Thanks for the suggeststions:
* For opening ports - where do I need to do this? in MC?
I ask because I can access the DLNA server - as well as VLC (I checked and I'm using the uPnP to access the server, which should be using DLNA) I also used the DLNA plugin for Foobar2000 - which immediately saw the server and allowed me to play files (but the interface for this is terrible)
Manually adding the network path to the audio files folder to MC worked, and MC can access and play them. (Donig that now 😀)
However, I've found before that for video DLNA worked better than accessing the files directly (I'm not sure why, my theory is that when accessing a files for e.g. copy/general read, if there is a break in access it doesn't really matter, but for streaming it is essential not to drop out, so the server treats them differently) So, for my own interest I'd still like to know how to get MC to see the DLNA server - I've at least 1 other (and probably 2) programs on the computer that can see it with minimal set up. (Also I don't like to give up on things)
Thanks again for the suggestions.