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Greetings and Advice

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STORMTIGERS

Serviio newbie

Posts: 14

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:11 pm

Location: This week or next week ? Home in Australia

Post Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:33 pm

Greetings and Advice

Hi folks
For some time I have been running Twonky DLNA server quite successfuly using Windows 7/8/9/10 computers with internal and external drives. To access the server either Windows laptops or a little known media box (Kaiser Baas) was used.
The KB was an easy to use machine with esentially a text based interface. Whilst not ideal in its screen movement (up down arrows) there was very little it woukd not play. Alas the remote has been worn out and frankly I am not inclined to pay more than the box cost for a used remote on fleaBay.
I have had a present of a Roku based media box from local telecom company but it is very limited in file formats.
This has led me to start evaluating the whole setup. I bought a used Apple Mini as a small computer to hook up to one of the TVs for the kids but they have outgrown it. As I also travel OS a fair bit I decided to sneak it into the suitcase this trip.
I have managed to install Twonky but its giving me problems with passwords and the inevitable security problem when hooked up to a hotel network. So I happened upon a review recommending Serviio and have gone that path on a trial basis.
Well so far it is meeting expectation as a suitable replacement for Twonky.
But I do have a couple of questions perhaps you more experienced guys can sort out.

1. Limited Access what exactly does it mean. It appears that LA prevents you actually seeing the folders you have shared.
Is there more to it than that I can't seem to find the answer. Its either Limited on No Limit.

2. Is there anyway to identify a device permanently on a non static IP network ?
My little android box I bought for the bedroom at the hotel is the only way to get my external hard disk media files on the TV as it ks a tad antiquated, supports very few file types and no support for a 1Tb drive plugged in directly.
As the network is prone to dropping out I have found the IP address assignment seems to float around a bit.
Being on a public hotel network I have disabled new devices from establishing a connection but they still seem to show up when refreshed at the top. All show as Limited Access (hence question 1) and I have manually set rights for this one IP address which Serviio correctly identified as my android running Kodi.

Appreciate your help and any advice on configuration quirks, traps or hidden gems

Cheers
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STORMTIGERS

Serviio newbie

Posts: 14

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:11 pm

Location: This week or next week ? Home in Australia

Post Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:30 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

Well I found the answer to part 1 with a bit of searching.
Shame such basic information is not readily available in a user manual somewhere.
Sifting through old posts on a forum for an answer isnfar from ideal if you don't use the right search criteria.

The answer was found at this location.
http://serviio.org/component/content/article/10-uncategorised/58-set-up-content-protection-rules
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:26 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

As you noted in another post, at this time Serviio only detects and uses the IP address of the devices on your network. I don't know how difficult it might be to add MAC address as an identified name, but I see you suggested it, so Zip can evaluate it.

When I've traveled, hotel networks have always been configured to that devices connected cannot see each other. This is a strong security feature, and one I would not want them to change. When I was staying long term at a hotel last year, I added a wireless card to my Serviio PC that I brought with me, connected that computer to the hotel via wireless, then added my own wireless access point to have a private internal network, so the Roku players I brought with me could see my server. This way I only had to authenticate my one computer to the hotel network, and everything connected to my private network had complete Internet access. This way I could watch something from my Serviio PC, Netflix, Amazon, or YouTube without connecting the device to the hotel network.

For a short term hotel stay, I don't think it's worth the effort to do something like this, but with a small laptop and router it could probably be done. Of course, you might not be able to load too many videos onto a small laptop hard drive without replacing the drive with one much larger, or using an external drive. My Serviio PC is in a full size case, so it's not something I would travel with unless I was staying a very long time (like I did last year).
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents
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STORMTIGERS

Serviio newbie

Posts: 14

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:11 pm

Location: This week or next week ? Home in Australia

Post Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:29 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

Thanks Dan so your effectively taking their wifi connection and sharing it within your own little network. Sounds like a good idea I have a similar portable device i use but its dependant on having a local sim card installed and it then shares its link with up to 5 devices.
I dont think it is capable of accepting a wifi signal in as its connection.
Not even sure the lan point works in this hotel, everything points very much towards wifi.

The hotel was one example of security I actually have a a concern with.
Because it is an internal closed network, do I assume that the appearance of all these other ports in Serviio actually indicates that they can see my Serviio server if they chose to view the network on their computers and could conceivably click on it. I have seen others computers and for experiment only, clicked on them. Some request a login, others seem to connect but nothing is revealed, i.e maybe not in shared folders.

This is the area I was little concerned with, I dont so much care if people can view my 1Tb video drive but can they get past that if Serviio were to allow them to connect ? Or do they just see it as media device and nothing else is available ?
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:02 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

You have a portable cellular device, usually called a Mi-Fi. No, it won't accept a wireless signal. It only uses the cellular connection, and you'll hit your data limits quickly trying to stream over one. :)

I've been in hotels that still have an Ethernet port, and even lights up when I connect. However, they are no longer connected to the guest network, so are non-functional. Everyone has moved to wireless it seems. I have a small D-Link travel router that is supposed to work as a bridge and perform what I did with my computer, but I could only rarely get it to actually connect to the hotel network. Like I said, for a longer term hotel stay my method worked great, but it's impractical for a short stay unless you want to carry a laptop for the same purpose. Since I'm already carrying my work laptop (which I can't install anything on), it isn't worth lugging a second one with me.

This is the area I was little concerned with, I don't so much care if people can view my 1Tb video drive but can they get past that if Serviio were to allow them to connect ? Or do they just see it as media device and nothing else is available ?


They will only see Serviio as a media provider. Unless you have shared folders with little to no security enabled, no one should be able to easily access anything on your computer other than the media available via Serviio. And that's a one way stream, in that they can't modify any commands to allow access to the computer itself. But remember that the console is not password protected, so someone with Serviio knowledge could connect to your console and mess with it. But again, even that wouldn't allow them access via DLNA to anything but media. Even if someone altered your settings and shared your entire C: drive, DLNA is only going to allow them to view audio, video and picture files. And nothing could be altered from outside.
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents
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STORMTIGERS

Serviio newbie

Posts: 14

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:11 pm

Location: This week or next week ? Home in Australia

Post Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:30 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

Cheers Dan , makes me feel a bit more comfortable with the way I am having to implement it.

Perhaps you can see the thought behind my suggestion of mapping machines via mac address rather than IP.
Would certainly notch up the ability to connect ONLY those devices known to the server.
Actually spent considerable amount of time in computing arena but never really investigated MAC or understood it.
Always thought MAC was something Apple invented and therefore (biased as I was) instantly disliked the idea whatever it might be.
Meanwhile if we could only sort machines in the serviio console by IP address or by active or previously active connection status.
I wouldnt have to search through 250 hotel IP address numbers trying to find my tablet in the other room.
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:56 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

MAC stands for Media Access Control, and yes, Apple has nothing to do with it. :D Every network connection device has a unique ID number, with the first group of characters assigned to a specific manufacturer. For devices with wired and wireless connections like a laptop, the wireless and wired network adapters have separate addresses.

I see the value of being able to use a MAC address in the console, but Zip would have to answer how difficult it might be.
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents
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DenyAll

DLNA master

Posts: 2257

Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:16 pm

Location: Adelaide, Australia

Post Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:23 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

DenyAll
Panasonic Viera FX800A | Panasonic Viera CS610A | Sony PS4 | Sony PS3 | Panasonic DMP-BD79 | Yamaha RX-V500D | iPad | Windows 10 | Serviio 1.10.1 Pro
WinHelper | MediaInfo

Beta Tester, Moderator
Please do not PM me for support as any solution cannot be shared with others.
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:26 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

reserve static ip by mac address in your travel router, boom done. If firmware doesn't let you get a travel router that accepts opensource.
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:44 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

the best thing for me in serviio is using serviigo from my phone but for some reason it's not in the play store any more.

Here you go bro:

https://anon.to/Kf37xe
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Sun Sep 02, 2018 6:57 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

I believe Serviigo is being updated, and hasn't been released in the Play Store yet. I recall seeing something about this in another thread.
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Sun Sep 02, 2018 8:41 pm

Re: Greetings and Advice

Yea some other apps I use say they are waiting for play store approval after the terms changed and they have been waiting and google is moving slowly.

I just posted the app in case OP wants to try it, since getting an installer may be difficult now.

IIRC free trial of Serviio gives you mediabrowser functionality so he can use it.

@OP if you're traveling a travel router is about $50 investment in safety, comfort, peace of mind.

I like tp-link because a lot of them have big ram and support open firmware.
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STORMTIGERS

Serviio newbie

Posts: 14

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:11 pm

Location: This week or next week ? Home in Australia

Post Wed Sep 05, 2018 9:33 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

freaknik wrote:the best thing for me in serviio is using serviigo from my phone but for some reason it's not in the play store any more.

Here you go bro:

https://anon.to/Kf37xe


Thanks matey, appreciate it. Haven't downloaded as my primary use is some little android boxes I bought here for less than 30 a pop that work a treat using kodi. Dont often use tablet but VLC seems to handle it.

I did go to that site but it had some funky download links I was a bit unusure of but truly appreciate the effort you went to

I bought a little wifi router thing online here which i will try out.
Its mainly to eleiminate seeing all the freakin IP addresses that I am never going to connect to and dont want them to have access. That's what I am getting at. As Dan said they are not going to get to my PC (x fingers) but when the hotel network goes down and everyone loses their IP adress you have to search through each device, determine the IP address it has now, and re permit it to have access to Serviio.

Cheers for the help
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Sat Sep 08, 2018 1:44 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

I think you'll be much happier with that setup.

Safe travels in the hotels
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freaknik

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 345

Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2014 2:05 pm

Location: Endor

Post Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:05 am

Re: Greetings and Advice

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