Album index and mezzmo detection delay

[Steevo25]

Hi All,

I have just converted over to Mezzmo. Previously, I was running Twonky server on a Linux all in one NAS box. Now I am using a core i7 quad core PC with a RAID 5 box attached to it and Windows 7. I chose Mezzmo because of it's infinite functionality and by monitoring theses forums for the last year or so, the exemplary support it seems from the developer.

I have set up Mezzmo and have got it nearly exactly how I want. I just have one thing I cannot seem to work out and also one issue I seem to have.

First of all, the configuration issue I cannot seem to do. All my music files are MP3 and there are about 12,000 of them. I converted all my CDs over to save the space. One thing I cannot seem to do is create a Rolodex style index on the albums. I am trying to setup something so you have a playlist called Albums and when you select it, you then then get A to Z lists. When you select a letter, it shows you all the albums that begin with that letter. Then when you select the album, it shows you all the songs in that album.

I have tried to do this but I just cannot find a way. If I do this on the albums, I can get as far as the letter index but when I select the letter, it shows me all the songs in all the albums beginning with that letter.

All my albums are stored in individual folders. So, for example, I have a folder on the disc called music and under that I have a folder for each album with the folder being the name of the album but the MP3 files also contain the album name in their tags. I can do it by browsing folders but then I cannot get the A to Z index and you have to scroll down for ever to get to an album starting with 'S' for example.

I also have an issue with detecting the Mezzmo server from my DLNA device. All my devices that I stream to are Sony BDP-S580 Blu Ray players. When I turn any of the devices on, they can take up to about 15 minutes before the server appears in the list. With my Twonky server NAS box, it shows up in about 10 seconds.

All my devices and the Mezzmo server are connected to a Dratek Vigor router with 1gbit links.

I would appreciate any help on the above 2 issues. Many thanks in advance.

[Steevo25]

I have solved the album sorting, just a bit of trial and error and learning.

But I cannot find a solution for the slow discovery of the server. If I power on any of my DNLA devices, the Mezzmo server will be greyed out in the list. After about 10-15 minutes it becomes available.

[Paul]

Glad you got the album sorting issue fixed.

Regarding Mezzmo not being seen on your home network, see this FAQ - http://forum.conceiva.com/showthread.php/1183-FAQ-Cannot-see-Mezzmo-on-your-DLNA-device. It contains possible reasons for your devices to not list Mezzmo server (or for Mezzmo server to be listed as disabled/grey). If no success, then let us know and we'll help further.

[Steevo25]

Paul,

Thanks for the advice. I did go through all the settings in that document and they looked correct. I am sort of away at the moment but have been accessing my server remotely and I think I may have discovered something. I opened the Mezzmo settings screen and there is a parameter in there called advertisement interval (in seconds). By default it is set to 1800 which just happens to be 30 minutes. I guess my devices will not function until they get at least one advertisement. On my DLNA devices (all Sony BDP devices), the Mezzmo server is greyed out and if I click on the icon, it just tells me the server is starting up and then waits there for about a minute and says the server was not responding and to try again in a while. It does say that this could take a few minutes.

I have now changed the advertisement interval to 60 seconds. Is there any adverse effect in me doing this? I will try the devices when I get home this evening to see if that brings the connection up more quickly.

[Paul]

It's fine to change the advertisement interval to a shorter interval. Some users do make it shorter for cases just like yours, whereas some other users make it longer to reduce the UPnP / DLNA traffic that can sometime interfere when streaming files (this especially occurs with Samsung devices). This interval defines when Mezzmo server broadcasts itself across your home network to let all the other UPnP / DLNA devices that it exists. Your other UPnP / DLNA devices also broadcast themselves as well. One reason for not seeing Mezzmo listed on your Sony BDP is that these UPnP message are being blocked on your home network and are not reaching your devices. This blocking is typically caused by your router or your firewall - so check these in your troubleshooting.

[Steevo25]

That seems to have worked. It now becomes active in under a minute. I guess this is a quirk of the Sony BDP devices in the fact that they will not become active until they have heard from the server.

[Paul]

Glad it's working better now. I think it is more a quirk of your home network setup (e.g. router, firewall, etc.). Sony devices do typically list Mezzmo server quickly. We do quite often hear from users about slower listing of Mezzmo server (irrespective of DLNA device manufacturer & model) and it usually comes back to home network configuration.

[Steevo25]

I too suspect the router which is a Dratek Vigor router but I cannot see any settings in there that could be affecting it and the DLNA server has all firewall features turned off. Is there a home broadband router that has a good track record for DLNA streaming. I am open to any recommendations from anyone. On the Draytek, the only firewall features are between the internet and LAN not on the LAN itself. The DLNA server is a wired connection and the worst suffering clients are the ones connected wirelessly although they have excellent signal strength.

[Paul]

Sorry - I don't have any router recommendations. Most routers seems to work fine but can often require some configuration to be fully UPnP / DLNA friendly. Also, check if you have the latest router firmware.

[Steevo25]

Solution was simple. It was called a firmware upgrade. Upgraded to the latest router firmware and now Mezzmo shows up almost instantly.

Thank you for all your help.

[Paul]

That's a great result. Well done :)