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Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini Q&A
Update Published November 13, 2018
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How do I connect an Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini to a television? Do they support both HDTV (1080p) and 4K televisions?
Quite easily. Unlike earlier Mac mini models, which require an adapter to connect to a television, all Aluminum Mac mini models are equipped with an HDMI port and can be easily connected to an HDTV via a traditional 19-pin "type A" HDMI connector.
Via HDMI, all Aluminum Mac mini models easily support at least one 1080p television (and the HDMI port supports at least 1920x1200 on a DVI display with an HDMI-to-DVI adapter as, well).
The previous generation "Late 2014" Mac mini and current "Late 2018" Mac mini models also can support a 4K or Ultra HD display/television at 3840x2160 at a 30 Hz refresh rate or 4096x2160 at a 24 Hz refresh rate via the HDMI port. The current "Late 2018" Mac mini models even can support a 5K (5120x2880) display at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt 3 and one 4K (4096x2160) at 60 Hz via HDMI 2.0 at the same time. Earlier Aluminum Mac mini models cannot support 4K/Ultra HD displays.
To adjust the size of the image on an HDTV, the Aluminum Mac mini models have a tweaked Displays control panel with an "Underscan" slider option.
Is the Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini capable of 1080p H.264 HD playback? What about 4K playback?
All Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini models are fully capable of supporting 1080p H.264 HD video playback.
The minimum officially supported Mac OS X system for H.264 HD playback at "1280x720 (720p) video at 24-30 frames per second" is a Power Macintosh G5/1.8 or an Intel-based Mac with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster processor, at least 256 MB of RAM, and at least a 64 MB video card.
For "1920x1080 (1080p) video at 24 frames per second" H.264 HD playback, Apple recommends a minimum Mac OS X system of a Power Macintosh G5/2.0 DP or an Intel-based Mac with a 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster processor, at least 512 MB of RAM, and at least a 128 MB video card. Obviously, the Aluminum Mac mini models all substantially exceed these requirements.
The majority of Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini models are not capable of 4K playback. Specifically, the silver colored "Mid-2010", "Mid-2011", and "Late 2012" Mac mini models cannot playback 4K video. The also silver colored "Late 2014" Mac mini models can playback 4K video, but only at 30 FPS.
Finally, the current dark "Space Gray" colored "Late 2018" Mac mini models -- the Mac mini "Core i3" 3.6 (Late 2018), "Core i5" 3.0 (Late 2018), and "Core i7" 3.2 (Late 2018) -- are capable of 4K video playback at 60 FPS.
Also see: Which polycarbonate Intel Mac mini models are capable of 720p and 1080p H.264 HD playback?
Do all the Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini models have an IR receiver? Do they support a remote? Is it possible to add remote support?
Although it is not commonly mentioned in technical documents, the silver-colored Aluminum "Unibody" Mac mini -- "Mid-2010", "Mid-2011", "Late 2012", and "Late 2014" models alike -- all have an IR receiver and support a remote. Third-party remotes can be configured to work with these models, too.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (Aluminum Remote)
The current dark "Space Gray" colored "Late 2018" Mac mini models -- the Mac mini "Core i3" 3.6 (Late 2018), "Core i5" 3.0 (Late 2018), and "Core i7" 3.2 (Late 2018) -- on the other hand, do not have an IR receiver.
However, it is possible to add a USB-based IR receiver and third-party software to use an Apple remote (or a third-party option) with the "Late 2018" Mac mini. A convenient option is to buy the Mira app and Manta Mini USB-equipped IR receiver from Twisted Melon.
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