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[al1947]

I am just lost. I am trying to set up what should be one of the simplest possible media network configuration:

I am running Media Center 24 for Mac on two Macs. Call them, for simplicity, "Mac 1" and "Mac 2." They are on the same network and are connected via Ethernet. Using the "add library" function, I have been able to add Mac 1's library to the Mac 2 installation and vice versa. I can play the Mac 1's library on 2 and vice versa. What I cannot manage to set up is playing the same music on both Macs (and their connected speaker systems).

My best guess is that I am not setting up zones correctly. Using the standard add zone dialog, I see no option to set up the library on the other Mac to be a zone. Only lets me create a zone on the same Mac.

Can someone point me in the right direction?

FYI, I have looked at:

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Media_Network
https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/ZoneLink
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=58630.0

[RoderickGI]

So, you have two separate Libraries, on two separate MC Servers, and you have set up being able to run either as a Server, and either as a Client of the other Mac. Correct?

Does each Mac have a different set of media files on it, or accesses a different set of media files stored elsewhere, or something similar, for you to set them up this way? It is unusual, to say the least. If you don't have two separate sets of media files that you are deliberately keeping separate, please tell us more about where your media files are stored, how each Mac accesses them, and why you have set MC up this way.

Generally speaking, one PC/Mac is set up as the MC Server with access to the media files, and the other connects to it as a MC Client. Then either Mac could play any media to either Mac's speaker. Plus you can link Zones across the two and play music on both Macs at the same time.


Mac1 Zones can only be created on Mac1. Mac2 Zones can only be created on Mac2. If Mac1 is the Server, it will have a default Zone of "Player". On Mac2 running as a MC Client, that Zone will appear as "There" rather than as "Player". In fact, whatever Zone is currently selected on Mac1 will be presented as "There" on Mac2.

On Mac2, if you link the "Player" Zone to the "There" Zone, you can play to either Zone and music will play on both Mac1 and Mac2. You would then probably want to right-click on one of the Zones and select Adjust Link Timing to synchronise the playback in each zone. Otherwise they are likely to be a little out of sync. I still get the music go out of sync at each track change though, which is annoying, and why I don't use linking of Zones across PCs.
https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/ZoneSync Plus search the forum for ZoneSync.

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There is also an alternate way to set this up, if both Mac1 and Mac2 are running DLNA servers. This is using Zonesync 2.

Let's just assume that Mac1 and Mac2 are the names of the Macs as they appear on the network, then with each running their own local Library, the other will appear under Playing Now as a Dynamic (DLNA) Zone. So on Mac1, Mac2 will appear under Playing Now, and on Mac2, Mac1 will appear under Playing Now. You can then link Player on Mac1 to the Mac2 Dynamic Zone, and then play music on Mac1 and it will be played on Mac2 as well.

In this second configuration I find that the audio synchronisation is much better. There is no Adjust Link Timing function and DLNA commands are used to automatically retain synchronisation.

But then if you also link Player on Mac2 to the Mac1 Dynamic Zone, strange things can happen. Probably MC will end up unresponsive, as Mac2 is playing to itself and Mac1, which is playing to itself and Mac2. So don't do that.

However, now that you have linked Mac1's Player Zone to Mac2's Player Zone, playing anything on Mac2's Player Zone will also play on Mac1's Player zone. The display of track in Playing Now may look a bit different though, with Mac2's Player Zone only adding one track at a time, while Mac2's Playing Now shows all tracks added.

Just watch what happens on track change using the like this way around. I saw some strange things, such as tracks being skipped. I saw only every second track being played. If you see that, please report it.


You can see what is going on via "Playing Now > Overview". Both Macs should show what is in Playing Now for their local Zone.

[al1947]

So, you have two separate Libraries, on two separate MC Servers, and you have set up being able to run either as a Server, and either as a Client of the other Mac. Correct?

Does each Mac have a different set of media files on it, or accesses a different set of media files stored elsewhere, or something similar, for you to set them up this way? It is unusual, to say the least. If you don't have two separate sets of media files that you are deliberately keeping separate, please tell us more about where your media files are stored, how each Mac accesses them, and why you have set MC up this way.

Generally speaking, one PC/Mac is set up as the MC Server with access to the media files, and the other connects to it as a MC Client. Then either Mac could play any media to either Mac's speaker. Plus you can link Zones across the two and play music on both Macs at the same time..

@RoderickGI -- thanks for taking time to help. Let me explain how I got to the current setup, which would then assist me in implementing your recommendations.

I intentionally set up two separate libraries as servers. Duplicate copies of the music in both libraries, but somewhat different playlists, etc. One is connected via DAC to my home stereo system (traditional wired connections to speakers in various rooms). The other is on my desktop and plays through the powered speakers connected to it. Idea was to allow me to listen at my desk to different music from the rest of the house. (Didn't occur to me that I could do that with one shared library.)

Anyway, long story short, components of my stereo system have gone bad, and now I need to make use of MC24's networking capabilities as a workaround until I can get my system fixed.

So, if I am following you correctly, my underlying mistake is in having two servers running. If so, then how to I convert the desktop installation to a client from server? I am searching Interact for "set up client" and not immediately coming up with what I need. Is it just as simple as going to Options/Media Network and unchecking the "use media network" option? (Screenshot attached.)

[Scobie]

Yes once you share that library it should be available to other MC installs that can access that network. On the proposed client machine, attach and load that library.

It will then unload it’s local library and use (load) the one on your Server instance and should prompt you for credentials.

Then you need to validate the sync options between the client and server.

[al1947]

OK, I figured it out. On my desktop Mac, I renamed the ~/Library/Application/J River folder, then launched MC24. That rebuilt the folder with default settings. I then added the library from the Mac connected to the stereo system. "There" appeared under Now Playing along with Player, and I linked the two.

And that did it.

However, the lag that RoderickGI warned about was substantial and substantially annoying. Also, there isn't full two-way support for remote controlling. I can't, for example, initiate shuttle play on the stereo Mac library from the desktop Mac.

Frankly, Roon does zones, links, remote controls, and the like much better and much more easily. Would like to see MC catch up in that regard.

[RoderickGI]

Well that was a little drastic. You should have just been able to add the Server library and leave the local library alone on Mac2 (Desktop). Any installation of MC can run as both a Client and a Server, with its role changing based on the Library that it opens, Local or Remote. Also the alternate method I described uses two Servers, and then the synchronisation works much better. But if it worked, all good.

You should also have full control over playback, as long as you select the correct Zone before trying to make changes. That would be the Zone you are playing from. But I didn't try Shuffle or anything like that, and I don't normally use it, so can't be sure. But Play, Pause, skip, etc. works.

[al1947]

Not all THAT drastic! Couldn't get the "There" zone to materialize, and sometimes it's just faster to start from scratch rather than try to debug.

Once I started from scratch, I was able to implement both of your approaches. Definitely prefer Zonesync 2. Better sync without noticeable latency. Was a little twitchy the first time I tried it, but has worked like a charm thereafter.

Again, thanks to RoderickGI for all the help. Also, I would urge the webmasters to highlight his posting as a FAQ or the like.

[al1947]

Just watch what happens on track change using the like this way around. I saw some strange things, such as tracks being skipped. I saw only every second track being played. If you see that, please report it.

Yes, I am seeing jumping. Duly reporting it. Not often, but periodically play jumps from one track in mid-stream to the next. Haven't seen tracks totally skipped, though.