PDA

View Full Version : Mezzmo on Server2003 - Remote management



DRey
08-19-2011, 06:55 AM
New to Mezzmo but most impressed with how easy it was to get 2.4.2.0 on XP to stream m4a (ALAC) files captured with iTunes and stored on Server2003 to Onkyo HT-RC180:). Tried several other products first but all had problems of one sort or another. The ability to access iTunes playlists is also a plus.

Ultimate objective is to have Mezzmo's server on Server2003 but would like to continue use of XP machine to capture files and build play lists (that is, to manage library) using iTunes. Guess Mezzmo can be set to monitor library files on server and therefore keep its own file inventory current - at least periodically if not in real time. Can it also be made to automatically update its playlist index by monitoring the iTunes playlist file (iTunes Library.xml) - perhaps using the Linked Playlist feature? Would it help to locate this playlist file on Server2003?

Or, can the server part of Mezzmo, the library and playlist indicies, and maybe the list management parts reside on Server2003 and the GUI part reside on another (XP) machine?

The real objective here is to be able to stream with only Server2003 running (since it's on 24/7 and XP is not), but not grant user access to Server2003 hardware (that is, no logon to Server2003 machine) to add media (using iTunes because of its ALAC support) or playlists (using iTunes or, maybe better, Mezzmo).

Another way to do this might be to run a copy of XP on a virtual machine under Server2003, then install Mezzmo and enable remote desktop on this XP instance. This would give user access to the Mezzmo GUI and features without direct access to Server2003. Media files (and playlists) could still be put on Server2003 using iTunes on other machine(s). Kind of a kludge, though.

I realize this is a complicated question. Any help appreciated.

Paul
08-19-2011, 09:30 AM
Can it also be made to automatically update its playlist index by monitoring the iTunes playlist file (iTunes Library.xml) - perhaps using the Linked Playlist feature? Would it help to locate this playlist file on Server2003?

Linked playlists are only for M3U, PLS and WPL playlists, they don't support the iTunes library unfortunately. You'd need to schedule maintenance to run and that'll re-read the iTunes library in at scheduled intervals.



Or, can the server part of Mezzmo, the library and playlist indicies, and maybe the list management parts reside on Server2003 and the GUI part reside on another (XP) machine?

This is possible by manually tweaking some configuration files - let me know if you need help with this and I'll tell you what to change (you'd need to modify the MezzmoMediaServices.txt and MezzmoMediaServer.ini files to accomplish this).

A future version of Mezzmo will allow you to specify a folder for its database in a more friendly manner :)



The real objective here is to be able to stream with only Server2003 running (since it's on 24/7 and XP is not), but not grant user access to Server2003 hardware (that is, no logon to Server2003 machine) to add media (using iTunes because of its ALAC support) or playlists (using iTunes or, maybe better, Mezzmo).

It should work, if GUI and server can access the database...



Another way to do this might be to run a copy of XP on a virtual machine under Server2003, then install Mezzmo and enable remote desktop on this XP instance. This would give user access to the Mezzmo GUI and features without direct access to Server2003. Media files (and playlists) could still be put on Server2003 using iTunes on other machine(s). Kind of a kludge, though.

Yes, that's a bit overkill, so perhaps we could try the other way first.


I realize this is a complicated question. Any help appreciated.
Happy to help - hopefully we'll get this going.

DRey
08-20-2011, 06:14 AM
OK, I will try to make this work with the media server part on Server2003 and the GUI part on XP.

In my present XP machine install I find two MezzmoMediaServer.ini files but only one has info about the location of the database (the other is about language). I don't find MezzmoMediaServices.txt at all.

I think I don't understand enough about how Mezzmo works to make this happen. It would seem logical to install the whole product on Server2003 in the usual way. This gets the Windows service installed, with user and password so it can access files on the server, and all the registry entries and so on. I'm not certain about what's next.

It would seem that Mezzmo has three main parts, the media server that provides the interface between the DLNA player device (via the network facilities of Server2003 in this case) and the media files and playlists. Then there is the database that knows where the media files, album art, and any other metadata are located (I see the album art is in another database - either there is a pointer to this somewhere or it is just always in the same folder with the main database). And then the GUI. I see the database is in a folder in the user's space but I guess the ini file could be changed and the database could then be anywhere, for instance on Server2003. But to have separate playlists, which seem to be located in the database, each user would seem to have to have his own database. Perhaps it is that when the pieces are split this way there can only be one user, since Server2003 can only have one user logged on at a time. Or does anyone have to be logged on Server2003 for Mezzmo to run, since it is a service.

I'm lost.

As I play with the existing installation I have a couple of other problems. I created an iTunes playlist with 4 songs. Mezzmo finds the playlist but only one song is listed. All four are in the iTunes xml file and all four are in the Mezzmo All Music Files list; the missing three are no different from the one present, one even in the same actual folder. Also there is no Folder listing of any iTunes songs.

When I delete folders under Library|Folders the songs themselves are not removed from the library. That is, the Folders are treated like playlists rather than the library itself. For large numbers of songs it appears the only way to remove them from the library is to remove them from the computer (or at least move the folders containing the files somewhere else). Is that so?

DRey
08-21-2011, 03:44 AM
I did find a file MezzmoServices.txt. This looks like what you meant. But now what?

Paul
08-22-2011, 09:15 AM
You'll need to install Mezzmo on both machines, then modify the .txt and .ini file on the XP to point to a shared folder that contains the database on the server (probably it'd be best to use a mapped drive).

You can only have one user in such a scenario and it has to be the same user on both machines, otherwise you may get permissions/access problems.

To remove files that were added from folders using an "Add Folder" command, you'll need to go one of the non-folder playlists that shows them (e.g. "All Music") and delete them from there.

Regarding the iTunes playlist - can you please send your iTunes XML file to support (at) conceiva (dot) com and we'll see if there's anything in it that may give us a clue.

DRey
08-23-2011, 06:01 AM
You'll need to install Mezzmo on both machines, then modify the .txt and .ini file on the XP to point to a shared folder that contains the database on the server (probably it'd be best to use a mapped drive).


Does this mean that the same user must currently be logged on to Server2003, or only that when Mezzmo is installed there the credentials used (username and password) must be the same as the user on the XP machine?


You can only have one user in such a scenario and it has to be the same user on both machines, otherwise you may get permissions/access problems.


Understood.

To remove files that were added from folders using an "Add Folder" command, you'll need to go one of the non-folder playlists that shows them (e.g. "All Music") and delete them from there.


Not very convenient if large numbers of files are involved but I understand your instruction.

Regarding the iTunes playlist - can you please send your iTunes XML file to support (at) conceiva (dot) com and we'll see if there's anything in it that may give us a clue.


I am sending a link to the file.

Now that I am able to play files (although I haven't yet changed the setup to run on the server as you described) I have found two other odd things. Songs will play between 10 and 20 seconds and then quit and go to the next song. Pressing Play on the remote for the Onkyo in the first few seconds makes the whole song play. This behavior is not consistent. Some albums seem to play with no problem. Also the time before skipping to the next song seems random in that interval. I also find that some songs come up with a message "Can't Play" immediately and then skip to the next song. If I select the same song several times in succession eventually it will play. Again this isn't consistent. Some songs play just fine. Any thoughts?

Thanks for all your help with this.

Paul
08-23-2011, 09:18 AM
Sounds like those songs are transcoded and it's possible that our device profile is not 100% correct. Please enable logging (see this thread: http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/419-FAQ-How-to-turn-on-diagnostic-logging) then play one of the files that plays only for a few seconds (I guess a file you haven't played before) and once it stops, stop the server and send the logs in.