Digital Trends

Apple Mac mini Dual Core 1.66GHz

April 11th, 2006 | by Jason Tomczak

Running video from a computer to TV via DVI cable is not the way to get ultimate picture quality, though with the Mini it is the only way.  I tried the Bourne Identity DVD on a 20" Apple Cinema Display connected to the Mini.  The output was nearly identical.  Both DVDs looked much better at Full Size on the Intel Mini, but the playback was not as clean as it was on the G5 or Intel iMacs.  Granted, all this critique is being made from a viewing distance of about 18 inches.  Moving 6 feet back from the screen, an average TV viewing distance in living rooms, the pixellation was virtually imperceptible. 

Running the very same DVD through Front Row seemed to result in a better picture.  Perhaps Front Row has better vide compression algorithms, or my eyes were deceiving me. 

To be fair, I dropped Bourne Identity into my almost-new progressive scan DVD player.  Full-screen playback was only slightly better than on the Mini.  This is, of course, a hyper-critical analysis of the Mini's video package, but it's important to note.  I think it also acts as a compliment to the Mini.

An Apple rep explained that any splotchy, faded blacks in DVD playback could possibly be the integrated video card or the compression algorithms (or just the DVD), but that there was no conclusive evidence of any flaw.

After hearing so much harumph about how the Intel Mini would make an ideal DVR, and after time consuming investigation, I came to the hard-earned impression that it is a great DVR, especially considering the size, price and huge list of other talents, but I personally feel it could be even better if it had a more virile graphics setup.  While I understand Apple's use of an integrated graphics chip in such a tiny little computer due to space limitations and an interest in exploring Intel's newest graphics solutions, it seems to me that this is the one and only place where Apple can improve upon future releases of the Intel-based Mac Mini.  Hardware geeks may have good arguments to this, but my conclusions are through empirical evidence and user-opinon, not mathematical formulas or marketing promo.

Many Mac users hail the goodness of Handbrake, a free application designed to rip DVDs into MPEG-4 files for use in Quicktime, iTunes or on a 5G iPod with video (only do this if you own the subject DVD and can legally make a backup copy for your own personal use, lest you unleash the wrath of legal teams and rogue hit squads).  On the 20" G5 iMac, Handbrake rips at about 15 frames per second for near-DVD quality output.  The Intel Mac Mini did the exact same job at an average of 60 frames per second!  Surprisingly, the playback quality of a Handbrake-rendered MPEG-4 file appeared as good as DVD, with file sizes between 780MB and 1.1GB.  Blacks were more black, colors were just as bright and crisp, but I noticed pixellation in fast-action scenes.  A minor inconvenience, if that.

The only annoyance that I experienced while using the Mini was in regard to the way Apple advertises the need for keyboard, mouse and monitor to have a fully functioning computer that's great for iTunes, movies, web browsing and a plethora of other media-rich activities.  When I first played the Bourne Identity DVD, I realized that there is only a tiny mono speaker stuffed inside the Mini.  I lost no respect for the engineering team at Apple over this; I remain impressed and awed by their skill and vision.  But Apple makes no mention of the Victrola-like audio coming from the Mini.  I'd suggest that they say "Bring your own display, keyboard, mouse AND speakers."  That would complete the picture.

Image Courtesy of Apple