1 Topic by Steevo (edited by Steevo 2014-05-23 00:53:38)

  • Registered: 2011-10-12
  • Posts: 326

Topic: Playing NAS audio files

I am a little afraid to ask this, since it's been so long.  But here goes.

I find I would like to be able to play an audio file on a chumby.
The file is stored on my Buffalo Terastation NAS. I am pretty sure it supports some protocols for this.
It's an MP3 file.  Well, there are many MP3s up there.

I read some of the old threads about this, and that all seems needlessly complex. SSH in and put a file here? I have a million of those.

http://forum.chumby.com/viewtopic.php?id=5002

There was an app mentioned

http://www.chumby.com/guide/widget/LAN%20Music

works fine from windows share but is hit and mis with some NAS boxes - dependent on chumby CIFS support

but as you all know we don't really have those anymore.  Apps, I mean.

Is there a way? I looked in my music, there is
"My music files" but it's not really clear where that is. 
I guess if it's stored on the Chumby device I could try to send them there, but that seems so messy for a network device like Chumby. 

Saw the squeezebox server player but I would have to run that. 

Well, I am experimenting with it right now.
Well, it's running, the chumby finds it and I added a small library.
I have a message at the top of my music screen saying current squeezebox server streaming from it's IP. 

But nothing is playing.  Something I don't  understand?  Probably. 
I didn't get a way to plck the file.  On the PC there are two tracks in the squeezebox cp, which is what I put there.

So the server finds it's tracks. 

But the chumby, well, I just dunno.  It doesn't seem to find it's tracks. 

FWIW, all I use my chumbys for anymore is I heart radio.

  • From: Dallas, Tx
  • Registered: 2011-01-08
  • Posts: 1,261

Re: Playing NAS audio files

you can mount nfs shares on a chumby and then play the from the standard music player app, just like if they were on a usb.

you should be able to put that into a debugchumby script to have it happen on each bootup.

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.

3 Reply by Steevo (edited by Steevo 2014-05-23 08:56:01)

  • Registered: 2011-10-12
  • Posts: 326

Re: Playing NAS audio files

I downloaded Logitech Media Server, which I guess is what is called Squeezebox server on Chumby.
I gave the Chumby squeezebox server the IP of the PC with Logitech Media Server on it, and it all seems to be working.

I just did the rescan on the server and it found the 4 tracks I put there. 

I can't see any files on the server from the Chumby.

Should I be able to?

I don't know how any of this is supposed to work.
Maybe it doesn't work anymore?

Well, this is interesting.  The Chumby says streaming from x.x.x.x
I stop the server, stop the Chumby streaming, start it again and it says streaming, but I stopped the server.

Does the chumby know if it found a squeezebox server at that IP or not?

Well, the plot thickens.

I looked on the server, and it says there are 4 audio files.
But the server logs say no files.  I guess there's a difference between *files* and streamable audio files.

I guess it lied, or it can't deal with the wav files I put there. I am looking for some other files, MP3 to put there to test.

I looked at the windows 7 firewall rules and there is an appropriate entry, nevertheless I turned the windows firewall off, no difference.

  • Registered: 2011-10-12
  • Posts: 326

Re: Playing NAS audio files

Well, I put the files on a USB key and stuck in in the back, that all works.
It's inelegant, but it mounts immediately and plays great.   

I should have been able to play from the network attached storage share but I couldn't see it.  Windows computers in the house can see that share, BTW.  But the Chumby, well, I haven't figured it out yet.

One thing I did notice. It insisted on playing every file in the directory.  It did not play the MP3 file I selected and pushed play on and then stop.  There is a repeat button which I didn't use.

One more thing,  I had trouble stopping the media player.  I finally reached around the back and turned it off.  An Infocast 3.5, BTW. 

Interestingly I could not turn it back on, the power button on the back did not work the next morning. I had to pull the plug to reboot the unit.  Now it works normally.  That's all hard to understand.

  • Registered: 2011-10-12
  • Posts: 326

Re: Playing NAS audio files

As I mentioned I discovered when I stuck a USB key in with MP3 files on it, that mounts immediately in my music files.  I can scroll and select the one I want, push play and it plays.  There is only a play all button.   There is a repeat button which I did not use.

But after it finished the chumby continued to play the rest of the files in the directory, which surprised me.  So I put each MP3 file in a separate folder to stop that.  It worked, but now I have another issue.

The single file in the directory plays over and over.  I see the repeat button, but it's not green, so not selected.

Why is the file playing over and over?  It ends and then restarts which I have not told it to do.

Is it something I am doing wrong? 
Or is there a bug in the my music files player in my Infocast 3.5s?

  • From: Dallas, Tx
  • Registered: 2011-01-08
  • Posts: 1,261

Re: Playing NAS audio files

Steevo wrote:

Well, I put the files on a USB key and stuck in in the back, that all works.
It's inelegant, but it mounts immediately and plays great.   

I should have been able to play from the network attached storage share but I couldn't see it.  Windows computers in the house can see that share, BTW.  But the Chumby, well, I haven't figured it out yet.

the chumby (running linux) doesn't know about windows, but if you tell your nas to offer a nfs share, then the chumby can mount that. there's instructions on using nfs on the tricks and tips page in the wiki.  (lot of fun to be had there)

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.

7 Reply by Steevo (edited by Steevo 2014-05-30 07:13:24)

  • Registered: 2011-10-12
  • Posts: 326

Re: Playing NAS audio files

diamaunt wrote:
Steevo wrote:

Well, I put the files on a USB key and stuck in in the back, that all works.
It's inelegant, but it mounts immediately and plays great.   

I should have been able to play from the network attached storage share but I couldn't see it.  Windows computers in the house can see that share, BTW.  But the Chumby, well, I haven't figured it out yet.

the chumby (running linux) doesn't know about windows, but if you tell your nas to offer a nfs share, then the chumby can mount that. there's instructions on using nfs on the tricks and tips page in the wiki.  (lot of fun to be had there)

It's a Buffalo Terastation, so it has nfs shares, I have a number of such shares on my network.  All my windows computers can use them.

I didn't see them in the Chumby but I didn't use that method to get the stuff to play, I put them on a USB key.  Not a great solution but it was one that I could use immediately.  The network share would be better but I had that trouble and I didn't want a delay.   

I skimmed through that article and decided not to learn to SSH and type commands to my Chumbys.  I have many Chumbys, BTW.  It would be a grind having to configure all these.  Maybe 5 running right now and a dozen spares.

  • Registered: 2011-08-27
  • Posts: 3

Re: Playing NAS audio files

Now that my Chumby Classic is registered again (thanks, I gladly pay for that), do you think it would be possible to add a setup page to configure a NFS mount without the annoying SSH/USB/debugchumby file procedure? It would be soooo convenient to play my music files, and I didn't succeed in connecting via SSH again (it once worked).

  • From: Oceanside, CA
  • Registered: 2008-04-17
  • Posts: 650

Re: Playing NAS audio files

kliehm wrote:

Now that my Chumby Classic is registered again (thanks, I gladly pay for that), do you think it would be possible to add a setup page to configure a NFS mount without the annoying SSH/USB/debugchumby file procedure? It would be soooo convenient to play my music files, and I didn't succeed in connecting via SSH again (it once worked).

I'm not a flash guy, but what you're asking for is doubtful to happen.  There are security concerns with allowing the flash player filesystem access to people's chumbies.

SSH is probably simply not started on your chumby.  See the wiki on how to do that: http://wiki.chumby.com/index.php?title= … the_chumby

Linux Guy - Occasional Chumby Hacker

Materdaddy's Website

  • From: Dallas, Tx
  • Registered: 2011-01-08
  • Posts: 1,261

Re: Playing NAS audio files

kliehm wrote:

Now that my Chumby Classic is registered again (thanks, I gladly pay for that), do you think it would be possible to add a setup page to configure a NFS mount without the annoying SSH/USB/debugchumby file procedure? It would be soooo convenient to play my music files, and I didn't succeed in connecting via SSH again (it once worked).

remember to hit the 'pi' symbol in the status page to get to the hidden 'do you believe in the users' page, and you can turn on ssh there,

http://wiki.chumby.com/index.php?title= … at_startup

a usb with a debugchumby file seems like the easiest way to configure nfs, unless I'm missing something.

I have one of those tiny usb sticks that barely sticks out of the usb port so it's very unobtrusive.

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.
  • Registered: 2011-08-27
  • Posts: 3

Re: Playing NAS audio files

diamaunt wrote:

a usb with a debugchumby file seems like the easiest way to configure nfs, unless I'm missing something.

I have one of those tiny usb sticks that barely sticks out of the usb port so it's very unobtrusive.

Hm, yes. Although it would be even easier if I could mount a network share simply by adding it under Music -> My files.

  • From: Dallas, Tx
  • Registered: 2011-01-08
  • Posts: 1,261

Re: Playing NAS audio files

maybe we should have a widget thread for people to put ideas in for future authors.

Cleaning up any loose bits and bytes.