Mac mini server 2011 rocks for post

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by Henchman

It looks like it will take a good 24 hours or so to upload.
I'll keep an eye on it, and as soon as it is done, I will post here

Another 6 hours.
Should be done by 2:30

[brandoncross]

What is the advantage of a Mac mini over another type I Mac like a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. Seems like the Mac mini is the most limited type of Mac. So why use it for post?

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by brandoncross

What is the advantage of a Mac mini over another type I Mac like a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. Seems like the Mac mini is the most limited type of Mac. So why use it for post?

Price for performance is excellent.
How much is a 16 gig i7 MacBook Pro?
How much for a 16 gig Mac Pro?

A 2011 quadcore i7, 16 gig Mac mini server can be had for under $850

[Whitecat]

Importantly, try mixing with a MacBook Pro running with fans at full tilt right in front of you.

The Mac mini can be put far away from you...

Not to mention the fact that Mark's has two fast internal HDDs as stock... no voiding the warranty to separate the system from the work drive.

[dmitri]

Originally Posted by Whitecat

Importantly, try mixing with a MacBook Pro running with fans at full tilt right in front of you.

Oh yes, just recently tried it out of curiosity on a TV drama stereo mix session. Monitoring through Metric Halo ULN-8 and Dynaudio BM-6A, acoustically treated room. No problems technically, but the fan noise of the top-specked 2011 MacBookPro for instance makes backgrounds completely undistinguishable. No chance for any serious mixing.

[Macky]

Not having much luck in downloading the SL DMG unfortunately
It keeps terminating early.
Will persevere all the same

[celticrogues]

Originally Posted by Macky

Not having much luck in downloading the SL DMG unfortunately
It keeps terminating early.
Will persevere all the same

It hasn't actually been fully uploaded yet. I've disabled downloading until it gets up there - will let you know when its ready to go.

Thanks!
-Mike

[Macky]

Ah.. i see
Okay Mike
Thanks

[celticrogues]

Alright everybody those files are now successfully uploaded and ready for you to download.

Thanks Henchman for dealing with all the FTP problems.

Let me know if you have any questions - the files are big so it may take awhile to download.


Cheers!
-Mike

[NReichman]

I got excited about Henchman's experience here, and thought that I would upgrade from my current Mac Pro to a new Mac mini.

But, so many Thunderbolt devices I would need terminate with ONE Thunderbolt jack. The HD|Native box and the Blackmagic Intensity are both meant to be on the end of the Thunderbolt chain. How can you do that with a Mac mini??

I guess for my needs, I'll have to stick with my giant Harpertown Mac Pro until Apple comes out with a CPU that has two or more Thunderbolt ports. I don't really want to buy an iMac. Any suggestions from the braintrust?

[mgoorevich]

Seems like I am lazy a bit... to find the info.
Does Mac mini server 2011 have the optical output on mini jack?
Mac Mini Server 2012 has it.
It would make up my setup easier to connect to Central Station monitor controller via optical out.

[celticrogues]

Originally Posted by celticrogues

Alright everybody those files are now successfully uploaded and ready for you to download.

Thanks Henchman for dealing with all the FTP problems.

Let me know if you have any questions - the files are big so it may take awhile to download.


Cheers!
-Mike

So here's an update for anyone who is or did download this software.

The Snow Leopard DMG that was originally uploaded - called "Mac Mini SL INstall" - does not work. It seems to be just an empty DMG file, and can't be used to install anything. The correct, working one is uploaded now - it is just called "SL Install". This one does work great.

I installed this last night - a couple of notes for anyone who is interested - for some reason you have to have your external monitor connected via the HDMI port for the snow leopard install. If you have a monitor connected via the thunderbolt/mini display port (as I did at first), you won't get any picture.
Also, the monitor may look weird and fuzzy wile the software is installing, but once it is on there it should work fine.

Thanks again Henchman for providing all this!
-Mike

[Leverson]

Just thought I'd bump this for those looking for Snow Leopard installs:

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Again Available on the Apple Online Store -

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Again Available on the Apple Online Store - Mac Rumors

[cinetj]

Originally Posted by celticrogues

So here's an update for anyone who is or did download this software.

The Snow Leopard DMG that was originally uploaded - called "Mac Mini SL INstall" - does not work. It seems to be just an empty DMG file, and can't be used to install anything. The correct, working one is uploaded now - it is just called "SL Install". This one does work great.

I installed this last night - a couple of notes for anyone who is interested - for some reason you have to have your external monitor connected via the HDMI port for the snow leopard install. If you have a monitor connected via the thunderbolt/mini display port (as I did at first), you won't get any picture.
Also, the monitor may look weird and fuzzy wile the software is installing, but once it is on there it should work fine.

Thanks again Henchman for providing all this!
-Mike

Trying to download it. The connection dropped in the middle both times. Going for a third one. Please don't take it away from the server.

[nucelar]

Here's an explanation and demo of the Fusion Drive technology in the new 2012 mac minis.
Holy Sh*t, Apple's Fusion Drive Is Quick

[celticrogues]

Originally Posted by cinetj

Trying to download it. The connection dropped in the middle both times. Going for a third one. Please don't take it away from the server.

I won't. Are you using a web browser to download? If so give Cyberduck a try instead. It's a bit more reliable than the web browser thing.

-Mike

[cinetj]

Originally Posted by celticrogues

I won't. Are you using a web browser to download? If so give Cyberduck a try instead. It's a bit more reliable than the web browser thing.

-Mike

Thank you. Since I've already started a new download from my browser (almost halfway trough) , I'll give it a last shot. If it fails again, cyberduck it is.

[laskartcom]

Originally Posted by Henchman

I just got my Mac mini server setup with PT's 9.
What a great deal.
Quadcore i7, so pro-tools sees it at as an 8 core machine.
2 internal 500 gig 7200 rpm drives, so you can have a dedicated audio drive.

It took me a few days to create a dual boot with Snow Leopard, as you can't officially downgrade to it. But it's all working great now.

Great computer in such a small package.

How did you make Snow Leopard work on it?
Thank you.

[Henchman]

Read back though this thread. I created a patched snow leopard install disk.

[georgia]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Doing really well.
Just started mixing "Sons of Anarchy", so quite busy.
You? I should stop by again soon.

You lucky devil! I LOVE SOA... my fav show. Hope you're having fun!

cheers
geo

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by georgia

You lucky devil! I LOVE SOA... my fav show. Hope you're having fun!

cheers
geo

I AM lucky.
It's my favorite show as well.
It helped knowing all the characters when I started mixing as well.

[jrhager84]

Wait. You're mixing SoA on a Mac mini!? Damn, maybe I should put my Mac pro out to pasture! Lol

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[Henchman]

Originally Posted by jrhager84

Wait. You're mixing SoA on a Mac mini!? Damn, maybe I should put my Mac pro out to pasture! Lol

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No. The mac mini is at home.

[jrhager84]

You think it could handle it? Sorry I must've mixed somebody up somewhere. I never thought they had that much horsepower...

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[Pedantic Sound]

I took a screen shot of the session I'm editing right now on my Mac Mini Server. 6 reels, and another copy of the OMF hidden and inactive (not sure if hidden tracks have any effect on performance, but I guess it's worth mentioning). My MMS is basically stock, 2 500gig 7200 RPM drives, i7, only change I made is an upgrade to 8gigs RAM. The MMS can run this session with absolutely no problems, I've yet to see any buffer errors, disc write errors, DAE issues. The only thing that's happened is an "unexpected quit", which can hardly be blamed on the MMS.

It's a damn good editing machine. I kind of doubt it could handle a full mix, but maybe.

And yes, TC is off, for some reason they stamped the timecode at 24FPS on the video... it's really 29.97

[Henchman]

Yeah pretty amazing bang for the buck, if you ask me.

[pisser]

Not that its the same complexity of SOA, but I'm using my MMS to mix Real Housewives of Vancouver and it doesn't even blink. Tons of dialog tracks, a ton of automation and clip gain, mucho plugs (EQ. comps, NR) and simultaneous 5.1 and LtRt downmix, plus recording 15 stems as I go.

[jrhager84]

Wow. I will have to look into them, then... My old Mac pro is getting quite long in the tooth.

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[BIGBANGBUZZ]

you could easily play 100± tracks with it I bet

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[jrhager84]

At what sample rate, though?

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