[slugworth]

 Kid's off to college. Reconfiguring the family HT room into my man cave. I have a Mac Mini to use as a dedicated music sever. Been playing around with Amarra and Tidal.com. The Mac will be about 10 feet from my listening position.
 I don't want to use the (tv or projector screen) as a display. Also, I don't want to get up and walk to a computer every time I want to play a new song. Having a monitor, keyboard, and mouse by my listening position would add to the clutter and be unaesthetic. Is there a reliable and reasonably priced touch screen option? I'd wish  to avoid wifi/Bluetooth and would prefer a wired option.
 What do you guys do?

[srb]

Not sure why you'd want to be tethered with an HDMI cable (video) and a USB cable (touch commands and power) and possibly even a third DC power cable, but ....... 

If you've noticed, Apple doesn't make any touchscreen computers, only iPhones, iPods and iPads.  There is a niche company that specializes in portable touchscreen monitors, GeChic, but to use the touchscreen functionality natively you have to use Windows 7/8/10 or you can download drivers for Linux and Android.

There are some people who have fudged around with a monitor like the GeChic and a third party program like Touch-Base UPDD, but results with a Mac have been patchy trying to get it to work properly and smoothly.

There may be something out there, but apparently Mac isn't the best candidate and "reasonably priced" probably isn't one of the attributes if you do find something.  Good luck!

Steve

[JLM]

Was in the same quandary a couple of years ago as I was retiring.  Then wifey helped me to buy a MacBook Air (for my part-time consulting work).  We'd looked at iPads but for $200 more got a real computer.  So it forced me into using it for music as well.  (I also have an iMac in the room connected to the system via a 35 foot optical cable.)  So I ended up using the MacBook on my lap and connecting via a 3.0 meter USB.  With a 250 GB SSD the MacBook holds my small library (600 CDs) and considering going to Tidal anyway.  Neither connection/source are ideal but both work well.

Most folks I know with dedicated audio mini's use a cheap tablet.  In fact there is a such a thread ongoing in the Discless Circle.

[borism]

Slugworth, I am not sure why you don't want to use your TV as a display for the Mac Mini. I also use a Mini as my server and got an inexpensive monitor as a display. In addition, I have a wireless track pad and keyboard near the computer. Since I run iTunes and PM software I can use the Apple Remote application on my phone to remotely change tracks once the Mini is running. This has been working very well.

[jarcher]

Yup - it's called a used / refurbed iPod or iPhone. For remote control wifi really shouldn't be an issue. You're giving up a lot of simplicity and enjoyment passing up wifi. If your really wifi paranoid, go into router settings and only allow MAC address of permitted devices.

[slugworth]

 Thank you for your responses! I have looked into Touch-Base and other third party solutions. I currently use my ipad via Duet Display connected via Thunderbolt. The Mac Mini often  does not recognize it and I have to reboot several times and we're talking about a wired Apple to Apple connection. I have a collection of wireless keyboards and mouses (mice?) that I have given up on when my primary music system was in the living room.
 If I go the big flat screen route I might end up using it as a monitor,  but when I listen to music I'd turn it off and on between songs which would be a hassle. I've been through two projectors and turning that off and on would be a monumental pain.
  jarcher, I'm not paranoid about security just functionality. Is there an equivalent app for the iPad? Else I might go the iPhone/iPod path you suggested.
 

[brj]

For what it's worth, the Roon iPhone app was released this week.  (The iPad version has been out for quite a while.)

My Mac Mini has Bluetooth and Wifi disabled and is connecting to my network switch via wired (Cat6a) Ethernet.  Every network device in my house is hardwired with static IP addresses except for the laptop and iPhone (which have reserved wireless IP addresses defined on the router).  So control of Roon is accomplished by the iPhone talking via Wifi to the wireless router, and from there to the Mini via wired connection.  If I need to play with the software on the Mini, I set up a screen sharing session from the laptop using the same connectivity.  Best setup I've ever had.

[jarcher]

Thank you for your responses! I have looked into Touch-Base and other third party solutions. I currently use my ipad via Duet Display connected via Thunderbolt. The Mac Mini often  does not recognize it and I have to reboot several times and we're talking about a wired Apple to Apple connection. I have a collection of wireless keyboards and mouses (mice?) that I have given up on when my primary music system was in the living room.
 If I go the big flat screen route I might end up using it as a monitor,  but when I listen to music I'd turn it off and on between songs which would be a hassle. I've been through two projectors and turning that off and on would be a monumental pain.
  jarcher, I'm not paranoid about security just functionality. Is there an equivalent app for the iPad? Else I might go the iPhone/iPod path you suggested.

I've used the free Remote app if you're  using ITunes. Otherwise if your going to use jriver, then jremote ($10). Otherwise people have had good results with ipeng and even the free Linn Kinsky app.
 

[planet10]

I control my mini using my MacBook Pro and screen share. Don't be afraid of wifi (i will note that my last (7 year old) MacBook Pro had flaky wifi so i was connected via ethernet). Much better than the Remote ap on the iPhone.

dave

[AllynW]

I’ve controlled my Mac Mini two ways over the last 6 years.  For many years, I used 
“Share Screen”, MBP and MM.  The only security issue that I noticed was someone within the limited range of my WiFi Router, saw the device and entered random passwords.  They never got passed login. I only noticed because I had to reenter the router password but the attacker never gained access. 

These days, the MM has a 75” Samsung flat screen monitor. The MM is controlled with a wireless mouse and a keyboard from my listen chair.  I have a MBP next to my listening chair and for years have used a wireless keyboard and mouse so I didn’t have to move the laptop to my lap when using the KB. 

I recently purchased a Logitech 3 device wireless keyboard, 30 bucks and it work great with both computers.  I use Thumb Ball mouse’s, one with a blue ball the other red.  I turn off the WiFi on the MM when I am not streaming from the net. 

Last year we got rid of all subscription TV and only have internet.  We added an antenna for local TV in HD.  I stream movies and music from Amazon Prime. YouTube is used for music videos and concerts, many are delivered in HD.  Here is the part of the story I really like.  Amazon Prime currently cost $100.00 per year and we use to pay roughly $150.00 a month for subscription TV only. BTW I am also retired so the saving help.  Good Luck