I found a way to enjoy my projector at the touch of a button without mounting it, which is something that I really didn’t want to do, especially with this “faux K” 5040UB that is huge compared to your typical 1080p projector.  

​I ran HDMI via Ethernet through the attic and ran it under the rug in to the projector that sits on an open ottoman.  Sure, I miss that teal color of the old ottoman, but at least we still have a pillow top for the pups and a bit of storage space for 3D glasses and a few nick-knacks.  (see pic below to see where I put the projector):
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The little device that uses Ethernet for HDMI, had a cool trick up its sleeve and also connected via USB to the Mac mini, so now I can get USB on the other side of the room next to my spot on the couch.   I use it with a backlit mechanical keyboard.   The device has two ports, but I prefer my Logitech Mouse that uses Bluetooth to a wired option.  It controls the curser with a ball rather than moving around the entire mouse, so it works great on the arm of the couch.  It has an on off switch, which is very convenient, and can be plugged in for a recharge.

​Using a wireless mouse allowed me to plug my Dragonfly DAC into the second USB port.  I haven’t tested it with other DACs, but this one has a problem playing a clean Hi Rez signal, but it works perfectly with my lossless files and Apple Music options.  It would be interesting to see if a powered DAC would do better.   Maybe I will test it down the road.  I just hate unplugging one of my DACs from a separate system.   However, it is nice to have music on demand without messing with anything but the Apple Remote app that controls Apple Music on the Mini.

Below are pics of the mouse and keyboard I use in the space

I belong to several audio forums and I see some people are using their iPad/iPod Touch or iPhone to feed audio directly into their stereos using the headphone output and are looking for a better way to get music into their stereos.

My answer to this problem is typically to suggest that they add an Airport Express to the setup  (or AppleTV if they also want video) and to AirPlay audio from the iDevice to the Airport Express.  My Sonos vs Airplay article can be found here.  However, some people have a $350 budget and are bound and determined to spend it.  They apparently don't realize that Airport Express is bit perfect with CD quality (16/44.1) audio.

For those that want to spend more, the Sonos Connect is often brought up as a solution.  If you are using it for multiple rooms, it might make sense to go that route, but my suggestion for the one room scenario would be to pick up a used 2010 Mac Mini and add a couple programs to increase your options across the board.

Below is a few features of the Mac Mini and how they compare to the Sonos Connect:

1.  Outputs - the 2010 Mac Mini has several outputs: 4 USB 2.0, optical, analog, HDMI, and FireWire.

The Sonos Connect has analog, optical, and coax.

Winner:  Mac Mini (USB alone works with many more DACs)

2.  Ripping and playing CDs/DVDs - the 2010 Mac Mini has a 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW).  You can also add BluRay via an inexpensive USB BluRay Drive.

The Sonos Connect has no way to play or rip discs.

Winner: Mac Mini

3. Formats - the Mac Mini has the ability to play many formats ( excluding some of the High Rez movie formats).  It will play DSD, 24/96, 24/192, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, DD5.1, etc..
 
Sonos Connect is compatible to only 2 channel - 48khz with a smaller list of Codecs.

Winner: Mac Mini

4.  Storage -Mac Mini can store media files on the internal drive or a connected drive and serve it to other devices.

Sonos Connect has no storage and no way to directly connect storage.

Winner: Mac Mini

5.  Airplay - Airfoil ($29) can be installed on the Mini. This gives it the ability to receive an AirPlay audio signal or send out an AirPlay audio signal.  Very convenient for iOS device owners.  It can play and distribute audio directly from storage, CD player, AirPlay, and directly from the web with a huge list of third party apps. 

Sonos receives a signal via the web or storage attached to the network.  It works with a much shorter list of services.  You can add an Airport Express to its analog inputs, but that would cost more money.

Winner: Mac Mini

6.  Remote Features - You can control the Mac Mini with apps from JRiver, Fidelia, Apple Remote, Spotify Connect, Rdio app, etc..  You can also take over the desktop with apps like Teamviewer or Splashtop Personal.  Additionally, you can control it with a keyboard and mouse or apps like Rowmote if the mini is attached to a display.

The Sonos Connect can be controlled via the Sonos app.  Instead of using the app designed by the streaming company, most apps have to fit in the Sonos walled garden.  This means that features of the streaming service are often missing.

Winner :  Mac Mini

7.   Apps - You can install apps like Amarra SQ+ ( ~$45 - filters noise, dither control, and gives you numerous EQ options), record from vinyl with apps like Audacity, give headphones better SQ with apps like Fidelia and JRiver, stream media wherever you are with apps like Plex. The list goes on and on.

The Sonos Connect is simply a receiving device for audio streams at home.  It works with the Sonos app.

Winner: Mac Mini

8.  Video - the Mac Mini can play and rip DVDs for watching in DD 5.1.  It also has numerous photo viewing and editing apps available.  Not a big deal if you don't have a monitor, but needs to be mentioned for those that do.  You can also watch numerous Internet video sources , like Netflix and YouTube, with it, and mirror or stream video to AppleTVs, Roku's, etc.

No video capabilities on the Sonos Connect.

Winner: Mac Mini

9.  Multi-room -  Multi zone audio works with any app using Airfoil.  You can steam to any/all Airplay receiver(s) or to any iOS device (you can control it directly on the Mac or with AFRemote app on the iPhone).  You cannot send different streams to different devices, but I feel that this is a rare need for most people.  You can also use apps like Plex to stream audio and video to Roku, Firetv, IOS, Android, PS3, or to any mobile device that has cellular or wifi access.  Note: The Mac Mini is compatible with wireless N (5Ghz).  

The Sonos Connect can stream audio from specific streaming services or via a source that is hooked up to its analog inputs.  The unique feature is that Sonos will stream different audio to multiple Sonos devices, simultaneously.  The Sonos Connect is compatible with 2.4Ghz wifi, but gives you the option to use their "mesh" network.

Winner:  Toss up depending on whether having more streaming sources available outweighs multi-zone streaming to multiple Sonos devices.  

10.  Appearance- the Mac Mini is a sleek device made of silver recyclable aluminum.  Its dimensions are 1.4 x 7.7 inch x 7.7.

Sonos Connect is a chunky plastic box ("White / high-quality polycarbonate material").  It is 2.91 x 5.35 x 5.51.  


Winner:  Mac Mini 

11.  Bluetooth - The Mini also incorporates Bluetooth technology.  Bluetooth can be used for keyboards and mouses/mice, but it can also be used to send an audio signal wirelessly to compatible speakers and headphones.

The Sonos does not have Bluetooth capability.

Winner: Mac Mini

Okay, so I much prefer the Mac Mini and it obviously does many other things I didn't even mention.  I picked the (mid year) 2010 Mini for this comparison because it can typically be found on eBay between $225 - 300, so it is often cheaper than a Sonos Connect (they typically sell for more than the 2010 Mini, even on eBay).  I would recommend Sonos over the Mini for those that favor easy muti-zone audio, especially streaming different audio using one controller, at the expense of the other features.  I might also recommend it to someone that is a completely clueless about tech (never used a laptop, for example) because it may be easier to setup due to its walled garden approach.  Who knew Apple would be the more open design in the comparison?  Heck, Apple even makes it easy to run Windows 7 on the Mac Mini via Bootcamp if you favor apps like Foobar2000 or Windows Media Center.   With VMWare Fusion or Parallels, you can actually run Windows and OS X on the same computer at the same time. 

NOTE: You can get a brand new Mini for $499 (check the refurb store for possible bargains), if you want the most up to date option available, but keep in mind that it no longer has a DVD/CD player installed, but it and Blu-ray can easily be added with USB.  There are a lot of benefits of buying new, including being able to buy Applecare, but it would get the price up over the $350 barrier I started with.

In 2010, I bought the Original iPad and it inspired me to take another look at Apple products.  I really didn't want to spend over $1000 to see if I liked using a Mac, so I was drawn to the (much cheaper) Mac Mini.   I ended up buying a 2010 mid-year Mac Mini a few months later.  I figured that I would eventually just put it in my home theater whether I liked it or not.

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The 2010 Mini is not the highest spec'd computer.  It has a 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and I upgraded the RAM to 8GBs.  However, the small size, energy efficiency, and quiet fan make this computer a perfect compliment for most home theaters.  

Before I discuss the way I use the Mini, I do want to mention that I looked into playing hi-rez movie soundtracks (True-HD and DTS-HD) and it was not supported the last time I checked.  If this is important to you, I would recommend researching further or just picking up a Windows computer instead.  You can hook up a Blu-ray drive to the mini, but you would need special software to play it and (from what I understand) you would still lose the hi rez soundtracks.   

I discovered that I liked OSX mainly because it gave me a different experience at home than at work, where we run Windows.  As a result, in 2011, I bought an iMac, which freed the Mini to be used exclusively for media.   However, I decided to keep it sitting on my desk in the office since my office shares a wall with my home theater system and it would give me easier access since I could use the DVI output to feed a monitor in the office and "mini-display to HDMI" to feed a Denon receiver in our living room (where we keep our "home theater").   I simply mirror the display so that the same thing shows up in both rooms.   I believe there may be a performance hit for mirroring, but it runs fine, so I haven't tried to get around the issue, which would be easy with an HDMI splitter.  Another advantage of having it in a separate room is that the fan can get louder if you are doing something that taxes its power reserves.  

The most important aspect of using a Mini for media is the programs you decide to use with it.  Below is a list of some of the most useful programs that I run:

1.  iTunes -  I don't have a problem using iTunes to manage my music.  If you have an iOS device (and  I would highly recommend getting one to use with the Mac Mini) there is a "Remote" app from Apple that will control playback and make it easy to chose music from your library.  If you have Airplay devices, you can also choose where the signal is played.  It works with multiple Airplay speakers without Airfoil, so that is a plus, as well.

2.  Audiotap - This is an app that runs alongside iTunes.  It is for streaming your music to an iDevice anywhere that has an internet connection. It will work with lossless files on wifi.

3.  Plex - This is a slick media interface that will allow you to access your own media and some plug ins (like Cnet video and Twittv).   Plex also has a well received paid service that I don't currently use.

4.  XBMC (soon to be Kodi Entertainment Center) - This is a bit geekier than Plex.   It is more of a hobby,  but has more third party apps available.  

5. Rowmote - As I mentioned, I recommend an iOS device to control the Mini and this is an amazing app that will allow you to use that iOS device as a keyboard and mouse.  Since I have the Mini in a separate room, I do have a regular keyboard and mouse hooked to them, but most of the time  I control it with my iPhone.  One other cool thing about the app is that has a list of applications, and when you click on one, it will launch.

6.  Splashtop - You can also use this to control the Mac Mini via an iOS device or laptop.  The plus to this is that you can take complete control of the computer without needing to have your TV on.  Very useful for music.

7.  Rdio/Spotify -  I have both of these in use now.  Spotify currently has better sound quality and you can control it running on your computer via "Remoteless" app on iOS or Splashtop.  Rdio can be controlled, once you have it playing, with the Rdio app on your iOS device.  I prefer Rdio unless I need ultimate sound quality, which unfortunately is a lot of the time.

8.  Airfoil - This app will allow you to send any audio from your Mini to any Airplay device.   I have numerous Airplay devices, so this comes in handy.  One cool feature is that it will turn your Mini into an Airplay receiver and then you can send audio to any or all of your Airplay devices.   There are also a couple Airfoil apps for iOS.   Airfoil Speakers (for iOS) will turn your iPhone/iPad into an Airplay receiver for your computer.  AF Remote app (for iOS) lets you control the Airplay devices that will receive a signal without sitting in front of a computer.  It will also provide some control of the audio program that is playing, like volume, stop and play.

9.  Roomie Auxillary  - I have written about Roomie Remote for iOS and this plug-in works great.  It allows the user to launch and control programs at the touch of a button.  

9.  Eyetv HD -  I use this to occasionally record programs from Directv.  It receives a signal from the component outputs on the satellite box and sends the signal to the Mini via USB.  It can't record surround sound, but it is still useful. It also streams to iPads and iPhones and can be Airplayed to AppleTV.

10.  Slingbox - For me, this is a better way of getting TV on the Mini.  Its a box that plugs into a satellite box and ethernet and will display the signal on the Mini (or iOS device).  It won't record programs like the Eyetv, but it is less "buggy" for streaming a signal wherever you are (with internet).   When the Directv box in our home theater started to have issues, we used the Mini to stream video from our satellite box in the bedroom until we were able to get Directv out to fix it.  

11.  Kylo -  This is an interesting app that will allow you to easily launch sites like Netflix, Pandora, etc..  It essentially a web browser with links to some of the most popular sites and it can be resized for easier viewing on a television.  It hasn't been updated in years, but their site still has it available for download.

12.  Fidelia - This is a somewhat expensive app that improves sound quality of your files on a Mac.  I mainly use it for its nifty headphone settings. It also has a useful iOS app so you can control the music (similar to the Remote app).

13.  Bitperfect - another app for improving sound quality from the Mac.  It works with iTunes, so you can control it with the Remote app.  It is also a lot cheaper than Fidelia, will perform bitrate changes on the fly (in other words, if you play a 16/44.1 file and then play a 24/96 file it will play them in their native resolution. iTunes doesn't.), but it doesn't have the great headphone features of Fidelia.  I also use the Mini to feed a headphone setup using a USB output, so I like those extra features.

14.  I also run some special screensavers, one is clock like you see in the pic below the article and the other is an aquarium app that has realistic fish that swim across your screen.  There is another that pulls up album art.

The above are the main apps I run from OSX, but you can always find others to fit your taste and needs.   For example, some people don't like iTunes, so there are options that might fit their needs better.   I should mention that Vudu has an issue playing HDX files on my Mini.  It says there are HDCP issues so it will only play SD files.   As a result, I usually use Roku if I want to watch a movie on Vudu.   I have read about some third pary HDMI splitters that strip the HDCP, but I have never used them.

Besides the numerous ways to play music directly, it also serves up files to Appletv via iTunes and Roku via Plex.   It can also run apps like Tversity that work well with the PS3.

One benefit of using Macs is that they are easy to partition with Bootcamp and can also use Windows. At one point, I prefered Windows Media Center to Plex, so I run Windows8 (I "upgraded" from Win7) via VMWare Fusion (an app that allows both operating systems to be running and accessible at the same time). I also have JRiver Media Center running on Windows (bought it before it was added to OSX).   This is just another media app, but it is cheaper than Fidelia and has some of the same headphone settings.  It sounds great and you can also control it with an app called JRemote.  JRemote works with DLNA devices and Airplay devices.   Obviously, with a Windows partition, you can play some lower-end (less taxing) games.  If you go this route, you will probably want a real mouse rather than using an iOS device as a remote.   I have never used it this way, but I may try it at some point.

As you can tell, the Mini has some great media server features and, for me, it's benefits outweigh some of its shortfalls. The fact that it burns little electricity and can run more apps than my NAS makes it the perfect compliment to the many audio and video systems I have around the house. If you are thinking about going this route and have questions, please leave a comment or send me an email.

The picture of my "home office" has gotten quite a bit of notoriety around the web.  I discuss this space at length on the Mac Attack page, but I wanted to address some of the negative comments I have seen around the web related to the space.

The negative comments I have seen are either from minimalists or from your typical jerks that feel empowered by posting anonymously on the web.   There are definitely a lot of trolls out there, however, I am going to address these comments with the idea that they are into minimalism and why I am not.

Minimalism, according to wiki is "any design or style wherein the simplest and fewest elements are used to create the maximum effect."  "Maximum effect" is in the eye of the user/viewer, but I have seen many offices based on some version of this concept in the past.  In the photos I have seen, the setting is often faked.  In other words, they hide the printer, router, cables, wires, and anything else that might take away from the concept.   If the "maximum effect" is to have an uncluttered pic, then I guess it could be considered successful.  However, for "maximum effect" in my home office (sometimes called a "man cave"), I needed more than that.

The negative comments are usually some form of the question "how can you work in an area with so much going on"?  The answer is pretty simple.  I concentrate on the task at hand.  I leave the TV off while I am working.  If I have a job to do, I don't piddle around with other things.  If I am working from home, I want to get to it and get it over with.  Have you ever read a book in the same room that you keep a TV or stereo?  Same concept.   

I have also heard people say there is too much clutter to get anything done.     The photo makes the desk look like there is very little space for actual work.  In reality, there is a lot of space to work.  The desk is actually about 60 inches wide and 43 inches deep.  It leaves a ton of space for working.  While I don't work with crafts, the space is plenty for folders, paper, stapler, and the few other items I use in addition to the computer.

The picture above shows a pic of the most current setup.   While I don't keep the laptop in the room, when I work, I move it into the office since it has Win7 installed and I need it for "real" work.  The Wacom tablet is about 15 x 10.  It slides under the iMac when it isn't being used.  This, combined with the fact that one of the monitors can be swung completely off the desk, thanks to an Ergotron mount, leaves me quite a bit of space to work.  Keep in mind that the iPad isn't glued to the desk, so it can be moved. I had a roll top desk in the room before and this gives me about four times as much empty space as the roll top with nothing on it.   I don't even need that much space, but it came in handy when I ripped several of my DVDs to Vudu.

Actually, there is more empty space on this desk than the one I have at work.  At the office, I have a ten key, phone, stapler, two large monitors, a radio, a fan, papers, and a notepad on the desk, and it leaves me with a lot less space than I have here.  If you think this area is cluttered, you should visit an office where people work. 

While I do have areas of the house that I can take my laptop and not have anything else around (see above), I don't really see the need for it.  I have no issues with concentrating on work in my office.   

That all being said, anyone that has looked at the room can see that it isn't used just for work.  It is more of a "man cave" space where I go to edit photos, listen to music, play the occasional game, watch a program, strum a guitar, or do whatever else I want to do.  Yeah, I can do most of these things in my living room, but occasionally I like to be in my own space.  The entire space, as I have mentioned before, is based around my hobbies, especially audio.  Yeah, I do real work in there on occasion, but I refuse to let work take over space in my home.   This room was not designed around work.  

The other reason I did not design the space for minimalism is because I wanted the space to have personality.  The pictures, stuffed animals, SpudTroopers, and other non-essential items in the room (some call it clutter) tell you more about me than an empty room with a laptop and a desk.   Most of the stuff is meaningful to me.  The basset hound sitting on the SACD rack reminds me of a trip to Graceland.  The signed B&W Elvis photo reminds me of the day that I met Alfred Wertheimer at the Memphis Zoo when the Panda exhibit opened.  The Hatch Show Prints remind me of a trip to Nashville to see the famous letterpress print shop.  The stuffed tigers are gifts I have received over the years.  One of them provides cushioning for my guitar.  The sterile rooms without personality are boring to me.  A robot could live in those type of spaces for all I know.

I don't spend my time commenting on sites about how these minimal setups are boring, cold, and lifeless. I don't necessarily think they look bad in photos.  However, if I want to listen to quality sound from a computer and want both speakers and headphones, I am going to need to take up space with speakers, DACs, amps, and headphones.  I suppose I could live with a pair of earbuds plugged into a laptop, like a lot of people, but that idea just doesn't inspire me.

If you are happy in an minimalist styled room, that is your business.  I just prefer a more inspiring space with personality that excels in many different areas.

As I mentioned on my Win8 page, I installed Win8 on my mid 2010 Mac Mini a while back. At the time, everything I read said that I should allocate 20GB of space to the partition.   To be "safe", I allocated 30GBs.

Unfortunately, 30GBs ran out way too fast!  Anytime I tried to run anything on Win8, it choked up and then I started getting errors at start up saying I was almost out of space.  I ended up deleting almost all of my programs, but it still had very little space. 

I decided to research allocating more memory, but most of what I read said that I needed a backup, a startup disc, and a lot of time.  As a result, I put off the project and just stuck with using only OSX.

A week or so ago, I looked into it again.  I found a few programs, one of them was $9.95 for one week of use.  However, I waited and just got around to doing the project today.  I found a program called CamptuneX that was recommended quite often. I could only find it a $19.95 price, but I thought it was worth it if it was relatively painless.

Well, I did have some issues.  I ran into an error on my first try.  It said "Mac OSX filesystem failed, please repair Mac OSX and try again".   I looked into it and found out that I should run "Disk Utility".  I "repaired" my OSX drive and my partitioned drive.  I ran CamptuneX again and it ran without a problem.  I should mention that it took over an hour (somewhere between one and three hours).  I then restarted my computer and ran VMWare Fusion5.

This is when I ran into a message that said "move bootcamp virtual machine to trash".   I opened the VMWare application and the bootcamp partition was on the left side of the box and a trashcan was above it on the right.  I right clicked on it and chose "delete".  It got rid of Bootcamp.  I then clicked on a box to reinstall bootcamp.  After that, I restarted Windows and it updated VMWare tools and restarted.  

After all that, I am up and running.  The partition is now 70GBs and should hold me over for a while.  I mainly use Win8 for WMC and JRiver Media Center, so I am not too worried about space concerns at this point.  I still think the program was worth the money since I did not need to burn discs or backup (although I would suggest that you backup, since I do not want to be blamed if you wreck your computer).  Actually, now that I think about it, under any circumstances, I am not taking credit if you wreck your computer.  You should follow up with CamptuneX if you have a problem.