Hi all, this is my first post in the Mac-area. So apologies if this has been asked before, I did not find the answer though.

So the question is if I could use the latest version of Mac Mini as a decent everyday DVD player/recorder (and as a digital Media Centre)? How should these (Mac + BS3) be connected to enjoy optimum resolution and funtions? DVI-HDMI converter?

Probably the most critical issue is if the Mac can be remote controlled by the Beo 5, especially if the basic DVD control would be required? If yes, what kind of connection and configuration is needed in both ends?

The BS3 is linked with MCL2 to the audio master in another room. Can the Mac be remotely operated via BeoLink from other rooms?

Is there a mouse/keyboard combo available for Mac Mini? This would be needed for occational web surfing etc.

Thanks for any advice!

I should first mention that I live in the US, since it sometimes makes a difference... 

While I await the release of the next version of the Mini, I've hooked up my MacBook to my BS3.  As I got it last summer and haven't updated, it doesn't support fast scrolling yet, but otherwise works well with my BS3 and Panasonic Plasma via a DVI-HDMI adapter and plain old stereo l/r audio.  I can control it in the main room as well as link rooms with my Beo4 as long as I don't need to hold the button down to do anything.  This is an issue mainly with eyeTV, so I just have my Mac remote handy.

One problem I've discovered involved my new 1080p.  Although hooking up my Mac directly to my Sanyo z2000 1080p projector directly gives me 1080i resolution, I only get 768 when going through the BS3.  Anyone experienced this?

-- Paul 

It should work fine - and yes you can control the Mac with the Beo 5 - it works very well I've heard!

Connect via DVI, and use a digital audio feed if possible. I can see no reason why it won't work as beopaul has said, but I'll see if I can test such a setup out at some point.

As far as wireless keyboards/mice go - have a look at Apple's offerings. Their latest range of keyboards are fantastic - we got a wired one with our new iMac and it's a thing of beauty as well as being very very functional and built like a B&O. Their mice may not be so much to your liking, but there are plenty of wireless mice available on the market.

Is the Mac's graphiccard being used for DVD playback feeding into the BS3? - What quality is this of and would it beat a standalone ~$700 DVD player?

I have a latest generation Mac mini, bought last year, connected to a Kuro 50" screen with a DVI-to-HDMI cable.

The Mac mini is set to output its native resolution to the Kuro, 1360x768.

The upscaling from DVDs, either played straight from the optical drive or ripped to harddisk, is simply formidable. The quality is outstanding, and I haven't found any upscaling players that go better than what I'm getting from this combination. I'm also tapping the audio via optical toslink to a receiver, and get dts 5.1, 5.1 dolby digital and pcm stereo out with no problems.

Until I saw this, I thought I would need a stand-alone DVD-player. So far I haven't bothered to get one.

One negative - the optical drive is noisy compared to that of a cd or dvd player, which is why I prefer ripping the movies to harddisk. In low volume portions of a film you can hear the disk spinning on some movies, not all. But I'm controlling my Mac mini with a bluetooth keyboard, or with screen sharing from my laptop, and will be putting it inside a cabinet, that should take care of the low hiss from the drive. 

Also, the Mini doesn't decode SACD or any of the high-resolution audio formats. 

Thank you for all the replies.

I purchased a 2.0 GHz MacMini with 2G RAM. My old LG panel is not supporting 1080p and therefore I am using 768. The picture with 1080i looks somehow worse than 768 with my configuration.

The DVD picture quality is excellent as Soundproof said, Elgato Eye TV is also great for DVB-T.

One comment or warning about configuring the system. Do not select a resolution which is not not supported by your display. I needed to reinstall the whole system to fix this.

I am waiting for a SW upgrade for the BS3 to have Apple remote support. How does the Mac get commands from the BS3? Do I need to use the Ir transmitter supplied with the BS3?

Another question: you may select either NSTC or PAL as the output. Are there any noticable differences in the picture quality? I have not detected any...

For getting IR commands to the BS3, you must place one of the IR transmitters which came with the BeoSystem 3 over the IR eye on the front of the MacMini.

RE the PAL/NTSC question, this shouldn't really make a difference.

picking up an old thread as ive just moved into apartment and have set-up the old system to play a bit more (love the new app remote....greatness)

Anyhow - i have a mac mini connected to HDMI on my BS3 (DVID>HDMI) - my screen is a panasonic 50" - gen 9 (or could be 8, can't remember)

What output resolution should i put the mac-mini at; 1280 or 1920interlaced? -  i've unchecked overscan as the picture gets to big on 1920 to fit the screen....

if 1920 on mac; does it make the upscaling? if 1280 on mac; does the BS3 then make the upscaling?

I read that mac-mini's native resolution is 1360 (??) - but this mode is not selectable and the mac-mini identify my display as beossytem 3....toughts? native resolution from mac-mini must be the best right and the let the BS3 video-processor do the rest of the work....or?

Thx
Klas

The MacMini doesn't really have a 'native' resolution as such, the native resolution is more to do with the display/processor (in this case, the BeoSystem 3). I would select a slightly lower resolution, and allow the BeoSystem 3 to do all the upscaling. If you select a high-resolution output, then the BeoSystem 3 is expecting a high-resolution image, and won't do much in the way of upscaling...

I also want to connect a Mac Mini to BS3 but I have on issue:

having link rooms I need analog and also digital audio for Dolby Digital from the iTunes Movie Store. Since the Mac Mini has one audio output I need a device which sends digital and analog at the same time to BS3. Any idea?

Maybe you want to try the Philips HD1502. Actually it  is a surround headphone amplifier. It converts digital audio - DD, DTS , PCM - to analog stereo.

In addition to that it loops through the digital signal. I used the amplifier when I had a mac mini connected to my BV7-40.

Hope this helps.

Stefan

Hi Stefan,

is it still available? Cause I can't find it on the Philips website...

No. It isn`t produced anymore. I got mine second hand.

Stefan

Does it output analog and digital at the same time? Or do you have to change output source?

It outputs analog and digital simultaneously. As said it can loop through digital AND converts it to analog stereo.

Stefan