Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jwhite68]

Hi,

I am trying to get JRiver to work with my Amazon Echo device through Alexa.  I have tried the "link account" option in the House Band Alexa skills, entered the correct access key, and when I do that I get an error:

Linking failed. Cannot reach JRiver Media Center at http:<my external IP address>:52199, Your library server is not accessible from outside your network.

I have enabled port forwarding on my BTHub5 router, creating an app called JRiver media center and choosing "Any" protocol (both TCP and UDP) and port range 52199-52199, and 52199-52199.
I have even disabled Windows firewall. it simply doesn't work. Can't think of anything else I can do. Does this actually work at all?

[JimH]

Welcome to the forum.  The wiki has a topic called Network Access.

[jwhite68]

I have already gone through that article and unfortunately it does not help.

[dtc]

As another test, you can try accessing MC through a browser using the new Panel option. Enter your external ip address:52199 in the browser and see if you can connect.

This option definitely works. It is usually a matter of getting your port forwarding working correctly. I assume you have Media Network enabled in Tools - Options - Media Network and 52199 is the port.

[JimH]

The IP address of the server may have changed.  Use a static IP address to avoid that problem.

Disable and re-enable Media Network to get a new Access Key.

[jwhite68]

"I assume you have Media Network enabled in Tools - Options - Media Network and 52199 is the port."

Correct. Enabled and that is the port defined.

[jwhite68]

"The IP address of the server may have changed.  Use a static IP address to avoid that problem."

I have many devices on my home network and DHCP server setup on my router. I really don't want to mess with this existing setup and prefer to use the DHCP server to assign IP addresses dynamically.

[mattkhan]

does your router support port forwarding to a named device rather than an IP address?

[jwhite68]

Ok its working (kind of) now, but its playing through the computer speakers, not the speaker connected to the Echo Dot! Come on, if I am giving an instruction to Alexa I expect it to play through the Echo Dot's speaker, not the computers! Is this a limitation of JRiver? If so, this is a serious weakness!

[mattkhan]

are you aware that house band is 3rd party software?

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=102709.0

[kensn]

It is my understanding that Houseband was developed to control JRiver through the Alexa device. Local playback on the device is not supported.

JRiver has no control over that.

Ken

[WeeHappyPixie]

BT do not give out Static IP addresses under normal circumstances and your public IP address will change anytime the BThub is rebooted or drops the connection. You could set up a dynamic dns via one of the many available and then on the hub set your nat rule to pass the incoming traffic fir the ports required to your JRiver server. Remember to enable network server within JRiver.

John

[JimH]

MC can handle addresses that change.  The Access Key will work.  It may take a few minutes.

[dtc]

I just read the House Band comments on Amazon. To play on Alexa/Dot you need to use Bluetoooth from the PC to the Alexa/Dot speaker. Alexa is not DLNA capable so MC cannot connect directly but it appears Bluetooth works. I have no experience with this myself.

[yosemvr]

Hi, I can't get the port forwarding to work, read a bunch of guides and threads, tried various settings, would appreciate help.

Here are some facts:

1 - I am outside of the US (middle east)
2 - My ISP support said that they do not block port forwarding.
3 - Gizmo works well from outside my network.
4 - My cable router does ipv4 port forwarding.
5 - Opened up the port in windows firewall (actually I disabled it for the testing).
6 - Created a password in MC and then disabled it.
7 - Using the latest version of MC downloaded specially for this functionality.
8 - I have no problem controlling my LIFX bulbs.

My 2,500 album 25,000 high res song collection is waiting for voice command. Thanks. Yoram.

[JimH]

Did you read this?

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Network_Access

You could try reading it again, just to be sure you didn't miss something.

What ports are you forwarding and to what?  Are you sure you have the right ports?

[yosemvr]

Yes, I read the article before and followed the instructions. I need this capability for houseband (port 52199). I will give it yet another go and if it fails I will post this in the houseband topic. Thanks.

[dtc]

As a check, you can use one of the utilities that checks to see if your port is open. Canyouseeme is one such tool.  Since Gizmo works, the port is open, but this is just another check. it should confirm that  the port is open.

http://canyouseeme.org/