Media center app and remote control for mac mini?
I can't justify buying an Apple TV while I have an old mac mini around to hook up to my entertainment center.
I'm currently controlling it using Air Mouse with my iOS devices, but I'd really like to be able to use it more simply. Air Mouse simply extends the mouse and keyboard, but doesn't really give you a remote-control style of functionality you might have with a dedicated streaming device like the Apple TV.
Front row seems only to care about music and movies on iTunes.
Can I use Front row and the tiny white apple remote with Netflix, Hulu, and other online services, or is there another software package that would allow me to do so?
Is there a better option for remote control than the little white apple remote?
Solution 1:
I would recommend the following setup (which is what I currently use):
Plex
Use Plex as your remote-control-friendly home theatre hub. I find Plex to be much easier to set up than XBMC, but where I think Plex really shines is in how easy it is to share your mini's media with other devices.
On your mini you install both the Plex Media Server and Plex Media Center apps. If you want to stream to additional Macs or PCs, you can install just the Media Center on those.
On your iOS devices, you can install Plex Mobile to stream your mini's media to the device. Plex Mobile can also be used as a remote control for Plex.
You can add your iTunes Media folders to Plex to access your iTunes songs and videos, however neither Plex nor XBMC can play DRM videos purchased from iTunes.
Hulu Desktop
Hulu Desktop is a remote-control-friendly app for browsing and watching Hulu videos. Best of all, you can launch Hulu Desktop directly from Plex.
HippoRemote
HippoRemote is a remote control app with better integration with various media players than Mobile Mouse (formerly Air Mouse) and Plex Mobile. Plex Mobile only works with Plex, Mobile Mouse works with most things except Plex. HippoRemote works with Plex, Hulu Desktop, and just about everything else, and it even works with the Netflix player.
HippoRemote also has much smoother mouse tracking than Mobile Mouse.
Apple Remote
The Apple Remote is certainly easier to just pick up and use than using than any remote app, so it can be handy to have it close by for quickly navigating Plex and Hulu Desktop on a whim.
Logitech Harmony Remotes
I actually don't have one of these yet, but I know several people that love Logitech's Harmony remotes. If want a remote that will also control your TV and receiver, these would definitely be worth checking out.
Solution 2:
What you need is the right front-end and that is:
Plex
Plex is probably the most Mac-like of all the media centers out there. Certainly it gets a lot of attention on the Mac and runs very well there. Not quite as open or feature rich as XMBC but it plays a quick game of catchup.
It will work with the Apple Remote IR remote control you can buy from the Apple Store. The button mappings are detailed in their wiki.
With Plex installed and running you can access all your media, navigate on a TV-friendly UI using your Apple Remote and use plugins like their Netflix plugin to access streaming content all from one slick interface.
You can download the Plex apps for your iOS and Andriod devices and use it to connect your mobile computers back to your Mac-located content and stream it over the air.
Solution 3:
I'd vote for the wonderful XBMC: http://xbmc.org/download/
I love it:
it's free
it's beautiful and it can change its look easily with themes
it has a lot of custom functions that can be easily added as plugins or widgets: from weather forecasts to rss downloaders, youtube (with video downloads) and more and more
it has an app to use your phone as its remote controller (or any other kind of remote I have in my house - mostly irda)
it has automatic retrieval of art, scrapers, plots, actors names, genres and so on from the internet
it has automatic download of subtitles for films and series
...
would you ask anything more? :)