MacMini as a Music Server

[Paul.]

Good post Steve and thank you for taking the time to make it. It's a shame this thread degenerated because there is lots of useful info in it; your post, for example. A recent thing I've found out as well (which may well be common knowledge to everyone else but wasn't to me) is that the Mac will happily run Plex Media Server. So if you have a load of films in your Mac Mini and a device like my cheap Samsung BD-C5500 blu-ray player which wil run Plex Media Centre (aka just 'Plex'), you don't even need an Apple TV: Plex will stream video from your Mac straight to your BD player, using the BD player's remote to control it. I think that's amazing, but some say I'm easily amazed.

I have a similar setup, I run Plex on my TV, Drobo hooked up directly to my Airport Extreme for storage then I run Plex Server on my laptop. Plenty quick enough, although one day I will go Joe's route I would rather not spend the money on it now!

ATV2 is still useful though, its so easy for streaming music, my whole library is available to stream using iTunes Match, and not sure of anything out there right now that can do Desktop Mirroring as effortlessly as Mountain Lion/ATV can.

 

[Anonymous]

Plex is a great media server - I have used it (I have LG TV's which support it directly) - and the iOS apps are solid, the only shame for me is it won't play iTunes DRM content

sTeVE

 

[MajorFubar]

I had considered buying an ATV for the 'master' bedroom upstairs, which currently has what would probably be now classed as an elderly 32" Panasonic LCD TV (6 y/o), served by an equally-elderly DVD player, but no antenna, so no access to live or catch-up TV. Then I discovered ATVs don't 'do' iPlayer without being jailbroken, and that was that, really.

 

[daveh75]

A recent thing I've found out as well (which may well be common knowledge to everyone else but wasn't to me) is that the Mac will happily run Plex Media Server.

Plex is the result of a falling out between the XBMC team, and the devs that were porting it to OSX. They left, and forked the code, and was MAC only in the beginning.

I had considered buying an ATV for the 'master' bedroom upstairs, which currently has what would probably be now classed as an elderly 32" Panasonic LCD TV (6 y/o), served by an equally-elderly DVD player, but no antenna, so no access to live or catch-up TV. Then I discovered ATVs don't 'do' iPlayer without being jailbroken, and that was that, really.

Get a Roku.

It has iPlayer. Add the Plex 'channel'.

Install the the other catch up channels on PMS, job done. Less than half the price of an ATV and no 'jailbreaking' required.

 

[MajorFubar]

Hi Dave, yes I had looked into that. It's probably the route I will take. Apple are surely missing a trick by not having iPlayer in the ATV. I didn’t even once consider it wouldn’t be on, until I checked. It must surely be high on the essentials-list when people are looking round for a device that will bring streaming and internet-connectivity to older TVs. Its omission is even more amazing when you consider that even devices like the Wii and XBox have it.

 

[daveh75]

They're presumably more interested in selling BBC content via iTunes, than allowing you to stream it free.

 

[MajorFubar]

Hah, their loss. Everyone running iTunes is running it on a device which will also run iPlayer, either via a web interface or via a dedicated app, so I don't know how many sales they make.

I suppose I make a pretty rubbish Apple evangelist for someone in a house with two Mac Minis, an i7 iMac and an iPhone, but I won't put brand-loyalty above functionality.

 

[MajorFubar]

I'm not sure there is a Plex client for Wii. Other than mobiles, their website just quotes Google TV, PS3, XBox 360, Roku, and LG/Samsung smart devices.

 

[shooter]

Sorry, misread your quote above but after a little digging found that yes Plex will work with Wii but only the U console not with any other.

Good news is i have PS3 so will be trying that sometime soon

 

[shooter]

Will Plex work with any Wii?

I have the older model with no HDMI out and would be great if it could be used.

 

[MajorFubar]

Another good thing about a Mac Mini. (And no doubt someone will scoff at this, silently or otherwise.) If you don't have an outboard DAC or an AV amp, the built-in DAC in a Mac Mini is actually acceptable enough to get you by for a while without being an embarrassingly-poor link in your HiFi chain. By comparison I’ve never known an off-the-shelf PC to have anything like an acceptable DAC, but the one in the Mac Mini is not bad at all. The HRT Streamer II+ that I currently use betters it comfortably, but then at £300 new last year, it darn-well should do.

 

[daveh75]

Sorry, misread your quote above but after a little digging found that yes Plex will work with Wii but only the U console not with any other.

Good news is i have PS3 so will be trying that sometime soon

Unless its changed, there isn't a client for the U, the solution uses 'myplex' which is an application that takes care of the need for transcoding, port forwarding and dynamic DNS etc when streaming over the net and can be accessed from a browser.

The results won't be great, for video streaming at least, but probably fine for music.

 

[Pete68]

There's an interesting upgrade for the Mac Mini here for those who may be interested.

No affiliation, just interesting