10-22-2009, 01:15 PM
I'm in the process of going to a Mini for exactly the hookup you described.
One major reason for bypassing AppleTV is I don't like to jailbrake stuff. Every upgrade can be a potential nightmare. The mini just gives me a great deal more versatility. I can run any program, I can surf the web, download bittorrent; I can hook up an external drive, etc.. The outside drive was important too, I have a dual 1TB raid drive plugged in with FW800. My itunes and video library reside there. If a drive goes bad, I have everything backed up (100+ movies).
You will need a keyboard and mouse though. I went with a DiNovo Mini - all of 6 inches across and perfect for a HTPC.
The mini costs more, but I really like the versatility. If only it had better audio out capability.
One major reason for bypassing AppleTV is I don't like to jailbrake stuff. Every upgrade can be a potential nightmare. The mini just gives me a great deal more versatility. I can run any program, I can surf the web, download bittorrent; I can hook up an external drive, etc.. The outside drive was important too, I have a dual 1TB raid drive plugged in with FW800. My itunes and video library reside there. If a drive goes bad, I have everything backed up (100+ movies).
You will need a keyboard and mouse though. I went with a DiNovo Mini - all of 6 inches across and perfect for a HTPC.
The mini costs more, but I really like the versatility. If only it had better audio out capability.