Through the week, visitors to our forums have asked, "Yeah, but how does it look and sound? Will it match what my AV components now provide?"

It depends.

To me, the quality of DVDs and audio from a Mac mini is no better or worse than what you get from typical AV components. If you've got a standalone DVD player with remarkable upscaling capabilities, one that plays multiple discs, or are concerned about region coding (you play lots of DVDs from other countries and don't want a DVD player that locks after five region switches), you'll want to stick with that DVD player. Otherwise, the mini plays DVDs just fine. The mini supports 5.1 surround sound with the correct digital audio cable, so you're covered there too.

Video is another matter. To begin with, there's every likelihood that your mini will either over-fill the bounds of your HDTV's screen (meaning the menu bar will be cut off at the top) or under-fill it if you turn on the Overscan option in the Displays system preference. I'm fine with the black border that appears around the Mac's screen with Overscan on. You may not be.

Streaming video doesn't look as good as video coming from a cable TV box, satellite receiver, or OTA antenna. If your eyes explode when forced to watch video with obvious artifacts and occasional stutters, the Mac mini as media center may not appeal to you. On the other hand, that streaming content is free (or nearly so with a $9 a month Netflix subscription). And free is good, particularly when compared to a cable or satellite bill that runs nearly $100 a month.