Can't play TV on remote client (1 Viewer)

[wjw]

Have been trying to use a laptop as a client to my main PC acting as server. Everything works as expected, enter server ID and client connects to the remote PC just fine, displays current EPG, list of recorded programs and so on. So I don't believe I have any network problems - yet I cannot get past that point. Either trying live TV or a recording gets me a "Unable to play F97E46BA" message.

I have no idea what this means. Can anyone offer any ideas please? Codecs at the client end all seem to be the same as on the server PC.

A zip of all logs is attached.

 

[mm1352000]

Hi

Thanks for providing log files - that's a great start.

My guess based on your description of the problem and what I see in the log files is that you run a firewall - either on the server, or on the client, or both - that is blocking the RTSP streaming connection.
There are at least 3 connections between a MediaPortal client and the TV Server:

1. .NET remoting - used for command and control (eg. start viewing channel X).
   
2. Database - used for pulling various data from the server.
   
3. RTSP streaming (or SMB share) - used for the video/audio connection.

If you have recording lists and EPG showing then the first 2 connections are likely to be fine. However that doesn't mean the 3rd connection will also work.
It's definitely not a codec problem at this stage.

Hope that helps...

 

[wjw]

@mm1352000

Thanks for the usual prompt reply. I would have been back sooner, but I had to run out immediately after posting this morning. Anyway, back now, and have turned off the firewall completely on both machines. Same result - message this time is "Unable to play: stream 19". Communication between the 2 machines is via wifi through my ISP supplied router - which as far as I can tell isn't running a firewall (at least, it doesn't refer to any firewall function as such in the little documentation available), but I could be wrong here and need to pursue further.

So, no firewall blocking, but same problem. I've attached new logs in case that might help.

 

[wjw]

An update, which may or may not help. I re-enabled the firewall on both systems, then , using the laptop, browsed to the folder on the server system which contains the recorded TV programs I want to watch on the laptop. No MP involved. If I double click on any of the .TS files in this folder they play fine on the laptop (using the player app included in Windows 10). So, if it's a Firewall problem it's specific to MP. Which then leads to the question of - which port(s) need to be specifically opened - I can't find any configuration guide in the Wiki.

 

[mm1352000]

Anyway, back now, and have turned off the firewall completely on both machines.

Did you also restart the TV Server after disabling? (Sorry, I should have said.)
If a firewall prevented the streaming server from binding at TV Server startup, dropping the firewall won't help because the streaming server would still be down. You'd have to restart TV Server in order to bring the streaming server online.

So, if it's a Firewall problem it's specific to MP.

This would not be unusual. Many firewalls can set rules on a per-program basis.

Which then leads to the question of - which port(s) need to be specifically opened - I can't find any configuration guide in the Wiki.

The RTSP command port is configurable. You can find the setting in TV Server Config -> streaming server. 554 is the default. However, the ports used to carry video and audio data are randomly chosen for each connection (ephemeral). Therefore I'm not able to specify those. Probably the only reasonable way to handle this situation is to configure the firewall to trust MediaPortal (ie. grant full access to your local network).


Can you please supply logs from the server (Watchdog option 3) so I can check that the streaming server is actually running on the server side.

 

[wjw]

@mm1352000

First, I really must say thanks for the time you put in trying to help - and your patience with we users who perhaps don't spend enough time doing our own troubleshooting/research before raising questions. I certainly appreciate it.

I'm now more confused than I was before - but not because of anything you've said. Other than turning the firewalls back on again (and failing to get the streaming connection working) I didn't make any further changes yesterday, yet when trying for one last time last night - just in case! - all worked exactly as expected.

The only clue I have have is that at one point yesterday afternoon, Windows on the server system decided that it was now ready to make the upgrade to Win 10 (it's been refusing up till now because of a missing driver for a piece of Intel hardware somewhere). So I decided to let the upgrade run, just to see if that changed anything. The upgrade failed (with a message that contains no helpful information of course) even after trying several times with several restarts. So I'm back with the Win 7 setup as before - except that streaming from that server to any other client device I try now works fine, when it didn't before the failed upgrade.

As I say, confusion reigns. I have to assume that there was something, somewhere in the network chain that wasn't quite right, but now is. What or why - who knows?

Anyway, thanks again for trying to help

 

[mm1352000]

First, I really must say thanks for the time you put in trying to help - and your patience with we users who perhaps don't spend enough time doing our own troubleshooting/research before raising questions. I certainly appreciate it.

I'm very happy to do this.

As I say, confusion reigns. I have to assume that there was something, somewhere in the network chain that wasn't quite right, but now is. What or why - who knows?

TV Server log files might still shed light on what happened. At this point I could only speculate that the streaming server was down, but it was started due to one of the restarts that you mentioned.

Hopefully things will just work from now on it, but don't hesitate to update if the situation changes yet again.

Kind regards,
mm