The latest Swicthed On at Engadget will certainly speak to the heart of our readers since it is focused on the media center potential of the Mac Mini. Ross Rubin hits the nail on the head noting that :

The media center concept would benefit from a platform with high reliability, strong integration, an inventive developer community, software design acumen, and a retail channel that could effectively explain its benefits to a high-income customer base.

There has never been a better time to consider a Mac Media Center and I am betting it will come in the form of a second add-on box from Apple. It will either be jointly developed (doubtful) with Elgato, or possibly utilize their technology which is certainly proven in network connectivity, streaming DVR. If not I think Elgato has the motivation now with the release of Mac Mini to do it themselves since their hardware already fits nicely in size next to the Mini.

We’ll most likely have to wait to hear from Apple for when Tiger is released and the slick new H.264 video codec will enable streaming through devices of all capabilities — let alone the HD set you’ll have in your living room.

We know the Mac Mini is short on some features…but these are easily overcome and can enable a relatively low-cost configuration, very powerful and simple solution that will easily pass the Wife Approval test as well.

– Jonathan Greene

Have you ordered yours yet?

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