Tag Archives: Mac Mini
My love-hate relationship with Hulu
Posted on 22. Jan, 2011 by Kenny.
About a year ago I wrote this post about my Mac Mini media center. I’m changing my tune… kind of. After a year of watching Hulu and Netflix from my Mac Mini, I’d say it wasn’t worth the money. Are you shocked?
I opted to spend less money by picking up a used Mac Mini, but I’ve found that the only thing I’m using the Mac Mini for is watching Hulu. We can watch Netflix on the Wii and honestly, it’s significantly easier. With the Mini, I have to pull out the keyboard and the mouse and when my wife is trying to get a video on for herself or the boy, her default is just to use the Wii. So, I decided to sell the Mini and pick up a web enabled blu ray player that would allow me to watch netflix, hulu, pandora and more all from one device. I could get the Blu Ray Player for 1/3 the cost of a Mac Mini.
Ultimately, I just wasn’t using the Mini enough to justify the expense. I’d rather have the extra $200-$300 for something else.
However, now my gripe. In order to watch Hulu on devices other than a computer browser you need to have Hulu Plus, as $8 a month subscription. I went ahead and signed up for the free week trial. Here’s what I got.
I was not happy. Two of the shows I was planning to watch yesterday, Hulu doesn’t have the rights to show on devices. I totally din’t expect this at all. I’m not sure this is Hulu’s fault, but the archaic laws surrounding video content that haven’t caught up to the 21st century. It will get better, but now I’m evaluating whether I really want Hulu Plus. I’m open to spending a little money to have access to my shows (I don’t like it though), but I don’t totally get what I’m paying for? I’m still watching commercials and several of the shows I want to watch, I can’t watch from devices like my iPad or Blu Ray player. Fail Hulu! Fail! Don’t charge for something you can’t deliver yet.
So, just an update on my Mac Mini Media Center that is no more and my gripes against Hulu.
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Mac Mini media center
Posted on 22. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Several months ago several of you helped me make a personal tech decision.
Essentially, I couldn’t decide whether to just go with the web-enabled BluRay player or spring for the Mac Mini for the full featured media center experience. I really wrestled over this one as I just didn’t know if I wanted to spend all the money on the Mac Mini, although it’s what the majority of my commenter were saying.
Well, after my birthday ended and I got all the money together that was given to me over Christmas and my birthday, I found a Mac Mini on Criagslist. It was a great deal and I was actually able to get a blue tooth keyboard and mouse from the guy who owned the Mini. From day one I’ve been so happy without any regrets. Even better, my wife fell in love with Netflix streaming on the TV. We have a seemingly endless supply of Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train and Dora through Netflix streaming. For that reason, my two year old loves it.
So, if you’re considering getting a Mac Mini as a media center, DO IT! You won’t regret it.
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Help me make a personal tech decision
Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by Kenny.
Okay, I’ve really been going back and forth on this one and I’m not sure what to do. Let me throw out all the variables and maybe you can help me decide where I want to go from here.
About 6 weeks ago I bought a new 42 inch LCD TV. I got a great deal and spent all the money I got for my birthday and Christmas last year. I’m super happy about my decision. Now I’m trying to decide what to do next. Sara and I have had cable/satellite for less than 2 years of our 10 year marriage. Although I really like it, I’m just not convinced that I need it anymore with everything available online. So, I did buy my TV with the intention that almost all content shown on it would be through DVD and streamed from the internet someway. I already have a DVD player I bought last year that I really like. Here are the options available.
Option 1: Roku Player. It’s a $100 device that plays Netflix movies through your TV. I think it has a few other channels now too, but it’s primarily a Netflix streaming box.
Option 2: Mac Mini. This is what I’d actually been leaning towards the most. I was going to buy a used Mac Mini for about $350 and get a bluetooth keyboard/mouse for another $150. This would essentially turn my 42 inch TV into another computer that I can brows the web, facebook, watch DVD’s, stream netflix, hulu or anything else that can be delivered from a website.
Option 3: BluRay Player. (I hadn’t really considered this until last week) I’ve not been convinced the need for a BluRay player; however, the $140 Samsung players stream Netflix and Pandora wirelessly and it’s likely through firmware updates, more functionality will be added to BluRay. Plus, if I ever get a BluRay disc, I’ll be able to play it along with regular DVDs.
For the time being, I’ll often plug my laptop into the TV and I use an app on my iPhone that acts like a remote control.
So here’s where I’m stuck. The Roku player isn’t really an option as both option 2 and 3 allow me to watch Netflix and do a lot more. However, I have an opportunity to get the BluRay for free or for very little (maybe $50). With just the BluRay, I can do everything but Hulu (does anyone know if Hulu is ever going to cooperate with desktop boxes?). The problem is that I do watch Hulu a lot… probably even more than Netflix. But the advantage of going with the BluRay is that I don’t have to spend hardly any money and I can get some new wireless bluetooth headphones to watch the TV loud without disturbing Sara. I’ll also have the cash for some other gadgets I might be interested in. Going the MacMini option will give me access to anything available online. I can watch Hulu, Netflix or whatever I want. The downside is that it will cost me about $500 for all of that. That’s all the extra cash I have right now and will be all the cash I get for my birthday next month.
Even if I had all the money in hand right now to do either, I’m not sure I’d do the MacMini. I’m just not sure what I want to do.
Any thoughts?
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