Mini as a Media Server

http://www.imageno.com/zkikentocfg7pic.html
I want to hook up a Mini as a Media Server to the above A/V receiver. What do I need, and where do I make the connections ?

OK,
You can connect the Mini directly to the iVision HD-7 via a DVI-D cable and the included mini-DVI to DVI adapter that came with the Mini.
Hopefully that DVI port is open, but if not, maybe you can shift something else to one of the Component inputs on the unit, as it seems to have many:
YPBPR x 2 component video
S-Video
Video
DVI-D (HDCP compatible)
VGA (RGBHV, RGBS, RGsB)
So, again, there is no need for the Mini's DVI video connection to go through the Denon unit (I'm pretty sure). But, do put the Mini's Optical sound output through the Denon unit.
This arrangement may cause one added step of invoking the Mini as a video source via the Projector, instead of the Denon unit.
Hopefully the Projector isn't located overhead and behind you. And, the remote is IR, so hopefully it is easy to point to the Projector.
Please let us all hear how it goes.
Peace to you,
C. Livingstone

Similar Messages

Mac Mini as a Media Server

I'm debating between Mac Mini and Apple TV. My wife and I are making some final decisions about which we want to go with. And she wants my decision quickly so she can pick up an Apple TV before Christmas if that's what we're deciding on. However, I'm seriously leaning towards saving up for a Mac Mini as a home media server, to buy sometime next year.
But I have several final questions I need clarity on. Hopefully someone here can answer all or even just a few of these questions. I've been to three Apple stores, and they're all technologically clueless, not to mention trained to avoid discussing Mac Mini as a media server product.
1. Can I get a Mini DVI to HDTV adapter, so I can use HDTV with the Mac Mini?
2. Can I upgrade the hard drive of a Mac Mini through an authorized service center without voiding an Apple TV warranty? Apple says they won't do it.
3. Anything Apple TV’s software can do, I can do directly with Front Row and iTunes using the Mac Mini, right? My understanding is that Apple TV is essentially a modified Front Row.
4. NetFlix cannot be streamed with Apple TV without hacking it with Boxee or something, correct? (Which, presumably, also voids the warranty?) I know Mac Mini can stream Netflix through a Microsoft Silverlight component.
5. I know I can always use screen sharing with the Mac Mini and my MacBook Pro so that I can control the mini without having to connect a keyboard and mouse. But can I also use the television (a 42” widescreen plasma) as a monitor if I have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected to the Mini? Does the OS actually adapt to the TV screen correctly? The last time I hooked up my MBP to a TV, it would cut off my menu bar, blow up the size of fonts, or I'd have to reduce the resolution significantly, making the OS appear incredibly small on the huge TV!
6. To use the TV as a monitor, I assume I would need an adapter that converts the Mini DisplayPort to VGA or HDTV or something or another?
7. Is there any way I can use a Mac Mini as a DVR for something playing on the television, or will I still need to get a DVR box from my cable company or Tivo?
8. With Mac Mini, can I stream music from iTunes libraries on another computer? (An iMac PowerPC G5 running Tiger, and a MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard; both have separate iTunes libraries as they each have an iPod or iPhone that syncs with them; the MBP/iPhone is mine, and the iMac/iPod my wife's.)
9. If Apple ever gets around to building a Blu-Ray DVD player for their systems, I assume the DVD player in the Mini is not replaceable?
10. Is it my imagination, or does the $999 Mac Mini not actually include a *built-in* DVD player??
11. Is there any meaningful performance difference in audio/video playback between a Mini vs. an Apple TV? Better or worse for either? I’m particularly concerned with bad/choppy playback of both streamed movies (from Netflix or the iTunes Store), and locally stored movies (purchased from iTunes Store).
12. I currently don’t have any speakers or sound systems, but will probably add one some day. Sound currently just plays through the relatively decent built-in speakers of the television. With a Mac Mini, will volume be controlled through the Mini, or through my television?
13. Lastly, are there any remote control options for the Mac Mini? Or, at the least, an app I can put on my iPhone to control the Mac Mini? i.e. remote for DVD control (accessing the DVD menu, changing chapters, rewind/ffwd, and so on.)
Many, many thanks and happy holidays to all...
Dan

Hi- I'll have a go at your list...
1. Yes. Belkin sells one. There are cheaper alternatives that work just as well.
2. If you order from Apple online store, they can bump up the gigs for you, and keep the warranty intact.
3. Yes, and perhaps better, with programs like Plex and VLC.
4. Correct, but the 'hack' is easily removed, with no one knowing that you actually did it, should you need to send it in for service.
5. Absolutely! I've got my mini connected to a 46' Sony Bravia TV, and am using it to write this post right now. Running at a full 1080p, and loving it.
6.The mini comes with a mini-dvi to dvi adaptor. You will need to buy a DVI to HDMI cable (as I mentioned in #1 above, Belkin makes one, and you can find alternatives for around $5 on the net.
7.I believe you will need some extra gear for this. The Apple TV also cant do this. It IS possible with a mini, though, and I believe impossible with an Apple TV,
8. Yes. I am also doing that at this very moment- With home sharing turned on, I am streaming my itunes library from the iMac G5 in the other room.
9. Not without voiding your warranty.
10.That is correct. The server version of the Mac Mini does NOT have a superdrive.
11. No choppiness on my 2.26 gHz Mini with 4gb of ram, running a full 1080p on 46' TV
12. If you connect via optical digital, sound volume is controlled by the equipment you have connected to it. If you connect via analog, the Mini controls the volume.
13.Air Mouse Pro is the iPhone app you should look at. There are others, but that will allow you to use your iPhone to control a whole lot. There are more advanced options like Jaadu as well
Good luck

Front Row 'Sources' not finding media server

Hi all!
I use my Mac Mini as a media server for my apple TV and all my computers/macs with iTunes.
Everything works fine apart from Front Row on my MacBook that only seems able to find my local machine under sources.
Any ideas?

You are not alone. I am experiencing the same problem.
We have consolidated all of our music and videos (much if it purchased via iTunes) onto a NAS media server. Our Macs have no problem seeing the server either from within iTunes or QuickTime Player. Yet, trying to find it using Front Row is impossible. There are no menu source options other than one's own mac or, alternatively, the iTunes Server mothership.
Either this is an oversight in the way Front Row was written, or more likely, it's some Draconian control issue decided in Cupertino.
For anyone who's acquired a lot of content (all legally, too, I might add) and stores it externally of his/her mac, this issue makes Front Row useless.

Can't update iTunes movie info when sharing media server

I use a mac mini as a media server and have a 2T hard drive connected to it with all my movies and TV shows.
It is connected to my network but not to a monitor. I connect to it thur sharing when I want to make a change
on it. I have always been able to update my movie info (artwork and such) that way, now all of a sudden I can't.
The "Get info" window is locked and I can't make any changes. Any ideas, much appreciated.
10.6 0n the mini, 10.9 on my mac.

You have the maximum version of iTunes for Mac OS X 10.4. iTunes 10 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or newer. The maximum OS for an iBook G4 is Mac OS X 10.5.8.
(61287)

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

Mac Mini or Apple TV as a media server.

I am planning on setting up a media server and I'm not sure what would be the best choice. I would prefer to use a Mac Mini, but would I loose the video quality that I would get from an Apple TV?
The Apple TV specs indicate:
Video formats supported
* H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
* iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p
* MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
The Mac Mini specs dove give me enough information to compare.

Anything the AppleTv can play-the mini can.
Playlists from the iTunes store videos can be done on AppleTV, but not
on the Mac Mini. There are third party solutions, but they are hardly easy to setup. I'm working on a setup right now where it is quite a bit more complicated on the Mac Mini:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=10519644#10519644

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.

Workaround for remote with Apple TV + Mac Mini media server?

We have to keep unplugging and then replugging our Apple TV 2 any time we want to use our Mac Mini media server instead of the Apple TV on our home entertainment system. Alas, the lack of a power button.
The reason we have to do this is because the remote control signals are identical for the two units; we're using Plex TV on the Mac Mini, and when we use our universal remote, if the Apple TV is on, then unintended things happen in the background on the Apple TV any time we control the Plex media server. Ack. We could end up buying a video that we don't want.
What workarounds are there, to avoid plugging and unplugging the Apple TV, if we want to keep using a remote control with both the Apple TV and with the Mac Mini media server? I understand that plugging and unplugging it is not desireable.
On the other hand, we do shut off power completely to our entire entertainment system, via the power conditioner, when we're not using it, to conserve. I suppose that's equivalent to plugging and unplugging the Apple TV?
Your thoughts?

I know its been 17 months since anyone replied to your post, but I stumbled upon your request, because I had the same issue. However, I can faithfully say that I solved this same problem, because I inadvertendly programmed my MX-980 remote to control my Apple TV and Mac Mini at the same time and didn't realize until much later what was happening. I use my Mac Mini (for the purpose of using PLEX) and my Apple TV for other purposes. Here's a discussion I had over at remotecontrol.com about it.
The solution for you is have two Apple remotes. You can buy an extra apple remote at a good price over at Amazon.
Out of box, the apple remote is designed to pair with your Mac and Apple TV as long as pairing is enabled on those machines by default. However, it's the consumer's responsibility to physically pair that remote with the machine you want to control so it can't control any other machine. That's the trick you were missing...
So, if you have an Apple TV and Mac Mini next to each other -- a single Apple Remote will control BOTH machines at the same time out of box. This is not the intended result as you have indicated. Therefore you need two apple remotes.
Mac Mini: Once you have two apple remotes, go to your Mac Mini (OSX 10.9) and select under the Apple menu > Preferences > Security > General > Click unlock (bottom left corner) first > sign in > Then click Advanced... to see the Pairing process. If you click advanced *before* you click unlock icon, the pairing menu will be missing.
Note: You can also install free CandleAir preference for your Mac which is a slick interface for configuring apple remotes faster and easier IMHO. http://www.iospirit.com/labs/candelair/
Apple TV: Now take your second Apple Remote, go to Apple TV > Preferences > General > Remote and follow the on screen instructions to properly pair your remote control.
This should solve your problem.

How many GHz for a mac mini to act as a media server?

Hi,
We just bought a mac mini with 2.5 GHz to act as our media server. We wanted to be able to stream, which it handles nicely. But now our desktop has fallen to disrepair and I am tempted to take the 2.5 Ghz mac mini as our desktop and buy a cheaper mac mini for our server. Will this work? Thank you. Really appreciate anyone's input.

Are you talking new or used?
Any new ones should work, many old ones also if we're talking Intel Mimis.

What's the best way to setup a media server/central storage for all of my?

I was wondering what the best way to achieve a central media server for all my iTunes content + iPhoto's, calendar syncing and contact sharing is? This is what I currently have:
iMac 20" Aluminum + External HD Backup (kids)
Macbook Black (wife)
Macbook Pro 15" (me)
Airport Extreme 802.11n (obvious)
TimeCapsule 1TB (wifi backup for wife/me)
I would like to replace my PC in my office with a brand new Mac Pro Nehalem 8-Core, 8GB Ram, and 4TB, and replace my PC laptop in my living room attached to my tv, with an Apple TV.
I want to centralize all our Photos from vacations, etc. Music, videos, movies, that are currently split up over wife's macbook, kids imac and my macbook pro onto my soon to be purchased Mac Pro.
I want to be able to stream everything from my living room via Apple TV for when guests come over, dinner parties, etc. (plus I love apple and it keeps things clean)
I'm currently using MobileMe to sync all of our Calendars and Contacts with my main account, which is great, but MobileMe doesn't sync to family members accounts =
What would I need to do to centralize all this onto my future Mac Pro so that everyone has access all the time when they are home and the key here is, modify/update/change from their machines and sync it back/update it on the Mac Pro.
Also, I'm hoping Snow Leopard has some changes to iTunes to make this a little more possible, since we're right around the corner from this release. I don't really want to spend an additional $900+ on Snow Leopard Server to have to achieve these results, but if it makes it easier, and does the job, then I guess I might. This is all speculation though, since it's not out yet. I'd like to get this all sorted and setup within the next month.
I was considering a Drobo, they say they can throw up iTunes Server but, I appreciate everyone for reading this, and taking the time to respond!
Thanks!
Message was edited

I'm in the process of setting up a smaller (and cheaper) but somewhat similar setup to what you want to do, so maybe one example might help point you in the right direction. My needs consist of a centralized location for data storage, which will include iPhoto libraries (I keep two separate ones), iTunes (which I also want served to the home theater system), something other than my laptop to play internet videos and downloaded content on my TV, all with ideally the lowest cost and energy use possible.
My solution was the new Mini with a FW800 external drive as the server/media hub and Airport gigabit as the network hub (it also handles the backup drive).
FW800 is fast enough to saturate a gigabit ethernet link, so I don't consider that much of a bottleneck. The Mini then has iTunes running at all times with its centralized library on it; it is hooked to the home theater via HDMI-DVI video and optical audio, so it can play music and also handle videos when desired; Front Row with the Apple remote is close enough to an AppleTV that I think it handles that well, and it's more full-featured than an AppleTV. It can further be used to display photos/slideshows/whatever on the TV for guests or such, or to surf from the couch with a wireless mouse/keyboard. You can also toss in an EyeTV for $150 and use that as a DVR if you feel like it.
When I want to edit photos or such on my desktop, the gigabit link is fast enough that I can run iPhoto without noticing any significant slowdown. Its also usable over wireless, though I have a dangling extra network cable to plug into a laptop for full gigabit speed if need be. iTunes, of course, shares its library, which can be played from any of the computers in the house if so desired (iPhoto can do that too if you just want to display).
If I REALLY wanted top speed (though I've even done video editing in iMovie via ethernet without issue), I could use a third party synch app (I like Sync) to mirror any of the content from the mini server to a local drive; this works fine with anything but multi-way synching, such as address books being modified in different locations. I'd probably try to set up one of those Mobile Me clone systems or use a 3rd party app if I needed to do that.
Again, maybe this isn't powerful enough or "synched" enough in terms of local storage for your taste, but the advantage is that a Mini uses a minute fraction of the power of a Mac Pro, so you're saving a lot on electricity if the computer will be powered up at all times as a server, and it's also a lot more full-featured as a home theater media hub than an AppleTV. And, heck, the thing is about as well equipped as my old top-of-the-line G5 tower for a 5th the cost and 1/15th the power and noise.

How to use iMac as remotely accessible home media server

First time poster, and thanks in advance for any help that any of you might be able to provide. -- Josh
I have a mid-2007 iMac, several AppleTVs and Apple mobile devices, and a 2014 Macbook Pro coming at the end of the week (more detailed info below). I have a roughly 1 TB library of movies, which are currently housed in an external hard drive attached to the iMac. When I'm on my home network, I'm able to stream all the movies to all of the AppleTVs, iPhones, and iPads, using iTunes and home sharing, with almost no problem. But, my family would like to access our movie library remotely, when at the airport, visiting family, etc.
I've researched various options, and am having a hard time parsing through some of the more technical information and figuring out what setup would work best. It seems to me that although I can't use my iMac as a second display for the new MacbookPro because of technical limitations on the iMac, I might still be able to use the iMac as a remotely accessible home media server. Running Plex on the iMac has been suggested, but I keep hearing conflicting information on whether the AppleTVs are compatible with Plex, and I've had trouble successfully forwarding ports several years ago when I played with Plex briefly. iTunes/home sharing is just so easy in terms of setup and reliability between Apple devices, in my experience. I looked into buying an AirPort Time Capsule, since I was looking into upgrading my router to support 802.11ac anyway (advice on that too?), but was told that neither the Time Capsule drive nor any drive attached to it would be remotely accessible. Back to my Mac seems like it might work for me to access my library remotely when using the MacbookPro, but not any of the mobile devices (which are more important to the kids), and I'm not sure what advantage a NAS drive would have over using the iMac (although this is where it starts getting a bit technical for me). Looked at OSX Server also, but not sure how that would interface with whatever additional components I need to get.
Thank you in advance for any help. I'm sure people have figured out a way to access their media libraries remotely, but for some reason I can't find a straight answer on how. I've included additional technical details about my setup below. Thanks again!!
iMac, 20-in, Mid 2007, 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, OS X 10.9.4, 250 GB storage
Macbook Pro w. Retina, 13-in, 2014, 2.6 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 128 GB PCle-based Flash Storage
Iomega HDD, 2 TB
Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Router, Model No. WNDR3400v2
AppleTV, 3rd generation (x3)
iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, iPad (2nd gen), iPad mini w. Retina

Not really recommended to do what you want as the perfomance will be undesirable and make the experience lousy at best. If you have content you want to watch remotely then simply copy it to a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro and then bring one of the AppleTV's with you. Then you can stream directly from the MBA or MBP to the AppleTV on a remote TV. We did this on our last vacation, loaded a bunch of movies on my MBA, threw one of the ATV's in the suitcase and when we got to our hotel simply connected it using the hotels Wi-Fi and connected the ATV via HDMI to the TV and we were in business.

How to use iMac as remotely accessible media server

First time poster, and thanks in advance for any help that any of you might be able to provide. -- Josh
I have a mid-2007 iMac, several AppleTVs and Apple mobile devices, and a 2014 Macbook Pro coming at the end of the week (more detailed info below). I have a roughly 1 TB library of movies, which are currently housed in an external hard drive attached to the iMac. When I'm on my home network, I'm able to stream all the movies to all of the AppleTVs, iPhones, and iPads, using iTunes and home sharing, with almost no problem. But, my family would like to access our movie library remotely, when at the airport, visiting family, etc.
I've researched various options, and am having a hard time parsing through some of the more technical information and figuring out what setup would work best. It seems to me that although I can't use my iMac as a second display for the new MacbookPro because of technical limitations on the iMac, I might still be able to use the iMac as a remotely accessible home media server. Running Plex on the iMac has been suggested, but I keep hearing conflicting information on whether the AppleTVs are compatible with Plex, and I've had trouble successfully forwarding ports several years ago when I played with Plex briefly. iTunes/home sharing is just so easy in terms of setup and reliability between Apple devices, in my experience. I looked into buying an AirPort Time Capsule, since I was looking into upgrading my router to support 802.11ac anyway (advice on that too?), but was told that neither the Time Capsule drive nor any drive attached to it would be remotely accessible. Back to my Mac seems like it might work for me to access my library remotely when using the MacbookPro, but not any of the mobile devices (which are more important to the kids), and I'm not sure what advantage a NAS drive would have over using the iMac (although this is where it starts getting a bit technical for me). Looked at OSX Server also, but not sure how that would interface with whatever additional components I need to get.
Thank you in advance for any help. I'm sure people have figured out a way to access their media libraries remotely, but for some reason I can't find a straight answer on how. I've included additional technical details about my setup below. Thanks again!!
iMac, 20-in, Mid 2007, 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, OS X 10.9.4, 250 GB storage
Macbook Pro w. Retina, 13-in, 2014, 2.6 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 128 GB PCle-based Flash Storage
Iomega HDD, 2 TB
Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Router, Model No. WNDR3400v2
AppleTV, 3rd generation (x3)
iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, iPad (2nd gen), iPad mini w. Retina

My apologies if this isn't quite on point. I hope it is of some use.
One problem that may arise is that many home internet connections have much less outbound bandwidth available than inbound, at least in the US. That is, while your internet connection probably supports receiving a movie in real time, it may not support sending one in real time.
Portable 1TB and 2TB disks are pretty affordable these days. A number even do wifi streaming to iPhones and iPads.

HT204406 iTunes Match has deleted thousands of songs from a media server

I just just bought iTunes Match and begun to use it on my Mac Book Pro, mac Mini, iPhone and i Pads.
I had different tracks on each device.
The MacMini is used as a media server + had 000's of tracks installed (ripped from CD's) which were not on each my Mac Book Pro and other devices due to HD / space limitations.
When iTunes Match was added on the Mac Mini all ripped CD tracks disappeared (thousands) and only the tracks purchased from iTunes Store appear.
have tried turning off iTunes Match on the Mac Mini but the tracks are still missing.
Any advice on how to recover the tracks? (without having to do a recovery from Time Machine as it is not up to date).

I think its something related to the iTunes/Apple passwords stored in Keychain Access.
Ive had iTunes Match since it first came out way back when (in 2011 I think?). I had this issue up until a few months ago on two of my Macs when all of a sudden the problems disappeared.
Then yesterday I decided to go through the Keychains on one of my macs and because I am OCD i started deleted saved passwords/logins/etc that I thought I didnt use anymore. I deleted so many logins, local items, system items, and system roots....
I have now gotten this error message three times on this mac.
I dont know which type of stored login or system item I deleted that would cause this. But based on cause and effect Im pretty positive this narrows down where to look for a solution.
Rich

Is it possible to use my Time Capsule as an iTunes Media Server?

I've bought a macbook air, which is awesome, but a bit lacking in space, it's already filling up.
At the same time I bought a 2TB time capsule. Although I think the back up features are great, I always had the intention that I'd be able to use the Time Capsule as a wireless, and even remotely accessible, personal cloud, to store some of my bigger files. Namely, my iTunes library and my iPhotos library.
I've been into the Apple Store, and the genius there told me it was a simple as copying the two libraries onto the TC, and then redirecting the apps to look at those libraries. Dead easy.
In theory, this creates a perfect system. I realise there might be a bit of lag retrieving stuff, especially if I'm trying to get a movie off the TC while I'm travelling. But if I've got half a day spare to download it, then it's great to have that option if I've forgotten to copy it to my Mac Book before I leave.
In practice, it doesn't work. Because the TC is being used to keep a back up as well, I can only copy the libraries into the Data folder. And I've read somewhere that this can confuse issues a little bit. Now when I try to navigate to the libraries, connection to the Time Capsule always fails.
I realise I could probably achieve this by plugging an external hardrive into the Time Capsule. But I've got two terabytes of space on the TC, it'll take forever to fill that up with just back ups. I don't feel I should have to buy another hardrive, when I've got a TB and a half of free space waiting to be used.
The only idea I can think of is if I partition the TC harddrive, keeping one half for the back ups, and one half for my media library.
Has anyone actually succedded in doing this? Any ideas or help anyone can offer, this is getting really frustrating, and if it doesn't work, I think I'll have to return the Time Capsule, or scrap the idea of backing up, and just use it as an iTunes server instead.
Thanks.

Hi Latitude Journey
Make sure you do the following if you are planning to load all your library on TC:
Step 1: make sure that you tell iTunes where your media folder is located, under preferences, advanced, chose the location of your media folder (assuming you are using iTunes 10+.
Step 2: Once you are done telling iTunes where your media folder is located (music, etc) make sure you go to users & groups under system preferences (assuming you are running Lion or Mountain Lion OSX) and choose login items, then click the + sign and locate your time capsule from the shared drive section in finder, just chose it (no specific folder) just any folder.
the reason why you should do this, is that if it happen that you restart your mac! iTunes will try to look for the drive that has your media/music that you set earlier in step 2: , and since TC is not an actual NAS drive, it is more like a shared drive, it will take few seconds for the hard drive on it to load, where iTunes will not be able to locate it before it is ready, and thus it will revert to the default location of the media folder which is under music/itunes/itunes media/, and eventually none of your songs will actually work since they are on the TC and not your mac.
doing what i told to do in step 2: will make sure that your TC hard drive is ready before your iTunes try to locate the media folder, where you will be able to play your library without any issues.
failing to do so, most probably you will face the problem where you try to play songs in iTunes and finding that they have exclamation mark next to them, which means that they are missing from the library.
my music library is all located on my Time Capsule, and iTunes runs on my Mac mini (with home sharing enabled), and my iTunes is set to lunch on start up under system preferences/users & groups/login items/.
My mac mini act as a server (don't worry about your mac going to sleep, it will wake up once you try to access your media from other devices) assuming that you have the option wake on LAN enabled under network in system preferences.
This is my setup.
- Mac mini mid 2011, running Mountain Lion and latest iTunes set to launch on startup in case of computer power on or restart so i don't have to worry about launching it manually.
- Time capsule 2 TB, used as network shared hard drive
- MacBook Pro early 2011 running Mountain Lion and latest iTunes
- 2 iPads
- iPhones 4s
- Apple TV 1 and Apple TV 2
all my devices having home sharing enabled under the same account.
i can access my music library from any of my devices easily and problem free.
hope this will help you and other users.
Many thanks

Older MacBook as a Media Server

I have a 13" mid 2007 MacBook running OS X 10.7.3 that I'm replacing with a MacBook Air. I also have an iPad 2 and we have two iPhones and various iPods (and a Time Capsule, which I adore). I would like to use the MacBook as a media server (way up in my home office, not easily accessible) and rip a bunch of our DVDs onto the hard drive to feed my iPad and the MacBook Air. I also have a TV in that room and I'd like to connect the MacBook to that TV to watch Netflix as well as the DVDs.
Assuming I install Caffeine or something similar on the '07 MB and direct wire it into our Time Capsule and load up said movies/TV shows into iTunes how do I:
a. Watch that iTunes content on the MacBook Air and our other MacBooks?
b. Watch that content on my iPad?
c. Stream that music to speakers if I have them connected to our Airport Express?
d. Connect a MacBook to a flat screen TV to watch video from iTunes, on the web, and from DVDs?
I've seen that the iPad can stream content to Apple TV and music to Airport Express, but is there a way to do that from a MacBook, possibly controlling it with an iPhone or an iPad?
I've also read about some third party apps that are easier to work with than iTunes, but I thought between the cloud (which I'm paying for) and having all Apple products, I should be able to share content from the MacBook with the other pieces of hardware?
Thanks!

I have a new Mac Mini using as a media center, and am having screensharing issue too, though now quite the same. I can remote into the mini from my iMac without issue, but while I am screen sharing the display on the mini will blank at the time the my display would go to sleep (1 hour) even though I have been working on it remotely. If I move the mouse on the mini, the pointer will move, but the screen is still blank. If I disconnect, it remains blank with the moving pointer. Keyboard doesn't wake it either. The only way I have found to get the screen back is while I am connected from my iMac, go to system preferences, go to screen saver, and click the test button. It then comes back to life. I have no issues if I am not connected via screen sharing.
Any ideas?

Mini as a Media Server

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for