 NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1 | reply to Nezmo
Re: [Beginner] Making the Leap to a Mini Next question... From time to time I still need to rip CDs and DVDs/BDs. No optical drive in the Mini obviously and I don't want to get one. So, it looks like I'll need to rip on Windows then transfer files to my NAS and import in to iTunes on the Mini. Any tricks to making this simpler?
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo  |
|
 dennismurphyPut me on hold? I'll put YOU on holdPremium
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ
 ·Verizon FiOS
 ·Optimum Online
| said by Nezmo:Next question... From time to time I still need to rip CDs and DVDs/BDs. No optical drive in the Mini obviously and I don't want to get one. So, it looks like I'll need to rip on Windows then transfer files to my NAS and import in to iTunes on the Mini. Any tricks to making this simpler?
Sure ...
a) »store.apple.com/us/product/MD564···perdrive
+
b) »thelittleappfactory.com/ripit/
That's the easy way to do it. One click rip, transcode & transfer.
edit: In theory, you could replace A) with DVD Sharing. See here, although for $79, I'd get an optical drive. |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1 | said by dennismurphy:said by Nezmo:Next question... From time to time I still need to rip CDs and DVDs/BDs. No optical drive in the Mini obviously and I don't want to get one. So, it looks like I'll need to rip on Windows then transfer files to my NAS and import in to iTunes on the Mini. Any tricks to making this simpler?
Sure ... a) » store.apple.com/us/product/MD564···perdrive+ b) » thelittleappfactory.com/ripit/That's the easy way to do it. One click rip, transcode & transfer. edit: In theory, you could replace A) with DVD Sharing. See here, although for $79, I'd get an optical drive. Well like I said, I was hoping to avoid buying a drive but given the price I may just swing for it and keep things simple.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
|
|
dennismurphyPut me on hold? I'll put YOU on holdPremium
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
·Optimum Online
| said by Nezmo:Well like I said, I was hoping to avoid buying a drive but given the price I may just swing for it and keep things simple.
For me, having a one-click workflow is pretty sweet. Saves me countless amounts of time, confusion and frustration over the years. (Did I copy that over yet? Why is the file corrupted? Shit, transcoded to the wrong format again! So on and so forth ...)
You could start by using the RipIt trial app with DVD Sharing, but I'm going to guess it'll be dog-slow. |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1 | said by dennismurphy:said by Nezmo:Well like I said, I was hoping to avoid buying a drive but given the price I may just swing for it and keep things simple.
For me, having a one-click workflow is pretty sweet. Saves me countless amounts of time, confusion and frustration over the years. (Did I copy that over yet? Why is the file corrupted? Shit, transcoded to the wrong format again! So on and so forth ...) You could start by using the RipIt trial app with DVD Sharing, but I'm going to guess it'll be dog-slow. Agreed. On Windows I rip CDs straight in to iTunes. For DVDs and BDs I rip using DVDFab and then use Handbrake to re-encode.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
dennismurphyPut me on hold? I'll put YOU on holdPremium
join:2002-11-19
Parsippany, NJ Reviews:
·Verizon FiOS
·Optimum Online
| said by Nezmo:For DVDs and BDs I rip using DVDFab and then use Handbrake to re-encode.
Even that's more work than RipIt... one stop shopping. 
OK, I'll stop now - I sound like a shill. Just a happy user with one of my favorite pieces of software ... |
|
 OctaveanPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY
kudos:1 | reply to Nezmo
I’m a little confused by your intended configuration in conjunction with your 6TB NAS.
It never occurred to me to use a Mini as an iTunes server. I have a Windows Home Server with about 16TB of storage capacity and all my media is on that. All iTunes installs as well as other programs that can access the music see the same music lineup.
I see my server as being analogous to your NAS but I don’t quite understand the function of a dedicated Mac Mini being added.
Just looking to understand a little better,.. |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1
4 edits | said by Octavean:I’m a little confused by your intended configuration in conjunction with your 6TB NAS.
It never occurred to me to use a Mini as an iTunes server. I have a Windows Home Server with about 16TB of storage capacity and all my media is on that. All iTunes installs as well as other programs that can access the music see the same music lineup.
I see my server as being analogous to your NAS but I don’t quite understand the function of a dedicated Mac Mini being added.
Just looking to understand a little better,..
Fair question.
I have iTunes running on my main desktop in my Study. All media is stored on my NAS and backed-up to another NAS nightly. Using iTunes I stream to an Apple TV and several AEXs and Airplay devices around my property. I mostly initiate music from the iPad and iPhone Remote apps and movies from the Apple TV. I also sometimes use laptops to browse and play the stuff using Home Sharing. Obviously I need to have my desktop on and iTunes running to serve all this.
I turn my desktop off at night. My machine has also become bloated and iTunes runs like crap on Windows. Yes, the latter might change when v11 finally drops but for as long as I can remember iTunes has been slow and a memory hog on Windows (latest problem is some background syncing service pegs my CPU at 25-40% permanently). That and the need to have the power-hungry desktop always on is a drag. I therefore want to move to using a Mini as the iTunes server. Yes, it too will always need to be on but it's low power consumption and quiet operation is appealing and I am hoping iTunes will run better on it. The Mini will simply access the NAS for the media just like my Windows box does now. I guess that poses another question in that will the Mini be able to read my NAS seamlessly? I use WDs MyBookLives and they say Mac compatible.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
| reply to HiVolt
said by HiVolt:said by itguy05:That's usually how it starts. Next thing all your "serious computing" will be on OS X.
Certainly not on a Mac mini... Then I guess the real computing I do every day on my 2008 Unibody Macbook Pro (when they first came out I got it) must not be getting done. Real work like photo editing, video editing, general Internet work, Virtual Machine work, etc.
Thanks for clearing that up for me as I guess even today's Mini must be a step backwards from a 4 year old computer. |
|
| reply to Nezmo
said by Nezmo:Next question... From time to time I still need to rip CDs and DVDs/BDs. No optical drive in the Mini obviously and I don't want to get one. So, it looks like I'll need to rip on Windows then transfer files to my NAS and import in to iTunes on the Mini. Any tricks to making this simpler?
When I dropped my Macbook Pro and killed the optical drive, I picked up a $59 USB HP DVD burner from Best Buy and that works fine. Burns from iTunes, the Finder, and Toast fine. It will also read in CD's to iTunes.
If you have a USB optical drive laying around try it in the Mini, I bet it works. Pretty much any recent USB drive will work as long as it doesn't need funky drivers. I don't think I've run across something that needs funky drivers in 5 years. Few of my external drives specifically list Mac compatibility but they work 100%. Most time you just reformat them from FAT32/NTFS to Journaled HFS+ and they work fine. |
|
RiamenPremium
join:2002-11-04
Calgary | reply to HiVolt
said by HiVolt:Yeah, but its still a laptop in a square box, with an integrated GPU... Not all minis. My 2011 mini has a Radeon HD 6630M GPU. |
|
 not quite rightI'm not cool enough to be a Mac person
join:2001-06-23
Puyallup, WA
kudos:1
 ·Vonage
·Comcast
| said by Riamen:said by HiVolt:Yeah, but its still a laptop in a square box, with an integrated GPU... Not all minis. My 2011 mini has a Radeon HD 6630M GPU. As does mine ...AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics with 256 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory.
--
Not many people know this, but I happen to be quite famous... |
|
not quite rightI'm not cool enough to be a Mac person
join:2001-06-23
Puyallup, WA
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Vonage
·Comcast
| reply to Riamen
said by Riamen:said by HiVolt:Yeah, but its still a laptop in a square box, with an integrated GPU... Not all minis. My 2011 mini has a Radeon HD 6630M GPU. As does mine ...AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics with 256 MB of dedicated GDDR5 memory.
--
Not many people know this, but I happen to be quite famous... |
|
 skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2
·Cox HSI
 ·Clear Wireless
| reply to itguy05
No kidding, a bottom tier 2011 mini with 16GB with a 256GB SSD easily replaced my Mac Pro Quad 3GHz for ACAD and NX. Others must have a different idea of serious computing than I do. Minis rule, stuff that takes up tons of desk space drools. The only reason I would pass on a mini is to run multiple monitors since I have nothing but issues with running TB and HDMI at the same time. Even then I would run an iMac and 2nd TBolt instead of an MP. |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1
1 edit | reply to Nezmo
Probably picking up the Mini today. Already have the Superdrive scheduled for store pick-up from Best Buy later.
When I first boot the Mini what are my options for getting it set-up? Remember, my final state is a headless Mini that I will tap in to using remote desktop software form my PC as necessary. How do I first set-up the Mini given it will not have a keyboard and screen attached to configure, etc?
My keyboard is BT and my mouse is non-BT wireless.
Edit - I guess I'll hook in to one of my TVs over HDMI and try and pair my BT keyboard with it.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·Clear Wireless
| If you are going to best buy, ask if they have any open boxed mini's. If they do and it looks in good shape you can haggle yourself a good deal. I got my T-Bolt display for $150 off taking an as-new open box and picked up a $499 mini that was also perfect. |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1 | said by skeechan:If you are going to best buy, ask if they have any open boxed mini's. If they do and it looks in good shape you can haggle yourself a good deal. I got my T-Bolt display for $150 off taking an as-new open box and picked up a $499 mini that was also perfect.
Thanks. Online they do not have Minis for instore pickup and I could not find any Macs when I went in - not even a place for them. They had accessories and iPads only. I will admit I did not stop to ask as time was short. I'll give them a call.
Edit - seems the store I went to was not qualified to sell them. Another nearby does so I'm off to see them shortly.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
NezmoThe name's Bond. James Bond.Premium,MVM
join:2004-11-10
Coppell, TX
kudos:1 | reply to skeechan
said by skeechan:If you are going to best buy, ask if they have any open boxed mini's. If they do and it looks in good shape you can haggle yourself a good deal. I got my T-Bolt display for $150 off taking an as-new open box and picked up a $499 mini that was also perfect.
Thanks for your suggestion. I found an open box Mini. I have it set up and I'm in the process of moving over my iTunes library/XML files now.
--
My Gallery
Formerly Nezmo |
|
 Count ZeroObama-Biden 2012Premium
join:2007-01-18
Winston Salem, NC | reply to Nezmo
I just picked up 16GB of low-latency DDR3 for $60 from Newegg. Would have gotten the regular stuff but for the price this stuff had better reviews :P |
|
skeechanAi OtsukaholicPremium
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Cox HSI
·Clear Wireless
| I have the worst luck with RAM in my Macs. Even when getting supposedly Mac certified RAM...as if there should be any difference at all...I get RAM that won't post in a Mac but will post in a PC. I have since started getting all of my Mac RAM from OWC. |
|
