Mac Mini ...

[joecool]

Just thought some of you might find my story interesting ... (or not!)

So I've been interested in getting a Mac mini for a while, mostly to try out OS X, it sounds kind of cool and fun, now with the new mini with front row and the remote I might take the plunge. One function I'd love to use it for is an HTPC. So I call Apple to ask a few questions to see if it can do what I want, my biggest question being wether or not I can play mpg files using the Mini. As soon as I start to explain what I want to do to the tech (play back mpg files of TV shows I've recorded on my PC), he immediately jumps in and says, "so you want to play pirated content?" I tried to explain that, no, I want to play shows that I've legallly recorded off the air waves on my PC, much the same way people record and play shows from their VCR's, but he never got it - he just kept returning to the "fact" that I was trying to play pirated content.

And this pretty much summed up for me what I don't like about Apples approach to digitial media. The base assumption is that I, the user (and customer!) is trying to do something illegal, and I should only be granted the minimum possible rights to content. What a crock of sh*t! Yes, in many ways, MS is the big bag boogeyman who is out to screw us all, but at least they have a more reasonable and user-friendly view of how I should be allowed to use content I've paid for. The MS music rights policy to music I've purchased is the best I've found so far, much more open than Apple's, and the access I have to TV shows I've recorded off the air is very reasonable. MS is also coming down on the side of HD-DVD in the blue-laser format wars, because HD is more user-friendly.

Anyway, that's my two bits on Apple. That tech went a long way towards souring me on any possible future Apple purchase!

 

[kalster]

Its one dumb CSR/support person, get over it

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: kalster
Its one dumb CSR/support person, get over it

QFT

 

[notfred]

Quicktime for the mac plays the same file formats as quicktime for the PC, including mpeg1 and mpeg4.

Also, I don't beleive you. I can't possibly see a tech asking you that, even if you said "can it play MPG movies I download off peer-to-peer site?"

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: kalster
Its one dumb CSR/support person, get over it

QFT

actually i don't think so ... given apple's generally restrictive policy on content rights, i think this is the company line. but, please, prove me wrong ... i'm still jonesin' for a mini!

 

[CKent]

My prediction for the OP

 

[HermDogg]

Originally posted by: joecool

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: kalster
Its one dumb CSR/support person, get over it

QFT

actually i don't think so ... given apple's generally restrictive policy on content rights, i think this is the company line. but, please, prove me wrong ... i'm still jonesin' for a mini!

I'm assuming what you're talking about are videos downloaded off of iTunes, since thats the only offering they have for videos. It's the same that is as their music - you can play it on your computer + 4 others, and any iPods you transfer it to. How is that restrictive?

 

[aphex]

You called to find out if a mini would play an MPG? Seriously?

I'm with the others as well though, ALL COMPANIES have stupid techs...

 

[FoBoT]

so is that line of thought company policy at apple ? or was it just that particular CSR thoughts?

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: joecool

Originally posted by: chuckywang

Originally posted by: kalster
Its one dumb CSR/support person, get over it

QFT

actually i don't think so ... given apple's generally restrictive policy on content rights, i think this is the company line. but, please, prove me wrong ... i'm still jonesin' for a mini!

Next time ask the guy to speak to someone else? Now I would just call back and repeat my question.

 

[Baked]

Yawn... WMP for Mac FTW.

 

[speg]

The tech really had no place brining up the piracy thing. As for your question, yes you can.

Don't let a tech get in the way of you getting a mini. It's a great little machine. I bought one after the 2005 keynote for the same reasons as you, to get a taste of OS X and it's worked out well. The only thing keeping it from being my main pc is that my windows box is my HT rig, but now that the mini has digital audio out I see no reason why it couldn't be my main machine.

 

[loup garou]

Your post is a little silly, but it does have a grain of truth. Apple is turning itself into a content distribution company. Why would they (and the networks, and the movie studios, and the music studios, and the associated associations) want you to record what is broadcast, when they can get you to pay for it twice (or more) and take a cut through iTunes? In this case, I can't believe so many people harp CONTINUALLY on MS and DRM when they are happy to buy shows from iTunes (loaded with DRM, by the way) that they may already have paid for with their cable bills. They could've easily recorded it on an MediaCenter PC and dropped a media player into a cradle and had said PC reencode and transfer it to the player in almost the same time as an iTunes download. Of course, paying for convenience is always nice (I know I do it for many things), but really, there comes a point where knowing I'm getting the royal screwjob trumps convenience.

 

[sigs3gv]

Linux/BSD FTW

 

[Queasy]

Microsoft's company line is that they won't allow any other video format other than MPEG-1/2 and WMV or any other audio format other than WAV, MP3, or WMA to play on the Xbox360 because those formats are used for pirating...

 

[joecool]

Originally posted by: aphex
You called to find out if a mini would play an MPG? Seriously?

well, actually, yeah, i did call about it playing mpg. according to the apple web site, you can share audio and video files from a pc running itunes, but when i try to load my mpg's into itunes, it no workie ... so i'm still left wondering how the itunes and the mini handle plain old plain-jane mpgs. according to the tech i have to buy the "pro" version of quicktime to get mpg functionality in itunes. if anyone knows another way around it i'd love to hear it ...

so is that line of thought company policy at apple ? or was it just that particular CSR thoughts?

i guess that's my point, it seems to me that this is more apple company policy. maybe everone is right and i'm over-reacting, but at least on the MS music site i can quickly and easily find out what rights i have with content i've purchased, i searched all over itunes and couldn't find anything. i finally found the answers to my questions elsewhere on the web via google. to me that in itself is a statement about how Apple views it's customers - they share as little with the paying customer as they can get away with. Of course that's not new for Apple, it's just that this is the first time I've seriously considered buying one of their products and I'm surprised just how restrictive they are ...

Yawn... WMP for Mac FTW.

how? where? is it free?

hey could've easily recorded it on an MediaCenter PC and dropped a media player into a cradle and had said PC reencode and transfer it to the player in almost the same time as an iTunes download. Of course, paying for convenience is always nice (I know I do it for many things), but really, there comes a point where knowing I'm getting the royal screwjob trumps convenience.

I guess that's my point ... in reality the MS model is much more user-friendly than Apples. And regardless of whether or not the tech was a dope, his response to me just seemed indicitive of apple's general attitude toward the paying public.

 

[UglyCasanova]

VLC on Mac for the win!! If you can play it on a PC, you can play it on a mac simple as that.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: joecool

hey could've easily recorded it on an MediaCenter PC and dropped a media player into a cradle and had said PC reencode and transfer it to the player in almost the same time as an iTunes download. Of course, paying for convenience is always nice (I know I do it for many things), but really, there comes a point where knowing I'm getting the royal screwjob trumps convenience.

I guess that's my point ... in reality the MS model is much more user-friendly than Apples. And regardless of whether or not the tech was a dope, his response to me just seemed indicitive of apple's general attitude toward the paying public.

having to transcode something is more user friendly than 1 click in itunes?

not to mention that you could just capture and encode it on the mac...

as for drm, you mean apple's stance where you own the things you buy off itunes, as opposed to the subscription service you get elsewhere where you only get a license to the content as long as you're paying a monthly royalty?

regardless, non-DRMed content plays just fine on anything you can think of. pc, mac, various linux distros, etc.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: joecool

hey could've easily recorded it on an MediaCenter PC and dropped a media player into a cradle and had said PC reencode and transfer it to the player in almost the same time as an iTunes download. Of course, paying for convenience is always nice (I know I do it for many things), but really, there comes a point where knowing I'm getting the royal screwjob trumps convenience.

I guess that's my point ... in reality the MS model is much more user-friendly than Apples. And regardless of whether or not the tech was a dope, his response to me just seemed indicitive of apple's general attitude toward the paying public.

having to transcode something is more user friendly than 1 click in itunes?

not to mention that you could just capture and encode it on the mac...

as for drm, you mean apple's stance where you own the things you buy off itunes, as opposed to the subscription service you get elsewhere where you only get a license to the content as long as you're paying a monthly royalty?

regardless, non-DRMed content plays just fine on anything you can think of. pc, mac, various linux distros, etc.

Yes, dropping a player into a dock and walking away is easier than buying shows on iTunes.

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: loup garou
Yes, dropping a player into a dock and walking away is easier than buying shows on iTunes.

Explain to me exactly how dropping a player into a dock will automatically get me the latest episode of Lost.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: loup garou
Yes, dropping a player into a dock and walking away is easier than buying shows on iTunes.

Explain to me exactly how dropping a player into a dock will automatically get me the latest episode of Lost.

Initial setup

Future synchronizations will be much faster, because Media Center will automatically prepare newly recorded shows for transfer to your Portable Media Center

 

[notfred]

Ah, so when you said "dropping a player into a dock" what you really meant was:

synchronization list:
1. Configure your Media Center PC to connect to your Portable Media Center. (Follow the instructions included with your Portable Media Center.)
2. Connect your Portable Media Center to your Media Center PC.
3. Press the Green Start Button on your remote to open the Media Center Start menu.
4. Select More Programs.
5. On the More Programs page, select Sync To Device.
6. In the Sync Progress dialog box, select Edit Lists.
7. On the Manage List page, select Add More.
8. On the Add More page, select Recorded TV.
9. On the Add More Recorded TV page, select the shows you want to synchronize to the Portable Media Center.
10. Select Save.
11. On the Manage List page, use your remote to prioritize the list. Synchronization will start with the items at the top of the list and continue down the list until your Portable Media Center is full. Place the shows that are most important to you at the top of the list. Select the up arrow to move an item up in the list. Or select the down arrow to move an item down.
12. Select Start Sync
13. The Sync Progress dialog box appears as Media Center synchronizes your shows to your Portable Media Center. Select OK to continue using Media Center while synchronization occurs in the background. Media Center will tell you when your shows have been synchronized. Depending on how long it has been since you synchronized your shows, it might take several hours. Future synchronizations will be much faster, because Media Center will automatically prepare newly recorded shows for transfer to your Portable Media Center.

When synchronization is complete, you can disconnect your Portable Media Center and take your TV shows with you.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: notfred
Ah, so when you said "dropping a player into a dock" what you really meant was:

2. Connect your Portable Media Center to your Media Center PC.

Removed all the stuff you don't have to do more than once.

@loup garou - What PMC do you have?

- M4H

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: notfred
Ah, so when you said "dropping a player into a dock" what you really meant was:

synchronization list:
1. Configure your Media Center PC to connect to your Portable Media Center. (Follow the instructions included with your Portable Media Center.)
2. Connect your Portable Media Center to your Media Center PC.
3. Press the Green Start Button on your remote to open the Media Center Start menu.
4. Select More Programs.
5. On the More Programs page, select Sync To Device.
6. In the Sync Progress dialog box, select Edit Lists.
7. On the Manage List page, select Add More.
8. On the Add More page, select Recorded TV.
9. On the Add More Recorded TV page, select the shows you want to synchronize to the Portable Media Center.
10. Select Save.
11. On the Manage List page, use your remote to prioritize the list. Synchronization will start with the items at the top of the list and continue down the list until your Portable Media Center is full. Place the shows that are most important to you at the top of the list. Select the up arrow to move an item up in the list. Or select the down arrow to move an item down.
12. Select Start Sync
13. The Sync Progress dialog box appears as Media Center synchronizes your shows to your Portable Media Center. Select OK to continue using Media Center while synchronization occurs in the background. Media Center will tell you when your shows have been synchronized. Depending on how long it has been since you synchronized your shows, it might take several hours. Future synchronizations will be much faster, because Media Center will automatically prepare newly recorded shows for transfer to your Portable Media Center.

When synchronization is complete, you can disconnect your Portable Media Center and take your TV shows with you.

Wow, didn't see that coming. :roll: Of course there is some initial set up...once it's set up (in all of 13 steps using a freaking remote control), yes, it is simpler.

Plus, you're not a sucker for paying twice for the same content.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: notfred
Ah, so when you said "dropping a player into a dock" what you really meant was:

2. Connect your Portable Media Center to your Media Center PC.

Removed all the stuff you don't have to do more than once.

@loup garou - What PMC do you have?

- M4H

I borrowed a Zen PMC with the intention of buying from a colleague for a little while, but it was too big. Now I sync to my TMobile MDA phone's 2GB MiniSD card. I'm considering a Toshiba Gigabeat S to replace my F20 when it comes out, but to be honest, my MDA is so freakin sweet, I may just buy a couple more 2GB cards instead. I use the thing all day for surfing, phone, email (leaked rom with push email update is sweet), music, video, then I just plug it into my mediacenter to charge and sync media. Ingenius.