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AnyDVD HD+Xbox360 HD-DVD Drive on Mac mini with Windows (BootCamp) does it work?

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Hello!

Has anybody tried to connect the XBox 360 HD-DVD Drive to a Mac mini
(1,6GHz Dual Core, 1Gb Ram) using it under Windows (BootCamp).

I want to by the Drive, but I need confirmation that it will work with the Mac mini.
I want ot connect the mini via DVI-VGA connector to my Pioneer Plasma, so i think i will need AnyDVD HD?!
But will it work, with all new HD-DVDs?


Thanks in Advance!
Markus :)
 
I'd see no reason why it wouldn't work, no. The one thing you may want to check is the hardware requirements for PowerDVD; the Mac Mini isn't going to meet the GPU requirements for accelerated playback, and the 1.6ghz CPU may struggle a bit to playback full 1080p footage.

But yes, you would need AnyDVDHD, simply for the HDCP work-a-round.
 
Sorry, the integrated graphics in the mac mini will not accelerate video and the processor is too anemic. You will not get hi-rez output which is, after all, the purpose of Blu-Ray/HD-DVD.
The mac mini under boot camp doesn't pass Cyberlink's compatibility test either.
 
Hi!

Thanks for your answers! :)

PowerDVD says 1,83 Ghz minimum, ok my 1,6Ghz CPU is a little bit slower but it don*t has to be 1080p, Maybe 1080i? or 720p if this is possible to select in PowerDVD?

An other idea would be to by a new Mac mini (with better CPU), but I need to know if it would definitely work before i spend my money.

Any other ideas to get HD Playback and also XVid/Divx and MP3, a cheap Mediacenter PC? The mini is the smallest and cheapest in its class.
Thats the reasen I`m thinking of the mini.

Greetings!
 
hasn't the mini been discontinued now though?

a shuttle or similar small pc would be the best option i guess - as long as you don't get one with a via processor, best to get one of the lower power core2duos. also avoid integrated graphics.

if you're really keen on doing it with a mac, the maybe a powerbook might be the answer, although storage could be a problem, and its not cheap.
 
Hi!

@ sej7278 the mini hasn't been discuntinued yet!
It got a hardware update (Core Duo -> Core2Duo) a few weeks ago.

Of course i can build a mediacenter using shuttle ore aopen barebones, but this would be expensive i guess!?

I think the cheapest way (if the CoreDuo mac mini is not suitable for this purpose)
is to buy a Mac mini with the new core2duo.

Greetings!
 
I've looked on the net and I haven't found a definitive answer if HD-DVD's and Blu-Ray commercial disks can be played on any mac, including the mac pro, via boot camp and Any DVD-HD at 1080p. People have reported success but are they seeing down-rezed 540p output? Of course, no mac is HDCP compliant but then Any DVD-HD is supposed to take care of that.

One of the problems is that there are few truly technical sites on net for the mac that test this sort of thing.
 
Hello jimguy!

Thats the problem! Most people prefer to assabmle their own windows based MediaCenter PC.

Ok, lets say it is not sure to say that it will work. So what shall I do?
I`m looking for a µATX Core2DUO based "normal" windows PC.

What components should I buy, to get playback of the HD-DVDs?
Which µATX Motherboard should I choosse? I have no experience with those µATX components
because I only have experience with Big-Tower and normal ATX-sizes :)
So I`m not sure if a µATX can handle for example a PCIe graphics card and/or if it will fit in the mini-Case.
Help needed :)

Greetings!
Markus
 
You want to build a system using the Mini's case? That's not going to be fun at all.

I'd just look into building a small Windows box using an mATX mobo, which, for Intel, are quite plentiful. Any Intel-chipset board plus an appropriate video card would work; on the ATI side, 2600pro->above, and for Nvidia, 8500GT->above would work fine to provide the needed acceleration.
 
Hi!

No I don`t want to use the Mac mini case.
I want to build a small form factor PC. I dont want to use mini or midi towers.
Somethin like Thermaltake Lanbox or Apevia X-QPack2 as case.
And of course a µ-ATX Motherboard (Gigabyte maybe).

Any recomendations für Case, Motherboard,...?

Thanks in advance!

By!
Markus
 
Hi SamuriHL!

Thanks, I took a look over the whole thread!

I think its a good ideo to start building a HTPC and using the on board graphics (this will save some money yet).
In future I can add a graphics card and a HD-DVD drive to playback HD-DVD,
or a combi drive.

Greetings!
Markus
 
If you read the thread fully you'll find that I did not go with the internal video in the end. I ended up with an 8800 GT. :D However, an ATI 2600 series card(NOT the 2900 or the 2400 series) will work quite well and will help to keep the cost down. My next purchase, probably as my b-day present to myself in February, will be that LG combo drive. That will be so nice.
 
Hi!

Will a Geforce 8600 also work?
People in the USA have the luck, that everything is cheaper than in Europe.
The HD-DVD internal Drive from Toshiba costs about 80€ (approx. *1,4)= 112 USD.
The ComboDrive costs 284€ = 398USD. I think thos components ar cheaper in the USA.
So i try to reduce cost and maybe I will not by a graphics card for the beginning.
I think I will also not by a HD-DVD drive because the HD-DVDs cost about 25-30€ (35-42USD).

Greetings
Markus
 
The 8600 has been said to work, but, if you're going to go the cheap graphics card route, they really recommend the ati 2600 series of cards. No better bang for the buck.
 
Hi!

Ok, I will think about it.

So what about the Apevia X-QPack or X-QPACK2 with
a Gigabyte µATX with 2 or 4 GB Ram (depending on price)
and an Intel Core2Duo with 2MB or 4MB L2 Cache above 2Ghz

This should playback all normal DVDs and Divx/Xvid Movies.

And in the Future I can add:
HD-DVD or Combi Drive
Graphics Card

Any other recommendations?


Thanks in advance!
CU!
Markus
 
2-4gb of ram! are you going to run vista on it? i'd say more like 1-2gb and spend the extra money on a 1tb hard disk.

the hd-dvd drive from toshiba seems like an ok price, not sure if there are any bd drives for pc's yet, they're all in ps3 or set-top boxes.

i'd hold off on the lg drive, i'm sure burners (and media) would come down a fair bit soon-ish, and frankly i'd just read and rip to hard disk, not burn back to disc, that kind of is the point of a htpc.

personally i'm hoping for an xbox360 with internal hd-dvd drive, and a nice linux/xbmc hack for it :bowdown:
 
The Mini pretty much won't work anymore.........

I have one running Bootcamp. The only version of PowerDVD that will load and work is the first version (6.5) that didn't have the graphics card check. That version is still floating around the "internets" if you know what I mean. The problem with that version is you had to comment out the subtitles out the the XPL file or you couldn't turn them off. The mini has the CPU horsepower to play HD-DVD but not the graphics power. Almost all the new movies won't play in PowerDVD (6.5). It crashes.

That said I have installed Bootcamp on a Macbook Pro as well and using PowerDVD 7.3 all is working just dandy. The MBP has a dedicated graphics card and passes the startup test. I keep a list of what movies will run on the Mini and if I need to I just hook my MBP up and call up the file on it insted of the mini.
 
Hello!

@ibglowin
Thanks for your answer! I think about building my own small form factor PC with
regular components and in future with a dedicated graphics card and a HD-DVD drive.
First I think I just will buy the Case, the µATC Motherboard and the CPU. I have an old
80GB HardDisk for the beginning this should be ok.
Than I`m able to watch Xvid/Divx movies and listen to my MP3 collection.
And when I have more money I will upgrade this little machine with HD-DVD drive
and graphics card and I should not encouter any problems with the HD-DVD Playback!

What di you think about it?

@sej7278
The reason why I wrote to take 2 or 4gig of ram is, that the price for the RAM
is decreasing. So i tink it will be a minimum of 2gig just to get a littel bet future-proof!

Thanks for your help!
If you or anybody else has recommendations for me, you`re wellcome!!!

Greetings!
Markus :)
 
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