Sharing media between two hubs

Hi all…

I picked up a second hub for a second TV, choosing over a WDTV Live for some extra storage… My question - can I only use Media Server to share between the two hubs? I have read about people using network shares - which I am interested in because I’d like to share iso’s between the hubs…

Is this possible to do - if so, how??

I’ve set up a gigabit switch with the hubs networked that way.

Thanks in advance…

Lee

You must make sure both hubs are in the same workgroup on the same network.

Then select  video from the front screen, then press the red button on the remote to select network source and the other hub should be listed there, highlite it and click okay twice and you should now see the movies.

This will work on both hubs.

To setup the workgoup select Network from the setup menu.

Cheers

Thanks so far - when you say ‘same network’ - what do you mean? The hubs are connected together with ethernet. I use Mac OSX, so don’t have a running smb service with a PC - is that a problem? I can connect to each hub from my laptop to transfer data.

So far both hubs have ‘NETWORK SHARE’ enabled, and workgroup set to ‘WORKGROUP’ - they still can’t see each other with network sharing.

I really want the two hubs to be able to share between them without need of a computer… is this doable?

You should connect both hubs to your router (I assume you use a router for internet access) and with your Mac also attached and in the same network group, they should all see each other.

I’m not well up on networking with macs, so hopefully the above is okay.

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I use a wireless router for internet, but don’t need internet on WDTV, and because wireless is unusably slow for media transfers (wired bad enough!) -  the hubs are on a separate wired network, two hubs and the laptop connnected to a gigabit switch. I can network the suckers together and copy media to both, so I know something is working…

Maybe I’m misunderstanding the concept of network shares - does this need a PC to ‘make’ the share, or can the WD’s do it on their own?? I’m starting to think they can’t…

Swap out the switch with a router. It doesn’t have to do internet, but routers will manage the networking in a way a switch can’t. Think of a switch like an extension cord to a router- if you run out of ports on a router, you use a switch to get more. While it is possible to use a switch on it’s own, you generally need a PC (usually a server) in a network like that in order to do all the routing needed.

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What about putting a NAS in the network? I was going to in any case, to boost storage (about to start ripping 300 DVDs!) - that should handle network shares properly shouldn’t it?? I guess if it doesn’t work I could add a router then…

NAS devices will want a router too… Again, thats like plugging the device into an extension cable thats not plugged into the wall. Yeah the prongs fit in the hole, but without the other end doing something its pretty much worthless.

For the basic/average/intermediate user: Every network needs a router.

For the advanced user: The statement above is intentionally erroneous. Most users won’t know how to configure DHCP without the help a router provides.

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Thanks…if you don’t mind could I ask a couple more questions?? :slight_smile:

Sharing via media server works fine through the switch - what is the major difference between this and network share??

So - with a router, I should be able to use network share to share stuff between the two hubs and a nas, without having a PC connected? Thats the goal… :slight_smile:

Sharing with a media server uses a specific port. The WD TV is looking at that specific port for traffic. Still, I’m surprised it works.

I’m not guarenteeing a router will fix your issue, but i’m 95% sure it will. If not, theres something else funky going on (an issue with a cable or one of the hubs since thats about all there is to your network at that point).

Thanks for your help - will try out a router, only $60 to give it a go… worst thing that can happen is I have a spare router in case my main internet one dies!

Ardvark you know what you are talking about… just plugging the switch into a router worked a treat… :slight_smile:

problem now is when I plug my laptop into it I lose internet, as it tries to get from the router that isn’t plugged into anything… still working on that one. Might have to run a cable under the floor to the airport router…

Thanks again… big thumbs up!

You might want to consider getting a “WD Livewire” - it will let you use your electric wires to connect your switch to your primary router. It doesn’t work for everyone (especially if you have a real old house) but worst case, if it doesn’t work for you, you can always return it.

That’s an idea, but it is only about 8 metres across to the airport router, and I can access the subfloor… will run some Cat-6 cable across and I suspect all will be good… thanks again for the assistance - Merry Christmas!

Awesome. Glad you have a solution :slight_smile:

The other advantage of doing it this way is you can now map your Hubs to drive letters on your computers. This will let you drag/drop files from your computer directly to each Hub. If your running Windows 7, you can also use “Play To” to send a file directly to the device for playback… lots of advantages to having it connected to the net. Don’t forget all the cool stuff like services too :slight_smile:

Anyway… enjoy! Let us know if you have any other questions and stuff, and also feel free to help out others- thats what this place is all about :slight_smile:

The funny thing is, I could already drag content to each hub when they were connected to the computer (MacBook Pro) through the switch, and media server worked fine - just network sharing was borked. If I didn’t want to share ISO’s I wouldn’t have ever noticed!

Literally I plugged the router to the switch, and both hubs had IP addresses and everything fell into place… did find setting up the network shares a fairly unintuitive process, but worked it out in the end…

While I was picking up the (now not needed) router I grabbed a 3TB My Book Live… so I see lots of DVD ripping in my christmas period… :slight_smile: Hopefully no more networking issues ahead!

It’s been a good lesson in networking - cheers!

Here I was yesterday lamenting the price of gigabit routers… when I had one all along (Airport Extreme)… plugged in to main router and all is sweet… if only wireless was gigabit, the world would be a better place! :slight_smile:

Be careful with the Airport. Like most Apple products it doesn’t always play nice with non-Apple stuff.