N00B - Can someone go step-by-step?

Community Archives WD TV Live Networking
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Hi all -

I have the Media Player connected wirelessly after finally buying the right adapter. I can access youtube stuff but am totally stupid on how to access my pcs! Specs: Windows 7 OS on both PCs, I have a homeshare on both, though only one PC is “seen” on WD list. But when I go to access files/videos, so on, nothing comes up! Can someone please give me step-by-step instructions? I am super tech-dense.

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First, the Homegroup feature of Windows 7 has no relationship with the WDTV, so don’t let that distract you.

Suggestion, but not required:  Put all of your media in folder, and divide it up into sub folders however you choose.

Example:

 \media\Moms Movies

 \media\Lizzies Movies

 \media\photos

 \media\music

etc.

(For the rest, I’m going off memory, so some of my quoted words may not match exactly…  I can’t get access to my Win7 PC right now to double check.)

Second, set up “Sharing” on the PC.

   Click the Start button, and in the blank, type Advanced Sharing.   Above that, an entry titled “Change Advanced Sharing Settings” should appear.   Click that.

   In that list, find your “CURRENT PROFILE,” and expand it if necessary by clicking the chevron button.

The following settings should be set:

   Turn ON Network Discovery

   Turn ON File and Printer Sharing

   Turn OFF Password Protected Sharing

Click OK until all is closed.

Now, navigate to the folder that contains your media folder.  In the example above,  \media\xxxx is in the root, so open up the C:\ folder.

Find the Media folder and RIGHT CLICK it.

Scroll down the menu to “Share with…” and click “People I choose”.

In that list, see if the user “Everyone” is listed.   If it IS, ensure that the “Permissions” are set to at LEAST “Read.”

If it is NOT listed, add it using the box provided, and set the permissions to “Read.”

Click OK until all is closed.

That should do it!

Let us know how you fare.

3

Hey, the advice totally helped! I can now see pictures and videos, but I must still be doing something wrong! I did the exact same thing to my music folder but none of my music comes up :frowning: I keep getting an error message “No Media in selected folder” but I know there are tons of things…any suggestions?

4

Is your music DRM protected by any chance (e.g. it’s your iTunes folder) ?

5

some are, though in the iTunes folder I have movies and music that is DRM-free and those do not show up. Well, take that back - some of the music videos will show up in the Video section, but in Music, it says No Media though I right clicked “Share” as I had on the video folder on my pc…

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Hmmmm…   what is the file extension of your music files?

This could also be a “Permissions” issue. 

Right click a file that should show up.   Select SECURITY, click Permissions.  Check to make sure that EVERYONE is again in the list, and that it is READable.

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Ok, I will check when I get home! Thanks for all the info. Can you tell me, I do feel confused - when I go in, I have the option of Media Server for say, videos, and I go in that, and it has folders and such. Is the PC then the Media Server?

8

I am super dense and at a loss. I have 2 pcs, both set up to share certain files on my WD. I can access a specific music folder only through Folders view. Then when I click on it, the specific folder will show “No Content”. The files in this are 1. not in any further sub-folder and 2. in no way protected. These are former CD files I burned in to unprotected MP3 back ups. I can access the “Sample Music” crud the PC came with AND I can even play iTunes music videos I bought! That is really surprising. I do have Permission set to allow access to all, sharing enabled - any suggestions on why the folder would appear but no content keeps coming up? Also, why is it not showing in the Music section of WD? – Both PCs have Windows 7 64bit

Ok…off point, but is my PC my Media Server or my Network share? What is the dif? Totally lost on those concepts - which is better? How do I make a share in Windows 7?

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A Media Server is a SOFTWARE Application that runs on a PC (and other devices,too) which utilizes a protocol called DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) or UPnP (Universal Plug and Play).

Media Server functionality is INCLUDED in Windows 7 Home Premium and higher.  

Network Shares is what Microsoft calls any network accessible folder.   

Media SERVERS only serve Media type files (video, music, photos, etc.)

Network Shares can share ANYTHING; programs, archives, documents, etc.

If you have a “FOLDERS” view, then you are using the Media Server function of the WDTV.

Try this instead:   Click VIDEO / Click NETWORK SHARES / Select your PC by Name 

What follows should be a list of all the folders you are “Sharing.”

To share a folder, you Right-Click it, select “Share With…”  followed by “People I choose…” and put EVERYONE in the list.

When you Click OK, it will show you a list of ALL the folders currently set up to be shared.   Those folders should be listed by the WDTV after you log in to the server from the WDTV.