PURE Setting Up Media Player Media Server User Guide

PURE Setting Up Media Player Media Server

Product Information

Specifications:

• Operating System: Windows (Windows Media Player 11 or 12)
• Supported Devices : Internet radio

Description:
The product is a media streaming and flow server that allows users to set up their Windows Media Player as a media server. By enabling media streaming and customizing the settings, users can make their media library available to selected devices, such as internet radios, on the same network.

Product Usage Instructions

Setting up Media Player as a Media Server (Windows only)

1. Open Windows Media Player.
2. Click on the “Library” drop-down menu and select “Media Sharing”.
3. In the “Share My Media To:” section, click the “Settings” button.
4. Name your server and specify the type of media you want to serve (e.g., music).
5. Click “OK” to set up your media server.
   Note:
   Ensure that your media is on the same network as the host machine (the machine hosting the server) for successful media serving.

Customizing Media Server Settings

1. Open Windows Media Player.
2. Click on the “Library” drop-down menu and select “Media Sharing”.
3. In the “Share My Media To:” section, click the “Settings” button.
4. Customize the settings according to your preferences, such as specifying individual devices or allowing all devices to access your media library.
5. Click “OK” to save the settings.

Locating and Indexing Music Library

1. If the Menu bar is not visible in the player, right-click in the area denoted by the arrow and click on “Show menu bar” for additional options.
2. In the Menu bar, click on “Manage” and select “Music Library Locations”.
3. In the dialogue window, click on the “Add” button to add other locations of stored music content.
4. Locate your chosen folder and left-click to highlight it.
5. Select “Include Folder” and then click “OK”.

Streaming Content to Internet Radio

1. On your internet radio, select the “Media Player” source.
2. Your radio will automatically start scanning for new servers on the same network. If it doesn’t scan or you have already performed a scan, you can manually instruct the radio to search for new servers by navigating to Options > Media Player Settings > Media Server > Scan For Servers.
3. Select the name of your server from the available servers.
4. Browse and select your desired content to play.

PRODUCT FAQs

• Media server doesn’t work?
  If you are experiencing difficulties setting up your media server, you can refer to Microsoft’s website for more information on using Windows Media Player as a media server: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx

• Additional Troubleshooting:
  If you continue to encounter issues, please refer to our troubleshooting notes found here.

FAQ

Setting up Media Player as a Media Server (Windows only)

• The PC on which you have audio you want to share must be located on the same network as your Pure Internet radio.
• Your Flow internet radio must be connected to your local wireless network
• The audio media you want to serve must be in a file format your radio can play. To check supported formats visit the article ‘Supported formats and bit rates’
• Below are instructions for Windows Media Player 12 and Windows Media Player 11

Windows Media Player 12

• Start Windows Media Player, click “Stream” and click on “Turn on media streaming”

• Then click on “Turn on media streaming” (see below)
  Please Note: If this option has already been enabled, you will need click on More Streaming options…

• You now need to click “Allow all”, however, you can specify individual devices if you wish.

• Now click on Customize (see image below) alongside each device and on the following screen, select Make all of the media In my library available to this device before clicking OK.

Locating and indexing your music

• When you set up a media server you need to tell the server the location of the media you want served. Telling the media server the location of your music will allow the server to start a process called indexing. Indexing allows a server to scan the entire contents of what is to be served and build its own internal library of the locations of each individual file. This helps the server quickly find the individual files you request when you start using the server.
• Windows Media Player server will automatically look for, and index, any music files in the default My Music folder found in your My Documents folder. If you have your music collection in this folder then you don’t need to tell the server where it is and the process of indexing will have already started. However if you have your music stored in a different folder then you will need to tell your server where that music is located so it can index and serve it.
• The default setting will be folders located in My Documents – which contain all the ‘My’ folders – including My Music. If you want to add other locations you need to click on:
  File > Manage Libraries > Music to locate the relevant paths to your locations. (as seen in below)
  Please note: If your Menu bar is not visible in the player, please right click in the area denoted by the arrow and click on Show menu bar for these additional options.

• This will open a new dialogue window (shown above) and allow you to manage the Music Library Locations. You will now need to click on the Add button to add other locations of stored music content. Once you have located your chosen folder, left click with your mouse until highlighted, before finally selecting Include Folder and then OK.
• You are now ready to stream your content to your Internet radio.
• On your radio select the Media Player source and your radio will start automatically scanning for new servers available on the same network. If it doesn’t scan or you have already performed a scan, then you can instruct the radio to search for new servers by pressing Options > Media Player Settings > Media Server > Scan For Servers.
• You should now see the name of your server select this and you will see all your content, you can now select and play.

Media server doesn’t work?

• Media serving is pretty basic in principle but there are a number of factors that can prevent the successful set-up of any media server, and that tends to be security software. Do consider that a default install or ‘clean’ install of a Windows or MAC OS system – before any 3rd party software is introduced – will always result in successful media serving. It tends to be the later addition of 3rd party software that can interfere with this process. If you are having difficulties setting up your media sever then start with our troubleshooting notes found here
• You can find out more about using Windows Media Player 12 as a media server from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx

Windows Media Player 11

• Setting up any type of server consists of a few fundamental steps. You need server software (in this case we have Windows Media Player), you’ll need to give the server a name, you’ll need to tell the server what you want to serve, and you’ll need to tell the server the location of what you want to serve.
• Start Windows Media Player and click the Library drop down menu and select Media Sharing. Don’t worry if your version of Media Player doesn’t looks exactly the same; the menu structures will be the same.
• Click Share My Media To: and click the now highlighted Settings button. This is where you can name your server and tell the server what type of media you want to serve. For this music media server I have named my server My_Server and I have specified Music as the type of media to be served in My Media Types, and All Ratings.
• Click Ok and your media server is now set up.

Locating and indexing your music

• When you set up a media server you need to tell the server the location of the media you want served. Telling the media server the location of your music will allow the sever to start a process called ‘indexing’. Indexing allows a server to scan the entire contents of what is to be served and build it’s own internal library of the locations of each individual file. This helps the server quickly find the individual files you request when you start using the server.

• Windows Media Player server will automatically look for, and index, any music files in the default My Music folder found in your My Documents folder. If you have your music collection in this folder then you don’t need to tell the server where it is and the process of indexing will have already started. However if you have your music stored in a different folder then you will need to tell your server where that music is located so it can index and serve it.

• Click the Library drop down menu and click Add To Library. The default setting will be My Personal Folders – which include all the ‘My’ folders found in ‘My Documents’ – including ‘My Music’. If you want to add other locations you need to click Advanced Options and add the relevant paths to your locations.
  Tip! When setting up a media server you must ensure your media is on the same network and preferably on the local host machine (the same machine that is hosting the server).

• Once you have finished, click OK and the server can start indexing.

• Ok, so you have your media server started, named and you have given it the location of your music you can now see it on your radio and connect to it.

• On your radio select the Media Player source and your radio will start automatically scanning for new servers available on the same network. If it doesn’t scan or you have already performed a scan, then you can instruct the radio to search for new servers by pressing Options > Media Player Settings > Media Server > Scan For Servers.

• You should now see the name of your server, however selecting your sever for the first time won’t give you immediate access as you need to give the server permission for the radio connect.

• In Windows Media Player click the Library drop down menu and click Media Sharing. You will now see a device listed – probably named ‘Unknown Device’ – that you can ‘allow’ to connect. Providing there are no other media servers on the same network this unknown device will be your radio. Click the Unknown Device and click Allow.

• And that’s it! You’ve instructed your server to allow the radio to access it and you can start streaming music.
  Tip! the process if ‘indexing’ for the first time can make the media server very slow in reposing to requests. Indexing can also take time – depending on how many files there are to be indexed – so when setting up a server and indexing for the first time you should consider leaving the server to complete its index before you trying to access it. Full indexing only needs to be done once so you won’t have to wait around again.

Media server doesn’t work?

• Media serving is pretty basic in principle but there are a number of factors that can prevent the successful set-up of any media server, and that tends to be security software. Do consider that a default install or ‘clean’ install of a Windows or MAC OS system – before any 3rd party software is introduced – will always result in successful media serving. It tends to be the later addition of 3rd party software that can interfere with this process. If you are having difficulties setting up your media sever then start with our troubleshooting notes found here
• You can find out more about using Windows Media Player 11 as a media server from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx

References

• PURE SUPPORT
• Knowledgebase - PURE SUPPORT
• Setting up Media Player as a Media Server (Windows only) - Knowledgebase / Media Streaming and Flow server - PURE SUPPORT
• Knowledgebase / Media Streaming and Flow server - PURE SUPPORT

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