How to stream from outside the home network

Get answers about sharing MediaMonkey for Windows 4 with different devices.

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Bazildon
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:42 pm

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Bazildon »

Has anyone EVER got this going reliably?

I am a network professional and I’ve never got it working outside my home LAN. Works a treat if I use a massively expensive VPN solution (Cisco Anytime Connect on my ASA) so it appears that my device is on the local LAN – but the “Allow external IP addresses” bit of the MM server just doesn’t work externally.

I have allowed the correct ports, tried my own ports and even used several different servers\installations of Mediamonkey over a few years now…it just doesn’t work.
As some other people have said in this thread; I have (several times) got as far as seeing the XML file on various external clients on different platforms. So I know my networking and routing is fine. I even had a dedicated external IP for a while and I put a server in a DMZ and that didn't work either. The same server had SQL and IIS running and serving pages and data to the world - so it was online no problem.

It’s a massive shame that I’ve had to resort to using Plex, looking at my MM library on another machine, to share my media with myself.

Mediamonkey with proper external sharing would kick plex into the long grass if it worked correctly. Everything else about MM is amazing, can we please have working streaming as a cherry on top.
Lowlander
Posts: 57612
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Lowlander »

Yes it works. I tried and made it work with MediaMonkey for Android which can connect to a specific IP and MediaMonkey 5 (but should be same for MediaMonkey 4).

MediaMonkey Server, when finished, will be a better solution though: https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=31
Bazildon
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:42 pm

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Bazildon »

Lowlander wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 3:20 pm YMediaMonkey Server, when finished, will be a better solution though: https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=31
oooOooo, a dedicated server...yes please!

Thanks for letting me now about this, nice one.
Bazildon
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:42 pm

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Bazildon »

I have really looked into this, sorry about the WAT you are about to glance at…

I'm trying with this new MM server...it still feels the same though.

I have setup a dedicated VM on my host. A totally fresh install (Windows 2019 server) pointing at a separate, existing VM (Windows 2019 server), with a Windows share (\\mediamonkey\media) to give its content to the NEW Mediamonkey server (\\MM5S).

No domains involved initially, just bare servers with IRL/VM Win 10 Clients and also the Android App (paid for) – but as a test I did also try it with a fresh windows domain too actually...and also both times with a new ‘VMWare Network’ (to rule out HCI type issues) and the result was the same. Big fat NO
You network\sys admins out there can see that I tried several different methods, crossed over, tried most of the possible configs there. I tried just about every type of way I could to try and get it working😢

Still struggling tbh – it still only works on LAN\Wi-Fi at home, streaming outside the local LAN is just not happening from any of MM or other method.

YES I have tried it from other physical networks.
YES I have tried using VPNs. TBF my Enterprise VPN works really well. An enterprise install of Cisco “Anytime connect” with a few massive cisco ASA’s works brilliantly. I really can’t stretch to the licences for that at home though tbh. It’s a lot.
YES I have even bought a new external IP from a different internet provider (I have dual resilience at home for work) and allocated a real external IP - as well as putting it in a DMZ once to see if that made it work.

I am obviously missing something major here and I’m a total idiot and should resign from my 26 year IT job.

* Take heart, dear MM Devs...it does seem a lot faster at listing stuff over the wired LAN and over Wi-Fi. The server code seems much more robust and many times faster compared to the same media and my existing MM4 VM Server. MM4 streaming is slow to show lists of items even over a 10 g/bit fibre LAN; to a dedicated 16 core, 28gb RAM, 2019 Wintel VM - That should be pretty instant, in my world of data\content movement between devices.

Anyways….

Yes I am showing off a bit, sorry about that - I know I am very lucky to have all this stuff and I'm excited to be able to use it for civilian purposes...I would to be like listening to my tunes when I can finally go round to see my girlfriend or maybe even a group of the guys to get drunk and talk nonsense and stuff.

Mediamonkey streaming could kick everyone else into the gutter; if we could come up with a fool proof way of getting our OWN PERSONAL STUFF, to our own personal devices...reliably and easily.

If, between us that actually give a monkeys (yeah, I know 😎) we could do like a single webpage that said how to make this work for everyone…..we’ll rule the world!...and be able to listen to our own stuff on our own devices.

I’m REALLY not complaining here, I’m offering my help to fix it. Use me!!! I’m MM for life, I bloody love it and paid up for lifetime years ago.

Plex is pretty poor even in its paid form IMHO and yet people rave about it - I’m bored of paying a for very average. I would like to help to get this sorted for all of us real media fans tbh.

We all know MediaMonkey is the superior platform. That is why we are here surely?
Lowlander
Posts: 57612
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Lowlander »

All you need is to open a port on the router and use a DLNA client that can connect to a specific IP/port. The VM may be what complicates this and causes problems.
rvonder
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:34 am
Location: Northern Virginia (D.C. Metro)

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by rvonder »

I'm a bit late to the party, but just came across this thread. Like many of you, I tried everything I could think of to make my MM music library available outside of my LAN, but nothing really worked. UPnP/DLNA simply isn't designed for this, and even if you manage to get something working, library size and cellular bandwidth can become big issues.

I finally conceded defeat after wasting way too much time on this. I hope that MM5 will someday provide a solid built-in solution, but until then I found my answer in J. River Media Center - to me, that's well worth $60. I simply installed it on the same PC that runs MM, set it to auto-start at boot, and pointed JRMC at my MM library files. Tell it to automatically monitor for changes, and J. River will create and maintain its own library database with no manual intervention. Basically, it just runs on autopilot: new albums added in MM appear almost instantly in JRMC as well, along with metadata tags and cover image.

For external access, one click on the 'Use Media Network' option does it. J. River assigns you a free 'access key' on their server, which is all you need to use one of their remote clients. (I use the 'JRemote2' and free 'Gizmo' Android clients, and both work great. JRemote2 also supports iPhones, or their generic browser interface can be used from anywhere. Couldn't be simpler - just enter your access key. After validating, J. River transparently passes the connection to your home J. River server and you're ready to go. Connections use SSL for security, and you can extend that with usernames/passwords if desired.

Like MM, J. River works very well with large volumes. I have a 1.3 TB library with 160k music tracks, and across 4G cellular links, response time is fine even when browsing cover images. JRMC also supports photo and video libraries, although I use it mostly for audio. There are tons of options for things like automatic transcoding (e.g., FLAC to mid-fi MP3), but with an unlimited cellular plan I enjoy listening in full native resolution.

Don't get me wrong - I've been a huge MM fan for many years, and nothing touches it for building, tagging and maintaining a music library. J. River is simply the critical missing piece to make all that hard work easily accessible beyond your LAN - in fact, I spend more time enjoying my music in the car than in the house (at least in pre-pandemic days!)

Sorry for the "TL;DR" post, but I hope this helps a few other frustrated MM users...
Lowlander
Posts: 57612
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Lowlander »

All you need is port forward to the MediaMonkey server port and use MediaMonkey for Android (or any App that can be told what IP/port to connect to) to connect to the server.

MediaMonkey Server should provide an improved experience over this: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=90809
Bazildon
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 1:42 pm

Re: How to stream from outside the home network

Post by Bazildon »

@Lowlander

You, my friend, are a legend!

I came back to this thread after a long time out of frustration and found your reply - gave it a go and it is all working now.

Just cancelled my plex subscription :D

Thank you
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