HR20 Media Sharing; WMP11 How-To (Consolidated)

[Angelus]

I just enabled media sharing via Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 & HR20. I do NOT have a ViiV computer....my home PC is Intel P4 3.0Ghz, 2GB RAM, ATI Gfx card, XP Pro SP2 (5/9/08 Update: XP SP3 Installed) w/all updates...including..obviously WMP11. All the items below are in many posts. I wanted to consolidate for either newbs are others doing many searches. All it takes is one item/step missed for this not to work so wanted to try to be thorough. I want to give credit to all the origional posters of this info....I'm just a consolidator. The below assumes you already have the HR20 working on the Network....if not go to TIPS & Tricks and setup networking first. I highly recommend setting a static IP address for your HR20....this can save alot of headaches when connections unexplainably go away and you are wondering why....when in fact only your router has re-assigned a new DHCP IP address. Please check the networking guide or other posts for details but simply put find the address range in your router's config page of DHCP and assign (write down) and IP address above the Gateway address in the Router and below the DHCP start address. Place this static IP address, along with the router Gateway IP, Router Submask IP and your ISP providers DNS IP addresses in the Setup>Networking>Advanced page of the HR20. Additonally, the below assumes you're PC literate and WMP11 is installed and you've already imported your pics/music/video to it. Well, here goes....(I wont' explain why all the steps...just they are well documented and needed...if needed just ask and I'll explain why).

1. Right click on Desktop, select Power, go to Advanced Tab and make sure all states do not allow Standby modes. Go to Hibernate Tab and disable.
2. Go to Device Manager under Control Panel>System. Highlight Network Adapters in list and Right click, goto Properties. Go to Power Management Tab and uncheck (disable) all boxes that are power down/standby modes.
3. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Click on Add/Remove Windows Components on right. Scroll down to Networking Services, highlight it, click on Details. Scroll down and make sure Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client AND UPnP User Interface are checked.
4. Go to Start Menu, Admin Tools, then Services. Scroll down and highlight each of these services, double lick on them, make sure they are running and also are set to automatic. You'll see the button to Start and the dropdown box to select Automatic for each.

==>a) SSDP Discovery Service
==>b) HTTP SSL
==>c) Universal Plug & Play Device Host
5) Make sure UPnP Framework and Windows Media Player Networking Sharing Services is enabled in your Windows Firewall....look under Exceptions Tab. For these you should add or make sure the following ports are listed....highlight and select Edit.
UPnP Framework 2869 TCP & 1900 UDP
Windows Media Player Networking Sharing Services 10280, 10281, 10282, 10283, 10284 all UDP & 10243 TCP.

Here is also what WMP11 says in Help on Sharing & Firewall............
Your devices must be on the same subnet as your computer. Most home networks consist of a single subnet. However, if you have multiple routers attached to your home network, you probably have multiple subnets. If you have multiple routers in your home and you have trouble sharing your media to certain devices, try connecting those devices to the same router that your computer is connected to. To share media to other devices, several firewall ports on your computer must be open. If you are using Windows Firewall, the required Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports are automatically opened when you turn on media sharing. If you are using a different software or hardware firewall, you might need to open these ports manually. The following table shows the firewall ports that must be opened if you want to share media to other devices.
Port Protocol Scope
1900 UDP local subnet only
2869 TCP local subnet only
10243 TCP local subnet only
10280-10284 UDP local subnet only

I have Norton Firewall turned ON (Norton SystemWorks 2005) and thus my Windows Firewall is turned OFF. For my Norton SystemWorks 2005 I only need to make sure Windows Media Player is enabled as a Program Exception in Norton's Firewall configuration.

1. In your router config enable filter multicast and UPnP.
2. Go To My Network Places (usually on Desktop), on right side select Show Icons for UPnP Devices.
3. Turn Off any screen saver on PC.
4. Reboot the PC. Make sure HR20 is on.
   
5. Open WMP11. Click Tools>Options>Library>Configure Sharing. Check the Select the Share My Media. WMP11 should find the HR20 and show as an Unknown Device. Highlight the Unknown Device, check theAllow box, open Settings and make sure all items to be shared are checked.

(5/12/08 Update: Unknown Device now Shows as DirecTV Plus HD DVR)

1. It is important to note, all be it obvious, you need to enabling sharing on the PC folder(s) with your target content and point within WMP11 in Tools>Library>Monitor to ADD those folder(s) which will import the music/pic/video file(s) into WMP11 library. The HR20 won't see your media items if you don't import them into WMP11 library....even if they are on the PC and in shared folder. It's any easy mistake...don't make it !
2. Exit WMP11
3. User Menu on HR20 and do a device reset (ONLY a reset). Once the HR20 comes back up under Menuyou should see Music & Pics, etc, item. Go into this menu item and select items to play/show.

Problem #1: You Also Want To Access Shared Folders on Other PCs thru the one running WMP11
You can use Windows Media Player 11 to share media files that are located on other computers on your home network. However, additional steps are required so that these remote files will play on the devices you are sharing them with. On the remote computer, the media files must be in shared folders. For information about sharing folders, see Windows Help and Support. On the computer that contains the library you must grant users permission to access remote folders, modify registry key values, and monitor the shared folders located on the remote computer.
Here is Microsoft website FAQ which contains this and other details. Scroll down and open the question:
"Why can't I play files that are shared by one computer but located on different computer?"
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx

The below is for Windows XP.

This first procedure enables remote content sharing on the computer that contains your WMP11 library.

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. In the registry tree expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, SOFTWARE, Microsoft, MediaPlayer, Preferences, HME.
3. Right-click HME, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type EnableRemoteContentSharing, and then press ENTER.
5. Right-click EnableRemoteContentSharing, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data text box, type 1, and then click OK. Value of 0 is disable.

This second procedure grants anonoymous logon permission to access the shared remote folder. This means that any user can access the folder; it does not distinguish between user accounts. Perform the following steps on the computer that will host the remote folder.

1. In My Computer, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
2. On the View tab, clear the Use simple file sharing check box, and then click OK.
3. In My Computer, right-click the folder containing digital media files you want to share, and then click Sharing and Security.
4. On the Sharing tab, click Share this folder. (Remember the share name. You will need it later in this procedure.)
5. Click Permissions.
6. Click Add.
7. In the Enter object names to select text box, type ANONYMOUS LOGON, and then click OK.
8. On the Share Permissions tab, click ANONYMOUS LOGON.
9. In the Permissions for ANONYMOUS LOGON box, on the Read row, select the Allow check box (if it is not already selected), and then click OK twice.
10. Click Start, and then click Run.
11. In the Run dialog box, type cmd.exe, and then press ENTER.
12. Type cd /dpathname, where pathname is the location of the folder you want to give access to.
13. Type cacls . /e /t /r "NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON", and press ENTER.
14. Close the Command Prompt window.
15. Click Start, and then click Run.
16. In the Run dialog box, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
17. In the group policy tree on the left, expand Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, and then Security Options.
18. In the list pane on the right, right-click Network access: Shares that can be accessed anonymously, and then click Properties.
19. On the Local Policy Setting tab, press ENTER, type the share name that you specified in step 4, and click OK.

Problem #2: Communication Blocked
If so, in your Windows Firewall Exceptions you may not have UPnP Framework and Windows Media Player Networking Sharing Services enabled in your Firewall at all.....see above....or not all ports set correctly. So, first unplug DSL line or Cable modem to your router. Next, turn off your Windows Firewall and see if communication establishes.....reboot PC & reset (via Menu) HR20 if needed. If the Music&Pics show up ion the HR20 and work then with Firewall STILL OFF go to your HR20 and under Settings & Info go to Info and see what the HR20 IP address is listed as....mine is 192.168.1.100. While there go ahead and connect to the PC and launch a song or few that will last awhile....so communication is actively going between PC & HR20. Go back to your PC and launch Command Prompt (DOS Window) and type in netstat -a (just gives network info). Scroll down to find the HR20 IP address. Next to this IP address is the port the HR20 is using to connect to the PC.....over to the left on this line is the port that the PC is using. Go back to Windows Firewall under Exeptions and add a Windows Media Player Networking Sharing Services for each of these ports #s (TCP). Turn your Firewall back on !!!!!!!!!

Also, one other connection debug TIP is you can confirm the PC sees the HR20 by sending a PING command from DOS Command prompt from the PC. Just open a DOS Prompt Command box (START>RUN>COMMAND) and type in C>Ping followed by your HR20's IP Address. This can be found under the HR20 Menu section for Networking under Advanced. If you've already put in a STATIC IP address (which I recommended) you should know it. The Ping will respond back serveral times showing connection response, etc....else you will get a timeout if no connection.

Problems #3: No Unknown Device/DirecTV Plus HD DVR in WMP11 Media Share
Open Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, then System. Scroll down the list and see if there is an error (red X) with WMPNetworkSvc in the source column. After double clicking on the error see if this is the following error description:
A new media server was not initialized because WMCreateDeviceRegistration() encountered error '0xc00d2782'. The Windows Media DRM components on your computer might be corrupted. Verify that protected files play correctly in Windows Media Player, and then restart the WMPNetworkSvc service.
If you see this error message, there are two things you can try.

1) Following this linked procedure from XBox 360 site:http://forums.xbox.com/1/7738641/ShowPost.aspx#7738641....below are the steps.........
==>a) Make sure your 360 is on.
==>b) Goto Start -> Run: Type in "services.msc" without quotes.
==>c) Find the service called "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Serivce", Right-Click on it and select Stop. Close the Window.
==>d) Double Click "My computer", Select Tools -> Folder Options.
==>e) In the Folder Options windows, select the "View" tab.
==>f) Select "Show hidden Files and folders", and UNcheck "Hide protected operating system files".
==>g) Hit Apply, Hit Ok.
==>h) Double-Click on your C drive. If you see a folder called DRM then goto step g.
==>i) Double-Click the "Documents and Settings" folder, double-click the "All Users" folder.
*If you still cant find your DRM folder, Goto Start -> Run , Type in "regedit" without quotes. Expand "HKEY Local Machines" -> Expand "Microsoft" -> Expand "DRM". Double Click on the file in the right side of the window called "DataPath". In the new window called "Edit Binary Value" it should list the datapath to your drm folder along the rightside, itll look kind of scrambled. *
==>j) Double-Click the "DRM" folder, Click Edit -> Select All. Then Delete.
==>k) Select Tools -> Folder Options.
==>l) In the Folder Options windows, select the "View" tab.
==>m) Select "Do not Show hidden Files and folders", and check "Hide protected operating system files". Select Apply, Select OK.
==>n) Goto Start -> Run: Type in "services.msc" without quotes.
==>o) Find the service called "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Serivce", Right-Click on it and select Start.
==>p) Go into Windows Media Player 11, and make sure your 360 is detected and "Allowed" to share.
==>q) Goto your 360, Select Music or Pictures, Select Computer, Select Yes, and hopefully your pc will now be found.

2) Or you can try from the start menu: select Run and type in services.msc <enter>
==>a) Double click on Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service
==>b) Select the Log On tab
==>c) Select Local System Account and checkmark the Allow service to interact with desktop.
==>d) Within WMP11, turn off media sharing then turn it back on.
==>e) At this point, the "Unknown Device" appeared.

Problem #4: You've updated your local and/or remote items with more content but cannot see updates
If you add, delete, or change media items that are on another computer, these changes might not appear immediately if you are using Windows Media Player to browse and play media files from a library that is shared from another computer. To see the changes, refresh the library in Windows Media Player.
To refresh the library

1. In the Navigation pane, right-click the library you want to refresh.
2. Click Refresh.

Problem #5: You have Norton Internet Security 2008...thanks to Nivek
How to configure Norton Internet Security 2008
Symantec has made some changes to the way Norton Internet Security 2008 works and requires a few more changes.

1. Start the NIS 2008 Protection Center.
2. Click on the Norton Internet Security tab.
3. Click to expand Settings.
4. Click to expand Web Browsing.
5. Click on Personal Firewall.
6. Click on Configure.
7. On the left navbar, click Advanced Settings.
8. Under General Rules, click Configure.
9. Uncheck the following rules:

==>a) Default Block Windows File Sharing
==>b) Default Block UPnP Discovery
==>c) Default Block SSDP

1. Click OK.
2. Configure WMP 11 as posted above, if not done already.

How-To: Video & (DVD VIDEO)
Well, as of 0x1EA we now have video on HR20....BETA...but video still !!! Thanks DirecTV !!!
First, a Disclaimer........Ripping DVDs you do not own is Illegal !!!!!! This information is for those (like me) who backup their purchased DVDs in order to play thru Home Theater electronics. I will not discuss the details of ripping, etc....below gives a simple How-To. Questions on that subject should be directed to the CDFreaks Forum provided below. The below assumes you own your content !!!!

1. First the HR20 only currently supports TRUE MPEG-2...not just a file that is .mpg or .mpeg. In order to find out if your file is true MPEG2 and audio codec use GSpot to open and see............GSpot 2.70ahttp://www.headbands.com/gspot/
2. Now, for those of you who want to backup a owned DVD to your PC and share you'll need to do this.......

==>a) DVD Fab has a Forum for it's util that allows you to copy the DVD files to a HDD. Just launch DVD Fab, choose Main Movie, let it do it's thing. You now have a movie HDD directory with Video_TS.IFO and .VOB files. The VOB files are 1GB chunks of the movie. Also, the audio is AC3 (5.1).
Forum: http://club.cdfreaks.com/f116/
DVDFab Download: http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm
3) Since HR20 only plays MPEG-2 container we'll need to consolidate and convert all the VOB files. This is pretty straight forward.
==>a) Install MPEG Streamclip: http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-win.html
{You will need Apple Quicktime http://www.apple.com/quicktime/ already installed. You don't need the Apple MPEG-2 plugin...assuming your PC already has MPEG-2 decoder...eg. PowerDVD, TheaterTek, etc. The only thing is you won't see the video within MPEG Streamclip software...no biggie. However, if you really want you can buy the Quicktime Pro MPEG2 decoder from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/ or use the freebie alternaitve Quick Time Alternative 1.61http://filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/?362}
==>b) While in MPEG Streamclip go to HDD movie directory and highlight ALL of those 1GB VOB movie files and open. It will give you a timecode error but allow it to fix...this will take a few minutes.
==>c) Now in MPEG Streamclip go to File Menu and choose "Convert to TS". Note, there are other output file options like Convert to MPEG with MP2 Audio , Convert to TS with MP2 Audio ...but these can cause audio hickups on the HR20 with current codec. So, again use/select the "Convert to TS". The result is one xxx.TS file. Now, exit MPEG Streamclip and rename the xxx.TS file to xxx.MPG.
4) Go To WMP11 and point/import the new xxx.MPG file you just created in the Options>Library>Monitor Folders section. You may need to reboot PC and/or HR20 but you should see these .MPG files under the Menu Section of HR20 for Pics/Music/Video....expand all video.
Note: If for some reason the audio does not play in WMP11 (HR20 is OK) then the issue is your codecs on your PC. While whatever DVD MPEG2 codec you have installed that WMP11 is using (located in WMP11 Help>About>Tech Support...scroll down) it does not support "streaming". To support this I went ahead and paid for the Elecard MPEG-2 codec plugin for WMP11: http://www.elecard.com/products/products-pc/consumer/mpeg2-decoder-plugin/......only $25.

Note, there is no FF, RW...only PLAY, PAUSE and one bug I found which is known is movie length is not correct. I have 1hour 53minute movie that shows on HR20 as 59 minutes. When I play the movie it hits the :59 on the scroll bar and stays...but movie still plays on.