Is it possible to control a Mac Studio via a Macbook pro?

[joeriggs]

Hi,

I was wondering if it's possible to use a MacBook Pro (Screen, keyboard, and trackpad),
to interface/control the macstudio?

The idea is just to have a simple and portable setup (2 pieces of gear),
vs. a separate screen, laptop, mouse/trackpad, that all need to be connected.

Thanks

 

[Arctic Moose]

Yes, macOS comes with VNC, instructions here:

Share the screen of another Mac

On your Mac, use the Screen Sharing app to view and control the screen of another Mac on your network.

support.apple.com

You could also use TeamViewer, or one of many similar applications.

However, graphics performance will never be the same as a directly-connected screen.

 

[joeriggs]

Yes, macOS comes with VNC, instructions here:

Share the screen of another Mac

On your Mac, use the Screen Sharing app to view and control the screen of another Mac on your network.

support.apple.com

You could also use TeamViewer, or one of many similar applications.

However, graphics performance will never be the same as a directly-connected screen.

This would need to be setup prior using the Studio w/ a separate screen , keyboard and mouse though?

 

[ArkSingularity]

This would need to be setup prior using the Studio w/ a separate screen , keyboard and mouse though?

Yea, that's the downside, and I imagine it would probably be pretty hard to avoid given that some stuff needs to be configured on the Mac Studio. There is ALMOST a built in solution in Mac OS for it (you can easily mirror a Mac's display onto another Mac), but I'm not sure that this would work if the Mac didn't have a display to begin with. I imagine you'd probably have to at least have a display attached to it (Even if it were a tiny one just tucked away under the desk) before it would let you mirror it onto your Macbook.

 

[joeriggs]

Thanks, I'm so use to Macbook Pros and their easy setup and portability, but need the extra Horse power of the M1 Ultra
so I was hoping there might be a solution out there that would be almost be like a laptop - screen, keyboard, mouse pad together - that you can connect to the studio with a cable or two.

Any 3rd party accessories like this?

So setup is basically plug in Mac Studio, connect your "all in one" peripheral (screen, keyboard, mouse pad) that maybe even closes / opens like a laptop to the Studio.

 

[Puonti]

I haven't come across the kind of peripheral you're speaking of either. I use a Mac Studio through an iPad Pro (Screens on the iPad, built-in VNC server on the Mac) and had to initially connect the Mac to a projector to set things up.

Once that was done I relocated the Mac, powered it up again and now use it remotely. My peripherals are usually connected to the iPad, but since the Mac is nearby I can also connect them directly to it if I want to (for example in the case of a restart to get through the Filevault login).

This wouldn't be a convenient setup if my intent was to use the Mac like a regular desktop, so I totally get why you might want something more responsive and like a regular desktop experience. It is driven by the same hope to reduce unnecessary duplication of hardware, though. I hope you find something suitable!

 

[Arctic Moose]

This would need to be setup prior using the Studio w/ a separate screen , keyboard and mouse though?

Yes, initial setup will be difficult, but I'm sure you could borrow a monitor, keyboard and mouse?

You may need peripherals every now and then anyhow (although I ran file-sharing and iTunes from a Mac mini for years and years without ever connecting anything to it) so perhaps these would be good to have?

USB keyboard and trackpad for $35:

Vilros 15 Inch USB Keyboard with Touchpad-Great for Raspberry Pi

The keyboard can be connected to devices that have a standard USB interface. It also comes with a touchpad. An ultra-slim design while still maintaining full size keys, makes this keyboard a really comfortable experience. Dimensions: 14.76 x 5.09 x 0.69 Inches Weight 0.96lbs

www.amazon.com

Tiny monitor you can power over USB from the Mac Studio for $50:

HMTECH 7 Inch Raspberry Pi Screen 800x480 HDMI Portable Monitor IPS LCD Display for 4/3/2/Zero/B/B+ Win11/10/8/7 (Non-Touch)

HMTECH 7 Inch Raspberry Pi Screen Monitor 800x480 HDMI Non-Touch Portable Monitor 16:9 IPS Screen Display for Raspberry Pi 4/3/2/Zero/B/B+ Win10/8/7

www.amazon.com

 

[BrianBaughn]

BetterDisplay's dev says that with it you can "Use headless Macs (servers) with any resolution and HiDPI mode for remote access."

GitHub - waydabber/BetterDisplay: Unlock your displays on your Mac! Flexible HiDPI scaling, XDR/HDR extra brightness, virtual screens, DDC control, extra dimming, PIP/streaming, EDID override and lots more!

Unlock your displays on your Mac! Flexible HiDPI scaling, XDR/HDR extra brightness, virtual screens, DDC control, extra dimming, PIP/streaming, EDID override and lots more! - waydabber/BetterDisplay

github.com

 

[carl varley]

I use built in screen sharing over Ethernet on a M1 Mac mini to 2011 iMac. A hdmi dummy can be used for gpu acceleration in the Mac mini. These cost around £5-10 on Amazon and has a frame rate of around 30fps. You can go full screen for me that is 1440p or have the screen in a window. It also shares mouse keyboard and clipboard for copy and paste. It’s accessible just the same as sharing a drive.

 

[ColdCase]

I was thinking the same thing but thought I may have missed something. I use my Macbook to control several different mac computers all the time.

You may need a user account on the Studio, or know an existing account's info, and then use the share screen function on the MacBook to log into your Studio account. I use this routinely. I'm not sure if the Studio boots correctly without a display (headless) but there are inexpensive HDMI display emulators to solve that.

 

[Puonti]

I'm not sure if the Studio boots correctly without a display (headless) but there are inexpensive HDMI display emulators to solve that.

I'm unsure how you define "correctly", but if I tell my headless Mac Studio to restart here's what I experience:

1) VNC connection is lost

2) I give the Studio a bit of time to restart - say 30-60 seconds just to be in the clear

3) I switch my Logitech K811 BT keyboard to the Mac Studio and tap backspace a couple of times to ensure the connection is made, the Mac is awake and that there's no garbage in the Filevault password field

4) I enter my Filevault password

5) I reconnect VNC

 

[Arctic Moose]

I'm unsure how you define "correctly"

I believe some older Macs would refuse to boot without a monitor (or "dummy adapter") connected. IIRC I ran into this trying to install Linux on a 2006 Mac mini.

 

[haralds]

I am not sure, what your use case is for this. The Mac Studio is an expensive solution for headless serving.
VNC remote access makes you lose most of the interactive performance gains for things like Photoshop or video editing. For that use case, get a higher-end MacBook Pro with Max chip instead.
As a remote compute server, a Mini is much more economical, especially with M2 versions around the corner.

 

[joeriggs]

I use built in screen sharing over Ethernet on a M1 Mac mini to 2011 iMac. A hdmi dummy can be used for gpu acceleration in the Mac mini.

Screen sharing over wired ethernet sounds like a decent solution, you think this can be done
with a UBC-hub connected to the MBP that has a Ethernet port?

 

[Arctic Moose]

Screen sharing over wired ethernet sounds like a decent solution, you think this can be done with a UBC-hub connected to the MBP that has a Ethernet port?

Absolutely.

The Caldigit TS4 has 2.5 GbE:

Thunderbolt 4 Dock | TS4 | CalDigit – CalDigit

www.caldigit.com

If you want to match the 10 GbE of the Mac Studio you could get something like Sonnet Solo10G:

Solo10G (10GBASE-T 10Gb Ethernet Thunderbolt Adapter) - SONNETTECH

10GbE Thunderbolt adapter with NBASE-T support. Connects through a RJ45 10GbE port to 10GBASE-T 10GbE networks. For Thunderbolt 4 and 3 computers.

www.sonnettech.com

This is probably overkill though, you should be fine with practically any cheap GbE adapter.

I use the Caldigit TS3, the Plugable TBT3-UDC1 and an Maxonar USB-C Ethernet adapter and they all work fine.

 

[ColdCase]

Screen sharing over wired ethernet sounds like a decent solution, you think this can be done
with a UBC-hub connected to the MBP that has a Ethernet port?

Yes, I use wireless, ethernet networks and ethernet ad hoc. Just to add that you don't need much performance for remote control via screen share. If you are going to be watching a couple screens of 4K video remotely may be another story.

 

[carl varley]

Screen sharing over wired ethernet sounds like a decent solution, you think this can be done
with a UBC-hub connected to the MBP that has a Ethernet port?

I would have thought so, as long as it is a fast connection. I also used a thunderbolt 1 to 3 adapter and thunderbolt 1 cable and that worked a treat too, but started using gigabit ethernet as it was just as fast.

It just needs a network connection, I found a direct computer to computer connection worked the best. As heads up, make sure you turn off wifi just while the connection is made just for the first time you make it otherwise it will want to connect via that and has poor performance.

 

[Arctic Moose]

I would have thought so, as long as it is a fast connection. I also used a thunderbolt 1 to 3 adapter and thunderbolt 1 cable and that worked a treat too, but started using gigabit ethernet as it was just as fast.

This is a really good point!

If the MacBook and the Mac Studio will be sitting close enough, and both are equipped with Thunderbolt 3/4 ports, all you’d need is a $40 two-meter Thunderbolt cable that supports 40 Gb/s data transfer to have a really fast and low-latency connection.

I was assuming the Studio would be off in a closet, but of course that does not need to be the case.

 

[carl varley]

This is a really good point!

If the MacBook and the Mac Studio will be sitting close enough, and both are equipped with Thunderbolt 3/4 ports, all you’d need is a $40 two-meter Thunderbolt cable that supports 40 Gb/s data transfer to have a really fast and low-latency connection.

I was assuming the Studio would be off in a closet, but of course that does not need to be the case.

I would have thought it would have more fps too but it really did not help for me. Gigabit ethernet was about the same as 10 gigabit thunderbolt between 25 to 30fps on both. But that could have been my iMac 2011's limit.

 

[Electrumpet]

Instead of just looking for a solution, people keep asking for use cases. I have one that more people might recognize and currently isn't easy to implement.

I run a pretty heavy application that I practice at home but also use in different settings on stage or in the classroom. Often I can manage with a lighter laptop for my work but once in a while I go out and really need the processing power. Although a new macbook with M2 max will satisfy my needs for a while it is only a question of time before I will grow out of that one as well. My solution would be to have a M2 studio ultra for this particular situation and use a much lighter (also literally) machine for my day to day work that I can also use as a keyboard/mouse/display for the studio. A loose keyboard/mouse/display on stage is not an option. I am hesitant for my preferred setup though considering that the display frame rate and latency might become too much for such a setup to work especially when I am using heavy audio processing in priority threads.

Does anyone recognize this and can come with an advise?

 

[npn]

I have used NoMachine in the past, it works pretty well. I think the only issue I recall having is some issues with the storyboard editor in Xcode, but that was a few years back.

 

[dgdosen]

ssh/mosh with vim/neovim/emacs/vscode and maybe a little bit of ssh and remote docker?

 

[Electrumpet]

I have used NoMachine in the past, it works pretty well. I think the only issue I recall having is some issues with the storyboard editor in Xcode, but that was a few years back.

I think you misunderstood me, or I wasn't clear. I intend to take the studio with me. For live audio going through a remote network is no option and will always introduce unnecessary latency. It would also mean keeping the studio on when not using it, so not very energy efficient either. I am really talking about maxing out the possibilities of the machine and high quality audio...

 

[npn]

I think you misunderstood me, or I wasn't clear. I intend to take the studio with me. For live audio going through a remote network is no option and will always introduce unnecessary latency. It would also mean keeping the studio on when not using it, so not very energy efficient either. I am really talking about maxing out the possibilities of the machine and high quality audio...

Actually I think it would work for what you describe as well. I might be wrong since it's been a little while since I used it but, think about it this way. You have your MacStudio set up, hooked up to whatever sound system you want and whatever display technology you want. The MacStudio does act as a "server" from the point of view of NoMachine, but it's still displaying whatever you want, running any application you want, etc. The MacBook is the client, and yes it is showing the desktop of the MacStudio, but it does not _replace_ the desktop on the MacStudio. The MacStudio is just being controlled by the MacBook client, whatever you do on the MacStudio can be observed on the MacBook, but it still happening on the MacStudio just as if you were controlling the MacStudio with an attached keyboard and mouse.

 

[npn]

Actually I think it would work for what you describe as well. I might be wrong since it's been a little while since I used it but, think about it this way. You have your MacStudio set up, hooked up to whatever sound system you want and whatever display technology you want. The MacStudio does act as a "server" from the point of view of NoMachine, but it's still displaying whatever you want, running any application you want, etc. The MacBook is the client, and yes it is showing the desktop of the MacStudio, but it does not _replace_ the desktop on the MacStudio. The MacStudio is just being controlled by the MacBook client, whatever you do on the MacStudio can be observed on the MacBook, but it still happening on the MacStudio just as if you were controlling the MacStudio with an attached keyboard and mouse.

Also remember remote can be 10 feet away