Other World Computing (OWC) announced today its new OWC Media Center Solution for the 2010 Mac mini to address the growing need of consumers wanting to search, navigate, consume, store/backup, and sync digital content from multiple content sources and devices with one easy to use solution. The OWC Media Center Solution includes installing the Plex digital media management platform onto a customer’s 2010 Mac mini, upgrading the mini with 4GB of OWC RAM, and bundling all the necessary hardware – including an OWC Mercury Pro™ Qx2 storage solution, OWC Slim portable CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc burner, Elgato EyeTV Hybrid tuner or HD DVR, and Apple Remote – to deliver a complete and hassle-free Plug and Play Mac mini based home theatre/entertainment solution. OWC will be demonstrating the new OWC Media Center Solution and other first-to-market products, like the OWC Mercury Aura Pro SSDs for MacBook Air models, in booth #513 at the Macworld Expo, which begins today in San Francisco, California.
Access And Manage Content Anywhere With Any iOS Device
At the heart of the OWC Media Center Solution is Plex, the first open three screen (PC, TV, mobile) media platform designed to simplify and improve the way people view and manage personal, commercial and streaming content sources across a variety of connected devices. With Plex installed, Mac mini owners can watch videos, access their music library, and control their Plex media manager at home with the included Apple Remote or while mobile with any iOS Device with the Plex iOS application installed.
Plug And Play Media Organization And Storage
The OWC Media Center Solution offers pre-configured Plug and Play organization and high performance storage of all your digital media, whether from local drives, network shares, optical media, and/or the Internet in one, easy to use application without having to install any additional third party plug-ins or programs. Because it requires virtually no hardware, networking, or home theater knowledge, the OWC Media Center Solution ensures even the most novice Mac mini user will able to access their favorite TV programs, movies, photos, and more with the intuitive, yet visually striking interface that compliments the home theatre experience.
Streams Free Media For Greater Viewing Options
Obtaining new content from free online sources with the OWC Media Center Solution is easy too. With the Plex App Store, a built-in library of free third-party plug ins, users can expand their media viewing choices by streaming content from websites like Apple Trailers, Hulu, Joost, Netflix, Pitchfork, Vimeo, and YouTube.
Backup And Save Content
With the included OWC Mercury Pro Qx2 storage solution, users can save up to 12TB of content – enough space for up to 6,145 hours of DVD quality movies – backed up by the safety of RAID 5. And with the optional OWC Slim portable, bus-powered CD/DVD/Blu-ray optical drive and the included MakeMKV application, users can make backups of purchased DVD and Blu-ray media and convert the files for use on any iOS and Android based device.
Watch And Record TV In High Def
Watching and recording TV with a Mac mini has never been easier than it is with Elgato EyeTV products. The OWC Media Center Solution offers a choice of either an EyeTV Hybrid to watch and record cable and broadcast TV channels broadcast in standard definition and unencrypted HD; or an EyeTV HD DVR for capturing up to 1080i HD from a cable or satellite receiver with component video connections. Once a program is recorded, it can be exported to the OWC Mercury Pro Qx2 for permanent storage and later viewing.
“By creating a comprehensive, yet option rich bundle and configuration service, we eliminated all the hassle of incorporating a 2010 Mac mini into a home theatre system,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing, in the press release. “This is the ideal solution for managing and viewing personal and public content whether it be a single user or an entire family with multiple devices.”
The OWC Media Center Solution Includes:
• OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 storage solution in choice of 4TB, 8TB, and 12TB models pre-set with folders linked to Plex Media Server.
• Optional OWC Slim portable, bus-powered CD/DVD/Blu-ray optical drive
• HDMI audio and video connection cables
• Apple remote control
• Quick Start guide
• Choice of:
– Elgato EyeTV Hybrid TV tuner stick for watching and recording cable and broadcast TV channels broadcast in standard definition and unencrypted HD.
– Elgato EyeTV HD digital video recorder (DVR) for connecting directly to a cable or satellite receiver to capture premium programming in full HD.
Live Product Demos Presented At Macworld Expo
The OWC Media Center Solution for 2010 Mac mini will be demonstrated live at the Macworld Expo in OWC’s booth #513. Pricing and ordering information for the custom configured bundle for 2010 Mac mini, which will include a 48 business hours or less installation turnaround, various shipping options, and OWC’s renowned warranty coverage; will be announced by the end of January. For additional OWC Media Center Solution details and answers to commonly asked set-up and usage questions, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/turnkey/Mac_Mini_Media_Center/AV
Source: Other World Computing
I’ve repeatedly given OWC extra chances over the years to win my trust, and they fail every time. Good luck with this thing if something goes wrong and you need support.
Too much info. My head is spinning
If you are getting the Blu-ray drive, wouldn’t it be worth the extra $300.00 to get the Mini server?
Faster processor and already 4 gigs of RAM.
Just sayin’….
@Macromancer,
I’ve bought 2 external hard drives from OWC over the years and have been nothing but happy. Although, I never had to call customer service.
I don’t need their solution. I can build it piecemeal on my own. The Intel Mac Mini is the best OSX media center solution with the ElGato hardware and software connected to it. Makes AppleTV look sick. If Apple opened it up to developers the $99 AppleTV would be a world-beater in its class.
I’ve bought from OWC for years and years. They had some issues when they merged with Macsales, but for the most part have been good.
As for their HT solution, I have it already. An old Macbook, with the EyeTV hybrid, which records to a 2GB WD harddrive. I have Plex installed, but I just export the movies recorded on my EyeTV to iTunes, and AppleTV to my big screen. Works great.
My DirecTV DVR is getting full and I’d love to transfer the content (in HD). Is there a How-To online that anyone can recommend? Is a Mac Mini the best way to go? I don’t (yet) have Apple TV.
Wow, this is, like, a full page ad or something!
@KenC lets start a HT thread…
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What big screen? Are you ripping content in 720, 1080i or 1080p? DVD or BluRay, or both?
I’m just putting together a HT with a 1080p projector, and was thinking of an Apple TV to stream my ripped content
The $64,000 question: How much will all that cost? Sounds like it might be a $64,000 (or more) answer.
At least OWC is having a go, whereas Apple’s crippled ATV 2 just plain sucks. A waste of money whatever you paid. When Apple allows local storage on ATV 2 via the existing (but not activated for users USB port!!!), then it might amount to something. Apple is allowing it’s doctrine of ‘wireless everywhere’ to get in the way of good product.
@Macromancer,
No, you’ll be able to get support… But, if anything is actually wrong, you’ll have to argue about it, then finally take your pick between having them send another of their pieces of crap back to you and risk the restocking fee if in their estimation nothing was really wrong… More likely, you’ll just do what I did and bend over and take the restocking fee because it will be worth it to rid yourself of the headache and order from somebody who gives a shit about their customers.
I haven’t ordered from OWC since they boned me seven or eight years ago and I’m certain I don’t miss them any more than they must miss me.
@Jones,
Seriously? $100 bucks for my aTV 2 is a steal. I currently have a 2TB HD connected to my imac as well as an eye-tv. I rip DVD’s with handbreak with the aTV 2 setting and have eye-tv convert all recorded shows into itunes. All of this streams to my 60″ TV flawlessly. Why, exactly, do I need all of this connected to my TV? Why would I not want all of my media in one place in my house that can be accessed in any room I want?
I really could not be more pleased with my new aTV.
@ iphonerulez: Your Mac Mini will never be $99, because intel charges that for a CPU chip alone.
hence the Apple TV for those who don’t want to spend the time and money to architect their own solution. The two different products are miles apart in terms of customer and price point.
From the standpoint of plug-and play computer/TV integration, Apple TV is the best consumer-only home theatre/computer integration product on the market today, period. The Mac Mini has some overhead to it, but allows all kinds of user expansion.
… and then, further off the nut case end of the spectrum, we’ve all been reminded by PC geeks how much better a “solution” they can build out of catalog order parts. But then, their sexiest systems are only as good as the OS they choose, and they conveniently forget to tell everyone how many hours they spend debugging, configuring, and maintaining the thing to get it all to work correctly. pain in the $%^&* for anyone who has a real life.
Adbruin
Hope this helps.
The two best ways I know of are to use the Firewire port of your DVR and some free (but hard to find) software as the cheapest route-
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1043012
Or use the component output of your DVR for the easiest way to capture (analog) Hi-Def (and currently on sale)-
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/ElGato/10021040/
@ Shifty. Yes seriously. My ATV 2 crashes if it hasn’t been used for a few days and then needs to be rebooted nearly every time I attempt to use it. I’m forced to run a computer 24/7 in another part of my house to access my content via ATV 2 and I seem to spend more time watching the spinning cogwheel while it seeks out the material I want than in actually watching it. Nearly every new command sends it into another flurry of it’s spinning cogwheel while I wait. Then there’s the lack of genuine randomness in photo display from my content, it’s inability to buy content as distinct from renting it and the pretty but inadequate remote control. It sucks and will remain crippled while Apple refuses to let us use the USB port for local content.
i want that. been dreaming about such a solution for long time just didn’t want to do it myself.
i hope more of this starts happening.
@TowerTone! Thanks! I’ll see if I can figure something out from the info. When I start reading the descriptions, my eyes start to glaze over!
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I have 2 words…..
Apple TV
Not one problem since purchase. 5 minutes to setup.
Why complicate your life with this package. This package reminds me of the days of SCSI…. I bet half of the people here don’t even know what SCSI is.
One more thing…. What’s the entry $$$$$
in addition just get the Elgato EyeTV and you can convert your DVDs, record and a slew of other tasks to work with your Apple TV from your mac. The PC folks will frown due to the fact Eye TV 3 is not available for Windows… They will have to use Windows Media Center. Oh Well.
Apple TV Is Crap.
It’s a nice little box of technology that does so few of the things that I really want, A/V-wise.
I want to record over the air broadcasts, at the VERY least. Recording whatever I get from my cable and/or dish connections as well should be the norm.
I want to plug in a drive to have local storage. As much as I feel I need. Why?
Because I DO NOT want it mandatory that I use my computer in order to watch TV!!! If I want to stream some tunes to my home theater set-up, thank you for the ability Apple. But for video, NO THANKS. It’s needlessly complex (no matter how simple they make it on the outside) and a complete waste of energy (regardless of how simple they make it on the outside).
Finally, while I love the access to iTunes and all it offers, I DO NOT want to be forced into it’s walled garden only. I want to access video wherever it is on the web. And while I am in iTunes, I want the OPTION of either buying or renting.
In short, I find the AppleTV – even this new, supposedly improved version to be a complete letdown.
It’s criminal that a 10 year old VCR has more of the video capabilities that I’m looking for than a 21st century Apple product. It’s criminal that a company like Apple is going along with these duche-bag media company’s ‘grand plan’ to turn the people of the world into perpetual rental-slaves, instead of owners of content. You can’t even find a new DVR anymore – they stopped making them so you wouldn’t be able to bypass their information superhighway toll booths.
C’mon Apple. THINK DIFFERENT.