ITunes on multiple Macs, sharing same library via network

I have 2 Minis, each in a different part of the house. All music is stored on one drive and the library is shared. Is there a way to start playing music from one Mac's iTunes (say downstairs) and have the other Mac's iTunes recognize that music is playing and show that in sync with the other Mac?
And have that same music playing through speakers attached to both Macs and the AirTunes speakers too?
Or am I really experiencing some serious wishful thinking?
I know, I can always share the other Mac's screen to see what is playing and control iTunes remotely, but what I'm really after is getting the same music to stream from the first Mac to the 2nd Mac's attached speakers (and yes I have AE with AirTunes, but that is plugged in next to the stereo in the basement).

I believe that there is a program called Air Foil that will do what you want. I heard about it on a podcast--I'm pretty sure that it was Air Foil. It doesn't really sync the libraries, but it does allow the music to play through both computer's speakers at the same time.
Use Air Foil in conjunction with their free "Air Foil Speakers" program.
http://rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/

Similar Messages

Time machine multiple macs sharing one HD via Wifi

I need help with time machine app.
I would like to use one external hd for multiple macs to backup with time machine.
I read about different method, the one that I think is better for me is to sharing the HD on a network.
I have one Imac and two macbook.
What I did is to connect the HD to the Imac and than I shared the HD volume with sharing files.
I create two accounts for the macbooks and then I connected them.
So far so good.
But I din't use this network configuartion for the first backup, what I did instead was to connects the different computers one by one with thunderbolt.
Now I had to change the destination dirve from the old HD (connected via thunderbolt) and the "new" shared HD - actually is the same drive!
I thought that the macbook time machine app just recognize the last backup and just makes a new one from that point.
But it seems doing a new backup. (Last backup: none)
It creates a new file Macbook of Alessandro.sparsebundle
Any tips?
thanks in advance
Alessandro

Start with B 5/6.
Time Machine Troubleshooting

Multiple users on multiple macs sharing iPhoto Library

How can different family members (using personal logins) all access the same iPhoto library, regardless of which of our two iMacs they happen to be logged into?
I thought the solution would be as simple as:
Plug an external hard drive into the Airport Time Capsule.
Copy our iPhoto library onto the external hard drive.
Log in as each user, open iPhoto and point to the iPhoto library on the external hard drive.
I've searched the support forums and can't find a successful example of this. Does it work? If not, is there another elegant solution?
I'd also be interested in how to back up the 'networked' iPhoto library. I plan to use iPhoto's "publish to Flickr" capability for this as it also solves how to share photos with our family's many iOS devices.
Ps. I'm new to the Mac environment so am still learning my way with OSX (be gentle please).
Equipment
x2 iMacs (<12 months old) running the latest OSX and iPhoto software versions
2TB Airport Time Capsule (brand new) with a 1TB USB external hard drive plugged-in (not sure of the formatting).

How can different family members (using personal logins) all access the same iPhoto library, regardless of which of our two iMacs they happen to be logged into?
I thought the solution would be as simple as:
Plug an external hard drive into the Airport Time Capsule.
Copy our iPhoto library onto the external hard drive.
Log in as each user, open iPhoto and point to the iPhoto library on the external hard drive.
This cannot work, unfortunately, for several reasons:
iPhoto is strictly a single user database. Only one user at a time can open it.
An iPhoto library needs to be on a locally mounted volume. It cannot be on a network share.
The file system of the drive needs to be MacOS Extended (Journaled).
Apple's only recommendation to share an iPhoto library is this: iPhoto: Sharing libraries among multiple users
If you want to share photos and not the library, see this: iCloud: iCloud Photo Sharing FAQ
Trying to put the iPhoto or Aperture library on a network volume, will result in library corruption or data loss:
Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library

Playing iTunes accross multiple macs

I have an iMac and Mac book, both with airport cards installed. Both are connected and browsing the web via Express, and I can see shared folders between them. However, I want to be able to play iTunes on my iBook via it, the iMac and my stereo, but dont have the iMac as an option. I have Computer and Multiple Speakers, but this plays via the iBook and stereo only. Can I set-up so that the iMac can be an iTunes option ?

Hi.
Just to clarify, I understand it that you want to play music stored on your iMac on your MacBook.
In order to do so, you need to turn on the sharing prefs in iTunes.
iTunes -> preferences -> sharing -> check both options. This will let your MacBook see your iMac's library and vice versa.
However if you want to play the same music from all three (iMac, MacBook and speakers connect through iTunes) at the same time, then this isn't really an option. You can set one computer to play iTunes through more than one set of speakers connected to an airport express e.g. if you have three expresses all connected to three different speaker systems (the multiple speaker thing). However, as far as I know, the only way to play music stored on one mac on another mac, is the way I have described above.

Sharing iPhoto library over network between two Macs

I would like to edit/create albums via sharing.
I can easily share photos between my two Macs via sharing, but I can't move photos between albums, can't create new albums, etc. (I would like to be able to use my laptop in our home network to modify the albums on the PowerMac in the basement.)
I don't want to move files from one computer to another; via sharing, I essentially want to be able to modify the host library's albums. I don't want to edit the photos as much as I want to move them. Is this possible?

Hi there,
There are two ways that I have tried to share a Library. The first method was to delete the empty library on my laptop and start iPhoto. The application could not find the library and asked me where it was. I linked it to the library on the other computer over the network. This method works but can be very slow when editing or scrolling (especially when using AirPort). It is also safer to only have one iPhoto accessing one library at a time.
The other way that I have been able to relibaly access and edit an iPhoto library on another mac was by using Virtual Network Computing (VNC). Essentially it provides the user the ability to see and controll another computer on the network from their machine. It does work and is alot faster than the first method but the downsides are that the host computer cannot be used at the same time and VNC software does not resize the desktop when, for example, accessing a 20" screen from a 12" laptop. This means that you have to resize the iPhoto window to fit on the smaller screen.
For the host computer (server) I used Real VNC and for the network client I used Chicken of the VNC.
The software works well and is usefull to access emails on the computer in the office from the living room. I have to say that I have stopped using these methods as they both tend to hogg the network and other users in the family are stuck for long periods of time trying to load a web page.
Hope this helps,
Dan
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Podcast synching on multiple macs with same account

How do I get my podcasts to synch on multiple macs and therefore ipods with same itunes authorized account, ie the subscriptions I have on home computer don't show up on my work itunes account and therefore when I'ved watched flying one way, when I land I want to load the next set of episodes, but find the need to create entirely new subscriptions?
Thanks
george

I was able to resolve the problem using addMessageCountListener and messagesAdded method, as suggested by you.
I am now facing another problem. Whenever a new message is received, code inside messagesAdded method gets executed. Here I am trying to spawn another thread and do some stuff. But this new thread is not starting at all. It goes into some JavaMail:EventQueue and does nothing. What is the concept of EventQueue here? How can I get this new thread executed?
Also will there be synchronization problems in messagesAdded method. Say I received a message and I am processing it in the messagesAdded method. In the mean time another message comes up. How will this behave.

Using iTunes with multiple macs

I have a MacBook Pro and a Mac mini. I use a portable hard drive to store my iTunes library. I was able to use the same library for both Macs before and I'm not sure when (maybe before iTunes 8) but I'm not able to anymore. I can run it just fine in my MBP and when I open the library up on the mini, nothing's there. I make sure I hold down Option when opening iTunes then I click choose library and go to my external hard drive and select the right library. I also have an iPhone with 2.1 installed, not that that should matter. Any suggestions?

I am currently storing my iTunes Library on a external hard drive attached to my MacMini (10.5.4). I have my iMac 3.06(10.5.5) and my MacMini linked to that library. I just tried this so not 100% percent sure all the bugs are out, but it looks like it's going to work. I tired it with one artist that I have purchased music and imported music for. The only problem I have now is how to keep them up-to-date. If I import on one machine I also have to import on the other. Not sure if this helps but it sounds like you are already doing what I am doing. NOTE: I am also using iTunes 8. How did you keep them up-to-date when buying or import new music. If anyone know please let me know. Thanks

Multiple Macs using same Apple ID for iTunes

I have two macs, and I've been trying to download itunes purchased content onto one that I purchased on the other. I'm using the same Apple ID for iTunes access on both, but now it won't let me download, giving me that infuriating message about only being able to associate a device with one Apple ID over a three month period. I've neved used any other Apple ID for this, so I'm very confused about what could be happening. Only started after "upgrading" to iOS5 and iCloud.

iTunes Match is associated with only one Apple ID and cannot be shared across Apple IDs. For your wife to make use of iTunes Match and see the music in the cloud she must login to your Apple ID on the iTunes Store and she will have to stay logged in. This may cause difficulty when updating apps purchased with her Apple ID.
Also keep in mind that a computer can only be associated with one Apple ID for iTunes Match, automatic downloads and re-downloading of content once every 90 days: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4627.

Can iTunes on Windows partition use same library as Mac partition?

Now that the Windows partition on my Mac Pro can recognize the Mac formatted drives in my system, can I use the same iTunes library on Windows that I use on Snow Leopard? I tried changing the path in the advanced tab of the preferences window, but that didn't seem to do it. Is this doable? If so, how?
My iTunes library is on an internal non-system drive. Thanks.

Do you understand the difference between the itunes library database and the itunes library content ?
This iLounge article has the best explanation I've seen. No need to read thr whole thing; what I'm directing you to is the paragraph
*iTunes: The Database versus the Content*
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/
You should be able to use the Mac's itunes database file. On a Mac, that file has no windows file extension. Make a backup of it before doing anything else.
On your Mac, rename it to have an ITL file extension.
iTunes Library.itl
That way itunes windows will be able to read it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1660
I think if you rename it on the Mac side, to have that itl file extension, the Mac will be smart enough to know how to use it.
When I moved my ITL file from a PC to a Mac, I had to tell Mac to open ITL using itunes.
You might need to use an option-start of itunes after renaming it.

Sharing iOS updates between multiple Macs on same home network

Good morning -
Does anyone know if it it's possible to share the iOS update file from one Mac to another? I downloaded iOS 4.3.1 for my iPhone 4 this morning, but if I can avoid having to download it all over again on my wife's Mac for her iPhone, that would be great! If the file is in the Finder somewhere, I would think I could move it over using File Sharing...
Thanks for any help!

there is no problem doing that on a windows machine on a windows machine you just press shift and restore in itunes and point to the downlloaded firmware file

IPhoto not properly sharing same library between different accounts

I have my iPhoto library installed on a 4GB thunderbird external hard drive, brand LaCie in case that matters. I made sure to select the drive and adjust the permissions as recommended in the Apple tech support article - basically you have to select the option to "ignore ownership on this drive" which I did. I also made sure to indicate that both user accounts could read and write to this drive.
Now, I'm trying to make it so that my wife and I, who each have our own accounts on the same iMac, can share the same iPhoto library and import to the same iPhoto library. The problems seem to be occurring mostly on my wife's side. These are as follows:
1) Many times when she loads up iPhoto, it starts off with the default iPhoto library in her directory and we have to keep manually selecting the iPhoto library on the external hard drive.
2) Some of the pictures in the library viewed through her account have wrong thumbnails - that is to say, pictures within a given event show one set of thumbnails but when clicking you get completely different pictures. The same problem is not seen with the same pictures viewed in my account.
3) When syncing iOS devices through her account, iTunes sometimes fails to see the correct iPhoto library, requiring us to again go into iPhoto and select the correct library on the external hard drive.
I would really appreciate some feedback as to how to fix these problems. I thought I did everything correctly but placing the library file on a shared external hard drive and fixing the permissions, but still this problem is ongoing. How can I get iPhoto to only use the library on the external HD as default in her account as well as mine? And how to fix the thumbnail problem?

I would trash the cache and the plist files in the affected account.
The cache file is here
/Users/Your Name/Library/Containers/com.apple.iPhoto/Data/Library/Caches
Try trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder.
(On 10.7 or later: Hold the option (or alt) key while clicking on the Go menu in Finder to access the User Library)
(Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
What's the plist file?
For new users: Every application on your Mac has an accompanying plist file. It records certain User choices. For instance, in your favourite Word Processor it remembers your choice of Default Font, on your Web Browser is remembers things like your choice of Home Page. It even recalls what windows you had open last if your app allows you to pick up from where you left off last. The iPhoto plist file remembers things like the location of the Library, your choice of background colour, whether you are running a Referenced or Managed Library, what preferences you have for autosplitting events and so on. Trashing the plist file forces the app to generate a new one on the next launch, and this restores things to the Factory Defaults. Hence, if you've changed any of these things you'll need to reset them. If you haven't, then no bother. Trashing the plist file is Mac troubleshooting 101.

Quick Q: multiple users sharing one library - which pref's to check ...

I recently picked up a new Mac ... it had been a long time since I set up the accounts to all users could share the same itunes library. Now, I have the library in a central location, all users have THEIR OWN playlists, and all are accessing the music fine. Question I have is whether to check "Keep iTunes ƒ Organized" and "Copy Files to iTunes ƒ ... ." The "main" user has both checked. The other users only have Copy Files to iTunes ƒ ..." checked. Is this correct?
Reason I ask is iTunes seems to be doing a lot of copying / dealing with album artwork after doing an "Add to library" update.
Thanks in advance.

i use my files from a central hard drive and I don't check keep copies because I don't want it, needs it, require it...it wastes lots of hard drive space.

Two users sharing same library AGAIN!

Hello everybody,
we have different accounts on one i Mac and shared ONE Itunes library so far but after installation of ITunes 9, this does not work anymore. On Iphoto we worked around the problem by creating a virtual drive on which the library is located, but I´m afraid this does not work with Itunes. Any Ideas?

I checked the Aperture license agreement and the word "library" is not mentioned in the agreement so that shouldn't be the problem. Have you called Apple Technical Support to discuss? Have you provided feedback to Apple as this would seem to be a bug, not an intentional limitation? http://www.apple.com/feedback/aperture.html
Just a shot in the dark but I wonder if you will have success if you both use an identical /home/library/preferences/com.apple.Aperture.plist file. The database changed in Aperture 3 from Aperture 2 and it may be that the database is now storing more information about the system than before. Sorry I can't debug as I only have one Aperture licence serial number.

Purchasing from iTunes on Multiple Macs

Hello:
I have two Macs, right now our iTunes library is on our iMac. Is it possible to purchase, say, on our PowerBook but have the file download to our iMac? I of course enable sharing, but doesn't really do anything for purchases, thanks!

Purchases will download to that computer that is used for buying.
After the dl has finished, you may burn them either to a DATA CD/DVD or use any kind of external storage or network to transfer those tracks to your 2nd Mac.

Sync iTunes Between Multiple Macs?

I have a 3 Mac network. Is it possible to have iTunes on one machine running a playlist, and the other computers playing the exact same music that is playing on the main machine? I would like to walk from room to room and hear the same music at each machine? How do I do this?
Kevin Hawkins

If you have a main library with all of your music you could simply share the music and then stream it across the network to the other macs.
L

ITunes on multiple Macs, sharing same library via network

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for