Mac Mini As A Movie & Music Server

I am interested in getting a Mac Mini to be used as a dedicated Movie/Music server for the AppleTV 2.
I intend was it is all set up to just leave it on 24/7 while connected to an external drive.
If anybody has done this yet that could give me some tips or snags to avoid that would be great, or if you have good links for going this route that would be good also.
I was wondering how much processor and ram is actually needed for this use, is the basic mini mac set up good enough or is increasing ram or processing power really going to help?
What external drive is recommended?
I would assume one that goes to sleep when not in use but will wake up on its own when needed would be nice. If there is a standard rack mountable external drive, one that can easily have room for adding more drives to for future expansion maybe.
Also I see the Mac mini has 4 USB ports and 1 firewire. Is the USB ports fast enough for streaming multiple videos at once, or would the fire wire ports faster transfer rate help?

try this site if you are in to hi-res (24 bit) music -
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Apple-Mac-Mini

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Using Mac Mini as a home music server

Hi,
I own an unused 2009 Mac Mini and some 800G of music (in Apple Lossless format). I was thinking of upgrading Mac Mini's internal HD to 1TB, download my Music into the Mac Mini and wire it to one of our 2 Hi-Fi sound systems.
As we also own a SONOS system, the music could then be played wirelessly into different locations within our house, including another Hi-Fi sound system.
The other pieces of hardware we own are :
- One 2010 Mac Book Pro w. Mountain Lion (350 G / 8 G of RAM)
- One 2011 Apple TV
- One Ipad 2 (64 G)
- Two Iphones 4S (16 G)
- 3 other Ipods
Of course, we would like the music to be available from all these devices as well, especially to be able to manage our Iphones/Ipods from our MacBook Pro (where agenda, contacts, pictures... resides under two different profiles - and two Itunes/appstore accounts)
I am asking here in order to validate :
Q1 - Is that this is a workable architecture, or I am mistaken in this design ?
Q1.1 - Would it be more efficient to put the music library on an extarnal drive lwired to the Router and access it from all devices ?
Q1.2 - Will access from the other devices will be best acheived by granting read/write privileges to the users on the Mac Pro on the Mac Mini (so Mac Pro Itune can point directly to the remote library), or by sharing the music library via music sharing ?
Q2 - would I need a special server OS on the Mac Mini ?
Here is a schema.
Many thanks for your input.

iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music: Copy the whole iTunes folder and all its subfolders and files intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
If your whole iTunes folder + library files is already on the external, simply start the other computer's iTunes with the option key held down after the drive has mounted.

Mac Mini as 600 cd Music Server - up to the task??

I have two 400 disc cd-changers that I am endeavering to replace with a Mac Mini. My wife bought me (bless her soul!) a 60gb core duo mini for Christmas. We have an iMac in our office and love the convenience of using Front Row with our 200+ iTune songs. We love it so much that we'd like to have the same convenience of perusing our cd collection in our living room - plus it would mean getting rid of two behemoth-sized CD-changers.
My Question:
Is the mini and Front Row up to the task? I want to use the mini exclusively for music. Any problems with feeding nearly 600 cds into the drive of the mini? I plan on ripping nearly all CD's using Apple lossless encoding (I'm an audio geek). ..I know that I will have to buy an outboard hard-drive (probably a 500GB LaCie).
Secondly, any good recommendations for a cheap monitor? Since I will only be using this to select music, create playlists, etc.. it need not be top tier in terms of resolution, etc.. That said, I would like it to be flat and slim so as to fit on the table next to our stereo system.
Many thanks to all readers/ responders!

Firstly, thank you all responders. ..Your input was indeed considered.
Well, I did exactly as I endeavored and turned my new Mac mini into a music server. So far so good. A few comments regarding the process:
Expanded capacity: I purchased a LaCie 250GB and directed iTunes to store all music on it. It works flawlessly. My concerns that Front Row would function sluggishly due to using an outboard drive and due to the sheer size of the library were unfounded. So far, I have not had a single mishap.
Monitor: Though I would have preferred something in the 6-10" range, the smallest I could find was a 15" Envision for $79 (after $120 mail in rebate). Though a bit ostentatious for my modest digs, it works great.
Outboard CD-Rom/ DVD Drive: Acting on the advice of an employee at an Apple store, I elected to use an outboard CD-Rom drive rather than extract the 600 cds using the integrated drive on the Mac Mini. For $70, it seemed like a good idea. ..Easier to replace an outboard drive, than have to ship the Mini back for service.
One small problem encountered: After hooking the whole thing up and playing a few tracks back, I noticed that if I held my ear close to my speakers (Vandersteen 3A Sig), I could hear a faint hum from the tweeter. Dang, a ground loop. ..Thankfully, a $15 ground loop filter from Radio Shack took care of the problem without any harmful affects on the sound.
For >$1000, I now have a very cool music server that I expect to have great fun playing with. ..Good luck to any who might do the same.
IMAC (early 2006) Mac OS X (10.4.4) 1.5 G Ram

Using a Mac Mini as a File/Media server with different accounts

I recently bought a new iMac and decided to use my G4 Mac Mini as a media/file server and backup server.
One of the decisions I can't figure out is how to organize all of my files and user accounts. I especially would like to be able to access them from either my iMac or my Powerbook. Also, I'd like to be able to use the iMac as the main iPhoto and iTunes machine.
So here's my ideal situation:
On the Mini create a user account for each media/user type: Music, Movies, Photos, Backup and then on the other Macs automount each user.
But I can't because once you connect to a mount via Finder you always connect via the same user. (is there a way around that?)
So I guess I can do it all under one user account, but then all of my configurations require subfolders which I was trying to avoid. It also means that if I give my kids access to one set of media, they get access to all.
Is there any way to create a more segmented Media Server? Is there any reason to or am I just making this too complicated?
Thanks
Cabal
iMac; Mac Mini;Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.5)

One more important detail. I have external HDs connected to the mini as well. While testing the single user method, I realized I couldn't mount those external HDs. Could be because I set the media user to a Standard User. But I still find that odd.
One way I did find to solve my ideal situation is to use Windows File Sharing instead of Personal File Sharing. By editing the smb.conf file I can share specific directories under specific users.
But surely the best way to network on a Mac is not using Samba is it?
Cabal

I want to install XP Pro SP2 on a Mac Mini from a 2003 RIS server.

I want to install XP Pro SP2 on a Mac Mini from a 2003 RIS server. Is this possiIble? How is it done?
The mac has 10.5 which has bootcamp to enable Windows install. I have created a partition but the bootcamp utility asks for a CD. I want to install a RIS build. The Mac has a option for network boot but this seems to only work with Mac Server. I assume the network adapter is not PXE compatible and so a boot disk of some kind will be needed to kick this off?.

Hallo, I installed the program as you said. Everything ok.
When i have to give my serialnummer, it is not accepted. Code is not valid he said
1160-4008-7475-7547-5706-0812
Op 21-sep.-2014, om 17:44 heeft Rikk Flohr <[email protected]> het volgende geschreven:
Hi, I want to install my lightroom version on a new mac pro. How do i get started. Can't find it on this site. Thx
created by Rikk Flohr in Photoshop Lightroom - View the full discussion
www.adobe.com
Hit the Download link at the bottom the page.
Hit Lightroom
Hit Free Trial
When you are done downloading, launch, and enter your serial number from your previous installation.
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Sharing iTunes with a Mac Mini OS X Mountain Lion Server

I'm adding a Mac Mini OS X Mountain Lion Server to my home network. What options do I have to inetgrate iTunes into the server? Currently my master iTunes library is housed on a RAID on a Mac Pro, home sharing is on, and it interfaces over the network just fine into Apple TV (3rd gen). For instance, with Server can all devices on the network have access to that library? Could the library stream to the Apple TV in the living room, an iMac in the office, an iPhone in another room all simultaenously? Also, can any Server member order iTunes Store content and cause it it to be placed into the master library on the Ser

Maybe this discussion will interest you?
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3097703

Mac mini wont connect to exchange server

i cannot connect my mac mini to my office exchange server. i was able to connect my ipad and iphone, but cannot figure out how to connect the mac mini using the same techniques. i unchecked autodiscover and still no luck

Hmm, the fact that that link didn't work may be thekey, here's that page anyway...
By Erik Eckel
October 25, 2011, 6:00 AM PDT
Takeaway: Erik Eckel addresses a common problem — trying to get Lion Mail connected to Exchange servers. Here are some tips for how to do it.
Many technology professionals become frustrated when connecting Macs to Exchange servers. The frustration typically results from a misunderstanding of Microsoft Exchange technologies. Here’s what Lion users and administrators should know.
Exchange Web Services is the key
When connecting a Mac OS X Lion system, the email server should be running Exchange 2007 or 2010. Microsoft Exchange 2003 does not leverage the newer Exchange Web Services (EWS) introduced with the 2007 platform. iPhones and iPads leverage ActiveSync technology, which is one of the reasons those mobile devices typically work with Exchange 2003 servers.
While there are workarounds for connecting Lion systems to Exchange 2003 servers, including leveraging POP3, IMAP or browser-based OWA technologies, those solutions are less secure and support fewer capabilities. Anyone considering such options should remember that Microsoftsuspended mainstream support for Microsoft Exchange 2003 in April 2009. Organizations still dependent upon Exchange 2003 infrastructure should already be planning if not implementing their Exchange 2010 migrations.
Connecting Lion Mail
Assuming an SSL certificate is installed, DNS A and MX records are properly configured, and the organization’s firewall passes the appropriate traffic, you can follow these steps to connect Mac OS X Lion’s Mail application to an Exchange 2007/2010 server:
Open Mail.
Click File and select Add Account.
Specify the user’s name in the Full Name field. Enter the email address and type the password associated with the user’s Windows/Exchange user account, then click the Continue button. Mail will search for the associated email server; users may have to click Connect if Mail reports it cannot verify the identity of the email server.
When the Incoming Mail Server screen appears, select Exchange from the Account Type drop down menu.
Within the Incoming Mail Server field, specify the email server, providing again the user name and password.
Check the Contacts and Calendars boxes if you wish also to synchronize those items, then click Continue.
If SSL is to be used, check the Use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) box on the Incoming Mail Security screen and then click Continue.
An Account Summary will appear. Review the information entered to ensure accuracy, then click Create.
Connecting Outlook 2011
Microsoft Outlook 2011 users can configure the application to connect to properly configured Exchange servers by following these steps:
Open Outlook 2011.
Click Tools and select Accounts. If an account already exists, click the + icon and select Exchange. Otherwise, click Exchange Account from the Add an Account screen.
Enter the email address within the E-mail address field, then specify the authentication method. The most common method is likely the default user name and password configuration. Once you supply the requisite information, click the Add Account button (note Outlook selects the Configure automatically box by default).
If Outlook is unable to automatically configure the account, you will need to specify the server address, then click Add Account.
The Accounts screen will then appear. If additional settings must be configured, click the Advanced button. From the Server tab, you can override and update ports and change the server address, among other options. The Delegates and Security tabs, meanwhile, enable configuring delegate users, digital signing, and encryption certificates.

OSX LION SERVER on Mac Mini for a home media server?

Would a Mac Mini with Mac OS X Lion Server be a good alternative for a home multi media movie server?
Has anyone done this?
If so please give advice or success stories vs. HP Home Media Smart Server (i added a link to the HP server)
http://www.hp.com/canada/products/landing/mediasmart/ex.html
I would really rather use a Mac product but not sure what Apple offers and if it will do the same or better than the HP Media Smart Server.
Again, any advice would be great.
Cheers,

It would make a great server. Bonus over Apple TV for example is that you have access via both wired ethernet and wireless. Plus if you load tools from XBMC, Firecore and others you have a significant media server. Cost is right too.
Many people are doing this - google mac mini media server or other for more info.
Total downside to any windows based system - dealing with constant anti-virus, major security hassels, lack of true media integration and PITA to update, etc.
You should be aware that Lion Server is not ready for prime time - it stil has significant issues if you are migrating from SNL 10.6.8. If you buy an apple fresh Lion Server mac mini you should have no problems.
You'll probably be pleased.

Mac Mini I-7 2.0 (server edition) won't work with Dell 2709W monitor via HDMI

I just got a Mac Mini I7 quad 2.0. It's the server edition with an HDMI port. I plug my Dell 2709W monitor in and it continously flickers on and off and shows a green screen and the desktop for short intervals. Can anyone help with this issue.

Does the monitor work OK when connected to another HDMI output device?
Does the Mini HDMI output work OK when connected to another HDMI device?
You have selected the HDMI input on the monitor, right?

Performance on a 2011 Mac Mini: Mountain Lion Vs. Lion Server

I have a 2011 Mac Mini running 10.7 server (i7, 8Gb RAB, Dual 500 GB 7200 rpm drives). I use the Mini exclusively as a DAW and am running Logic Express 9 with Native Instrument and Toontrack VST's. I also use a Presonus Firewire mixer.
I am planning my upgrade to 10.8 while I wait for all my VST's to become fully compatible (with 10.8), I wanted know if Mountain Lion will bring significant performance improvements or if am I better off staying with 10.7 Server ?

Let me ask the question again, why are you planning to upgrade to 10.8? What does 10.8 do that 10.7 does not?
Honestly, the first prinicple of a working computer is - if it is stable and you are productive with it, don't change it unless you know why the change is required.
If 10.8 does something that you really need, jump on it. But, before you do, make a full working clone of your 10.7 system disk. This is your insurance if things go south in the upgrade process or your programs are not fully compatible. You can get back to your working system in an hour or so.
Good luck,
x

External hard Drive Invisible on Mac Mini used as a file server

We're using a Mac Mini as our small office file server. There are multiple external Hard drives connected. All of the drives show up and are accessable on the networked computers but on the Mini itself, some are only accessable through Disk Utility. The inaccesable drives are not on the desktop nor in the sidebar in Finder. Some drives show up on the desktop and finder. The Finder preferences to display external drives on the desktop is checked. I have tried using sudo chflags commands to make the drives visible. Nothing has worked. The only place they show up on the Mini they are physically connected to is in Disk Utility.

I thought it was only on my Mini but guess others have the same issues too! Sometimes the share would be invisible on the user's computer's desktop but still accessible on the Shared sidebar. Would run the sudo chflags on the user's computer and would appear on the desktop again for everyone. Lately, it's happening on the server itself after a reboot. The volumes would be invisible even on /Volumes but sudo chflags works for me. Hope there's a fix for this.

Mac mini iTunes crashes when music store accessess anything but music

My Mac Mini crashes whenever I try to access anything but music from the iMusic store. I can play song previews fine. However, once I try to access video or podcasts, iMusic will crash. iMusic then continues to crash as soon as the music store is connected. If I remove my iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files it reverts to the original symptoms.
iTunes always crashes at the same exact traceback statement,
here are the last few traceback lines:
PID: 4320
Thread: 0
Exception: EXCBADACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERNINVALIDADDRESS (0x0001) at 0x7636d08c
Thread 0 Crashed:
0 ATS 0x9029b130 MorphTableGetSubtableInfo + 20
1 ATS 0x9029af98 ProcessSingleMorphRun + 104
2 ATS 0x9029ae18 ProcessMorphActionList + 184
3 ATS 0x9029a918 ProcessMorxecutorRun + 220
4 ATS 0x9029a198 ApplyMorph + 172
I have the following subsystems installed
Binary Images Description:
0x1000 - 0x6fffff com.apple.iTunes 6.0.4 /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes
0xe9d000 - 0xf06fff com.apple.AppleIntermediateCodec 1.0.1 (124) /Library/QuickTime/AppleIntermediateCodec.component/Contents/MacOS/AppleInterme diateCodec
0xf1b000 - 0xf94fff com.apple.applepixletvideo 1.2.5 (1.2d5) /System/Library/QuickTime/ApplePixletVideo.component/Contents/MacOS/ApplePixlet Video
0x1808000 - 0x19e3fff net.telestream.wmv.import 2.0.2.10 /Library/QuickTime/Flip4Mac WMV Import.component/Contents/MacOS/Flip4Mac WMV Import
0x30c9000 - 0x30cafff com.apple.aoa.halplugin 2.5.6 (2.5.6b5) /System/Library/Extensions/IOAudioFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AOAHALPlugin.bun dle/Contents/MacOS/AOAHALPlugin
0x4ce5000 - 0x4dc4fff com.apple.audio.codecs.Components 1.4.3 /System/Library/Components/AudioCodecs.component/Contents/MacOS/AudioCodecs
0x5799000 - 0x579bfff com.apple.textencoding.unicode 2.0 /System/Library/TextEncodings/Unicode Encodings.bundle/Contents/MacOS/Unicode Encodings
0x583d000 - 0x5843fff com.apple.DictionaryServiceComponent 1.0.0 /System/Library/Components/DictionaryService.component/Contents/MacOS/Dictionar yService
0x8fd50000 - 0x8fd8dfff com.apple.QuickTimeFireWireDV.component 7.1.1 /System/Library/QuickTime/QuickTimeFireWireDV.component/Contents/MacOS/QuickTim e .....
As soon as I get finished indexing the java keywords from the latest developer doc download, I will remove Flip4Mac and let the message board know what happens.
mac powerPC mini Mac OS X (10.4.6)
mac powerPC mini Mac OS X (10.4.6)

No change after flip4mac was removed, iMusic still crashing. After further observation it was noticed that all I had to do was to click on the subject headings on the far left (trailers/podcasts/etc) to get iMusic to crash.

Mac Mini to run Final Cut Server

Hi
I'm buying up Mac Mini's to create a render farm for Compressor projects that I export from Final Cut Pro.
Recently I've started thinking about whether purchasing Final Cut Server might help improve various workflows, where a Mini would host the Final Cut Server and various other Mac Mini's and my Macbook pro would act as Clients and additional processor power for Compressor based activities.
Will an 2ghz Intel Core Duo Mac Mini with 4gig of RAM be up to the business of hosting? And does the Mini have an integrated Intel graphics processors which apparently is not supported?
All advice gratefully received

The current Mac mini ships with Nvidia 9400m graphics and meets the minimum system requirements for Final Cut Server 1.5.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutserver/specs/
It has limited expandability so if you find yourself needing more storage or processing power to handle larger workloads, I would be prepared to upgrade it to a Mac Pro or an Xserve.
~D

Mac min and i movie

When i launch i movie it says my mac mini does not contain an quartz extreme compatible graphics card & quartz extreme is not working in i movie. Any suggestions of the source of the problem and how to fix would be appeciated..thanks..

Its nice that this problem was solved, but it would be even nicer if we knew what solved it.
I am looking at either a Mac Mini (2g/2g) or the iMac 2.4g/24", and have been perusing the Mini forums for info on how well the Mini runs iMovie, or even FCE. I have used FCP 3.0 for years on my G4 / 900 m, but don't need the power of FCP (or the hefty upgrade price).
I took a look at iMovie 06 an iDVD 06, and find they will pretty much suit my current needs. I am mostly just moving (and editing) old VHS home video to DVD. However, iMovie bogged down quite a bit on my tired old G4 after some extensive editing that required lots of sound track work. While this isn't normal in the simple VHS-DV conversion process, I figure I might as well get a newer, faster, system to allow for it.
Many comments on the Mini address "great for everything but 3D graphics gaming" This is perfectly fine, but I noted a warning about "quartz extreme" regarding FCE, so am interested in the same problem with iMovie.
The real question I am asking, tho, is whether iMovie or FCE editing is as the upper edge of chanllenge for the Mac Mini, and I should go for the iMac, or is the editing just a middle-of-the-road challenge for the Mac Mini.
I am intrigued with saving hte $1000 on the iMac by reusing my Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse, bu tnot at the risk of finding that the Mac Mini only "almost" does the job.
Thanks

Which Mac Mini to Use as a Server?

Hello Everyone,
I have researched this but have not been able to find the answer I have been looking for as it relates to recent hardware and/or message posts.
I want to set up a Mac Mini as a server to be used mainly for file storage with an external hard drive between 4 other Macs and a couple PCs, then have the files uploaded to a service such as CrashPlan for offsite backup. Also, I want to use it with VPN to access my files remotely. I don't plan to use it for anything else but that. My question is, concerning my needs, can I get by with the dual-core model or should I go with the quad-core or server model? The dual-core is $200 or $400 cheaper which I can use for other hardware, such as the external hard drive.
Has anyone had experience with both to compare the performance and such?
Has anyone used the Mac Mini for the same purpose I plan to use one for?
What problems have you encountered?
What are some things to be aware of?
Do you have any other suggestions for this plan?
Please don't be bashful. I need to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. Your comments are greatly appreciated and will help me make an informed decision.
Many thanks to everyone for your help!!!
God bless you all!!!
Puterdood.

You shouldn't need anything more than the base i5 model ($599). The RAM is sufficient for your usage also. You don't need to spend the money on a Mac Mini Server.
I currently have a late-2012 i5 base model with 4GB of RAM running OS X Mavericks and OS X Server 3.0.2. It works really well and with Maverick's memory management (memory compression), the 4GB of RAM is like having 6GB. I'm running the DNS, Profile Manager, File Sharing, Time Machine Backup, VPN and Open Directory services. It's a home server. I also added a 128GB SSD which I put OS X Mavericks, OS X Server, Apps and User accounts on. I use the stock 500GB HDD for data storage and file sharing.

Mac Mini As A Movie & Music Server

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