Sony BluRay Player Doesn't Detect Emby

[hansolo77 11]

This is proper request for support from a previous thread I had in the Web Client forum here: http://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/28781-web-client-blank/&do=findComment&comment=277736

 

Essentially, we have a BluRay player that is connected to our network.  Previously I had been using Serviio to host a DLNA compatible file list so we could stream movies from the server to it.  However, since I decided to go with Emby, I ditched Serviio.  Why bother having 2 programs running when 1 can do everything the other can do and more?  So I'm at a loss as far as making this work.  The BluRay player fails to even see the Emby server.  I know the player is connected to the network though, because Windows Media Player's "Digital Media Server" is being detected and provides a psuedo list of media.  I say psuedo because it really only lists avi files (WMP's native capable format).  99% of my videos are mkv, so that doesn't help.  The thing about this is that it DOES show that, and those files DO play, so I know the hardware side of things is working.  I also know that the player is DLNA compatible because (as I said) I was able to make it work with Serviio just fine.

 

So far, the only suggestion I've had to a possible fix was to decrease the blast alive message timeout duration from 30 seconds to 1 second.  It didn't help, as Emby still fails to show up as a valid network device/location.

 

I thought perhaps the fact that the WMP Digital Media Server was running on the same ip/mac address that maybe it was conflicting, but so far nobody seemed to pay any heed to that suggestion.  The only other thing I can think of (basing purely on speculation and lack of knowledge) is that there must be some setting somewhere in the actual DLNA profiles that Emby is using for this player.  The only thing is, I think those profiles are built just to tell Emby what files can be streamed and what files need to be transcoded (and into what format would be compatible).  The other thing that really boggles is that Emby shouldn't even have to transcode.  This player is already natively capable of playing mkv files, so all I need is a way to get a file listing to the player.  There are no "file manager" type apps available for this (unless there ARE and I'm too naive to figure out how to install them "indirectly").

 

So yeah, can somebody help me in any way?  Have a suggestion or idea of something else I might try?  If you need specifics, I will get the exact model number of the BluRay player.

[hansolo77 11]

55 views, no replies.  Not even an "I dunno".  There's gotta be something going on here.  The bluray player in question was able to work FINE with Serviio.  So why doesn't it work with Emby?  Isn't DLNA a standard protocol?  Why work with one and not the other?

 

In any case, I've updated my scenario.  I now have the bluray player connected directly to the network, rather than through wireless.  This has made no change in it's ability to detect Emby.  My "servername" Digital Media Server still displays almost instantly, but Emby does not.  I still have a feeling that Microsoft's DLNA service might be to blame, since the server hardware is running on the same MAC address.  This player is probably unable to see multiple instances of a DLNA server on the same machine.  If this is not the case, I'm completely lost.

 

As an aside test... I also have a Raspberry Pi running Kodi.  I unplugged the HDMI and LAN cables from the BluRay player and connected them to the Pi.  Kodi was able to load up and connect to Emby fine.  So I know the NETWORK side of things, at least with that specific cable, is working fine as well.  I can also stream through other apps in the bluray player.  So the problem lies specifically with Emby, and it's inability to announce itself properly so we can connect to it.

 

As I said before, I have changed the announce (blast alive) interval to 1 second, and it made no difference.

[Luke 42077]

Hi, the issue unfortunately with Dlna is that requires individual development and testing for every device. It's supposed to be a standardized format but in practice it's really not. I have not personally tested a sony bluray player because i don't have one, although we have tested ps4, ps3, sony receivers and sony bravia's. you would think sony would just use one single dlna implementation but that's not the case. Hopefully a knowledgeable community member with a similar device will come forward and help get it straitened out.

[hansolo77 11]

I was actually finally able to make it work last night!  After typing up my previous reply, I decided to further investigate my theory.  I searched the internet for a way to uninstall or at least disable the Digital Media Server provided by Microsoft.  To that end, I disabled the services "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" and "Windows Server Essentials Media Streaming Service".  I'm not sure which one did it, or if both was needed.  However, with both disabled, we now have Emby showing up in the available "apps" on the bluray player.  So my theory appears correct, that it was a conflict.

[Luke 42077]

Interesting, thanks for the info!

[hansolo77 11]

Yeah I'm not sure what caused the problem.  My theory was that the player was receiving a signal from Microsoft's DLNA service prior to Emby's.  Since they both come from the same MAC address, it was unable to run both.  I didn't have this problem before because I was using a whole different OS.  Originally I was using Windows Home Server and Serviio.  But Emby's server was installed on a different computer altogether because it required an x64 OS and WHS was only x86.  So I spent all summer upgrading to a whole new case, motherboard/cpu/ram, and OS (now running Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2).  This is a completely new setup.  When I installed WSE, I was under the incorrect assumption that I would need to have Media Player's Library running the streams so I could listen to music, etc. from the server.  Turns out as long as you could access the files directly (through UNC paths) it would work just fine without it.  So the documentation wasn't clear.  By having Media Player's services running on top of EMBY, that's where all my problems were.  Disabled that and all of a sudden everything is working great!

 

Now all I need to do (to make the folks happy) is figure out if there is a way to have the local trailers be available as a selection too.  Right now, all they get is a folder structure based on EMBY's playlists (TV, MOVIES...and then Recently Added, Continue Watching, etc).  When they browse to a movie they just get the movie, no option for trailers.  This might be because I have them stored in a /trailers/trailer.ext path, and EMBY is only getting the first "root" path.  The other thing that's not really working is artwork, but that's no big deal.  Just getting a DLNA service running so they can watch movies is making them happy enough.  Something else I'll need to look into is some way to have them be able to enable subtitles (they're old, if you know what I mean lol!).

[Luke 42077]

The latest beta of Emby Server, 3.1.125, has numerous fixes for Sony Blu ray players from years 2013-2016. The changes will also be in the next stable release of Emby Server. Since I have a device for testing I am now able to test it fully and with the changes I've made everything is now playing perfectly.

It's possible that some of these improvements can be applied to older players or sony bravia tv's, but I do not have those devices available to test with, so for that I'll need to rely on community help. Enjoy.

[dwcouch 0]

The latest beta of Emby Server, 3.1.125, has numerous fixes for Sony Blu ray players from years 2013-2016. The changes will also be in the next stable release of Emby Server. Since I have a device for testing I am now able to test it fully and with the changes I've made everything is now playing perfectly.

It's possible that some of these improvements can be applied to older players or sony bravia tv's, but I do not have those devices available to test with, so for that I'll need to rely on community help. Enjoy.

Is there a way to connect a Sony player to a remote emby server?

 

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[Luke 42077]

You mean remote dlna? We do not currently support that, sorry.

[dwcouch 0]

You mean remote dlna? We do not currently support that, sorry.

Thanks for the reply!

 

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