Roundup of interfaces to make your Mac Mini into a better AppleTV

So with all this talk about the AppleTV, it's easy to forget that a Mac Mini isn't much larger and doesn't cost much more. And it's a complete computer. So sure, you could spend your time hacking the AppleTV to add support for extra video codecs, Joost, and external hard drives. Or, as Ars Technica points out, you could just make your Mac Mini into your Home Theater PC.

Ars takes a look at various software that can handle video, movies, music, and photos. All Macs ship with Front Row these days, but it has limited file support out of the box. So the article also explores Xhub, Media Central, iTheater, Center Stage, and MythTV as alternatives.

It's important to keep in mind that most of these solutions do not include PVR functionality out of the box. That's partly because the Mac Mini doesn't come with a TV tuner. You can pick up an external tuner and slap on some EyeTV software, but it might not integrate perfectly with your HTPC software of choice.