Topic: After headless MacMini wakes, no sound until I connect with Screens (Read 12128 times)

nununo · « **on:** June 14, 2014, 06:06:33 pm »

Hi,

I'll try to describe my problem:

1. MacMini goes to sleep (eventually, normally)
2. Later, using iPhone JRemote I successfully wake it and connect to it and choose a song and press play
3. No sound...
4. I wait... no sound...
5. When I connect to it using Screens... and...
6. The song I had just selected starts playing

This is very annoying because it means that whenever MacMini goes to sleep I'll have to connect to it using Screens and only then can I listen to music.

Please advise.

Regards,
Nuno

mwheelerk · « **Reply #1 on:** June 14, 2014, 06:36:25 pm »

Does your library reside on the internal HDD of the MacMini or an external HDD?

nununo · « **Reply #2 on:** June 14, 2014, 07:33:41 pm »

Hi, both the library and the files reside on the internal HDD.
Thanks,
Nuno

6233638 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 14, 2014, 07:53:15 pm »

I don't have a Mac Mini so I can't say whether this will solve your problem, but I do know there are other issues when you try to use them without a display connected.

An adapter like this might solve your problems: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLZXGJ6/

nununo · « **Reply #4 on:** June 15, 2014, 07:00:17 am »

Thanks! I agree. And I already have that exact model ;-)

It is indeed fantastic as it solved all my problems (screen resolution, refresh rate, etc.)... except this one.

Maybe it's a JRiver bug? Because it looks like the Mac does wake up and JRemote interacts with the Media Player to the point that it actually chooses the song I want to play. It just doesn't start playing it until I connect with Screens.

Any other suggestions?

Regards,
Nuno

mwheelerk · « **Reply #5 on:** June 15, 2014, 07:03:03 pm »

Quote from: nununo on June 14, 2014, 07:33:41 pm

Hi, both the library and the files reside on the internal HDD.
Thanks,
Nuno

The reason I asked is I have a Mac Mini and use Screens but my library is on an external HDD. I experienced previously that the HDD might not wake when the Mac Mini awoke and so the library files were not being seen. I no longer allow the Mac Mini to sleep and I'm sure to "launch" the HDD via Screens prior to opening JRiver.

nununo · « **Reply #6 on:** June 15, 2014, 07:12:13 pm »

Hi mwheelerk,

I see. So you have a different problem with a somewhat similar consequence. For me it's just not acceptable since my girlfriend doesn't have Screens and doesn't even know how to remotely connect to the MacMini but she has JRemote and she'd like to simply load it, choose some music and play it.

And, as far as I can understand, it should be possible, except for the fact that the Media Player doesn't start until one actually connects to the computer remotely.

Maybe it's some missing configuration.

Can someone from JRiver shed some light on this?

Thanks,
Nuno

6233638 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 15, 2014, 08:02:01 pm »

Are other applications able to play audio? E.g. iTunes.

nununo · « **Reply #8 on:** June 16, 2014, 05:20:46 am »

Hi,

Actually only JRiver is loaded and I give it exclusive access to the audio device.
But that's indeed a good test. I'll try to remove the exclusivity and load iTunes and try it.

I'll report once I've tested it (next week, since I'll travel abroad today)

Thanks,
Nuno

GoldenEar · « **Reply #9 on:** June 26, 2014, 05:52:46 am »

This seems to be very similar to my problem described here. http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=89941.0

In my case the Mac mini is connected to a Devialet which is an amp with integrated DAC. If I operate MC via screen sharing, everything works ok. But if I wake it with JRemote, I don't get sound until I use screen sharing to go to MC on the Mac mini. I suspect that it is more a problem with JRemote than with MC.

glynor · « **Reply #10 on:** June 26, 2014, 05:34:42 pm »

Are you using the HDMI output for audio out?

GoldenEar · « **Reply #11 on:** June 27, 2014, 01:33:26 pm »

No, I'm using USB.

nununo · « **Reply #12 on:** June 28, 2014, 09:27:10 am »

I also use USB. The HDMI is used for the headless display simulator gimick.

glynor · « **Reply #13 on:** June 28, 2014, 03:01:09 pm »

I'd be willing to bet that OSX's Power Saver settings are sleeping (shutting down) the USB ports, and they aren't waking until something wakes the actual machine fully.

The WOL command should wake the computer up fully, including lighting up the screen. If not, then WOL might not be getting through your Gateway/Router. WOL is a pain to set up. Here are some details that might be helpful:
http://osxdaily.com/2013/12/14/wake-on-lan-mac-iphone/
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3774
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/88098/wake-on-demand-no-more-working
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1426631
http://sysadminblogger.wordpress.com/2013/12/02/os-x-mavericks-wake-for-network-access-with-no-random-wake-ups/

You'll probably have better luck disabling sleep until you get it figured out and tested. I can test mine with the onboard audio if you want, though I don't think that'll help either of you.

nununo · « **Reply #14 on:** June 29, 2014, 10:09:09 am »

Hi glynor,

What you say makes a lot of sense. I'll investigate. Thanks for the links!

Nuno

bplexico · « **Reply #15 on:** July 02, 2014, 10:02:41 pm »

I am not sure if it will solve you issue but I use the application WakeOnLan on my Mac (and iPad) to startup my Synology NAS when it has been shutdown.

It works great. You could test that with your Mac Mini to see if it resolves the issue, if so, worst case, you can install it next to JREMOTE on whatever device your girlfriend uses. You should also give the Mac Mini a static IP address as it is easier to locate in the WakeOnLan application.

http://www.readpixel.com/wakeonlan/

nununo · « **Reply #16 on:** July 07, 2014, 04:39:46 am »

My MacMini already has a static IP. The MacMini and JRiver don't depend on the Synology so this should have no impact. But thank you! Also, JRemote supposedly has a WakeOnLan button for the MacMini which seems to work.

bplexico · « **Reply #17 on:** July 07, 2014, 07:37:33 pm »

Oops, sorry I don't know why I thought you had a NAS....

glynor · « **Reply #18 on:** July 07, 2014, 10:15:07 pm »

Any luck with disabling sleep?

If you're able to disable sleep and make the problem go away, then we know it is sleep related. I don't use my Mini as a MC Server (it is a client of my Windows machine), so I don't have any direct experience with what you're trying to accomplish.

Maybe there's a bug in how MC handles waking a Mac with a USB audio device? Or, maybe, OSX's Power Management API just doesn't allow it to work (or is buggy itself)? Or, maybe your audio device's driver is buggy or misconfigured, and it isn't waking when the OS tells it to, because it is "mistreating" the screen wake event from the API as a synonym for the wake command (due to incompetence, poor design, laziness, or maybe just a bug)? Or, perhaps most likely, you don't have the magic packets coming through your network to achieve WOL? This is typically a non-trivial task.

Servers like to be on all the time. That's why data centers gobble down power like MRI machines. I think you can do it, or you can with Windows at least, but it takes some elbow grease.

BUT... That's a valuable test because maybe something completely unrelated to the sleep/wake state of your machine is happening? Perhaps the mouse wiggling fix is incidental, or required for a different reason...

I'd test (and report the results of individually):

1. The default, built-in audio device on the Mini.
2. Sleep disabled.
3. Trying a SMC reset (the universal "something is weird with my Mac's power or heat stuff" fix-it automatic doctor recalibration thingy).

nununo · « **Reply #19 on:** August 07, 2014, 08:29:20 pm »

Hello,

Thanks for your suggestions. I tested it and indeed it works fine when I disable sleep. So it really must be something which doesn't get activated (the audio driver?) before some sort of GUI event like you suggest (not a mouse click since the moment I connect to it using Screens the sound starts).

But actually disabling sleep is really not an option since I don't want the MacMini to stay there, idle, wasting energy for no reason for most of the day. My Synology NAS stays on the whole day but it has a sleep option which keeps it alive in the network. As for the MacMini... I don't consider it a server. It's my player. Ok. But I can spend many days without listening to music and it's pointless to keep it on the whole time. I must find a workaround.

Thanks again!
Nuno

Wybe · « **Reply #20 on:** August 08, 2014, 11:35:11 am »

What do you think is the difference in energy consumption between an operational headless Mac mini and a headless Mac mini in sleep mode? I installed an SSD for OSX and leave the MM on during daytime. It only shuts down (forced shutdown via a script) between 2 and 9 am. Works perfectly well!

nununo · « **Reply #21 on:** August 16, 2014, 06:43:20 pm »

I don't think. I've measured it. It's 15W on and 1W on standy. That's 15x more!
I will soon install an SSD drive on it. Maybe the 15W go down somewhat. Still... the difference will be substantial.
But the idea of having it turn on and off automatically through a script is interesting

I'll muse on it. Thanks!

JimH · « **Reply #22 on:** August 16, 2014, 09:33:05 pm »

The Id uses 7 watts during audio playback.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #23 on:** August 17, 2014, 12:42:05 am »

I can't talk about a MacMini, but in Windows you can independently set the USB ports not to turn off, in the Advanced Settings of Power Options. There are also often settings in BIOS that allows USB ports to be turned off or not by the operating system.

When Windows can't turn off USB ports, the PC will wake from sleep with all ports active. When it can turn off ports, it is possible for the PC to wake but the USB ports to remain unpowered, or in a minimal power state.

Are there power settings on a MacMini that would achieve the same thing? I would expect that there are, but they may be hard to find. Worth looking, and testing I would think.

nununo · « **Reply #24 on:** August 17, 2014, 09:34:01 am »

Jim, sorry about my ignorance but what is ID?

RoderickGI, I search the web and found nothing related to customizing the USB ports for staying active. Thanks for the great tip, though.

Cheers,
Nuno

JimH · « **Reply #25 on:** August 17, 2014, 09:42:08 am »

JRiver Id.
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=89084.0

nununo · « **Reply #26 on:** August 17, 2014, 09:47:12 am »

Ah that's interesting. I didn't know about it. Thanks.

RoderickGI · « **Reply #27 on:** August 18, 2014, 01:14:52 am »

Quote from: nununo on August 17, 2014, 09:34:01 am

RoderickGI, I search the web and found nothing related to customizing the USB ports for staying active. Thanks for the great tip, though.

I didn't find anything equivalent to the Windows functionality for the MacMini either. Strange, as usually in any UNIX based product everything is configurable. Although UNIX never handled power management all that well.

What I did find was a little utility called SleepWatcher that may be able to force your USB to wake up when the MacMini wakes up, or to force the MacMini to fully awaken. See http://www.bernhard-baehr.de/

But you may want to confirm that the USB staying asleep is the problem first. Maybe if you have a USB stick with an LED on it you could see if the LED lights up when the MacMini wakes. Or maybe your USB DAC (which I am assuming is what is connected to the MacMini) displays something when it detects a USB connection?

Also, if you have a powered USB hub and put it between the MacMini and the USB DAC, do the USB LEDs light up and does the problem go away?

Just thinking out load, since I'm no OS X expert.

nununo · « **Reply #28 on:** August 19, 2014, 06:04:32 am »

Hi RoderickGI,

Thanks for showing me that utility! And for suggesting that test.
I will try to test if the USB ports are indeed off and then see if this utility can be of use.

Thanks!

Regards,
Nuno

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Author Topic: After headless MacMini wakes, no sound until I connect with Screens (Read 12128 times)