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[Pennames]

I'm just getting going using media server and I have a zillion questions.  Is there a thread somewhere I can go before wasting everyone's time asking things that have been answered already?

Thanks, and congrats on the new release.
Matt

[JimH]

You can try a search above.  Also this is in the Help File in Media Jukebox:

Using Media Server
What is Media Server?
Media Server provides on-demand streaming of your music.  Rip once, play anywhere. Listen to the music on your home computer from work, from a friend's house, or on your laptop from anywhere else in the house.

Start Media Server

From the Windows Start menu, go to Programs > Media Juekebox > Media Server; or
From within Media Jukebox, go to Tools > Media Server.
When Media Server opens, go to it's File Menu and select "Share".
Stop Media Server
To stop Media Server go to File > Stop Sharing.

Connect to a Server
Start Media Jukebox and go to Tools > Media Server > Connect or Connect To Last if you want to reconnect to the last host you used.

Type in the host name or an IP address followed by a colon and the port number if you wish to specify a port (the default is 80) You can also select the arrow on the right for a drop-down list of the most recent hosts to which you connected. Here are some examples of what valid host names might look like:

music.jriver.com
music.jriver.com:8931
198.121.98.76
198.121.98.76:8931
MyComputerName
Disconnect from a Server
In Media Jukebox go to Tools > Media Server > Disconnect.

View Statistics
In Media Server go to File > Statistics.

This will display a list of files that have been shared. You can reset it by selecting File > Statistics > Reset.

Enable Authentication
You can set a username and password here, so that when there is a connection to your server, the user will have to type in the username and password before accessing your library.

In Media Server go to Settings > Options and click on "enable authentication". You will have to provide a username and password.

Settings
In Media Server go to "Settings" on the Menu bar. From here you can display or hide the Status window, or select "Options" to open the following menu items:

General. From this menu you can enable authentication, set Media Server to automatically start on Window's startup, and set it to automatically start sharing when the program starts.

Network. Select automatic port selection (the default is 80), or manually input the port. You can also reset "current maximum bandwidth".

Library. Set the library you would like to share.

[Pennames]

I had found the help... just was hoping there was something more comprehensive.  Perhaps its that the functionality, while great, is also circumscribed.

If I could add a wish for a feature, it would be for media server to be able to change bitrate output on the fly.  I have DSL at home, T1 at work but for files encoded at better bitrates the server stops to buffer very frequently.  If Media Server were able to output at a lower bitrate than the file, that problem would be solved.  I get no buffering at all at 64K bitrate, and I'm experimenting to see where the optimum is.

Is this something that's doable for a future upgrade?

[Pennames]

Looks like buffering starts to interrupt at a bitrate of about 110.

[Gatobrit]

Pennames - Most of my mp3's are 192k bitrate and I run Media Server at work accessing it via a VPN tunnel from home - it works fine for me with no buffering.

[JimH]

One side or the other of your connection is not delivering the "nominal" band width it is supposed to.  Your T1 at work probably has so many users on it that the "effective" rate you see is around 100Kbps.

What you can do to get around this is create a new library, switch to it, then import all your other files and convert them to lower bit rate.  Be sure you tell MJ not to delete the old files.

Then serve that library in Media Server.

Do a few files before you do them all so you don't accidentally delete your old files.

[Pennames]

The server on the home side has a column indicating the speed of the transfer.  The numbers I'm seeing are in the 100-110 zone, as you suspected.  Is that number an outbound number or a total transaction number... meaning, can I use it to isolate whether it's the home side or the work side?

Thanks for your help, and by the way: Media Server is an awesome idea... the thing more than any other that stands MJ above the rest (and I already thought it was way above the rest when I discovered MS).

Matt

[dollardan]

May we serve mulitple clients simultaneously? Say my sister at work, and my brother at school?
On a fast LAN, like in a school dormitory can we offer our songs to everyone (assuming we own the CD of course)?
Can we charge a small fee for each play?
Is there anything illegal about allowing more than one person to listen to a CD we own, or even charging a small fee to come to a party and listen to CDs we own?

[Harry The Hipster]

First is possibly K a little murky. For the rest, very thin ice, Dollardan. Don't go there unless you're into wet leather and relish the idea of litigating with the Visigoths.

HTH

[claudio]

Dollardan

MediaServer is intended for serving at a "personal level" and it implements this by allowing up to 5 client connections.

Claudio

[JimH]

Correction -- 3 clients maximum.

[dollardan]

JimH,

>Correction -- 3 clients maximum

Thanks for the info.
But, would it be OK to call them friends, not clients?
If I tell my sister she can be my 'client', forget anymore beer.
Reminds me of the term 'computer user'.  Heretofore, the term 'user' was reserved for the drug culture.

[ama_mmmc]

When using the term client, I beleive JimH is refering to the number of computers that are allowed to connect.  Music01 which was around for a few versions was discontinued due to the liability that JRiver could potentially endure if the RIAA wanted to push the issue of sharing music.  The abilty to share your music at this point has been reduced to 3 "clients" as a way to allow you to use one library of music, but to share it within your house, or if you go to work.  My guess is that JRiver does not want to get involved in deciphering the Digital Millenium Act about what constitutes "fair use"

Drew