Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 6 down vote favorite
4

Is there some equivalent to Apple's (iOS) Remote App for the desktop (running OS X)? I.e. some – preferably small – application to control an iTunes instance which is running on another Mac? Maybe some menu extra?

I know there are several "iTunes controllers" (like Coversutra). But does any of them support a remotely running iTunes?

(N.B.: I'm aware of e.g. Home Sharing, but I want the remote Mac to keep running and output the music, not the controlling one. I'm also aware of Screen Sharing, but I'm looking for a quicker/easier solution.)

share|improve this question
2  
@Studer: Why did you remove the osx tag? It seems kind of relevant here. – Jonik Aug 31 '10 at 22:09
@Jonik: Because it's not specifically about [osx], it's about [itunes]. – Josh K Sep 1 '10 at 3:19
3  
@Josh: That's not true. The question is asking about certain kind of software (for controlling iTunes) specifically for OS X. (An [itunes] question might well be related to iTunes on Windows; this one is not.) – Jonik Sep 1 '10 at 8:30
Oh, and the question itself is great! I'd very much like to know about such OS X app too. – Jonik Sep 1 '10 at 8:32
@Jonik: Perhaps, but it isn't specifically talking about [osx] except as a requirement for the software. – Josh K Sep 1 '10 at 10:04
show 2 more comments

3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

iTunes Remote Control is probably the easiest, but is no longer updated, and I've heard reports of some issues with it under Snow Leopard. YMMV.

Edit: One other major option would be to control iTunes from your browser. A variety of commercial and free solutions exist to do this. This is one of the more popular DIY guides on the subject. Playerpal and PatioTunes are two examples of commercial variants on the idea. N.B., I've used neither, and can't speak to the quality of either app. Feel free to google around for more options on this front.

share|improve this answer
1  
Thanks! It looks like the tool should do the right thing, though it's somewhat ugly and doen't have too much functionality compared to Remote app. Some things like getting the (names of the) playlists and search don't work though, which minimizes the usefulness :-/ So any other suggestions? – jbeigel Aug 31 '10 at 19:46
@jbeigel: did you get iTunes Remote Control to work at all? I tried it to control my Apple TV from my Mac, but it asks me for a username/password, which prevents me from going any further. – Jeroen Wiert Pluimers Dec 24 '10 at 20:26
up vote 0 down vote

You could SSH to your desktop running iTunes and control it using this iTunes control script.

http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20011108211802830

Alternatively you could connect using any VNC client to have total control of your desktop.

share|improve this answer
A VNC client is of course an option, but I find that's kinda slow/clumsy for controlling iTunes. Compared to a small, dedicated app anyway (like the one for iPhone). – Jonik Aug 31 '10 at 22:07
1  
Cant get much smaller than the shell script :) – Nippysaurus Aug 31 '10 at 22:57
up vote 0 down vote

GitHub Play can control iTunes (and do a bit more) from a variety of clients.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.