Controlling a mac mini without using a monitor

[kendun]

Hi folks,

I have bought a mac mini recently and am keen to use the mac without switiching on the monitor (TV) to listen to music from spotify /youtube etc. Not itunes though.

My mac is connected via hdmi to an av amp and the amp to the telly.

I have been looking at various VNC apps like jumpdesktop, iteleport etc. Is there any app which you use for a similar purpose and would recommend? I did think of getting remoteless for spotify as that would be the main programme I'll be using. Ideally I want to switch on the mac and control it via my iphone/ipad 1 for listening to music. I have also thought of using using the headphone out to connect to a stereo amp for music listening alone.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions are welcome.... I am totally clueless with mac, this is my first foray into macs and would like your help

 

[mad3inch1na]

Hi folks,

I have bought a mac mini recently and am keen to use the mac without switiching on the monitor (TV) to listen to music from spotify /youtube etc. Not itunes though.

My mac is connected via hdmi to an av amp and the amp to the telly.

I have been looking at various VNC apps like jumpdesktop, iteleport etc. Is there any app which you use for a similar purpose and would recommend? I did think of getting remoteless for spotify as that would be the main programme I'll be using. Ideally I want to switch on the mac and control it via my iphone/ipad 1 for listening to music. I have also thought of using using the headphone out to connect to a stereo amp for music listening alone.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions are welcome.... I am totally clueless with mac, this is my first foray into macs and would like your help

A more simple solution may be to get an Apple TV for 80$ and Airplay spotify from your phone. This assumes your speaker system doesn't have bluetooth. The UI of OS X on an iPhone is awkward and unwieldily, and you will probably have a harder time working with that than if you just turned on the TV and used the mac like it is supposed to be.

Airplay is nice because you can use the native spotify/youtube apps from your phone. Again, if your speakers have bluetooth, then you should be able to do that now. If not, an ATV through HDMI should work fine. Just my opinion.

Matt

 

[kendun]

A more simple solution may be to get an Apple TV for 80$ and Airplay spotify from your phone. This assumes your speaker system doesn't have bluetooth. The UI of OS X on an iPhone is awkward and unwieldily, and you will probably have a harder time working with that than if you just turned on the TV and used the mac like it is supposed to be.

Airplay is nice because you can use the native spotify/youtube apps from your phone. Again, if your speakers have bluetooth, then you should be able to do that now. If not, an ATV through HDMI should work fine. Just my opinion.

Matt

Thank you responding Matt.

Ideally, I'd like to connect the mac mini to my stereo amp for music either using the headphone out or via USB into a DAC and from the DAC into the stereo amp. I'd prefer not to use the AV amp for listening to music in the long term.

I may just have to use th eac display and once connected to teh stere0 amp, just switch off the display perhaps???

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My speakers don't have bluetooth.

 

[drsox]

Hi folks,

I have bought a mac mini recently and am keen to use the mac without switiching on the monitor (TV) to listen to music from spotify /youtube etc. Not itunes though.

My mac is connected via hdmi to an av amp and the amp to the telly.

I have been looking at various VNC apps like jumpdesktop, iteleport etc. Is there any app which you use for a similar purpose and would recommend? I did think of getting remoteless for spotify as that would be the main programme I'll be using. Ideally I want to switch on the mac and control it via my iphone/ipad 1 for listening to music. I have also thought of using using the headphone out to connect to a stereo amp for music listening alone.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions are welcome.... I am totally clueless with mac, this is my first foray into macs and would like your help

Unless you've already tried it, I would recommend Real VNC (https://www.realvnc.com). I run a Mini through VNC and use it to drive a TV. If you can get the signal you need out of the Mini (HDMI), then you can make it work using Real VNC.

 

[hallux]

Why not use the built-in Screen Sharing capability?

 

[mmomega]

Hi folks,

I have bought a mac mini recently and am keen to use the mac without switiching on the monitor (TV) to listen to music from spotify /youtube etc. Not itunes though.

My mac is connected via hdmi to an av amp and the amp to the telly.

I have been looking at various VNC apps like jumpdesktop, iteleport etc. Is there any app which you use for a similar purpose and would recommend? I did think of getting remoteless for spotify as that would be the main programme I'll be using. Ideally I want to switch on the mac and control it via my iphone/ipad 1 for listening to music. I have also thought of using using the headphone out to connect to a stereo amp for music listening alone.

Any advice/thoughts/suggestions are welcome.... I am totally clueless with mac, this is my first foray into macs and would like your help

I use the built in ScreenShare.

I remotely control my local headless Mac Mini server and 2 other Mini servers at my work offices.

Works great for me without having to use 3rd party software. If you are using an all Mac environment.

 

[kendun]

Unless you've already tried it, I would recommend Real VNC (https://www.realvnc.com). I run a Mini through VNC and use it to drive a TV. If you can get the signal you need out of the Mini (HDMI), then you can make it work using Real VNC.

Thank you drsox , I will have a look at RealVNC

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Why not use the built-in Screen Sharing capability?

I use the built in ScreenShare.

I remotely control my local headless Mac Mini server and 2 other Mini servers at my work offices.

Works great for me without having to use 3rd party software. If you are using an all Mac environment.

Thank you folks,
I wasn't aware of this screen sharing option, I will check this. I will see if it works with a first generation ipad.

 

[Santabean2000]

I use the built in ScreenShare.

I remotely control my local headless Mac Mini server and 2 other Mini servers at my work offices.

Works great for me without having to use 3rd party software. If you are using an all Mac environment.

This works flawlessly for me too.

Might want to also try Splashtop for iPad.

 

[drsox]

Thank you drsox , I will have a look at RealVNC

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Thank you folks,
I wasn't aware of this screen sharing option, I will check this. I will see if it works with a first generation ipad.

PS RealVNC is also free. Also works for free on an iPad2 and iPhones 4S/5. I tried others inc Screen Share and had problems with resolutions.

 

[kendun]

This works flawlessly for me too.

Might want to also try Splashtop for iPad.

Thank you santabean

PS RealVNC is also free. Also works for free on an iPad2 and iPhones 4S/5. I tried others inc Screen Share and had problems with resolutions.

Thank you drsox

 

[Delmar]

I use Teamviewer & also use back to my mac. Both work very well for controlling a headless Mini.

 

[VirtualRain]

I use PocketCloud App (a VNC client app) on my iPad to screen share my Mac on my iPad. It offers some great controls. However, it's a lot more convenient to control the Mini from another Mac (which doesn't require any additional software as a VNC client is built into OS X).

I'm still not sure why an AppleTV is not a better solution for you than a Mac Mini if all you want to do is play music and control it from your iDevice. A Mac Mini is way overkill. The AppleTV has an optical audio out and HDMI out that can feed nearly any setup.

Another problem you may run into trying to VNC to a Mac Mini without the AVR or TV on, is that the GPU doesn't activate resulting in a very laggy remote admin experience... mouse lag is horrible making it almost unusable. I needed to get a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus ($80) to trick my Mac Mini into thinking the display is always on in order to make remote management useful.

 

[drsox]

I use PocketCloud App (a VNC client app) on my iPad to screen share my Mac on my iPad. It offers some great controls. However, it's a lot more convenient to control the Mini from another Mac (which doesn't require any additional software as a VNC client is built into OS X).

I'm still not sure why an AppleTV is not a better solution for you than a Mac Mini if all you want to do is play music and control it from your iDevice. A Mac Mini is way overkill. The AppleTV has an optical audio out and HDMI out that can feed nearly any setup.

Another problem you may run into trying to VNC to a Mac Mini without the AVR or TV on, is that the GPU doesn't activate resulting in a very laggy remote admin experience... mouse lag is horrible making it almost unusable. I needed to get a Gefen HDMI Detective Plus ($80) to trick my Mac Mini into thinking the display is always on in order to make remote management useful.

FYI there is an alternative device from FitPC : http://www.amazon.com/CompuLab-4K-D...e=UTF8&qid=1412920484&sr=1-24&keywords=fit+pc
I use this to avoid this and the black screen problem.

 

[VirtualRain]

FYI there is an alternative device from FitPC : http://www.amazon.com/CompuLab-4K-D...e=UTF8&qid=1412920484&sr=1-24&keywords=fit+pc
I use this to avoid this and the black screen problem.

Yeah, that's great for truly headless setups, but if you've got your Mini connected to an AVR or TV via HDMI (that are often off), this isn't a possible solution.