How to turn a mac mini into a powerful PVR

MacMerc has a great tutorial on how to take a mac mini, Elgato's EyeTV software, and Plextor's ConvertX hardware video converter to create your own PVR.

The mac mini is pretty light on horsepower, so the use of the external video decoder and encoder keeps those processor intensive tasks off the mini. EyeTV fills in as the UI and the result is something you can easily fit in a media cabinet near a TV, and costs a bit over $700, which is pretty comparable to low end Windows Media Center PCs. [via gizmodo]

Comments

[Greg Smith]

Yes, but as much as I am a M$ hater, WMC has a much better interface than EyeTV

--http://homepage.mac.com/gregjsmith

[Adam]

FYI: the Convertx unit doesn't come with hardware decoding

[Tom Clancy]

Has anyone had luck getting a Mac Mini to work with an HDTV through the DVI output? I have a Toshiba 46" TV that it outputs to, but the picture is all over the place vertically.

[mikebridge]

or for that $700, you could buy 2 tivo's with lifetime service with the current rebate program and be able to record 2 things at once, and watch your recorded shows in either of 2 rooms (via multi-room viewing)

[NewsReader]

Unfortunately, TiVo doesn't offer a high-definition recording solution.

[brett]

Yeah they do -- it's just expensive.

http://www.weaknees.com/hd_tivo.php?WKGW01_3075

I'd use the $700 to pay for 70 months of HD DVR service from Comcast.. love my Moto 6412.

[mikebridge]

Plextor's ConvertX isn't a high-definition recording solution either.

[mucker]

Or for about $700, you could set up a pretty sweet Linux box running MythTV in a slick HTPC case that fits in your AV rack. (That includes two tuners, a DVD burner, and 40hrs of full-quality HDTV recording capacity.) You have to be the tinkering type, but if you are, you can cobble together a solution that can serve your whole home network.

[mikebridge]

really mucker? i've never been able to price out a nearly silent dual tuner HD myth box with remote for under $1200

[Patrick Bryant]

Tom Clancy - I actually purchased the HD TiVo from http://www.rapidsatellite.com/ I've been happy with it so far... Does this have multi-room viewing capabilities?

[am]

The site you linked to has a link to Amazon for the Plextor unit, but fyi, newegg has it substantially cheaper ($189). I was planning to spend $1000 on a Linux solution, but after seeing this, I'm inclined to just get the convertx and use my iBook and other existing hardware, at least as an interim solution. I've had it with Tivo and their voluntary pseudo-broadcast-flag, etc.