[Dork.]

I think I'm finally about to take the plunge and get a Mac Mini to be a Media Center hub (and replace my DVD player). I'm willing to put in some effort to have it run properly, but when it's all set up I'd like run everything in full-screen mode and control it with a remote, and forget the fact there's a Mac there at all. I also want it to play actual DVD's like a normal DVD player. I'm trying things out on my MacBook first, to make sure I know how to configure things when I finally get the Mini.

I've downloaded Plex and found that while it is great at playing media files (and the plugins for stuff like Hulu are awesome), I can't seem to get it to play actual DVD's well. And when Plex is in fullscreen mode and I launch DVD player from Plex directly, DVD player launches but for some reason doesn't come to the front, so I can't control it with the remote. (This works fine when Plex is in a window: is this a bug?)

So, I took a look again at Front Row. I managed to find a Front Row plug-in that lets you launch Plex from Front Row, which is great. But it seems like Front Row plays DVD's by itself, and doesn't use DVD player. I have plenty of DVD's which look great in DVD player, but look poor in Front Row. (Perhaps Front Row is not de-interlacing the video correctly for the Macbook screen?)

Any thoughts on how to either get Plex to launch the DVD player correctly, or get Front Row to launch the DVD Player app when it wants to play DVDs?

I should add that I currently have a standard-def TV (I'm using the Lithium skin with Plex, which is quite readable on a SDTV), but I'd like everything to work properly if we get a HDTV in the future. Which is why I think it's good that I'm trying it out on the Macbook first: I am assuming that anything that looks good at full-screen on the MacBook will look good on a HDTV....

Thank you all very much for taking the time to help!

[imitchellg5]

When an application (that isn't Apple built) isn't fullscreen, it won't be controlled by the remote as far as I can tell.

What OS are you running on your MacBook? It seems to me that Front Row is upscaling my DVDs (I'm hooked up to a 22" 1080p display) as I can't tell the difference between DVD Player and Front Row. I'm running 10.6.2.

I guess I'm not really answering any of your questions specifically, but hope this helps.

[Nodnarb]

check out remote buddy, boxee, and eyetv

[Nodnarb]

boxee is imo better than plex, and remote buddy will have it ALL working perfectly... totally worth it. and eyetv is just a sweet bonus.

remote buddy can control boxee, dvd player, front row, eyetv, and many more apps. simply awesome.

[Art Vandelay]

Front Row uses the same DVD frameworks as DVD Player so they will look the same. Front Row also uses the preferences set by DVD Player. I see zero difference between the two on my TV.

[Art Vandelay]

I use Front Row for ripped DVDs, DVDs, and iTunes content. I use Plex for Hulu, Netflix Streaming, and Blu-ray rips. I use EyeTV as a DVR. I use Remote Buddy to control them all.

[Nodnarb]

Other than boxee vs. plex, we've got the same setup! Pretty slick ain't it? (Except I use boxee for all my front row needs as well, so I don't really use Front Row much anymore)

What are you using for blu ray rips?

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay 

Front Row uses the same DVD frameworks as DVD Player so they will look the same. Front Row also uses the preferences set by DVD Player. I see zero difference between the two on my TV.

Front Row can't be using all the DVD Player preferences, since when I was experimenting over the weekend I could clearly see a difference. Although it is possible it is because I was playing it at the MacBook's native resolution full-screen, and on an actual TV it might look better....

I am running Leopard on my MacBook, if that makes a difference. If I get a Mini, I'll probably get a recent one with SL on it.

I had found Remote Buddy and while I haven't tried it yet, that looks like the way to go for the remote. If I understand it correctly, I can even "program" the Mac Mini to respond to my existing DVD player's commands, so I don't have to reprogram any of my existing remotes. Is that right?

I'll also check out Boxee, which for some reason I thought was Apple-TV only.

Thanks a lot!