Media Manager Audio Playback Issues

[KaLin]

This thread is for posting issues with the Media Manager Audio Playback.

[surgey]

Still no luck with audio, but I noticed something -- no matter what, when I play a video from media manager, it changes the resolution on my TV to 720x480p and actually downsizes the resolution and bitrate of my movies and videos, even if I set it on "High" quality.  It seems as though I was waiting for MediaManager to support video forever, and it is not what I thought it would be.  Oh well.
The only thing I can do now is try to make my own streaming program that will  work with these motorola boxes.  Hopefully somebody somewhere has an SDK...otherwise, wireshark will have to work overtime, lol.

It's a shame, because if you look at the specs of these motorola boxes, the QIP 7216-1, they are truly beasts hardware wise, yet crippled software wise.

[Funkybrunk]

Surgey,

Thanks for the input, I'll try some of the things you brought up. I think that the Vista file path issue may be the cause of some of my problems with MM.

I think it would be best if VZ would just release the source code to the public and they could save themselves a lot of time and money. Either that, or make their STB software DLNA compliant. The DLNA approach works great with my PS3, and allows me the freedom to use any of the free software solutions provided by independent coders (the best is a PS3 media server built from scratch in Java).

Message Edited by Funkybrunk on 08-12-2009 09:16 AM

[jakehale1]

So sorry to open yet another thread on the MM.  But most of those thread jump all over the place. 

My MM runs the photo slide show as it suspose to

I dont do the video

my concern is the MP3's

I can not for the life of me get music from my computer to play on the TV.  In the MM list i see all my files for music, i can click them and then on the screen i get a bar showing it playing but no sound come's out.

I dont have anything fancy hooked up, i "believe" i have just a "basic set up".  the files play just fine on my computer

If i can get this fixed IM LEAVING VERIZON and going back to COX....... hahahahahahaha  (Im just kidding) just wanted to put that in there.

Seriously, has anyone had any luck?  I am running Vista Pre Home and the router verizon gave me, i have updated to the most resent version of MM.  its not a deal breaker for me, i like that fact that we are suspose to be able to do it, but my life wont end if it dont. 

But if someone has some suggestions about being able to play the MP3's through my MM then please past it along to me.

thanks folks,,,

Jake

[Justin46]

Jake,

I downloaded the media manager yesterday, and just now when I went to try an mp3 it said there was a new version available, so I downloaded and installed it. You might want to check and see if (again) there is a new version and if so if it makes any difference.

I have a few mp3 tracks on my pc and I was able to successfully play them. So at least for me it seems to work. I am using Windows XP, not Vista, with the Verizon Actiontec router, and the DVR is connected to the TV with an HDMI cable (what I would call a "basic" setup).

Apparently it does work sometimes....

__________________________________
Justin
Verizon FiOS TV, Internet, and phone
QIP6416, IMG 1.6.2, Build 08.58
Keller, TX 76248

[jakehale1]

well, I did do another upgrade check and there was a newer one.  i did the upgrade from MM ,,, still had the same problem.  So i just downloaded the new verison, uninstalled the version i had running, rebooted, then installed the newer version that i just downloaded. 

Now i have:

Picture show works great

Video (even though im not to concerned about it) come's up, shows it's playing, but i dont see anything

MP3's, i dont get squat now.....click a song and get no change at all on the screen.  I did notice though that on the STB that it flashes 21 and then what looks like the top part of an 8,,  so something like 21 0  21 0 21 0,  but its not a zero it just the top part of what would be an 8.  On the screen, nothing happens, its like my remote is not selecting anything and then it is frozen when the 21 0 starts flashing.

Any more ideal's for me?

thanks again folks

Jake

[DJHA90]

I am having the same issue now.  Everything works fione to the point when I click to play the song.....  Nothing happens.  It doesnt lock up or anything...  but nothing freaking happens...    Pictures and Videos ok.

[jakehale1]

Yep, out of the blue last night the sample video (tokyo something or the other) started working, but no other AVI's i have will.   Still having the same issue with the MP3.  I'm at a loss as to what it could be.

I could care less about anything other than the MP3's.....again let me say... I am not going to leave verizon because of this, but it would be nice if it worked.

Jake

[Funkybrunk]

Still can't get Video to work, but that is a different issue. Music always plays in alpha order instead of track order. Anyone else have this issue?

[jakehale1]

be happy your music is working... 🙂   Allot of folks are just having trouble with that part...

Did your music just "work" or did you have to set something up to make it start working?

[Funkybrunk]

It just started working last night. I think it may be that I rebuilt the MM database and I set up FFmpeg to exclude MM.

[Alvester2]

I have the same issue wherein songs are played back in alphabetical order from an album rather than in the order they are on the album. I'm playing all the music back off of a an HP MediaSmart Windows Home Server with Windows Media Player 11 installed on the Windows Home Server.The WHS is hooked to a Linksys WRT600N via Ethernet. The WRT600N is in turn hooked to the FIOS Actiontec router via Ethernet.The Media Manager software is installed on the WHS.

(I'm still using the WRT600N because it has wirless N and Gigabit capabilities which the FIOS router does not. The WRT600N is essentially in switch mode with the wireless N and G still runnning on it.)

Not being able to play back the song titles in original album order is a drag but in all fairness to Fios' Media Manager I had this exact same issue  when playing back music to my DLNA compliant  Denon AVR 4308ci Home Theater Receiver from my Windows Home Server. This is why I gave Fios's Media Manager software a try in hopes of rectifying this issue.

Even though I'm bummed by MM's inability to play the songs in the correct order, I'm much more satisfied with it's responsiveness relative to that of my Denon receiver's. MM's interface is fairly snappy. (Browsing long lists using only the channel up and down buttons is a drag though.)

Does anybody know if this song order issue might be fixed in a future update from Verizon?

Also browsing through long album lists and song lists is tedious on the FIOS MM. I have over 1200 albums on my server. I wish there was a way to go directly to an album using the keypad on the FIOS remote.

[DJHA90]

Everything seems to be working from my tv with the exception that media manager only plays songs for about 15 seconds.  Anyone else having similar issues?

[clickitysplit]

MEDIA MANAGER plays pictures just fine, but the DVR menu screen locks up when attempting to play MP3 files.  Power cycling the DVR is the only way to correct it.  The DVR front panel alternately flashes a number (I saw 66) with a symbol (° )  for a little while, then reverts to the TV channel it's on.  The TV channel video and audio play continuously throughout.  The DVR model is MOT QIP72161.

I have the latest edition of MEDIA MANAGER (9.2.72) running on 2 different XP SP3 machines.  Neither machine runs a firewall, Windows or otherwise.    I have Norton AntiVirus running with Advanced Protection and Intrusion Protection temporarily turned off.

One PC is a 3.0GHz Dual Core with 4GB RAM, and the other is a 2.13GHZ Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM -- all 32 bit.  Tried running MEDIA MANAGER over an MP3 library that's local to the 3.0GHz machine, and on the other machine tried running a different MP3 library on a NAS box from a mapped drive.

My MP3 files have no DRM and are mostly 320kbps.  I have some at lower bit rates, but it doesn't matter.  None play.

All network nodes are on the same subnet 192.168.1.XXX.  The only deviation from the default router setting is port forward FTP to one particular node.

This is my router:

Software Version: 1.02.00.04 Release Date: Aug 28 2008 Platform: Westell UltraLine Series3 Model Number: A90-9100EM15-10 INI File Name: 096-900205-02 INI File Version: A Hardware Version: B Hardware Serial Number: 08AK10101214

Is there anything else I can try? 

I really want to stop pulling the power on these DVRs.  I can't help but think it accelerates their demise.  It definitely ruined a show I happened to be recording while I was playing with MM.

[clickitysplit]

I just turned of the UPnP media server I had running on my NAS, and it WORKED!!!  Must have caused some sort of conflict.

[Swirly]

Hi, clickitysplit. I installed Media Manager on my PC on Sunday. I ran the program on my DVR STB, and had no problems accessing the pictures. I had no problems accessing the Internet content, although it runs very slowly. However, when I went to play the music files, the program froze on the STB. No songs were played, and I was unable to close the screen to return to regular TV. I had to refresh the STB by unplugging the cord.

Can you be a bit more specific with the solution? How do I go about turning off the UPnP media server? I'm running Win Vista on my desktop. Thanks very much!

[clickitysplit]

Hi Swirly,

I still run XP, and the UPnP server I was referring to was actually running on my D-Link DNS-321 NAS (Network Attached Storage) device.  My music library is physically located on the NAS, and the NAS drives are mapped in XP (in my case as X: and Y:).

I had to use simple elimination until, eventually, I switched off UPnP on the NAS, and then everything worked.

Not sure if Vista comes with any sort of UPnP media server package that might be enabled, or if you're running one you downloaded, or if "Discovery," which is enabled by default in Vista, monitors your network in a way that interferes with the DVR.  Here's a link that shows how to enable it from which you can figure out how to disable it:  http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/02/12/turn-on-and-enable-upnp-or-network-discovery-in-windows-vista/

I've run the FONZ FUN_PLUG on my NAS enabling access to its internal Linux-based OS.  It's my hope that Verizon will release a Linux version of VMM so I can move it to the NAS and stream to the DVR with my PC switched off!!!   Much less electricity that way.  The other alternative is to pony up for a D-Link DSM-520 wireless player, which will take the UPnP stream from the 321 and feed it directly into my AV receiver, thus bypassing Media Manager altogether.  But, those things are a couple hundred bucks.

[flabbergasted]

Ok so last time on I was trying to get Media Manager to play mpeg files on the TV and it kept timing out and and displaying the error operation timed out try again.

Well I converted one of the MPEG files to WMV format and guess what it plays on the TV. However no audio. So now I'm trying to figure out if it is the converter (I downloaded for free from NCH Software) or the Media Manager itself. Oddly/not so oddly enough the video plays just like the sample WMV video that is in Media Manager "not all that great jittery/jumpy" but viewable.

If any of this is helpful or anyone has any ideas? robotsurprised:

[VZ_Brian]

The following steps should be used as a guide to resolve errors that may occur while using Verizon’s Media Manager to play audio files. 

1. In Media Manager, verify that critical dependencies are met by clicking on Help>Dependency Checker Wizard. 
2. Verify that you can play the sample file on both your PC and your TV.
3. If you can play the sample file, but not your own, verify that you are playing a supported file type. 

If all of the above steps have been taken and you still experience video playback issues, please post here of contact Verizon Technical Support at (888) 553-1555.

[Smith439015]

I am able to view pictures however when music is selected no sound is heard through the TV.  Any suggestions?

[Donald_Linbin]

did you try the default audio files first, you might need to reset the router with the red reset button if the default files do not play, also try unplugging the box and plugging it back in.  If the default audio files work, then you might need to remake that sweet mp3 you are trying to play. 

Also check out a couple of on demand features in the free section to make sure the box is getting good signal from the router for the media manager.

If on demand works and you are able to see pictures you might want to stop any security software you are running.

[Bob_Robertson]

unless there is an error message accompanied with the issue... hard to say

here are some basics

reboot the PC, reboot the DVR, reboot and/or reset the router.... uninstall/re-install the media manager software

try again