I have a MyCloud EX2 Ultra running OS5. I am currently trying to use the Plex media software that came as an option to be installed with this device, but am not happy with it. What is the best music server available that can be installed on this device?
It may help if you expand on what your issue with Plex is in case others have suggestions. With Plex it helps to properly structure the media library and properly name the media files so Plex can search and display the media.
One can enable DLNA support within Plex to allow media streaming (similar to Twonky media server that was included with OS3 firmware on the My Cloud) to client devices.
Plex’s focus seems to be more non-music media from what I can tell. The music part seems deficient and the support is not great.
BIG issue is that there seems to be NO support for playlists. I have playlists defined in iTunes and have a setting in Plex pointing to my iTunes .xml file, but still no playlists. I found a forum post indicating that the iTunes support wasn’t happening anymore, although the setting is still there. I also found a setting where I could add an album to a playlist, but I can’t find the playlist.
Other issues are that the support seems to be negligible. There is a paid version, but the pluses listed as to why to pay don’t mention anything about official support or playlists – they’re mostly focused on the non-music media. I have outstanding questions to their forum (which started about how the All Artists list sorted, but has expanded) and only one person has responded and he doesn’t seem to know much.
Thus, I would like to know what my options are and if there are better ones out there. I would be willing to pay to purchase a better one.
If you are using iTunes why not install the iTunes app in the OS5 My Cloud Dashboard Apps tab/section.
How to Install Third-Party Apps on My Cloud OS 5
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/29396
Configure iTunes Server
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/29396#subject3
If the app is missing or not showing up in the normal install app menu one can manually installed the app.
Steps to Download and Install Third-Party Apps Manually on My Cloud OS 5
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/29960/
https://downloads.mycloud.com/os5-apps/apps/GZA/GZA_MyCloudEX2Ultra/GZA_MyCloudEX2Ultra.json
https://downloads.mycloud.com/os5-apps/apps/GZA/GZA_MyCloudEX2Ultra/iTunes/MyCloudEX2Ultra_iTunes_1.14.bin
https://downloads.mycloud.com/os5-apps/apps/GZA/notes/WDMyCloud/iTunes_Release_Notes.html
Stream your music from the My Cloud NAS to the iTunes clients on the same network without the need of a Mac computer.
Or one can install the Twonky Media server app in the My Cloud Dashboard App tab. Twonky will play certain playlist file formats like “.m3u”.
My Cloud OS 5 Twonky Server App Setup and Settings
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/30285/~/my-cloud-os-5-twonky-server-app-setup-and-settings
I have iTunes installed on my desktop computer and use it there. However, the device that is accessing the Plex on the MyCloud is not an Apple product. It’s a Grace Internet radio – thus, it’s not considered to be an iTunes client. In a forlorn hope, I did try installing the iTunes server that came with the MyCloud, but the Grace can’t access that.
Have you checked with the manufacturer of the Grace Internet Radio to see what they indicate for local network attached storage streaming support? Do they indicate what protocol (DLNA or SMB/Samba for example) is supported? And do they have a how-to guide for connecting their device to a NAS or media server?
If the Grace device support DLNA then one can either enable DLNA within the Plex user interface settings (see link I provided earlier) or one can install the Twonky Media Server to their My Cloud (see link in my prior post). From there one would have to instruct the Grace device to access the DLNA media server on the My Cloud device.
They don’t want to deal with it, period. I tried them. It supports the DLNA and that’s enabled. I’ll check into the Twonky.
Oh - - - this has been a HUGE issue for me.
With all the fancy internet BS. . . you would think get your own music to a very expensive stereo system would be a thing. It is absolutely NOT a thing. To look at the audio equipment out there. . . your choices seem to be to stream crud audio files from a 3rd party or have a record player. Using personal lossless digital files or heaven forbid - - -CD’s. . . is discussed by NO ONE.
Without boring you with a long rant; here is my solution after a few years of messing around:
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Media files stored on your network (Doesn’t matter where)
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Media server software on a PC to read your media files. I am very happy with Windows Media Player. iTunes will work fine as well. Both support play lists. Either piece of software can read files from your NAS. . . .Really . . .I don’t need fancy. . .I just want to play music.
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Use a DAC with a USB input and RCA output. Something like this works great. The DAC is essentially an audio device on the Media Server PC. Just switch the PC audio output from PC speakers to the DAC. . . .and the DAC is suddenly outputting analogue music via RCA jacks to. . . .
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Home Theater receiver with RCA jack inputs. . . which sends analogue music however you need it.
Full disclosure:
I use Denon receivers. In addition to the RCA input; those units have bluetooth and airplay as well as streaming service support (Spotify, iHeart radio, etc).
I will admit to being lazy and often use Spotify to stream from a phone or PC to the receiver.
I have also connected to the receivers via PC (or phone) bluetooth.
I have run tests using AirPlay vs the External DAC with the same lossless audio file (When you you use Airplay or bluetooth, you are essentially comparing the DAC built into the receiver vs the External DAC). Honestly - hard to discern the difference on decent mid-grade stereo equipment (Speakers <$1000 each).
Your Grace Internet Radio gizmos sound like they have similar functionality to my Denon stuff, except they support ChromeCast and don’t directly support bluetooth and airplay. That implies that if you use android devices (not iPhones); you can stream from your phone or tablet to the Grace units. Maybe that is the path for you?
I don’t see where I can install the Windows Media Player on the NAS, though. I’m trying to get some sort of software on the NAS, so that I don’t have to leave the desktop computer running. I have the Jamcast software installed on the desktop, but it can’t be installed on the NAS.
I installed the Twonky. There isn’t must documentation on how to set it up, etc. I first tried a shared path of /Public like in the example in what little documentation there was and flipped the dropdown to Music. It couldn’t find my music that way, apparently, so I just changed the shared path to /Public/Music and we’ll see if that works better.
What format are your media files in?
Which file types are supported by Twonky Server?
Twonky Server supports the following media formats (listed by file extension - some formats may have multiple extensions, like JPG, JPEG - but are only listed once):
- Audio: LPCM (not supported as a file format), MP3, WMA,M4A, M4B, MP4, 3GP, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, MP2, AC3, MPA, MP1, AIF, FLV, DSD, M4P
- Images: JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, THM, JPS
- Video: WMV, MPEG2, MP1, MPG, SPTS, MP4, AVI, ASF, VOB, DivX, 3GP, VDR, MPE, DVR-MS, Xvid, M1V, M4V, MOV, MPV, MKV, OGG, FLV, MTS, DV, OGM, LRV, WEBM
- Playlists: M3U, M3U8, PLS, WPL
Metadata is automatically extracted from most formats.
It may take Twonky some time to scan the media files if you have a large amount of them. Twonky should scan the subfolders/subdirectories within a Share. Haven’t used the OS5 version of Twonky, but the older version of Twonky on OS3 would list the total number media files scanned in it’s administration interface and it had a menu option top right to view and play media files that Twonky scanned and found.
I think all are .mp3 and .mp4. I just set the /Public/Music and we’ll see if that works.
. . .Sorry I was not clear. WMP is a windows thing, not a linux thing, so yes. . .you would have to run it on a PC.
I have been frustrated in the past with the Media Server / Media Client thing. Plex does it right. . . I have not seen many software packages get both the “server” and “client” software right.
TWONKY acts as a server, but requires “client” software somewhere to do heavy lifting. In my experience, the “Client/Server” connection proved to be flakey. . . which is why I ultimately gave up and moved to WMP as my music player. For “non-PC” music DJ’ing. . . .I have an android tablet with all the music files loaded (thank goodness for microSD expansion cards). . .and I simply stream to the appropriate reciever over bluetooth.
Correct – WMP is a Windows thing.
As I indicated above, I’ve been a little frustrated with Plex. Settings in it that would seem to do what I want, don’t seem to work. I can’t get the Artists sorted as I want them and playlists seem to be nonexistent.
I did install the Twonky and did eventually get it working. Key for me was to ignore what the instructions show here ( How to Install Third-Party Apps on My Cloud OS 5 ) regarding the folder to be shared. I had keyed “/Public” and “/Public/Music” based on that and because that’s what I see when I look at the NAS through Windows Explorer. However, when I clicked the Browse button, I noticed that Public was not one of the options listed. It took a little exploring among the folders listed, but I managed to find “Public” under “nfs.” So, the correct path for me is: /nfs/Public/Music. Once I did that, Twonky found the music. I don’t know why “nfs” is there, but it works!
All I can say is that the Grace radio seems to handle the Twonky well – Ithe artists sorting properly and the playlists that Plex wouldn’t do. So, I’m happy with the Twonky.
Thanks to you and Bennor!
See my reply to NAS_user. Thanks for your suggestion of Twonky! I got it working and it works well!
