Hi all,

I know there are many "Shared iTunes" discussions, but I haven't found one for this case. If there is an existing thread which covers this, please feel free to delete this one.

I have a basement Mini server, an iMac, laptops, an Apple TV, iPhones, and iPods.

I have placed the entire iTunes library on the Mini in order to keep the files off the other computers, and make streaming from the AppleTV "direct" (as opposed to using a file share on the Mini to contain the files, but streaming from the iMac).

Now, I'd be perfectly happy with sharing the iTunes way with the iMac, laptops, and the Apple TV. If that were all I needed to do, and I could get on the Mini any time I wanted to add a song of movie, I'd be all set.

However, I sync my iPhone and iPod from the iMac, and it is not always convenient to get to the Mini (I get to it using Remote Desktop). I want to be able to sync my music to the iPhone, and likewise drag a new song into iTunes on the iMac and have it populate the library the Mini is streaming out to the Apple TV, for instance.

I have tried the typical "iTunes Library file on a share" trick, which gets into the locking problems when more than one computer tries to access that iTunes Library file. If I let each computer use their own local iTunes Library, but point to the shared volume for iTunes Music folder location, then I have the syncing issue where I need to "Add to Library" or "Consolidate" on the Mini each time I make a change from the iMac.

So, is there a trick using symlinks or something similar which gets around the file locking issue? It sure would be great if I could:

* have my iTunes Music folder on the Mini's shared volume
* sync the iPhone to the iMac and get the latest library regardless of if any updates were done on the Mini or the iMac
* add a movie or song on the iMac and see the new file available for streaming on the Apple TV, which will check the Mini

Has anyone tackled this, which seems like a simple use case?

Thanks!
-Patrick

Hrmm. I don't have the setup that you have (wish I did) but I was just reading your post "Central Mini, Multiple ATV?" I see that you have an Airport Extreme. Well that’s how I do it. You see I have and Airport Extreme hooked up to an external hard drive on that hard drive I have all of my iTunes. I then connect to it with my different macs. Easy as that. I can even stream my music to my TV on either my Xbox 360 or PS3 as long as I have one of my macs on. I don't have an Apple TV but am really thinking about getting one. I hope this helps.

Hrmm. I don't have the setup that you have (wish I did) but I was just reading your post "Central Mini, Multiple ATV?" I see that you have an Airport Extreme. Well that’s how I do it. You see I have and Airport Extreme hooked up to an external hard drive on that hard drive I have all of my iTunes. I then connect to it with my different macs. Easy as that. I can even stream my music to my TV on either my Xbox 360 or PS3 as long as I have one of my macs on. I don't have an Apple TV but am really thinking about getting one. I hope this helps.

Sounds interesting. What files/folders do you have on the attached HD? Just the iTunes Music folder (contains all my ripped album folders)? Or the iTunes folder (contains the Itunes Music folder + various iTunes Library Database files, Album Artwork folder, Previous iTunes Libraries folder, etc.)? Or the iTunes folder itself (contains all of the above)???
Thanks.

I believe C all of the above. I will have to look at it tonight. I have had all my music on a external hard drive from way back in the day.. (When I only had a 40gb internal) As soon as I got the Airport with usb I hooked it up to see if it worked the same as plugged in. Sure enough. You just have to tell iTunes where the folder is and everything going in to iTunes will be save there. I still haven’t tried putting a usb hub on the airport to see if I can have more then one drive. If anyone knows that would be great info. If not, I plan to try this soon.

Fellas, the problem (at least for me) is that iTunes cannot be running on both the Mini (for the AppleTV and others to stream from and the iMac (for the iPhone to sync to). This is because the first one, if it does anything with the library, locks the iTunes Library file.

I would just use a USB disk on the Extreme to hold the iTunes folder for the iMac, but then I'd be going two-hops to the AppleTV, as opposed to what I'm trying to do, Apple TV direct to the Mini. Maybe it is a mistake to assume this is best/necessary?

I guess I could do a test, try to stream a large movie to the Apple TV from the iMac with the iTunes folder on the Mini...

I was just attracted to keeping the Mini self-contained as a server with all the files it needs, but then ran into the issue with syncing and wanting to be able to add files and change the library from the iMac (as opposed to via screen share).

Lots of guys just use the Mini as the HTPC but my HT equipment is in an enclosed cabinet I only open when it is in use, I don't want to put a Mini in an enclosed space. The AppleTV can go to sleep because nothing else is depending on it being on or available.

I believe C all of the above. I will have to look at it tonight. I have had all my music on a external hard drive from way back in the day.. (When I only had a 40gb internal) As soon as I got the Airport with usb I hooked it up to see if it worked the same as plugged in. Sure enough. You just have to tell iTunes where the folder is and everything going in to iTunes will be save there. I still haven’t tried putting a usb hub on the airport to see if I can have more then one drive. If anyone knows that would be great info. If not, I plan to try this soon.

I can tell you that I have a 2-drive (2x500GB) unit (it's a Rosewill two-bay, USB 2.0 enclosure) connected to my Airport Extreme (802.11n-model) and I can access both drives individually on all of my Macs (oddly enough, when I had the drives formatted to 1TB JBOD, it/they didn't show up:confused:). I'll copy my iTunes folder over tomorrow to one of the drives and let you know how that goes...

Yep its the full folder with everything. Just set it up in iTunes advanced settings tab. Why do you need all of your files on the mini? Why not just put them on a hard drive and have it connected to the Airport? I can sync anything thats in iTunes on my computers without any issues. This includes movies. I just have them all nicely organized right there in iTunes. I normally use my 360 to playback my movies. But I have been looking into an apple TV as I think it would it might be a little easier to find things with its menu system. Also I'm not sure but I think the ATV can connect to the hard drive without the need of a computer. So yeah I'm not sure if you really "need" the mini for all your data but I'm sure you could still put it to work. I know I would. ;)

well, the impetus was just to make streaming to the appletv as direct as possible.

1. mini -> airport -> appletv

vs.

2. airport hdd -> imac -> airport -> appletv

Is it not true that option 1 has a greater probability of working without delays? option 2 uses wifi to deliver the file to the imac, then again to stream to the appletv. Option 1 only uses wifi once.

I will test streaming from the iMac. If it's perfectly fine, I may repurpose the Mini. My intention was to replace some Solaris servers which are doing DNS and web serving, with the Mini to do all of that plus central iTunes. If the Mini provides no benefit to media serving, I guess I might be better off using the Mini in the theater, the Apple TV on another TV, and some Linux thingie for DNS and web serving.

I was just concerned about sticking the Mini in an enclosed cabinet if it ends up being on all the time. The Apple TV can be shut off because nothing depends on it being available.

Not sure about delays or anything but for what you are wanting to do I do all the time with my 360 using option 2 and it works great. Now what I want to know is how to backup my blu-ray movies on my mac... That would make my day to have everything right there in one place. But I see a few issues with my "dream" lol Size being the biggest one. Oh well a guy and dream right..

Yep its the full folder with everything. Just set it up in iTunes advanced settings tab. Why do you need all of your files on the mini? Why not just put them on a hard drive and have it connected to the Airport? I can sync anything thats in iTunes on my computers without any issues. This includes movies. I just have them all nicely organized right there in iTunes. I normally use my 360 to playback my movies. But I have been looking into an apple TV as I think it would it might be a little easier to find things with its menu system. Also I'm not sure but I think the ATV can connect to the hard drive without the need of a computer. So yeah I'm not sure if you really "need" the mini for all your data but I'm sure you could still put it to work. I know I would. ;)

Not to hijack the thread, but...
do you have a disc that shuts down or sleeps if not in use? The idea of my two drives (and the enclosure's fan) running 24/7 kinda grates... I tested mine and it definitely stays ON even if all my Macs are shut down.

Yeah its a Lacie. The drive sleeps when not in use.

Not sure about delays or anything but for what you are wanting to do I do all the time with my 360 using option 2 and it works great...

That's really useful, thanks!

I have a 1TB drive on the extreme now doing Time Machine backups for various macs.

On another note, I mentioned heat earlier: boy that Apple TV sure gets hotter than the Mini ever does!!! Maybe the Mini stuck in that closed cabinet isn't such a bad idea after all...

Yeah its a Lacie. The drive sleeps when not in use.

Cool. I'll switch to my miniStacks, they do also.


added: btw, checked out a USB 2.0 hub... works like a charm with the Extreme.