Excluding the Netflix subscription, taking the sale price on the external hard drive, and assuming that you already have all your AV components and an iPhone or iPod touch, that comes to $1,530.

I was after a completely tricked-out Mac media center and that's what I built. I could throw together something nearly as functional for not a lot more than the price of the mini, however. For example, the Mac mini's 120GB internal hard drive is slow and it doesn't hold a ton of media, but if much of my media is stored and accessed on network drives, who cares? I could do without both the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid and Turbo.H264 HD if I were willing to use my existing TV connection and TiVo and convert media more slowly. Toast Titanium is helpful for many things but Handbrake, though slow on this Mac, is a capable ripper and converter. (Handbrake can also replace RipIt). RadioShift is another luxury if I'm willing to listen to radio live via iTunes or a Web browser. And, if I can stand using half-a-dozen remotes instead of just one, I could do without the Harmony 880.

Once I had the parts it took me the better part of a day to upgrade the mini and configure it as I've outlined. At the end of that day the mini functioned much as I'd planned. With iPhone in hand I was able to play music, videos, and podcasts; watch slideshows; access Hulu and Netflix; and purchase and rent iTunes content from the couch without much bother. With this setup I was confident that I could do without my DVD player, the receiver's radio, and much of the content currently offered by my satellite TV provider.

I have very little interest in televised sports so no loss to me on that front. But if you do follow sports, it's unlikely you'll want to toss out your cable box or satellite receiver. Live sports just isn't served very well via the Internet. The same is true of premiere movie channels such as HBO and Showtime. You can purchase--or rent, via Netflix--shows from these networks, but they're released sometimes a year or more after the season has concluded.