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[happy haggis]

Hi,
Everything was working quite well yesterday, using JRemote I was able to play complete playlists, something I haven't been able to do from MC directly. Today, things went downhill again and I was having trouble getting MC to display my DMP (Marantz M-CR511). I played a couple of audio tracks from a playlist and it just stopped playing and the player no longer showed in MC or JRemote. I've updated to the latest version 21.0.90.
After restarting the DMP and MC I'm getting playback at the moment, but a message keeps appearing in MC that may have some bearing on my intermittent difficulties.
If anyone can help point me in the right direction to resolve this issue, I'd be very grateful.
Thanks. 

[JimH]

If you're talking about a problem you've had in the past, please use the same thread and reply there.

[happy haggis]

No, this is a different issue from my previous posts. I mentioned it previously, but only as an aside. It was working, so I was happy to leave things as they were. I do not like having to trouble anyone unless my searches here and in the Wiki prove fruitless.

[JimH]

Is it a wireless connection?

[happy haggis]

Oops sorry, I should have included that information in my op. No, after the advice I received about my hi res audio I purchased a long Cat 6 ethernet cable and now my laptop (server) and player are hard-wired to the router.
I just wondered if there was some setting I was missing that could cause the problem. I love what MC has to offer and being able to play video through it to my Sony TV is an absolute delight! I just get frustrated with myself when I am unable to resolve things by myself.

[JimH]

Is the media on a local drive?  Or a NAS?

[blgentry]

Everything was working quite well yesterday, using JRemote I was able to play complete playlists, something I haven't been able to do from MC directly.

Something is wrong if you can't play playlists in MC.  That's a basic function.  You should probably address that problem first.

After restarting the DMP and MC I'm getting playback at the moment, but a message keeps appearing in MC that may have some bearing on my intermittent difficulties.

That error message means that MC is trying to use a library on another server.   Are you trying to play files from another server?  Or are you trying to play local media files that are on your laptop?

Brian.

[happy haggis]

Sorry, Jim, it's on a local drive. To summarise:
MC is running on the laptop, all music is on the local HD, and both the laptop and player are hard-wired to the router.
As I said, it is an intermittent problem and at the moment I can get music to play with the occasional hiccup i.e. play stops part way through a playlist. If I then reload the playlist and click the track that it stopped at, play will recommence. This appears completely random to me as track quality varies and the number of tracks that play before the stoppage varies too.
I wonder if maybe the ethernet cable could be at fault, but this could just be me clutching at straws! The other thought was that maybe my laptop wasn't up to running MC and carrying out other tasks. I did run the benchmark at it came out with a figure of around 970, which seems a bit low?
I apologise for not providing adequate information at the outset.  

[JimH]

If you're playing to the Marantz from MC, then try testing with user AndrewFG's Analyzer tool and report the results.  You may be able to change settings on MC or the tool may show where a problem with the Marantz.

[happy haggis]

Something is wrong if you can't play playlists in MC.  That's a basic function.  You should probably address that problem first.

That error message means that MC is trying to use a library on another server.   Are you trying to play files from another server?  Or are you trying to play local media files that are on your laptop?

Brian.

Hi Brian,
Thanks for your reply. I haven't been able to play a complete playlist directly from MC for a while now, but oddly, at least to me, I was able to through JRemote. Yesterday, when I set up my Sony TV (to play movies from my HD), everything went well until I turned the TV off. At that time, a new library appeared as Photo:hughes: (hughes being my surname) and I had not manually created a library with that name. Also, strange things happened elsewhere as I had a number of folders appear in Auto Import that I had definitely not added myself. I removed them and manually removed the data from the library. When I tried to delete this new library, it just kept reappearing (I right clicked and chose Delete from the menu). I ended up closing MC and rebooting my laptop and it disappeared. That's what made me think I had done something stupid when setting up the TV. I didn't think I had as it seemed to work well, but the subsequent problems left me believing that I had messed up somehow.
Ironically, it is working at present, unfortunately for me, it's my wife's music that is playing.  

[happy haggis]

If you're playing to the Marantz from MC, then try testing with user AndrewFG's Analyzer tool and report the results.  You may be able to change settings on MC or the tool may show where a problem with the Marantz.

I'll do that Jim, thank you.
Just to add that only the DLNA and Main libraries are showing under Playing Now atm.

[happy haggis]

I have tried to run DMRA, but get a message saying that it was unable to find any Media Renderers. Network Discovery is turned on and DMRA is set as a trusted app in Kaspersky Internet Security. This is odd as I ran it successfully a few days ago as I was curious to see what settings it would recommend.
The M-CR511 is definitely showing the laptop as the DLNA server and as I previously mentioned, it has been just been playing music.  ?

[JimH]

That looks like the same problem.  The Renderer may come and go, for whatever reason.

You mention Kaspersky...

[happy haggis]

Ok, I just noticed a checkbox for 'Use Windows Discovery' and that was unchecked. I've checked it now and am running the tests.

[happy haggis]

Ok here's the report from DMRA. It show FLAC  as 'Fuzzy' so I'll run the 16 and 24bit 2 channel tests separately.

[happy haggis]

My MC Server settings match those suggested by DMRA.
Here's the information following my tests of FLAC:


Playing media item #1
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=16
  Channels=2
  Rate=44100
  Duration=10
Play success => Start Ok / SetNext Ok

Playing media item #2
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=16
  Channels=2
  Rate=48000
  Duration=10
Play success => Start Ok / SetNext Ok

Playing media item #3
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=16
  Channels=2
  Rate=96000
  Duration=10
Play success => Start Ok / SetNext Ok

Playing media item #4
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=16
  Channels=2
  Rate=192000
  Duration=10
Play failed => Exception

Playing media item #5
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=24
  Channels=2
  Rate=44100
  Duration=10
Play failed => Time out

Playing media item #6
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=24
  Channels=2
  Rate=48000
  Duration=10
Play failed => Time out

Playing media item #7
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=24
  Channels=2
  Rate=96000
  Duration=10
Play failed => Time out

Playing media item #8
  Media type=flac
  Mime=audio/x-flac
  Bits=24
  Channels=2
  Rate=192000
  Duration=10
Play failed => Time out

[AndrewFG]

Your problem is a very explicit one (read the error dialog box carefully). It says you are trying to load a library of tracks from a Digital Media Server that is not supporting the UPnP ContentDirectory::Search function. There are only three reasons why a ContentDirectory::Search call can fail..

• The DMS does not implement not ContentDirectory::Search ( i.e. it only supports ContentDirectory::Browse ) => What make of DMS are you trying to connect to?
• The ContentDirectory::Search command is being blocked (probably due to a firewall, anti-virus, or HTTP routing problem)
• The ContentDirectory::Search command is timing out due to slow response of the DMS (probably due to lack of horsepower, or anti-virus, or HTTP routing problem)

EDIT:  the DMRA tests will not help you solve this problem. The DMRA tests the renderer (DMR), whereas the problem that you describe, is to do with the DMS.

[happy haggis]

I have tried to make it clear that I do not understand any of this and I did read the message, it just made no sense to me. I thought the DMS was my laptop where my files reside. I use MC on the laptop and use a Marantz M-CR511 network streamer to play the music. Both are hard-wired to the router.
I'm attaching a snapshot of the description of the library I'm referring to. This is the same set of folders/files as my main library and is located on the laptop HD.

[AndrewFG]

Well maybe you are trying to browse a library that is on the Marantz (perhaps on a USB drive, or network service) to the Marantz?? There is no other circumstance where MC would show the error dialog that you posted..

[happy haggis]

Thanks for taking the time to try and help, Andrew, I appreciate that it can't be easy to provide long distance support to someone as ignorant as I am on the subject. 

[happy haggis]

When I look at the 'Playing Now' pane I see a section entitled 'Overview' below which is a list of devices. Player, My TV and the Marantz network streamer are all listed as I believe they should be. Below that is a section entitled Playing From Main Library, with Main Library, my local network and 'New Library' listed. I deleted the local network library as it seemed superfluous, but it reappeared. Is this correct or have I made an error in my settings somewhere? The only settings I can see that may affect things is under Media Network> Advanced where I have DLNA Server, Renderer and Controller all checked.

[AndrewFG]

I am guessing that the Marantz is appearing in MC both as a player (DMR) and as a library (DMS). If you turn on/off the Marantz, then both of these would come/go .. ??

[happy haggis]

No, the player disappears, but the library remains.

[RoderickGI]

The image in the first post, is that a message from within MC? If so, why is MC retrieving files from a DLNA server? MC is the DLNA server.

I'm wondering if the Marantz is, in fact, acting as a DLNA Server. The server should disappear when the Marantz is turned off, but sometimes a DLNA server seems to "persist" in the list of devices. If the Marantz is turned off and MC is restarted, or maybe even if the laptop is rebooted, does the DMS (DLNA Server) disappear from within MC?

I'm thinking maybe;
The Marantz is seeing the files on the laptop and acting as a DLNA Server to serve them.
MC is connecting to the Marantz as a DLNA Controller.
MC is pushing the audio to the Marantz, which is acting as a DLNA Renderer?

That may all sound silly for all I really know about DLNA, but that message in the first post doesn't make sense to me.

[happy haggis]

Thanks very much for your reply. I'm just restarting MC to see what happens this time. The library does take several minutes to appear, but I'll feedback on my findings.
Thanks again.

[RoderickGI]

Again, if you mean that the library takes a while to appear in MC, it sounds like MC is getting the library from a DLNA server, instead of directly from the local hard disk. The library should appear instantly in MC when it is coming from the hard disk.

PS: I don't use DLNA much, so I'm just throwing ideas out here.
PPS: Also, your laptop is pretty low powered at a MC Benchmark score of around 970. That could be contributing to the issues. Others can comment on that.

[happy haggis]

OK, I've just checked and the library server appears when I turn on the Marantz M-CR511. When it was switched off and I restarted MC it didn't appear.
I'll run through the manual for the CR511 again, but I think I have to select Music Server on it to access the LAN.
I did wonder about the laptop being a bit underpowered. I'll have to see how things go, particularly as I want to use MC for my movies too.

[AndrewFG]

The image in the first post, is that a message from within MC? If so, why is MC retrieving files from a DLNA server? MC is the DLNA server.

I'm wondering if the Marantz is, in fact, acting as a DLNA Server. The server should disappear when the Marantz is turned off, but sometimes a DLNA server seems to "persist" in the list of devices. If the Marantz is turned off and MC is restarted, or maybe even if the laptop is rebooted, does the DMS (DLNA Server) disappear from within MC?

I'm thinking maybe;
The Marantz is seeing the files on the laptop and acting as a DLNA Server to serve them.
MC is connecting to the Marantz as a DLNA Controller.
MC is pushing the audio to the Marantz, which is acting as a DLNA Renderer?

That may all sound silly for all I really know about DLNA, but that message in the first post doesn't make sense to me.

You hit the spot exactly. (Even if you don't understand UPnP / DLNA).

And the reason why the OP is seeing the message "server does not support search" is because MC is trying to upload the library from the Marantz using the (optional) CD::Search method, when the Marantz library probably does not support CD::Search (i.e. the Marantz probably only supports the CD::Browse method).

[AndrewFG]

I'll run through the manual for the CR511 again

Highly recommended. (If all else fails..)

.. I think I have to select Music Server on it to access the LAN.

What makes you think that?

What I think you have is the following set up..

• Your media files are on a folder on the PC
• You have the Marantz including that folder via the network file system as a source of media tracks
• You have the Marantz trying to publish those media tracks via its Digital Media Server
• You are trying to get MC to import those tracks into its library
• You are trying to get MC to play those tracks by pushing to the Digital Media Renderer on the Marantz

And what I think you want is the following..

• Your media files are on a folder on the PC
• You have MC including that folder as a source of media tracks
• You get MC to play those tracks by pushing to the Digital Media Renderer on the Marantz

[happy haggis]

Thanks for the replies Andrew. The reason I think that is because the Marantz manual states that I should select 'Music Server' when accessing my LAN. I'll see if I can use any other inputs.

[RoderickGI]

You hit the spot exactly. (Even if you don't understand UPnP / DLNA).

Sweet.    It always pays to ask the "silly" questions.

I did wonder about the laptop being a bit underpowered. I'll have to see how things go, particularly as I want to use MC for my movies too.

It will probably do some videos fine, but struggle with others. As you say though, try it and see.