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streaming everything to mac mini
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BWSchultz
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Jan 5, 2009, 05:58 PM
 
I know this is a typical question but I was just looking for some clarifications on the details that I haven't been able to find explicitly answer through google searches.

New, unannounced mac mini specs aside, I would like to stream iTunes from my powermacG5 (someday a mac pro) to a mac mini in the living room connected to my TV. I would prefer to not keep any content on the Mac Mini because I don't want to manage two iTunes libraries. From the mini, can I access the content on the mac pro via an itunes shared library or via the mac mini's Front Row? Will both ways be able to stream music, photos, full-length videos from the home machine, the mac pro? I have an extreme base station with "n" wireless so that should be able to stream even DVD quality video. I know that with the Apple TV, it shows up in the main machine's Devices list in iTunes. Does the Mac Mini show up as a device too with all the assorted syncing tabs for photos, music, and movies on the mac pro?

Hopefully, my questions are clear. I would really like to access my digital content on the TV with the added benefit of the full Mac OS operating system and the full-blown internet. Apple TV is nice but I would like those added features. Thanks!
     
mduell
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Jan 5, 2009, 08:57 PM
 
No, the Mac mini will not work like an Apple TV. There are some rumors that the next major OS release will bring the full Apple TV interface/experience to Macs, but I wouldn't bank on it. With a Mac mini you'd have to use the sharing, not syncing, in iTunes and iPhoto to get media over there.
     
analogika
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Jan 6, 2009, 06:29 AM
 
Originally Posted by BWSchultz View Post
I would prefer to not keep any content on the Mac Mini because I don't want to manage two iTunes libraries. From the mini, can I access the content on the mac pro via an itunes shared library or via the mac mini's Front Row? Will both ways be able to stream music, photos, full-length videos from the home machine, the mac pro?
Yes, you can do this.

All you need to do is to add an alias into the Mac mini's Movies folder, linking to the networked source Mac's video folder. If the source drive is mounted, the alias *will* show up in Front Row - in the "Movies folder" - and you can navigate and play material as if it were a local drive (albeit with delays as Front Row generates the video previews).

This is what I do at home.


For music, you can change the music library within Front Row's "Sources" setting to a shared iTunes library from the other machine(s).

Originally Posted by BWSchultz View Post
I know that with the Apple TV, it shows up in the main machine's Devices list in iTunes. Does the Mac Mini show up as a device too with all the assorted syncing tabs for photos, music, and movies on the mac pro?
No.
     
BWSchultz  (op)
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Jan 6, 2009, 05:11 PM
 
thanks analogica - good tips! Sadly, no new minis today but I guess we'll just have a little while longer to wait until this those new chipsets arrive... perhaps in a couple of months.
     
   
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