Video

First things first, you need to figure out how you plan on connecting your mini to your Television or Receiver. Depending on the year you purchased your Mac mini you will either have HDMI out (2011 & 2010), mini-DVI & DisplayPort out (2010 & 2009) or DVI out (all minis prior to 2009). Below you will see every possible input that your television/receiver could have. Depending on how you want to connect your mini to your TV the ways to do so and the cables required change, sometimes dramatically. Under each connection method you will find links for everything you need to connect your Mac to your Television. However, you may already have some of the cables, so please check to see what you have prior to purchasing anything. Additionally, the Mini-DVI to DVI adapter is listed for several solutions, but it was included with the Mac mini, so you do not need to purchase another one if you still have it.

HDMI: If you have one of the newer Mac minis, all you need to connect your computer to your television or receiver (with audio) is an HDMI cable.

HDMI Cable: Amazon

HDMI (using Mini-DVI): This solution is just as easy as using a DVI cable, except you are using an HDMI cable. While HDMI is capable of also carrying audio, it will NOT carry audio in this case, you will still need to hook up the audio using one of the methods from the Audio Input section.

DVI to HDMI Cable: Amazon
Mini-DVI to DVI: Amazon (Again, this should have been included with your Mac mini)

HDMI (using Displayport/Thunderbolt): If you have a Displayport/Thunderbolt connector, or if you would like to use this port instead of another port then you will require a separate adapter and a regular HDMI cable. You can also get audio from a Displayport/Thunderbolt connection but you need to make sure you use the right cable/adapter. The adapter I listed below will handle audio in addition to video.

HDMI Cable: Amazon

Displayport to HDMI Adapter (with Audio): Amazon

DVI (using Mini-DVI/DVI): If you have an older Mac mini with a full size DVI port on the back, all you need is a DVI cable. If you have one of the Mac minis with mini-DVI then you still only need a DVI cable but also need to use the mini-DVI to DVI adapter which was included.

DVI Cable: Amazon
Mini-DVI to DVI: Amazon

DVI (using Displayport/Thunderbolt): If your television has a DVI input you can use your Displayport/Thunderbolt port to connect to it, if you would like to use this port then you will require a separate adapter and a regular DVI cable. You will NOT be able to pass audio to your television/receiver with this solution so you will still need to hook up the audio using one of the methods from the Audio Input section.

DVI Cable: Amazon
Displayport to DVI Adapter: Amazon

VGA (using HDMI): If you are using VGA to connect your Media Center, that most likely means you are using a computer monitor to view your media or you have an older TV (or just an interesting one).

HDMI to VGA Cable: Amazon

VGA (using Mini-DVI/DVI): If you are using an older model Mac mini and want to send your video source to a VGA display you will need to use an adapter and a VGA cable.

VGA Cable: Amazon
Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter: Amazon
DVI to VGA Adapter: Amazon (Late model only, and it should have been included with the computer.)

Component: I previously listed an option on how to connect your Mac mini to your television/receiver through a convoluted process that involved a converter box, VGA cables and then component cables. However, I can no longer recommend that anyone use this method. Not only is it very expensive (should it even work), but with so many other inputs available these days, you can most likely use one of these other options listed here.

Composite & S-Video: This is by far the worst way to connect your Mac mini to your television. And if you are attempting to do so with this method, I’m going to assume you have one of the older Mac minis. In order to connect to either of these inputs you will need a special Apple adapter and either (but not both) a Composite cable (the Yellow input) or S-Video cable (with the holes). If you have a choice between the two, S-Video will provide you with better quality. However, these are the lowest quality solutions and will not output high resolution video. Only use these inputs if you really have no other choice.

Apple Mini-DVI to Video Adapter: Amazon
Composite Audio & Video Cable: Amazon
S-Video Cable: Amazon

Just as a note, the links above will direct you to Amazon.com. The cables I picked are very inexpensive in comparison to what you would find at your local electronic store. Buying online will ALWAYS save you money. Some people prefer to spend their money on expensive cables which do the same thing as these, and that is fine with me, I’m just merely providing you with one place to get them and they have my stamp of approval. Here is an interesting infographic that details why you shouldn’t purchase expensive cables (Source).