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how to control iMac from another room

T

TFL167

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 26, 2014
38
0
UK
new to OS X and trying to find my way around. How can i control my iMac 5k from the living room when mac is upstairs without having to keep going upstairs to stop start or pause a movie or such.

I was using vlc player yo play a sports training dvd and needed to pause it so that i could catch my breathe or stop and start it again. I don't have a blue tooth k/board
 
TFL167 said:
new to OS X and trying to find my way around. How can i control my iMac 5k from the living room when mac is upstairs without having to keep going upstairs to stop start or pause a movie or such.

I was using vlc player yo play a sports training dvd and needed to pause it so that i could catch my breathe or stop and start it again. I don't have a blue tooth k/board
Click to expand...
If you have a notebook computer, you could use TeamViewer to control it. You might look into using Plex for playing movies. If you have that on your iMac, you can get Plex on your iPhone or iPad to control playback. No matter what method you select, you'll need either another computer or smartphone or tablet to control from that distance.
 
Thanks for the fast response i will have a look at both. I do have an iPad and iPhone 6+. Also was hoping to find something that would allow me to use my iMac as a normal desktop from the living room besides just controlling movies. Is there such a thing out there

How do i list what I have so that it can be seen without having to type it every time i post for help?

for example: iphone 6+, iPad mini, Apple superdrive , iMac 5K -

4.0GHz QC i7 Turboboost 4.4GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM-2X4GB
512GB Flash Storage
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 4GB GDDR5
MAGIC MOUSE+MAGIC TRACKPAD-Z
APPLE BATTERY CHARGER-B
Apple Num Kybd+User's Guide-B
COUNTRY KIT-B
 
TFL167 said:
Thanks for the fast response i will have a look at both. I do have an iPad and iPhone 6+. Also was hoping to find something that would allow me to use my iMac as a normal desktop from the living room besides just controlling movies. Is there such a thing out there
Click to expand...
You could use TeamViewer to control your iMac from your iPad or iPhone, but it wouldn't be very efficient, due to the limitations in the small screens. Also, using a TV screen as a monitor isn't the best approach, as the resolution isn't designed for that.
TFL167 said:
How do i list what I have so that it can be seen without having to type it every time i post for help?
Click to expand...
Go here and edit your signature.
 
Frozone9 said:
Isn't there a VLC remote app?

Or the apple Remote app?
Click to expand...
Didn't know about the VLC remote app, but that should work. The Apple Remote app wouldn't control VLC; only iTunes. Neither would allow complete control of the iMac remotely, but only media playback from VLC or iTunes.
 
thanks i also came across vlc streamer. But unsure which one to use.What would you use vlc streamer or vlc remote and why.

thanks again as i said before I'm new at this so I appreciate all the help.
 
TFL167 said:
thanks i also came across vlc streamer. But unsure which one to use.What would you use vlc streamer or vlc remote and why.

thanks again as i said before I'm new at this so I appreciate all the help.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned before, I use Plex for managing and playing movies, TV shows, etc. With Plex Server running on a Mac, you can then play content on that Mac, or on any other computer, smartphone or tablet on the same WiFi network. You can also play content on your HDTV if you have an Apple TV connected to it.
 
Im a novice to this. Is this easy enough to set up? I would like to give it a go. where do i get this app from as i can't find it in app store
 
TFL167 said:
Im a novice to this. Is this easy enough to set up? I would like to give it a go. where do i get this app from as i can't find it in app store
Click to expand...
Follow the link in my last post. Yes, it's pretty simple to set up.
 
Thanks busy looking at Plex now. Just quick question can the server be installed on external h/drive.
I have a 1TB drive that i can reformat as i used it for my pc before i got my iMac. Do i have to anything specific to the drive in order to install server to it like installing OS X to it or such
 
TFL167 said:
Thanks busy looking at Plex now. Just quick question can the server be installed on external h/drive.
I have a 1TB drive that i can reformat as i used it for my pc before i got my iMac. Do i have to anything specific to the drive in order to install server to it like installing OS X to it or such
Click to expand...
You would have the Plex Server software running on your iMac like any other app, with the actual movie files stored on an external drive. When you install the Plex Server, you can specify what location(s) your files are stored in. They can be on internal or external drives, or on other drives accessible via your network.
 
thanks i was asking as i only have 512g on internal h/drive. So great i can store them on external :)
 
TFL167 said:
Thanks busy looking at Plex now. Just quick question can the server be installed on external h/drive.
I have a 1TB drive that i can reformat as i used it for my pc before i got my iMac. Do i have to anything specific to the drive in order to install server to it like installing OS X to it or such
Click to expand...

Plex is easy to install and configure. If you have any problems drop me a PM
 
If you want to use plea only on 1 computer its easier with XBMC (new name is Kodi). Its only client, and not server and client software like Plex. (Plex is a branch from XBMC)

But if its just for some sport videos i think vlc with vlc remote app works fine, as with Plex and XBMC you have to think of Media Management.
 
Frozone9 said:
If you want to use plea only on 1 computer its easier with XBMC (new name is Kodi). Its only client, and not server and client software like Plex. (Plex is a branch from XBMC)
Click to expand...
One thing to note about this: if you want to use your iPad or iPhone, you can use Plex on those devices natively. For XBMC/Kodi, your device would need to be jailbroken.
 
For remote viewing of videos, use Air Video on your ipad (and Air Video server on your mac). Way better and easier than the dog's breakfast that is Plex. Plex assumes you either have a dozen videos or that you want to parade through endless pictures instead of going straight to the video you want.

For remote control, I've started using Parallels Access (which is free with Parallels 10). It's excellent for remote control either locally or from a distance, and genuinely allows me to use imac apps from the ipad on the move. It's quite weird using Windows on an ipad!
 
All this is nice, but guys the Thread starter just wants to remote control his video running on his computer.

Easiest way: Install a remote app on ur phone, without changing everything on ur computer.
Plex, XBMC: Are media center software. Really nice and I recommend them, but to much for his needs and he would still need a remote app on his phone anyway.
 
Thanks I eventually went with the VLC remote for now until i can do some more research for the Plex. I will definitely go with the Plex but just not yet
 
I use teamviewer it is free and I can control my iMac with my phone or my laptop. I use my the most to control it. It's super easy.
 
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