I am using a Mac Mini Mid 2010, 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 8GB 1067MHz DDR3 and it is working flawlessly. I am saving the recordings to an external WD 1 terabyte HDD.
Just to confirm, real-time hardware transcoding works well on a 2012 Mac Mini? I have a quad-core i7 2.3 GHz, 16 GB RAM. If so, Iâm all set for the beta when itâs available in the UK!
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Yeh, sounds like youâll be using a sledgehammer to swat a fly there bud. I was just worried about the 1.4 GHz model. Youâve got enough there to walk it bud.
Haha, I thought so since I use it as my Plex server (amongst other things), and it has no problem transcoding for Plex. I guess I was just thrown by the comment that older CPUs might not support hardware transcoding.
Hmm⌠time to save up for a mac mini⌠Something for both plex and ChannelsDVR.as long as I can attach the mycloudex2ultra via iscsi as a local disk or maybe just a USB3 external⌠(the MyCloudEX2Ultra is not powerful enough to transcode at all or do more than 4 recordings at once or commercial skip well) [3 week availability on the mac mini model I wanted⌠
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I would like to install the DVR server on a Mac mini as well but donât want to invest a lot of money. I saw a cheap Early 2009 mini with Core2Duo 2.0ghz and 2gb of ram from craigslist. Would this be enough to run it smoothly? It runs great from my 2015 iMac 5K but I donât like leaving it always on. What do you guys think?
Foz86,
Itâs still early in the Channels DVR game to have a good understanding of hardware tradeoffs but an early 2009 mini might be pushing the envelope a bit from a reliability and support perspective. You wonât be able to run current OS and you will probably miss out on some hardware transcoding optimization. Iâd lean toward a 2012 or newer model and increase your chances that the hardware will be stable for some period of time. Iâm not current on used Mac Mini prices, but a low end 2014 1.4GHz Dual Core machine with 4GB ram and 500GB storage is currently available thru apple.com refurbished for $419, so you should be able to get a 2012 model for less then that.
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Itâs worth noting that 2009 Mac Minis are not even supported by Apple anymore and were cut out from macOS updates a long time ago. I think the most recent version you can install is 10.7, and macOS is currently in 10.12.
@DebbieFL is using a 2010 core2duo and it is too slow to transcode video for web playback. See Hardware Suggestions and Reviews
The Intel Quick Sync came out with Sandy Bridge in 2011, if you want the hardware transcoding thatâs the minimum i would start ( and its gotten better every year). that would exclude âCore 2 Duoâ.
if someone is looking for cheap and tiny, i wouldnât go mac mini, but find a newer processor in a microITX or something like that and just load Ubuntu on it. that would still give you Plex and channels capability for those who want it.
I recently purchased a 2012 I5 Mini Mac on e-bay for $275 + shipping. I really wanted an I7 but, the price was about $270 to $300 more.
It runs the Channels DVR and a Plex Server with no problem. I havenât done much testing other than to turn it on and use the features. One unexpected thing is that the Plex server on the Mac Mini can play videos from my iMac.
I went with the 2012 because it is the last model than can be upgraded, i.e., replace the internal hard drive with an SSD. I have an external SSD (via USB 3) that I use to boot. I also, bumped the RAM to 16G. I use an external (USB 3) hard drive to record shows.
This fits well for me because I am 100% Apple. Be aware that the 2011 and earlier donât have USB 3. The 2011 do have Thunderbolt.
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I have an off topic question about Plex, which seems to come up on many of these DVR server hardware conversations. Not sure where to put it so I will start here.
Why are so many folks using a Plex server? My understanding is that Plex is useful when your smart tv devices didnât have the processing capability to decode complex streams. Plex does the heavy lifting and transcodes files into something the light weight front ends can handle. But arenât we at the point that many devices can handle the decoding natively without the need for Plex? The 4th Gen AppleTV needed for the Channels app can decode the large OTA MPEG2 streams so it has proven to have some capability here.
In my case I store movies and television shows on a network share and use Infuse Pro on my 4th gen Apple TVs to decode the files right on the AppleTV. Apps like Infuse Pro and MRMC provide the metadata to organize your files and a good job with all current video formats including HEVC so what is the advantage a Plex server brings to the mix? I want to make sure Iâm not missing a use case.
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Not to stray too far off topic, but I use Plex because it is one central place to store media that can be used across a whole range of devices, either at home or away. It automatically transcodes to format, resolution, and bit rate as needed. It keeps watched/unwatched status and metadata in sync at all times. Basically it âjust worksâ.
However, their DVR beta is still very âbetaââŚno live TV, no traditional grid EPG, etc. It amazes me how much further ahead the Channels guys are, because I assume Plex has a fair few more developers working on the DVR. Iâm not too optimistic about the Plex DVR to be honest, and I plan on using Channels when itâs available in the UK. And the ability to point Plex to the Channels DVR directory and play recordings on non-Apple devices is a great bonus.
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Another option besides a Mini is an Intel NUC with Linux installed. You can drop a Plex server and Channels DVR on there. There are lots of options to balance performance and price and the footprint is as good as a Mini.
See Intel NUC
Great combination, although the ram upgrade was probably not necessary for Channels DVRâŚ
stoli412, Thanks for the Plex feedback. I use a USB 3.0 drive plugged into my router to store my content and Infuse Pro on my AppleTV and iOS devices for viewing. Infuse Pro takes care of the metadata and watched/unwatched status and stores the data to my icloud account so all my devices are in sync. I donât need the transcoding because Infuse Pro can play all formats I use on any of my devices. I canât stream high bitrate files while away but Infuse does have an option to create a local copy of a file on a device so that is what I do when traveling.
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Iâve tried Infuse on my AppleTV. I really like that it plays all sound formats natively. I really wish Plex did that, but they insist on using Appleâs built-in video player. (And donât even get me started on how the AppleTV wonât do native frame rates for any app). 
Itâs even worse here in the UK where TV is 50Hz whilst most steaming services are 60Hz, let alone 24Hz for films.
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My kingdom for a new Apple TV that cares enough about video to allow for dynamic refresh rate changes
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Donât understand why Apple didnât setup the AppleTV, a device sold worldwide across multiple television standards, to support dynamic rate changes. I believe the Commodore Amigas supported flipping back and forth between 50Hz and 60Hz back in the 90s.
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I upgraded my 2014 Mac Mini to an SSD, but it was not an easy task. 
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