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[GrantDG]

nMedium is the latest remote control software for Windows Phone and J River Media Center.

You can see the details of nMedium here.

With nMedium you can:

• Access (multiple) password protected servers - including multi zone support
• Control playback / volume
• Rate your current playing file
• Browse and search your library - and set results for playback
• View/Edit/Update current playlist
• Edit file meta-data (Genre, Artist, Album name etc.) directly on your phone
• Start playback via a Play Doctor seed
• Local image browsing/viewing

It's free to try for 20 days - and only $1.99 to buy if you like it!

[JimH]

I've added nMedium to the list of remotes at the top of this board.  Thanks for your work!

[GrantDG]

Version 1.1 has been released to the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Changes include:

• Editing of file meta-data (Genre, Artist, Album name etc.)
• Additional track playback options on track listing screens
• UI enhancements
• Bug fixes

[DWAnderson]

In trying this out, I am unable to connect to my Library Server after entering the access key, user name and password.

Looking at the activity log on the Library Server, the connection generates three get commands and then nothing more.

If you can tell me where to look for the actual logs as a text file I can send you a copy of the exact commands. Let me know. Thanks.

[GrantDG]

If you can tell me where to look for the actual logs as a text file I can send you a copy of the exact commands. Let me know. Thanks.

As far as I am aware, MC doesn't output the Media server Activity log to a file. Just a screen shot should suffice - you may want to scramble any ip addresses tho. Feel free to send me a private message.

As a test can you also run the Access key test from within Media Center:
   Tools > Options > Media Network > "..." Next to "Access Key" > "Test connection to this server..."

While you're in the options screen, try to click
   MCWS (web service) > "Open with web browser"
If you can get to this via your browser, nMedium should be able to too (it uses these services for it's functionality)

Hope this helps

[DWAnderson]

Attached is a screenshot of the log. The first three lines are what resulted when I tried connecting with your app.

Running the access key test from within MC works fine as does the MCWS (web service) > "Open with web browser".

It is just access from Medium that does not work.

[GrantDG]

Attached is a screenshot of the log.

Can you confirm that on the 'settings' page you are entering the server details (access key, username, password) and then hitting the "Try connect" button? On successful connection, the icon to the right of the access key field should have a tick on it.

If this is the case, go to the "general" page of settings, and ensure that your server is listing in the "Current server" box.

You may also try a reboot of both your phone and media server if the above doesn't work...

[DWAnderson]

It looks like I was connecting after all. I did not realize that after pressing the "Try connect" button, I then needed to hit the Ok button at the bottom of the screen to be taken to the main part of the app. Instead I just assumed (since I did not notice the ok button become live) that I was not connected to the server.

Something to think about for the next version (going directly to the "library" screen)... 

Thanks.

[GrantDG]

Something to think about for the next version (going directly to the "library" screen)... 

Great suggestion - I think I have an idea on how to make it more obvious.

Glad you got in!

[DWAnderson]

After playing around with this a little I notice that the structure of the menus in the library that appear relate to the first of the DLNA servers I have running using MC, rather than the menu structure of MC Libary that appears when I connect to Library server with another instance of MC.

FYI, I have three DLNA servers plus Library Server running because of some unique characteristics of the DLNA devices I connect with. I run one for the Roku Soundbridges, one for the Xbox 360s and a generic DLNA server that I try to use for other DLNA playback devices.

Usually DLNA playback devices will show all three of the DLNA servers and allow me to choose which one I want to connect to.

Two questions:

1. I assume this app is meant to connect to a DLNA server rather than the Library Server, correct?
2. If that is the case, is there a way to allow me to choose which DLNA server it connects to? (Now it defaults to the first one in the list, which happens to be for the Xbox 360.)

[GrantDG]

1. I assume this app is meant to connect to a DLNA server rather than the Library Server, correct?
2. If that is the case, is there a way to allow me to choose which DLNA server it connects to? (Now it defaults to the first one in the list, which happens to be for the Xbox 360.)

nMedium connects via the MC web services (not DLNA). Those web services expose other DLNA servers as 'Zones', which you will see in the list box at the bottom of the playing now screen. If you click the zone name, you should be presented with a list of all of the 'Zones' in MC and move control between them.

The selected Zone defaults to the 'Current' zone in MC. There is currently no way to set a default in nMedium - but it could be added easily

[DWAnderson]

I see.

Obviously I am not very familiar with this mode of connection. How can I customize the menu structure that appears when connection this way? Are there Wiki entries or other posts that talk about this?

[GrantDG]

Views from MC are controlled via "Media network" options.

I've always thought it strange myself that they are different to what you see in MC itself, but that's the way it is...

Maybe look up media network in the MC wiki.

[DWAnderson]

Thanks...

To be more precise, the views are in Media Network\Options\Advanced\Customize views for Gizmo, WebRemote and WebPlay

[DWAnderson]

I've done some more experimentation. Tree traversal generally seems to work ok (although sometimes branches show no contents when there really are contents).

The main problem comes when selecting a playback zone. I take it that "Player" will ultimately be the Windows Phone device, but that has not been implemented yet, right?

The problem is that when selecting other playback zones, the vast majority of the time nMedium will crash. I attach a copy of the log for one such attempt. They are all similar. I note that Webgizmo does not suffer from the same issue and it uses the same web services server.

[GrantDG]

I've done some more experimentation. Tree traversal generally seems to work ok (although sometimes branches show no contents when there really are contents).

Branches show no content when they contain only files (not sub folders). Retrieving the files can be a terribly slow process - but I realise that showing nothing is not the best state.

The main problem comes when selecting a playback zone. I take it that "Player" will ultimately be the Windows Phone device, but that has not been implemented yet, right?

"Player" is the name given by the MC instance you are connecting for itself. You'll see that name under "Playing now" in MC's tree view.
You are correct, nMedium does not currently support playback on the phone itself (it's coming), when the zone selector shows "Player" you are controlling MC.

The problem is that when selecting other playback zones, the vast majority of the time nMedium will crash. I attach a copy of the log for one such attempt. They are all similar. I note that Webgizmo does not suffer from the same issue and it uses the same web services server.

Are you running version 1.1 of nMedium? There's a bug currently that nMedium will crash if there is no current playlist for the selected zone. A fix is in test at the moment.

[DWAnderson]

"Player" is the name given by the MC instance you are connecting for itself. You'll see that name under "Playing now" in MC's tree view.
You are correct, nMedium does not currently support playback on the phone itself (it's coming), when the zone selector shows "Player" you are controlling MC.

Interesting. In this case I am connecting to an instance of MC running on a server without any means to play files (no speaker). Attempting to play files to Player using MC results (as it should) in an error dialog. I wonder if this situation is related to the termination of nMedium, although it does not seem like it should be. Gizmo saves the name of the specified player between runs, but nMedium does not appear to do so.
 

Are you running version 1.1 of nMedium? There's a bug currently that nMedium will crash if there is no current playlist for the selected zone. A fix is in test at the moment.

I think I am running v 1.1 as that is the version in the marketplace. How can I tell for sure?

[GrantDG]

I wonder if this situation is related to the termination of nMedium, although it does not seem like it should be. Gizmo saves the name of the specified player between runs, but nMedium does not appear to do so.

I don't understand what you mean? You should see the same list of zones in Gizmo as you do in nMedium - they both read from exactly the same source.

Do you mean Gizmo defaults to a specific Zone when you navigate to it? As mentioned above - nMedium defaults to the 'current' zone in MC - I'll add some logic to reset the zone much as Gizmo does (Gizmo uses a cookie to remember the selected zone between visits). For the moment you'll have to select it each time you launch nMedium, sorry.

It does sound like you are running 1.1

[DWAnderson]

Do you mean Gizmo defaults to a specific Zone when you navigate to it? As mentioned above - nMedium defaults to the 'current' zone in MC - I'll add some logic to reset the zone much as Gizmo does (Gizmo uses a cookie to remember the selected zone between visits). For the moment you'll have to select it each time you launch nMedium, sorry.

That's what I mean. Do you think the crashes are related to the "bug currently that nMedium will crash if there is no current playlist for the selected zone"?

[GrantDG]

Do you think the crashes are related to the "bug currently that nMedium will crash if there is no current playlist for the selected zone"?

I would say so - do the zones you are switching to have a current playlist?

As a test, try the following :
Navigate, in your browser, to
    http://192.168.0.153:52199/MCWS/v1/Playback/Zones

after seeing the returned list of zone information, go to:
    http://192.168.1.153:52199/MCWS/v1/Playback/Playlist?Action=Serialize&Zone=[ZoneIDx]
where [ZoneIDx] is one of the ZoneID's from the first test

If you get a result of Status=Failure or no data, this will crash nMedium

[DWAnderson]

I get:

2;0;-1

[GrantDG]

I get:

2;0;-1

From the second call? Seems strange...

Must say I've never tested against a DLNA device, I'll have a try tonight

[DWAnderson]

Any update on this, or the ability to play back media on the Windows Phone itself?

[GrantDG]

Version 1.2 has been sent for certification (usually takes a week) which fixes the crash issue, and adds a few of your requested features.

Local play back is still in the works - it'll be released as version 2. No time frame yet.

[GrantDG]

Version 1.2 has been released to the Marketplace.

Changes include:

• Fix for crash when current playlist is empty
• In library view - files can now be shown on demand, including playback and edit options
• Add 'About' page to settings screen
• Remember Zone selection on playing now page for next launch

[DWAnderson]

Tried out the new version and still can't it to play to my Soundbridges-- although nMedium doesn't crash anymore.

Attached is a screenprint of the logfile.

[GrantDG]

Tried out the new version and still can't it to play to my Soundbridges-- although nMedium doesn't crash anymore.

I did some investigation into this on my own DLNA device. For me, it seems that MC can't override a playlist on a DLNA device which was started by the device itself. However, it can successfully 'push' a playlist to the device if it is inactive.

Have you tried controlling your Soundbridges via MC directly? Keep in mind that nMedium can only do what MC can (and only a subset thereof)...

[DWAnderson]

Have you tried controlling your Soundbridges via MC directly? Keep in mind that nMedium can only do what MC can (and only a subset thereof)...

Yes. MC does this without any problem. The problem only occurs when I attempt to use nMedium.

[GrantDG]

Yes. MC does this without any problem. The problem only occurs when I attempt to use nMedium.

Maybe I'm confused on all of this...

Can you give me a run down on what you do in MC, and then how you try to achieve it in nMedium?  (e.g. a click-by-click...)

I need to work out if it's a use case that I'm missing - or is supported at all...

[DWAnderson]

Can you give me a run down on what you do in MC, and then how you try to achieve it in nMedium?  (e.g. a click-by-click...)

For some reason this seems to be working most of the time now. I'll see if I can figure out when it doesn't work and let you know if I can make this fail consistently, but so far I can't. I have noticed a different problem that I will explain below, but here is what I was doing in each of MC and nMedium.

In MC:

-- I select a track of music, right click Send To -> Play (There: Soundbridge LR)

and the track plays. There are other combinations to get to the same result, or course.

In nMedium:

-- I select Soundbridge LR as the player on the Playing Now screen
-- Select Library on the same screen
-- Navigate to the level where I want to play (e.g. an album) and press the play button next to it
-- Select Replace Playing Now


Here is the problem I now notice: In nMedium when I follow the steps above, if I don't press Play when I get to the level, but instead try to select and individual track, I get a blank screen instead of a list of tracks. To be more precise, the screen is not completely blank, it has a "library" and the path at the top, but certainly not the list of tracks I would have expected.

[DWAnderson]

Any move to address the issues I noted above?

[GrantDG]

Any move to address the issues I noted above?

Sorry, I got consumed by another project.
There was a last minute change before the 1.2 release which caused this issue.
1.3 has just been sent for certification. I'll let you know when it's published

[GrantDG]

1.3 has just been sent for certification. I'll let you know when it's published

Version 1.3 has been released on to the Marketplace

[ronenash]

I just installed Medium on my Windows Phone but I cannot get it to connect to MC.
Can someone please send me an example of the connection string I need to input in nMedium?

BTW, I can connect without a problem through the browser on my phone to Gizmo and to the web service interface page so there is no technical problem. I guess I am entering a wrong connection string.

Thanks
Ron

[ronenash]

One more piece of information, when I try to connect with the following string "192.168.1.2:52199" the application just crashes and returns to the  windows phone start screen. If the string is different I get an error stating there is an error with the connection.

Any ideas?

[ronenash]

Is anyone following this thread? Is this app still supported?

[StFeder]

I'd like to buy this from germany, but this not possible to buy or even to test ("Sorry, you can't get apps in this region. Please check the Store in your region"). Is it possible to get it on an other way? And is it still supported?

[GrantDG]

Hi all,

Sorry for having been quiet on this thread - I'm set up to receive notifications, but they haven't been coming through to me.

There is a new version of nMedium in the works (some very big improvements) - but it's been held up up with some other projects I have on the go.

If you have any issues, please feel free to PM me from here.

[StFeder]

I'd like to buy this from germany, but this not possible [...]

I was able to buy it here finally I'm not sure what was/is going wrong. I still can't find the app when searching in the german store. Neither on my phone store nor using a browser. I can find it using the US/UK store. But if I found it there and then change back to germany it says, the app is not available for me. I had to use google to get the working german store link. I was able to download and buy it coming from google.

Strange, but I'm happy to get it work finally. And even more happy to see that development hasn't ended!

[goatherder]

Hi all,

Sorry for having been quiet on this thread - I'm set up to receive notifications, but they haven't been coming through to me.

There is a new version of nMedium in the works (some very big improvements) - but it's been held up up with some other projects I have on the go.

If you have any issues, please feel free to PM me from here.

Hooray, I have hope. It was feeling very alpha TBH and I gave up on it after a few too many 'dump to app screen' and other issues.

Ultimately I'd really love a client at feature parity along with the leading iOS ones and I wouldn't mind paying a decent amount for it. The problem is that all the ones on the market feel like real works in progress, and early-stage ones at that. 

It just doesn't make much sense for me to need to pack the iPhone or iPad when my main handsets are a WPfest. Someone make me happy...

[rpalmer68]

One more piece of information, when I try to connect with the following string "192.168.1.2:52199" the application just crashes and returns to the  windows phone start screen. If the string is different I get an error stating there is an error with the connection.

Any ideas?

I'm getting the same issue on my WP8 device, app just closes after I click "Try Connection" if I have the ip:port and userid/password set.

If I leave the ID/password out I get an error saying I need to provide authentication details, so I know it is communicating with the server.

I can't use it to check, but does nMedium support MC zones?

Richard

EDIT: it worked for me this evening, I managed to connect, but then it crashed when I tried to open up the library.

EDIT2: Last night it was working OK, but there was something in PlayingNow before I launched nMedium, I'll do more testing when I can but could the crash be caused when there is nothing in PlayingNow?. 


 

[GrantDG]

After a significant break - version 1.4 of nMedium has been released to the store.

Version 1.4 offers some significant performance enhancements and a number of new functionalities.

See the link at the top of this thread for details.

[StFeder]

Congratulations

After a long wait we get a update which is worth the wait! Works much faster and much more useful with some great new features. Best of course: Volume control now also works in Germany And I like the new progress bar. It's very handy to be able to edit the files infos via the phone and the ability to remove single files from playlists is great! One big plus is the ability to chose between to stop immediately and after the current playing song.

The very best remote for WP and MC!! Thanks so much for this!

[goatherder]

Still get dumped to app screen. I think I've also paid twice for this now for some reason...? Not that that's a big deal but I've not had any other WP7/8 app reliably crash 2 seconds after I go into it.

[GrantDG]

Still get dumped to app screen. I think I've also paid twice for this now for some reason...? Not that that's a big deal but I've not had any other WP7/8 app reliably crash 2 seconds after I go into it.

What phone are you using?
What steps are you going through / getting up to?
Are you on Wi-Fi or 3/4G?

By the way - saw your comments on another thread about local media playback. That will be fully supported in the next version of nMedium (well - it will be a different version, as it will be a WP8 only App)

[goatherder]

By the way - saw your comments on another thread about local media playback. That will be fully supported in the next version of nMedium (well - it will be a different version, as it will be a WP8 only App)

Oh OK. I'll wait for that then. It's like a race - we've got three remote control clients going now, which one will get to handset playback first?!?!

[StFeder]

which one will get to handset playback first?!?!

My bet is nMedium

[GrantDG]

Oh OK. I'll wait for that then. It's like a race - we've got three remote control clients going now, which one will get to handset playback first?!?!

Cool - a challenge! I'm up for it!

Microsoft don't make it terribly easy to invoke local playback - but I have a proof of concept working in my development environment (including video playback). I've now just got to tie it in with a seamless experience against the existing nMedium UI.

[goatherder]

Ooooooh. You tease you.

[StFeder]

Still get dumped to app screen.

Just curios: did you solve your problems?