[mythtv-users] Front end choice: Mac Mini versus VIA EPIA. Mac OS X remote control?

[Robin Gilks]

> I'm at an awkward stage with Myth.
>
> My back end is pretty much complete and works a treat.  I bought the
> slowest second-hand P4 machine that the local second-hand computer
> shop (<http://www.computer-resale.co.uk/> - it's a great place) could
> sell me, installed Gentoo, two Hauppauge Nova-T cards and Myth and
> everything worked pretty easily.  Kudos to the developers, the Gentoo
> ebuild maintainers and the many HOWTO authors.  It records stuff
> reliably and dishes out the video to either a front end running on
> the same machine (in the study) or to my PowerBook plugged in via
> 100-baseT.  It doesn't work too well wirelessly, but that's no
> surprise.
>
> So, now the difficult bit.  The back end will be hidden away (in the
> attic, probably).  It is time to buy a front end system.  I want
> something quiet, above all, so was considering either a Mac mini or a
> VIA EPIA system.  It would be controlled only via a remote control -
> I've no plans to provide it with a pointing device or to use it for
> general computing.
>
> While most people have the idea that Macs are expensive, it seems to
> me that a Mac mini actually costs less than an EPIA system with a
> comparably nice looking case.  However I'm not so confident that I
> can turn a Mac mini into a completely remote-controllable system.
> With no serial ports, I can't see how I can use it with LIRC.  There
> are USB-based remote control receivers for Mac use, but they come
> with remote controls with only very few buttons and I don't expect
> they can be used with any other remote.
>
> So: Has anyone successfully built a complete Mac OS X front end
> system, playing Myth, DVDs, ripped CDs, ripping CDs and DVDs etc, all
> controlled from the remote.  Or.... should I go for the EPIA?  Or...
> have I overlooked any other machine?
>
> Finally how quiet is the Mac Mini?  It has a fan, which I couldn't
> hear in the shop, but then shops are noisy.  EPIA 8000s are truly
> silent.
>
> Andrew
> --

Questions to ask yourself are what is the relevant fit to a multimedia
application - apart from noise.

I'm running an Epia SP13000 and the fans (CPU & PSU) can be heard when the
sound is muted - but I haven't gone for a quiet case with heat pipes &
passive cooling. Its diskless (the backend has the disk storage) so no
disk noise.

What I do have is:
6 channel sound output
s/pdif audio output
composite video out (PAL & NTSC)
s-video out
USB I/O
firewire I/O
100M ethernet
hardware mpeg2 decoder
hardware mpeg4 decoder
an internal serial port for a homemade LIRC IR detector
an internal parallel port for a homemade lcdproc LCD display

I reckon I spent my money wisely :-))

eg. xine DVD player - 5% cpu load

-- 
Robin Gilks