Apple released a new batch of Mac Mini last week that bore an HDMI port. It took several days for people to figure out that the new Mini series is Apple’s TV in disguise. Since, the products has already been released, we had a fair chance of evaluating it through a deep “test” procedure.
Connections
The Mac Mini has always been introduced with a TV connection in one way or another; the HDMI port just opened our eyes. You can always establish a connection with a DVI-to-HDMI cable, but the results will vary across different models.
But those variations in results shouldn’t discourage you in any way because the new Mini models have a small Underscan slider that is supposed to let you fine tune your displayed images. You can apparently address this issue by playing with the scanner to scale the mini’s image, so that it perfectly fits your TV screen. On top of everything, Apple’s HDMI ports have made everything easy – it’ll only take you a couple of minutes to set your display image orientation for your undercover Apple TV.
Physical media
One significant advantage that Apple Mini has — over TV sets, is the introduction of optical media drives that can play DVDs and CDs. Although, they can’t play Blu-ray DVDs yet, but who’s complaining? The quality of online video streaming is getting better day by day, hence, Netflix is still our number one option.
Price
Apart from all those mouth watering and mind numbing features, every product comes down to a price tag. The Mac Mini is going to cost you $700, whereas, an Apple TV is available for only $300. In terms of watching TV, both products serve the same purpose, so sticking to an Apple TV might be a wise option for all those mid range buyers.
