Help me understand... Dune HD Smart D1 v PH A-300 v Mac Mini XBMC

Dune Vs PCH is a matter of preference they both accomplish the same goals, If you are using ISO/bdmv or such go with DUNE if you are using single file formats mp4/avi/mkv go with either one that suits your needs. Both of these solutions are somewhat hassle free, I will not say plug and play but close, mac mini and xbmc I have herd can be hit and miss on high bitrate stuff, I have never owned a mac mini with xbmc so that is just what I have read on the forums.


Neither the PCH or the DUNE has an interface that pops like xbmc does so if you are big on UI you will be a little disappointed, Both do have jukebox options that will bring covers and such to the device to spice it up a bit, Dune offers external jukebox software you run on a pc to make the jukebox, PCH offers the internal NMJ which runs on the box itself which some people love and others hate, or external options that run on a pc to make the jukebox,

You know, I clicked on respond because I thought I had something to add here, but I think you pretty much covered it! Excellent response...

I think you would get far more out of the Mac Mini. With XBMC you get the top of the line media player and it runs great on the 2011 Minis. The Mini also retains its resale value if that is an issue.
You also have access to Plex.

The only other thing I would consider would be one of the PC net tops but that really is a matter of preference.

The Mini has virtually no maintenance, has AirPlay out capabilities (and AirPlay in for very little money with Airserver), built in ir capabilities (you can use your Harmony or the Apple remote) and is silent.

Philip

and won't bitsteam under windows or play BD iso's with Java menus. All depends on what you want. and that and you can buy an acer revo that will bitstream HD Audio and Run XBMC BETTER for 1/2 the price.

Mac mini is not many folks first choice in HTPC's.

Well it depends what you want from the HTPC. The Revo RL70 with 4 gigs, windows7 costs almost as much as the low end Mini and it's resale value is nowhere near as high. In addition, the Mini can do a heck of a lot more but then that is irrelevant if you are only looking for a dedicated XBMC box.

I am curious about this HD audio statement. What exactly do you mean when you say that the new Mini will not bitstream HD audio?

Philip

also is it not true that NO htpc will properly do 23.98 correctly? I thought I read that somewhere and that was a deal breaker for me as well...

Phil, I think your way off base here.

The Acer is $309 (with windows 7)+ 9.95 for the RAM upgrade (which is not needed for XBMC) or $320
The mac mini starts at $587 and ONLY HAS 2 GIGS.

I'm sorry but $309 is not close to $587 its nearly 1/2 the cost.

This PC can do a hell of a lot more too as can the mac mini but thats irrelevant as we are talking streamers not PC's.

Additionally that ****** PC includes a wireless mouse, a wireless keyboard, and a wireless remote of which the MAC mini includes none of anymore. They used to at least included the AppleTV like remote.

The new Mac MINI running OSX will NOT bit stream HD Audio. That was a fact last time I checked. Has something apple's done in the latest OSX changed that? Previously apple's core audio subsystems was severly limited in supporting HDMI audio.

streamerlover: yes HTPC's can do 23.97 FPS. my ION1 RIG XBMC does this fine with 0 micro stutter.

The cheapest price in Canada for Acer RL70-UR10P Desktop PC REVO RL70 E450 2 500 W7HP is $350. It has win7 Home, no Bluetooth, wired mouse, wireless keyboard, 2gigs, 500 gig had. The Mac Mini is $580 for the cheapest, and a refurbished one (which for Apple is basically new) is around $500. The resale value is around 75% of the price while the Acer is not as high. The i5 CPU of the Mac is superior to the Revo's CPU. Now add in the lack of real AirPlay for the Acer, the stuttering problem for XBMC when coming out of win7 sleep ( well documented and still no fix, although you just need to restart things). Don't get me wrong, I like XBMC on passively cooled nettops running win7 but I can use my Mini as my main computer whereas I can't use my Shuttle (similar to the Revo RL70 though not as powerful).

The Mini will bitstream HD audio under Windows though you are correct that it won't under OSX. If that is an issue than of course you would not go the Mac route. It isn't to me, but I suspect my audio preferences are in the minority of users here. Fan noise is more important as is the integration with my iDevices and Plex.

Finally, I think it is a bit of a stretch comparing an Acer nettop to the Mac Mini. I am not saying the Revo is junk, it isn't, but it's not quite in the same quality league. Also, I think win7 home is not quite OSX which is more like win7 pro. Of course a lot of this is irrelevant from a strict XBMC media player point of view.

Philip

Its not in the same league. I think the acer a better box for almost 1/2 the cost.

none of that stuff you mentioned matters for running XBMC. That unit is a better XBMC machine(more functionality) with stock OS on each box for 1/2 the price. Thats a slam dunk for the acer. no contest.

you can twist the criteria around to topics like resale or general computing but none of that has anything to do with streamers and using these as HTPC's out of the box.

BTW: There are numerous Airplay services available (audio only) for windows so thats not really an issue either, assuming the user cares about that. The biggest handicap for the mini is the OS its running as least as far as being an HTPC is concerned.

and since you magically added idevice integration and Plex. I consider those equal. Is there some magical plex feature on OSX that's not Windows? Either way your now trying to compare the OS's not the HW but regardless is still compares favorably.

bottomline for HTPC use windows is more powerful, and more flexible, and supports more hardware, with more features. Linux is ahead of OSX now that it has bitstreaming support too. Once openelec ships XBMC audio engine with bitstreaming even more folks will abandon windows and os/x for the simplicity of OSX.

The only real benefit of the mini is the optical drive and the build quality.

and curious why is it you have a windows machine and last time I knew you WERE NOT using a Mac Mini running XBMC under OSX? Is the mac mini your new main XBMC rig?
Edited by sean_w_smith - 8/27/12 at 4:45pm

No, the Shuttle is still my main XBMC box under win7. Works great and is silent.

The Mac runs the Plex Media Server, Plex, EyeTV HD, AirServer (an AirPlay audio and video app which works great - may have the name mixed up).

I have no problem with XBMC under win7. It's great, except for that sleep issue. I do run XBMC on my Mini and an iMac though. DTS audio is not on my radar though. The reason for running it on the iMac is to use AirPlay mirroring to an ATV3. It's very, very neat.

When I looked into the Revo RL70 the shop only had the Linux version and the 4 gig version with an optical drive. The 4gig version was almost $500 and so I lost interest. Also there is the fan issue.

I admit that as an XBMC box the Acer makes sense. Not as clear when it comes to Plex as subtitles are not completely supported unless you run both client and server on the same box and my Shuttle wasn't strong enough for that.

I do have this thing about having good support for product, especially good local support. My past Acer WHS was fine but support was not great. That has made me leery about Acer.

I do think a lot of our differences, if there are any, comes down to the HD audio issue. The $300 difference is not that much in the larger scheme of things (cost of media, NAS, etc...). I don't use win7 for anything other than launching XBMC. I doubt many people use PC's that way. So my views have to be taken in that context. Finally, with remote buddy I can do far more with the remote on the Mini and that is a big plus.

Philip

Edit:

1.Ran openelec on an ATV1 with the Crystal HD card for quite a while. Unless it has really changed I doubt many will be leaving windows or OSX for it anytime soon. There were always hassles as to which AddOns would work. Very fast though.

2. Unless you are talking recording TV I don't see any advantage of using a PC over the Mini ( and there again it's that sound issue). Windows Media Center is the plus there. With a PC there is always that i/o hassle. The ir issue is hit and miss. Other than the HD audio issue Plex on the Mini is just plain nicer than under Windows.

3. If in fact you really want to run Windows then the Mini will do that just fine so I don't see any advantage at all to the Revo except the price.

4. None of those 3rd party Windows' AirPlay apps work right (except for audio and they rely on an older AirTunes' techniques).
Edited by pmcd - 8/27/12 at 6:42pm