I currently follow option #1 for the most part. I shied away from using a mini due to the lack of software available to build a frontend or to play the vob files from the server. I currently use XLobby as the frontend. It is freeware and has worked wonderfully for me for the last 18 months. I then use TheaterTek 2.0 to show the movies. It also works very well. I use DVD Profiler to create the database that imports directly into XLobby. I can then select a movie at the touch of a button.