reduction is actually a good argument to use it in an AV environment. Especially instead of a Mini with external disk drives.

And there are reasons to run it when you are not watching TV, like in my case recording a lot of late night talk shows for the music guests, as well as downloading HD from iTunes overnight, so I don't tie up my puny DSL during the day.

Do you need to use their Mira software, or will the Apple Remote work as on a Mini by just attaching the Manta USB IR device?

To answer my own question, yes you do -- an IR receiver is useless for the Apple Remote without 3rd party software. The good news -- Mira is quite good. (And the Manda IR receiver is better than the built in IR for the Mini). The bad news: the Mira software stops working properly in EyeTV (and possibly elsewhere) after a it has been used a while. As an example, I watched a baseball game, with massive forward skipping over commercials and boring parts plus the occasional skip back to catch a play. It worked perfectly through the first 2.5 hours of the game, but then the Apple remote became unresponsive, you'd hit a button and nothing, have to double, triple click to get a response, had a hard time differentiating between a long & short press. Very weird. The next day, it works fine again. Some sort of buffer filling up and the software getting confused?

I'll talk to the developer, see if there is a fix.

MrBobb:
The 2009 MacPro is silent, it makes less noise than a MacMini,
When new, and all the lubricans are fresh.