4K HDR support means the Mac mini M2 Pro might be ideal for your home theater

Albeit for a lot more money than an Apple TV

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WhenAppleannounced the newMac mini (M2), one of the interesting tidbits was that its HDMI port has been upgraded, although only if you get the version with the M2 Pro chip.

Support for4Kat 120Hz natively, or 4K at 240Hz using Display Stream Compression (DSC) tech, are now available in that model, and both are nice – but what really made me sit up and take notice is that 4KHDRis now supported, for the first time.

We’re only talking HDR10 right now (the most ‘basic’ and common form), but that’s still a major step up over the ‘noHDRat all’ we previously had. Apple does support the more advancedDolby Vision HDRformat in macOS (the mini-LED screen on its Pro laptops takes full advantage of it, as we discuss in ourMacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) review), but not over the HDMI port currently.

But still, with HDCP 2.2 on board to support this, it immediately raises the question of using the Mac mini M2 Pro as a HTPC (home theater PC) connected to one of thebest TVs. HTPCs used to be a notable thing, but have fallen away more recently given the rise of thebest streaming devices, which could do most of the same features for a lot less money.

But HTPCs still have their uses (and their fans). You can watch video from literally anywhere that can serve video to a web browser, after all – not just services supported by the device. You can also play any digital movie files you have, no matter their format, or connect to any kind of streaming server (or create one powered by the Mac mini, of course).

And because it’s the M2 Pro version, you get a beastly amount of power for anything else you want to do with it – including entertainment. As ever, Macs are not generally the first port of call for games, but there’s still a huge number of releases, new and old (especially strategy games), and you can be sure that anything you throw at it will run great on the 19-core GPU.

And it can be ideal for music fans as well – plug the Mac mini into a greatAV receiverwith serious speakers connected to it and you could play a Hi-Res Audio music collection at excellent quality.

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The downsides

There are some issues with using the Mac mini M2 Pro as a HTPC. The first is the lack ofDolby Atmosoutput from the HDMI port – multi-channel audio is supported, but not in the Atmos format, so you can effectively get surround sound, but not the full 3D object-based audio effect with one of thebest Dolby Atmos soundbars.

Again, Atmos is supported in macOS, and you get Atmos Spatial Audio from the speakers on theiMac 24-inch (2021)or when watching something and usingAirPods Pro 2– but Atmos won’t be output over the HDMI.

And then there’s the price. $1,299 / £1,399 / AU$1,999 isquitea lot for a HTPC. You can get the latestApple TV 4K (2022)for nearly 90% cheaper than that, leaving you with enough money to buy aPlayStation 5andanXbox Series Xfor that gaming hit. And then you’d have Dolby Vision and Atmos support, too.

But you wouldn’t have the flexibility. I’m not saying people should rush out to buy the new Mac mini as an alternative way to watch thebest streaming services; I’m just saying that for a certain class of home theater nerd (me – I mean: me), it just became one of the more interesting devices around.

You can read our fullMac mini (2023) reviewfor more on the machine – and yes, we got to test the M2 Pro version.

Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he’s in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It’s a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he’s also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He’s always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he’s explaining the offside rule.

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