[PhrogDriver]

Hello all! I need a system that can view DVD's for 4-6 (continuous) hours a day, 5+ days week. is there a recommended amount of RAM to plug into a new mini so it can do this without any hiccups or freezing? I know people have discussed using a Mini as a media center, I was just wondering how well it will work. I was also wondering if I would see a difference in perfomance between the different models (1.66 and 1.83) for this purpose?
Thanks.

[ibook_steve]

A base configuration would work fine if you don't run too many other apps. You shouldn't see any problems.

Steve

[SSharon]

If you are playing the same disk over and over I would rip it to the hard drive first. I may even consider encoding it into a different format so it takes up less space and less processing power to play.

[CheesePuff]

The base model 1.66 GHz Mac mini will be just fine for this, as long as all you are doing is running the DVD Player application. No need for a RAM upgrade. And like SSharon has said, you could also rip it to the hard drive so it won't be spinning a DVD the whole time.

[PhrogDriver]

It will be a different disc every day (video classes) so I cannot rip it to the HD. I was aiming for the base box, as this will basically be used as a DVD player first, and a computer second so it sounds like I am good-to-go.

Does anyone know how long can I expect the DVD drive to last with that kind of use?
Thanks for the help.

[rjenkinson]

is it worth buying a mini over a $50 DVD player to do this?

-r.

[PhrogDriver]

Actually, I guess I could plan ahead and rip them the week prior. Is the required software inside the MAC OS or ILife? If not, are there any suggestions? How much space are we looking at on the HD? Thanks again for your help.

[PhrogDriver]

It is for my daughter. She is homeschooled and could use a computer of her own. Mostly for internet research in addition to the video classes. I am trying to switch over to Mac at home and would like to minimize the components needed, that is why I am was wondering if the Mini could handle the extensive DVD playback.

[tooki]

I wouldn't bother ripping. It's very time consuming and tedious, since DVD ripping is technically illegal, so only small software developers have come up with hack-ish programs to do it.

Also, contrary to what SSharon said, most ripped videos require far MORE CPU power to decode than DVD, because DVDs use MPEG-2 encoding, which is far less CPU-intensive than the newer MPEG-4 and h.264 codecs. (The tradeoff is always between file size and CPU demands, at a given quality. A small file requires much more processing than a big one.)

Regardless, playing DVDs frequently should cause no problems at all. In fact, that's one of the lightest tasks you can make that computer do.

tooki

[PhrogDriver]

Thank you, I appreciate everyones help.

[SSharon]

I was initially going on the theory that this was for a business and that the same movie would be playing over and over, not different disks. In that case, I felt that the wear and tear on the cpu/hard drive would be less damaging than the damage to the optical drive/disk. I know all of these components should be able to handle this with no problem, but I would rather change a hard drive in a mini than the optical drive. A few hours spinning gets dvds pretty hot and I think they are the weak point if it is the same disk playing constantly.

[CheesePuff]

If you're looking to save cash you may want to even look for a used 1.42 GHz model with the ComboDrive. I've seen them go for $350 or so online or on eBay.

But if you want to start out with the Intel platform then obviously getting the 1.66 GHz model would be ideal. Also since it's for home schooling you will get $30 off for educational discounts.