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Emby App on Roku TV can't connect to Emby Server on Unraid


ads103

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ads103

Hello,

I have a TCL 65R635 Roku TV running software version 11.0.0 build 4193-88. I'm running version 4.0.55 of the Emby app on it.

My Enby server is an Unraid Docker container, version 4.7.4.0.

My Roku Emby app cannot connect to the server. It fails with error message, "Timeout waiting for a response from the server."

Numerous Google searches have suggested that network issues may be the cause. I am confident that this isn't the case because.... Well, my TV and my server are on different subnets with a firewall between them, but when I unplug my TV's power and statically assign the TV's IP address to my PC, and put it in the same subnet, I can browse my Enby library using the PC's browser and watch content just fine. In short, when my PC takes the place of my TV in my home network, the Emby server does not time out. This tells me that my firewall settings are correct, and suggests that something funky is going on with the Roku app.

Other threads have suggested using the Emby Beta app. When I browse to Roku's "Add channel" page at https://my.roku.com/account/add?channel=EmbyBeta, and click, "Add channel" ... nothing happens. The text box containing "EmbyBeta" greys out for a moment, but there's no evidence that an app is being downloaded to my TV.

Does the community have any possible solutions, or anything else I should try to troubleshoot?

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Happy2Play
8 minutes ago, ads103 said:

Other threads have suggested using the Emby Beta app. When I browse to Roku's "Add channel" page at https://my.roku.com/account/add?channel=EmbyBeta, and click, "Add channel" ... nothing happens. The text box containing "EmbyBeta" greys out for a moment, but there's no evidence that an app is being downloaded to my TV.

OT:  Roku somewhat eliminated private channels not long ago and now there can only be a limited number of beta testers.

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/106304-roku-killing-private-channels/

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/107268-looking-for-beta-testers

 

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ads103
11 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

OT:  Roku somewhat eliminated private channels not long ago

Thank you for that... Being a brand new member of the community, I guess I didn't Google that far... I tell ya what, though, at this point I'm starting to wonder if I can exchange this Roku TV for the equivalent Google TV unit! 😅

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11 hours ago, ads103 said:

My Roku Emby app cannot connect to the server. It fails with error message, "Timeout waiting for a response from the server."

Hi.  Exactly how are you trying to connect?

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ads103

When the Emby app starts, I opt to connect to my server manually.

At the address prompt, I've tried two things. First, I tried entering the DNS name of my Emby server, since my home uses split dns for some internal domains. This fails with "name or service not known," because Roku is hard-coded to use a specific DNS server out in public address space somewhere. Secondly, I tried entering the IP address of the server, 10.1.1.28. I am not prepending the address with http:// - the textbox just contains four numbers with three periods separating them. I leave the default port of 8096, and I try to connect. This fails with, "Timeout waiting for a response from the server."

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14 minutes ago, ads103 said:

the IP address of the server, 10.1.1.28

And you said this is on a different subnet than the Roku with a firewall between?  The Roku not being able to reach that address is the most likely cause here.

Can you temporarily get the Roku on the same network and test that way?

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ads103

Sure, I'll try that shortly. In the interim, I'd like to emphasize this: I can take the TV offline, and put the TV's address on my desktop PC. When I connect my PC to the VLAN that the TV is on, the PC can browse to the Emby server just fine. This suggests to me that my firewall rules are properly configured.

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ads103

When the TV is on the same subnet as the Emby server, the Emby app connects without issues. In fact, it seemed to use some kind of discovery feature to "find" the Emby server - I didn't have to enter an address manually at all.

How's that work? Multicast? Do I need to expose some kind of multicast address between the two subnets? Or am I just not exposing the right ports on my firewall? Currently, 8096/TCP and 8920/TCP are open between the two subnets.

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https://developer.roku.com/en-ca/docs/developer-program/debugging/external-control-api.md

You also want to forward port 1900 if you want the SSDP to pick up the Roku on the other network.

https://developer.roku.com/en-ca/docs/references/brightscript/components/roinput.md

We also use roinput to handle ECP to communicate with the Roku which is on port 8060.

With 8096, 8920, 1900 and 8600 does it work on both subnets? Forward both UDP and TCP.

Edited by speechles
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22 hours ago, ads103 said:

When the TV is on the same subnet as the Emby server, the Emby app connects without issues

Okay, then that would confirm it is a network routing issue.  Using a PC to test this isn't really valid because the PC and Roku are very different devices.

22 hours ago, ads103 said:

t seemed to use some kind of discovery feature to "find" the Emby server - I didn't have to enter an address manually at all.

Yes, the fact that wasn't working for you before suggested strongly to me that this was a network routing issue.  We use UDP to discover the servers on your local network.

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ads103
6 hours ago, ebr said:

We use UDP to discover the servers on your local network.

Okay. What is the full list of ports and protocols required for Emby to function, from the perspective of both client and server?

So far I'm aware of:

Client -> 8096/TCP on Server

Client -> 8920/TCP on Server

Server -> 1900/UDP on Multicast

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We use ECP to cast through to the Roku. If you want to use the Emby Dashboard remote control interface and use one (local.. ECP only works on local intranet not remote internet) of those Roku while casting you must also forward port 8060.

https://developer.roku.com/en-ca/docs/references/brightscript/components/roinput.md

Edited by speechles
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ads103

Thank you for the info regarding ECP. Please forgive me for sounding rude, as that isn't my intention, but I'd like to reiterate my question, because I feel like it wasn't understood. What is the full list of ports and protocols required for Emby to function? Perhaps not just with a Roku, specifically, but with an app, in general? Because, sure enough, the Emby Android app can't get to my Emby server, either. If I have the full list of required ports and protocols, I can add them all to my firewall. 

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On 6/25/2022 at 8:27 PM, ads103 said:

Thank you for the info regarding ECP. Please forgive me for sounding rude, as that isn't my intention, but I'd like to reiterate my question, because I feel like it wasn't understood. What is the full list of ports and protocols required for Emby to function? Perhaps not just with a Roku, specifically, but with an app, in general? Because, sure enough, the Emby Android app can't get to my Emby server, either. If I have the full list of required ports and protocols, I can add them all to my firewall. 

Hi, have you taken a look at our remote setup guide?

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44002137137-remote-setup

Please let us know if this helps. Thanks !

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