TV as display for Mac Mini?

[jyl]

I'm happy with my cable cutting experiment so far.

A cheap antenna gets the network channels.

$10/mo to Hulu gets most TV series, $10/mo to Netflix gets some movies. Amazon sells other movies. All accessed via Roku.

$25/mo to Sling TV gets ESPN, Universal Sports, BeIN Sports, Food/Cooking, and a few other cable channels. Also via Roku.

Granted this adds up to $45/mo which would buy a basic cable TV package, but that wouldn't have too much to watch.

Now I need to sort out all the stuff that I watch online. This is BBC streaming for shows like Donton Abbey, Dr Who, etc (via a UK proxy server) and all the pirate streams for bike races (sometimes via a French proxy server). Right now I watch this stuff on a computer screen. I'd like to watch it on a 50" HDTV.

I could get an Apple TV and use Airplay to mirror my Mac's screen to the TV. But I have no Mac up at the TV room; I'd have to get a new Mac as well.

Or, I could get a computer and connect it to the TV as a display. $500 would buy the base Mac Mini.

I think I'm going the second route, it seems logical.

So, my question is: do you guys have any tips about using a TV as a display for a Mac and if I buy a 50" TV for that purpose, any particular spec I need to look for?

[stomachmonkey]

Why not spend $50 and get a Raspberry Pi.

As far as the Mac Mini question there's nothing that you need to really think about.

[stealthn]

I use a mini and Plex as the presentation front end. Burned most DVD's with handbrake and have Netflix as well.

HDMI in the mini works great

Go for it.

[jyl]

Ooo tell me more about the Pi. How is this done?

Why not spend $50 and get a Raspberry Pi.



As far as the Mac Mini question there's nothing that you need to really think about.

[stomachmonkey]

Raspberry Pi 2 on sale now at $35 | Raspberry Pi

$35 for the pi.

Use pretty much any mini USB cell phone charger for power supply.

Has HDMI, ethernet and 4 usb so you can use USB wifi dongle.

Download noobs image from the site and install OS of your choice to an SD card and that's pretty much it.

I simply toss them behind the TV but you can make a case out of an old Altoids, cardboard or even Legos.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pi+cases&espv=2&biw=1525&bih=1094&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1ZHqVPOwNoikNvm7gsgF&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&dpr=0.9

[nightheart]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Raspberry Pi 2 on sale now at $35 | Raspberry Pi

$35 for the pi.

Use pretty much any mini USB cell phone charger for power supply.

Has HDMI, ethernet and 4 usb so you can use USB wifi dongle.

Download noobs image from the site and install OS of your choice to an SD card and that's pretty much it.

I simply toss them behind the TV but you can make a case out of an old Altoids, cardboard or even Legos.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pi+cases&espv=2&biw=1525&bih=1094&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1ZHqVPOwNoikNvm7gsgF&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&dpr=0.9

Can you stream videos with pi? I'd think it would choke on any site still using flash? I'd recommend a chromebox for something like TV streaming. 179 dollars with flash and html 5 support built into chrome. Built in wifi, 8 second boot times, no viruses or malware. Anyway my 2 cents.

[pcardude]

I got the Apple tv for 100 bucks. It has Hulu and everything. If you jail break it you can connect it to a NAS library. There are tons of options to get you where you want to go. The pi would be a great way too. Is there a remote control that you can interface with the pi?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by nightheart

Can you stream videos with pi? I'd think it would choke on any site still using flash? I'd recommend a chromebox for something like TV streaming. 179 dollars with flash and html 5 support built into chrome. Built in wifi, 8 second boot times, no viruses or malware. Anyway my 2 cents.

Quad Core at 900 MHZ with a gig of RAM.

Better than a lot of tablets and smartphones that don't choke on that content.

Originally Posted by pcardude

I got the Apple tv for 100 bucks. It has Hulu and everything. If you jail break it you can connect it to a NAS library. There are tons of options to get you where you want to go. The pi would be a great way too. Is there a remote control that you can interface with the pi?

PI's do have a GPIO where you can wire an IR receiver direct.

I run mine off mini WIFI keyboards.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by jyl

do you guys have any tips about using a TV as a display for a Mac and if I buy a 50" TV for that purpose, any particular spec I need to look for?

I got a 2014 mini recently and used a spare LED TV as a monitor for a while. The mini is more than capable to handling it, if that is what you are asking. HDTV res is very low compared to monitor resolutions (my mini now is hooked up to a 4K monitor for true Retina display, it can do 3840x 2160 but if I use 1920 it becomes retina quality)

You didn't specify the year of your mini, but either way you're covered for HDTV.
"on older ones the HDMI port supports up to 1080p on HDMI connections. With the HDMI to DVI adapter, the HDMI port will work with resolutions up to 1920 x 1200. Mac mini (Late 2014) also support 4k Displays"