Merlin:

Let me first say thanks for all you do for the Mac community!!! I enjoy the weekly podcast you do with Leo and crew.

I posted the following on the TUAW with regard to using a Mac mini as a media center.

Keep up the great work JD

I recently migrated from a Windows based DVR to a Mac Mini system. I chose a refurbed 1.83GHz CD mini with 1G RAM, 80G disk, Superdrive. This was augmented with a firewire connected WD Studio 750G drive and an Elgato 250 Plus tuner with the QAM capability. My provider is Charter cable.

The W2K box was tucked away in a closet, with two Hauppauge PVR-150 (analog) tuners with a total of 850GB disk space. I've been running this PVR on the free GBPVR software since 2005. I had an Hauppauge MVP connected to the TV in the living room tied back to the PVR machine via ethernet cable. Overall, that solution worked fairly well. I had some issues ... but mainly I didn't like the fact that the machine (AMD 64 3000+) generated a fair amount of heat and was pretty loud.

Moving to the Mini provided several benefits. First - there is only one machine involved, and it is directly connected to the TV in the living room. My external FW drive is tucked away inside the media cabinet rendering the solution extremely quiet. Second - the 750G drive on the Mini acts as a TimeMachine storage solution for two other Macs. Third - the Mini pulls podcasts from iTunes daily and the media is directly viewable on the living room TV. Lastly, I can easily view media from other sources - like Hulu - on the big screen.

Unfortunately there are also some negatives about the solution. Tops of the list are the digital audio limitations where I can only get 5.1 to function properly when playing a DVD. AC3 encoded movies provide only ProLogic decoding on my Denon receiver even after trying every solution I've found on the net.

Another dissappointment is the Elgato hardware/software issues that require the Mini to run 24x7. The Elgato forums have several message threads about issues where their tuners fail to initialize afer waking from sleep, and recordings show up with zero bytes. Evidently, their offerings were more stable in the past. Forum users aren't sure if the problem is due to Leopard or just bugs in the Elgato solutions.

Elgato has contracted with TitanTV to provide a channel guide to users in the US. But that contact expires at the end of 2008. So its unclear what will happen with the Elgato offering and existing customers if that contract is not renewed.

Overall, this solution works really well. Beyond the EyeTV v3 software, I'm running PyeTV, Sofa Control, Handbrake, MacTheRipper, Perian, Flip4Mac, VLC.

Last note ... I tried a Seagate Pro 500G connected via USB, but that drive failed to remount after the disk went to sleep. It was extremely quiet, but unreliable in my setup. For the WD to function properly, a firmware update was required.