12 replies to this topic

[SabatonFan80]

Hi guys,

I think I've finally reached the end of my rope as far as trying to get WHS to play nicely with my Xbox 360s. I've been fighting with WHSv1 off and on for about 6 months now trying to get things to be visible in a reliable way (currently, they're not). This week I've been trying to setup up a WHS2011 VM in the hopes of finally having a decent DLNA server without any successful results.

In my WHSv1 machine, my current setup is using the Servio plugin to share the media. For whatever reason it seems as though the 360s see my shares exposed through Servio more easily than natively through WHS. The only problem is that Servio doesn't seem to easily recognize changes whenever I add/remove files, and it seems to be hit or miss as to whether the content will actually be served when it comes time to play.

I setup the WHS2011 VM in the hopes that all of these problems would just go away (they haven't). I'm frankly a little confused and frustrated with how difficult it's been to get these two products (WHS (either version) and the Xboxes) to play nicely with each other.

I'm not doing anything odd or strange on my network that I could see having an impact on this. My router is a Dlink DIR-655 (uPNP is enabled), and most of the connectivity is achieved via HomePlug AV connections. Running the network over the power lines isn't the fastest, but when it works I've had no problems streaming (running cat6 or wireless isn't an option). I've got about 6TB worth of ripped music and videos (mixture of DVDs and downloaded .avi's) that I'm trying to expose throughout the house to Xbox 360 front-ends.

Can anyone offer insight or suggestions as to what might be my problem? I can provide any further info required about my setup. As far as I can all media sharing is enabled as it should be, and I have no problems playing content from a laptop connected to the same connection and accessing the WHS machine over SMB.

Specifically, is there some sort of required step that I might be missing to get the 360s to act as a proper front-end? I just want the files, I don't particularly care for the Media Center browsing and pictures etc, but if I have to set that up to get it to work, I don't mind jumping through the extra hoops (I just can't seem to be able to figure it out on my own apparently..)

[diehard]

You should check that guest mode is enabled on the server. Also the xbox will only play certain file types so that could be an issue. Also, because you are streaming, the library must be indexed so that all the files appear at the 360. This might take some time or else look for an other to index in Silvio.

[SabatonFan80]

Guest mode is enabled on WHS.

Being able to see the files (or server) seems to be hit or miss. I'm trying to play files that I know have worked in the past when connecting to WHSv1 or over SMB on a classic Xbox (with XBMC).

[timekills]

Guest mode is enabled on WHS.

Being able to see the files (or server) seems to be hit or miss. I'm trying to play files that I know have worked in the past when connecting to WHSv1 or over SMB on a classic Xbox (with XBMC).

Have you checked to ensure you are on the latest firmware fror your HomePlug adaptors? I have them from a few manufacturers and the biggest challenge I've had is with the NAT aspect they present causes ports not to appear open even on your LAN. The only time this is ever a problem is exactly the issue you are facing; streaming media over my LAN. If at all possible, try the connection, even temporarily, using a direct wired connection. I know it might sound odd, but I have had challenges with Belkin's Gigabit, two different Netgear systems, and a TrendNet system. Eventually I found one that worked with an updated firmware. But to troubleshoot I resorted to a direct connection running down my stairs (big WAF there, hah) and figured out it was the Ethernet over power line connector FUBARing my streaming. The worst part was it wax intermittent; which eventually was attributed to poor UPnP port management (which I notice you are also using.). So phase 2 is turn off UPnP and disable firewalls and see if it works then.

[JerryW]

I do not have guest mode enabled on my WHS 2011 and I have been able to effectively use my XBOX 360s, after I did the following:

1. Remote into your server

2. Right-Click Network and go to properties

3. Click on 'change advanced sharing settings' to the left

4. Under 'Home or Work (current profile)' scroll down to Media Streaming. Even though I set media on in the dashboard, this was still off.

5. Choose 'media streaming options' Click on ALLOW ALL or choose what you would like to allow.

Once I did this, I had no more trouble from my XBOX 360s.

Just my two cents worth of help..

JerryW

[ikon]

Definitely try JerryW's suggestion; if it works it would be a great and easy fix. However, I must admit I agree more with timekills. The symptoms you describe sound very much like flaky network issues. I would bring a couple of your Xboxes close to your WHS and plug them together with a regular Ethernet switch. Then try to replicate the problems. If you can't, you have your answer. I suspect you will find it is the powerline networking at fault.

[craig2432]

Definitely try JerryW's suggestion; if it works it would be a great and easy fix. However, I must admit I agree more with timekills. The symptoms you describe sound very much like flaky network issues. I would bring a couple of your Xboxes close to your WHS and plug them together with a regular Ethernet switch. Then try to replicate the problems. If you can't, you have your answer. I suspect you will find it is the powerline networking at fault.

[craig2432]

I'm not sure if this is a similar situation to what I found myself in a couple of months ago. I upgraded my switch to a gigabyte one to speed up file transfers. All went fine until I tryed to run media centre on my 2 xbox 360. No matter what I did they would not connect. In a desperate last attempt I tryed a different switch. Problem solved. I returned the switch and they replaced it with a new one, but the problem was still there. To sum up some switches (cheap ones) cause problems.

Hope this helps.

[ikon]

I'm not sure if this is a similar situation to what I found myself in a couple of months ago. I upgraded my switch to a gigabyte one to speed up file transfers. All went fine until I tryed to run media centre on my 2 xbox 360. No matter what I did they would not connect. In a desperate last attempt I tryed a different switch. Problem solved. I returned the switch and they replaced it with a new one, but the problem was still there. To sum up some switches (cheap ones) cause problems.

Hope this helps.

If you don't mind, would you post the name of the ones that didn't work, and the one that did — I think it would benefit others.

[craig2432]

Sorry really should have thought about that.

Ok the problematic one was a 8 port Tenda TEG 1008. £15.00
The one I upgraded to was a big jump but I have a 3CX phone system and IP cameras as well. Was a Zyxel GS1500-24P. £315.00

What's that old saying, you get what you pay for.

[ikon]

Sorry really should have thought about that.

Ok the problematic one was a 8 port Tenda TEG 1008. £15.00
The one I upgraded to was a big jump but I have a 3CX phone system and IP cameras as well. Was a Zyxel GS1500-24P. £315.00

What's that old saying, you get what you pay for.

Interesting. I've never much luck with Zyxel; I stick pretty much to Netgear, Linksys/Cisco, HP. I just installed a 16-port gigabit Netgear as the central switch for my house.

[njonesy53]

JerryW... Thanks for the help I was having flaking issues with my 360 and my Media center PC till I opened this all up.

[Jason]

The latest Xbox 360 dashboard under VIDEO > Video Apps now allows for you to play .MKV and .WTV file formats directly from a file share on your WHS 2011 machine, correct? Has anyone confirmed this is possible without Windows Media Center on the WHS2011 (since it doesn't exist)?