new mini or old for htpc

[cvincent]

need some advice
i am 70% deaf and my dvd player seems to play dvd movies with subtitles but none of the netflix tv dvds i get to watch- i believe these are cc instead
there is some kind of difference and they dont work the same

anyway i have a samsung ln-t4042h
it says pc resolution 1360x768@60hz
with a hk avr 3600 receiver
and a direct tv dvr set up

i have a 2010 macbook pro that easily plays either movie dvds or netflix tv dvds
when i hook it to the hdtv it overscans and the words are cut off on the bottom
it is a hassle to use my laptop for this

so i am looking at buying a mini to hook up to the hdtv to be able to play hulu, netflix streaming and play any type of subtitled or captioned dvd
this is all i need it to do
i wont be doing a lot of saving movies, etc
more for streaming and playing dvds

i want something simple to hook up
and my biggest concern is getting one that will easily hook up to my system and not over or underscan

after reading some about display stuff on the mini i am wondering if there is an advantage to buying any older one and using a vga cable and a separate audio vs a new one with hdmi?
i am also wondering about how this is going to work with my hk receiver, this receiver does digital audio or something like that, it is brand new and is supposed to be very good

if i buy new i planned on the low level $699 model

any help, opinions, suggestions are appreciated

[Smithcraft]

If that is all you want to do, then just about any Intel mini will do. You might want to look at 2 GHz or better models.

However you will really be short changing yourself in what you can do with it.

Anyway, if your mini doesn't come with a remote, then you can get one from eBay for less than Apple wants for their new remotes.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[cvincent]

i know it will do a lot more and maybe at some point i will use some of that other stuff

so as far as ease of hook up and display showing up correctly on the tv there is no advantage to getting a new one with hdmi output?

[Smithcraft]

To be honest, one can never tell. What might work with a certain model year display, may not work with the next, or previous, years displays. Basically, it can either be plug and play, or a bit of swearing and messing around with SwitchResX.

Hopefully when Monday rolls around, someone with Samsung experience will be able to comment about how well the minis work with Samsungs.

SC
_________________
Grumpy old man of computing.

[Desktop] G4 mini - 1.5Ghz 1GB 80GB HDD - Newer miniStack v2 500GB - 10.5.8

[Media System] Intel i5 mini - 2.33Ghz 8GB 500GB HDD - 4 x Hitachi 2TB HDD in a qBOX-SF - 10.7.5 (Thanks Phil!)

Make sure it has pins!

[unblowupable5]

I am using the 2010 Mini as a dedicated HTPC. I encountered the same overscan/underscan issue you're talking about with my MacBook Pro. For the 2010 Mini there is a slider that allows you to correct the issue. For what it's worth, I am connected to my Sony 720p (ie, 1366 x 768) TV via HDMI.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4214

[cvincent]

thanks for all this info

think i will write a new post and see if some samsung tv people can send their experiences

glad to hear the macbook pro and the mini are different, or that the mini has options to deal with the overscan/underscan

[swordsandtequila]

I had an older Samsung (2007) 720p, native resolution 1366 x 768. Was connected to an older mini (1.83 ghz) and later a 2.26 ghz, both with vga. Overscan was never an issue, picture was the same as with hdmi. If you prefer the hdmi, most Samsungs have a dedicated port to use with a computer, check your manual. Will work with other ports, but you may have to calibrate. I suggest you make life simple and use a vga cable for video and a mini toslink for audio. Plug and play. Trust me, SwitchResX has been known to drive men crazy.
Cheers.
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Samsung SSD 120GB boot, Intel SSD 80GB scratch, 10TB internal ZFS
Sans Digital 6TB Raid5, 2TB Raid0
NT Guardian Maximus 1TB Raid1, 500GB Raid0
OWC external Superdrive
An iPod for every occasion
iPhone 3g

[cvincent]

ok , that was a question i had

so basically if i use the separate vga cable for video and the separate cable for audio i will not run into any overscan, underscan, etc issues?

those are only an issue if i am using hdmi to hdmi on the tv


and yes i have 3-4 hdmi ports on the tv

i guess i can try it both ways

but to clarify there is a difference in how plug and play it is between hdmi and vga?

this is a 2007 samsung, i think it is 720p but i could not find that in the book anywhere

thank you!

[swordsandtequila]

Go to Samsung's site and do a search for your model #. All specs are listed, along with manuals. By plug and play, I just meant with vga you won't have to worry about calibration.
_________________
Mac Pro 4,1 12GB ram
Samsung SSD 120GB boot, Intel SSD 80GB scratch, 10TB internal ZFS
Sans Digital 6TB Raid5, 2TB Raid0
NT Guardian Maximus 1TB Raid1, 500GB Raid0
OWC external Superdrive
An iPod for every occasion
iPhone 3g