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[johnnyrocket]

I'm new to HTPC and I'm trying to understand how it all fits together. Can someone provide some guidance?

What would be an ideal hardware setup? Would I need any additional processors or cards along with my macmini to hookup into the sound system?

An example setup would help me.

Johnny
San Antonio, TX

[6233638]

Well it depends on what you are trying to achieve, and what AV hardware you already own.
 
Macs lack any kind of optical drive these days, which makes DVD/Blu-ray playback difficult, and the OS X version of Media Center does not currently have any Theater View or Video capabilities, so you would have to run Windows on it for that. (or at least run the Windows version through Parallels - I believe Glynor does this)
 
If you don't currently own a Mac Mini, Apple have yet to update them to Haswell, so buying a small form-factor PC (Intel NUC, Gigabyte Brix, AMD Kaveri system etc.) or building one may be a better option - especially if you will be running the Windows version of MC anyway.

[johnnyrocket]

Yes. I see your point about the mini. The NUC actually may fit my needs. I currently only have my loudspeakers purchased so I have total freedom on the rest of the hardware.

Is there an interface that fits between the PC and the A/V units?