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Author Topic: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer  (Read 1773 times)

mpinfer

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Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« on: November 01, 2019, 07:33:01 am »

Dear all:

When I`m not at home, I use my JRiver MC25 I have installed in my Surface to access the main library I have in the JRiver MC25 installed in my PC at home.

Everything works fine when I use, for examle, a Bluetooth device as aduido device, but it doesn't work if I try to use a DLNA renderer in the network.

In the DLNA renderer I can play files I have locally in the Surface, but I cannot play anything I have in the library in my PC at home.

Any clue? Thanks everybody for your interest and help. Best
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The Big Labinski

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2019, 10:56:18 am »

Is the media network switched on - in Option?
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AndrewFG

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2019, 12:36:57 pm »


In the DLNA renderer I can play files I have locally in the Surface, but I cannot play anything I have in the library in my PC at home.


Can you explain where is the renderer located? Is it inside or outside your home? i.e. are you trying to access MC from outside the home to play tracks to a renderer inside the home?

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mpinfer

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2019, 03:53:32 am »

Is the media network switched on - in Option?
Hi The Big Labinski, thanks for your answer.

Yes, the media network is on in both JRiver MC25, in my Surface and in my main PC at home, with all the options checked to be server, renderer and controller.

In fact, I can play perfectly well in the DLNA renderer the files that I have locally stored in my Surface, but not the files that I have stored in my main PC library.

Also, I can play the files that I have in my main PC library perfectly well using the JRiver MC25 on the Surface as a renderer abroad.

What it seems is that the DLNA connection doesn't work if the Server (MC25 running in my main PC at home), the Controller (MC25 running in my Surface out of home) and the Renderer (a Panasonic NX-30 running in the same local network of the Surface out of home) are not running in the same local network.

If this is the case, I think it would be a good feature to implement in the next version. Thanks, Manuel.
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mpinfer

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2019, 04:27:17 am »

Can you explain where is the renderer located? Is it inside or outside your home? i.e. are you trying to access MC from outside the home to play tracks to a renderer inside the home?
Hi AndrewFG, thanks for your answer and interest.

I think I have explain it to The Big Labinski in my answer to him, but to clarify the situation completelly (or, at least, try to do so ;):

- I have a PC at home running JRiver MC25 and where all my Flac files are stored. We can call this the Main PC library and I want this MC25 with the Main PC Library act as Server of this multisite DLNA Team. This MC25 and the Main PC Library are logically accesible from the outside world.

- I have a Surface out of home running JRiver MC25 with some Flac files stored in the Surface hard disk. We can call this the Surface Library and I want this MC 25 act as Controller of this multisite DLNA Team.

- I have a Panasonic NX-30 network streamer out of home connected to the same local network than the Surface. Both are in a network that is connected to the outside world. I want this network streamer act as Renderer of this multisite DLNA team.

What I CAN DO:

- Playing files of th Main PC Library using the MC25 of the PC at home as Server and the MC25 of the Surface out of home as Controller and Renderer.

- Playing the files of the Surface Libray using the MC25 of the Surface as Server and Controller and the Panasonic NX-30 Network Streamer connected to the same local network than the Surface as Renderer.

What I CAN'T DO (and I would like to solve):

- Playing files of th Main PC Library using the MC25 of the PC at home as Server, the MC25 of the Surface out of home as Controller and the Panasonic NX-30 Network Streamer connected to the same local network than the Surface as Renderer.

Is this possible? How to do it? Thanks to all for your help, Manuel.
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MikeO

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2019, 12:11:49 am »

Do I read this right , you have 2 Media Servers running , one on the PC and one on the Surface ?

I use a similar set up , big PC (remote in study "Main Library") with music files, (HDD) Running the Media Server then a Sony Vaio 11 in Tablet with just JRiver running connected to the PC Main Library, then a Cambridge Audio CXN (Renderer). I also have a RPi, and a MyGica which also act as DLNA Renders

MC "Sees" the CXN (and the 2 other Renderers as it happens) and will play to all 3. To play to the Tablet you must in effect use it as a Renderer NOT a server. So in Tools>Options>Media Server the top line should be unchecked (Use Media Server to share this library etc)

If you have 2 Media Servers running it will clash , Andrew is the expert on such matters

Does this make sense? Hope I'm not confusing you.
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MikeO

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2019, 12:15:28 am »

PS my usage is all "in the house" on the same network , are you trying to access over the internet remotely?

Mike
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RoderickGI

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2019, 01:20:05 am »

DLNA doesn't work over the internet, or even a WAN using different subnets.

When you are using the Surface (acting as a DLNA Controller) to tell the Main PC (acting as a DLNA Server) to stream stuff to the Panasonic (acting as a DLNA Renderer), you are basically asking the Main PC to stream media via DLNA over the internet.

This won't work as the Main PC can't see the Panasonic as a DLNA Renderer to stream to. It can't follow the instruction from the Surface.

You can confirm this by seeing if the Panasonic appears as a DLNA Renderer on the Main PC. I don't think it will. (Pretty sure about that.)


While MC uses some enhancements of its own in terms of streaming media, it uses SSDP for the discovery of DLNA devices, and hence the Main PC can't see the target Renderer. The Surface can see the Main PC MC Server because of MC functionality around the Access Key method of connection, and of course it can see the Panasonic as a DLNA Renderer on the same LAN.

Of course, I could be wrong. I haven't tried to prove this at all. MC may have some special magic to get around this DLNA constraint. AndrewFG can probably clarify. But I don't think you can do what you want to do. I'm surprised this hasn't come up before, or at least, more often.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner

AndrewFG

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2019, 04:47:44 pm »

DLNA doesn't work over the internet, or even a WAN using different subnets.

Of course, I could be wrong. I haven't tried to prove this at all. MC may have some special magic to get around this DLNA constraint. AndrewFG can probably clarify. But I don't think you can do what you want to do. I'm surprised this hasn't come up before, or at least, more often.

Nope, you are not wrong. The UPNP / DLNA / SSDP discovery is generally limited to discovery of devices on the local subnet. This is fully intentional, since if it were not so restricted, then media players like MC would have to discover EVERY RENDERER on the whole Internet. Which a) would take a day or two, b) slightly overload your RAM, and c) not be ideal from a user privacy perspective. (Note: British understatement).
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mpinfer

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2019, 01:18:37 pm »

Hi MikeO, hi RoderickGI, hi AndrewFG,

thanks for your usefull and perfectly well reasoned comments and sorry for my late answer, I have been not checking the post lately.

MikeO, as RoderickGI and AndrewFG have perfectly explained, the key issue here is having all the DLNA components in the same subnetwork and I was trying to make it work over the Internet, with the MC Server acting as DLNA Server in one network and the DLNA Controller and the DLNA Renderer in another network, both connected by Internet.

Anycase, giving that standard DLNA features do not permit to discover DLNA renderers over Internet (because of the very reasonable reasons AndrewFG has clearly explained), it would be a really usefull feature that JRiver MC Server, using the Access Key method of connection mentioned by RoderickGI, could make a sort of "passthrough".

This would connect the remote DLNA Server (the JRiver MC Server installed in my PC in the main address and network in my example, where all the files are located) with the local DLNA Renderer (the Panasonic NX-30 in the secondary address and network in my example) via the DLNA Controller (the JRiver MC Server installed in my Surface in the secondary address and network in my example).

Do you know how can I ask this feature will be implemented in future versions of JRiver MC?

Thank you very much to all for your kind support. Best, Manuel.
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RoderickGI

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Re: Not able to play remote library using DLNA renderer
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2019, 04:05:42 pm »

Do you know how can I ask this feature will be implemented in future versions of JRiver MC?

JimH, the owner and CEO of JRiver, reads all these posts, as do the developers. So you have already asked for the feature.

But I don't think JRiver can provide a solution to what you want. It is a network level, and DLNA standard, issue.

What you can try, with no guarantee of sucess, is to set up a VPN from the remote location to your home, so that all three devices appear to be on the one subnet. That isn't as simple as it sounds, as you can't just set up a VPN from your Surface to your home, because that would leave your Panasonic NX-30 still connected on its local subnet, and so not visible. I doubt that the Panasonic NX-30 is capable of connecting to a VPN itself.

So you would need to set up a VPN from the router in your home to the router in your remote location, and have both the Surface and the Panasonic NX-30 use the DHCP server on your home router to get IP Addresses. All three devices should then be on the same subnet, and DLNA should work. But again, no guarantees. VPNs can be a little tricky in this sort of configuration. Settings your Panasonic NX-30 to use a DHCP server from your home router, only when the VPN is active, and elsewhere at other times, could be an issue. You might get away with using a Static IP Address that matches the range used in your home router, but networks being what they are, that may not result in the Panasonic NX-30 being seen as on the same subnet.

But using a VPN, or hardwiring from the Surface to the Panasonic NX-30 via USB, HDMI or something, or using a Bluetooth receiver connected to the Panasonic NX-30 via USB, HDMI or something, are your only options I think. Of course Bluetooth has audio quality limitations to consider.
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What specific version of MC you are running:MC27.0.27 @ Oct 27, 2020 and updating regularly Jim!                        MC Release Notes: https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes
What OS(s) and Version you are running:     Windows 10 Pro 64bit Version 2004 (OS Build 19041.572).
The JRMark score of the PC with an issue:    JRMark (version 26.0.52 64 bit): 3419
Important relevant info about your environment:     
  Using the HTPC as a MC Server & a Workstation as a MC Client plus some DLNA clients.
  Running JRiver for Android, JRemote2, Gizmo, & MO 4Media on a Sony Xperia XZ Premium Android 9.
  Playing video out to a Sony 65" TV connected via HDMI, playing digital audio out via motherboard sound card, PCIe TV tuner
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