screensaver while playing music

[sandrogrima]

i have the screen saver set to run after 5 minutes and all is well--unless i'm playing music--then the screensaver never kicks on.have tried streaming music via chrome, pandora app, itunes. as long as music is playing screensaver doesn't come on.

running el cap 10.11.6 on a mid 2011 mac mini.

 

[KevinJS]

Just tried this out using iTunes.

Set up Hot Corners in Mission Control. When the cursor is moved to the relevant corner the screen saver will start and the music continues to play.

Never tried this out when I was using El Cap but it works on Sierra.

 

[Rod]

Or you could turn on the visualiser which has the added advantage of showing the track info.


Sent from my iPhone using Mac Forums

 

[sandrogrima]

Thank you for the responses. It is true that the ideas above will help but more than anything I wanted to understand why the Mac won't start the screensaver. I can understand if video was playing but why during audio play?

 

[ferrarr]

What devices are connected to your Mac mini? Sometimes, USB devices will affect this. Also, have you done the traditional NVRAM and SMC resets?

 

[MightyGem]

as long as music is playing screensaver doesn't come on.

Are you playing the music app in full screen? I've noticed that if I play videos in full screen, the screensaver doesn't come on(which is what you want, obviously), but if the video is played in less than full screen, then the screensaver kicks in.

 

[Rod]

Oh yes, the Mini Player, that might work.

 

[chscag]

Maybe a silly question here.... but who still uses screensavers? In the days back when we had CRT displays, they were useful and served a purpose to prevent burn in and limited security while away. Yes, I know Apple still supplies a limited number of screensavers with OS X, but I wonder if it isn't just an old force of habit to use one? ;D

 

[pm-r]

Maybe a silly question here.... but who still uses screensavers?

I was just about to ask the same thing.

At least while still sort of using their Mac…

 

[Rod]

It's not a silly question, but it seems that Apple think it is. The provided screen savers are mostly just a range of transitions based on Apples nature photos. Of course it is so easy today to add pictures or whole folders if you wish. But as for "real" screen savers, ones with built in preferences it is still possible to add these from third party sources. I have one, I added it as a sort of exercise to see if it could be done in Sierra. It's called Hyperspace .loopdata it is glorious to watch and if I was of an age to have my laptop in my bedroom on the desk next to the bed I might just leave it running but today, I just close the lid.