Stream music from My Cloud to Amazon Alexa

Is it possible to stream local media from a WD NAS drive to an Amazon Alexa speaker device under voice control?

If not is this likely to be possible sometime soon?

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No it is not possible to stream direct from a My Cloud NAS to the Alexa . You will have to ask Amazon if they will allow for local network streaming access any time soon from a My Cloud.

What you can do is stream from Amazon’s music cloud storage site. The free version allows for something like 250 files to be uploaded by the user and which the Alexa can access.

Amazon > Upload Your Music

The workaround is to use an intermediary device with Bluetooth that can stream from the NAS. One would pair the Bluetooth device with Alexa then use the device to stream to the Alexa.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-stream-any-audio-with-the-amazon-echo/

Amazon > Ways to Listen to Music & Media on Alexa

Currently there is a Alexa Skill that will apparently connect to a Jriver media server. Its called House Band. The My Cloud currently in its default configuration uses Twonky as its media server.

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophical-Creations-House-Band/dp/B01ATZM6N4

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If you want to know what you can do with an Alexa device go to the Forum at echotalk.org and you can only stream from my clouds via Bluetooth to echo devices.

Thanks for you advice.

This skill will let you do what you want I think: Amazon.co.uk: My Media : Alexa Skills Still fairly new but working well for me.

Unfortunately, while a workaround to Amazon limiting local network access, that requires the use of an intermediate device. A computer, to stream content to the Echo/Alexa. That means (or so it appears) the computer must be on in order to stream content from a My Cloud or similar NAS. The other issue is the cost (while not much, there is a cost) for the My Media server: https://www.mymediaalexa.com/#section-2

Here is another option at https://www.mymediaalexa.com/

Some people at Echo forum say it works well http://www.echotalk.org/ but since I already have ways to play music from NAS via BT and casting to both Alexa and Google Home devices by using a very nice iOS app called MusicStreamer, I have not tried the My Media solution.

One of the comments said you could connect to a NAS by using an IP-based network URI, e.g. \\192.168.1.32\music

Yes, that is what the two posts prior to yours are talking about. :wink:

Currently, like you, I stream My Cloud media to the Echo via Bluetooth using either my PC or an old unused Android phone. Will try the My Media at some point though just to try it out. My issue with all these workarounds (that I’ve seen so far) is it doesn’t solve the main problem. The need for some device other than the Echo to access the My Cloud to stream the media to the Echo.

Yea, let us know how well My Media works, I have a little trouble understanding why the one server vs two or more. Seems for most folks one would work.

I also am a little tired of hearing a “negative” of some of these assistants and apps have a cost involved; no matter how little it may be. I imagine most of these gripes come from the Napster generation who thought everything should be free. Something worthwhile is worth some money. Get used to it.

Yeah I didn’t understand the multi server licensing either but then I didn’t spend a whole lot of time reading that website.

The sad reality is that people have become accustom to “free” apps or programs. But in this case my minor gripe about the fee when using that app is due to Amazon locking down the Echo forcing someone to spend MORE money (on top of the $179 at the time cost for the Echo) just to use the device in a way many (I assume) expected to use it. By locking the Echo down Amazon is attempting to drive users to their music hosting service ($25 per year for 250,000 song storage) for those who want to play their own ripped music.

The reality is that a fair number of people won’t want to pay (even a small extra fee) for something they “feel” should have been free in the first place when it comes to the My Cloud, the Echo, and streaming music.

OK the My Media server installed to a Windows 10 PC does work to stream media from the My Cloud to an Amazon Echo. It was a little quirky to setup as I wouldn’t find the music folder on the My Cloud drive initially but eventually got it to take a Windows mapped drive. It does take a while to scan for media however.

I had to install the My Media server, had to add the My Media Skill and link it to my Amazon account. I have to keep the computer running in order to serve up songs to stream however. It appears to continue streaming the song when I disconnected my PC from the network but I couldn’t stream any new songs till I reconnected that PC to the network.

Some screen captures of the interface.

What worked was to map the music Share/folder on the My Cloud to the local computer. Then the My Media program would bring in a mapped Share and scan for files. I did have to trigger a rescan from the My Media Watched Folder page to get the server to scan the mapped drive. In the image above the My Cloud music is mapped to “M” drive shown in the background of that screen capture. I didn’t have to use the IP address of the My Cloud however.

It appears a fit complicated and I wondered how well it would work with the NAS as it seems it would with the “computer” they refer to. Thanks for the analysis. I likely will give it a try later. Which account did you buy?

BTW, you might also want to participate in the unofficial Echo Forum the link is above. I have been a member since the beginning. Same user name as here. Come on by!

I didn’t buy an account, just used the trial version.

It worked once had the music folder mapped properly. But the scanning of the mapped My Cloud music Share/Folder took a very long time, and how it categorized the media album/artist is a bit goofy that could be, I assume, chalked up to the metadata on the files and files having multiple artists.

Its usable but like previously indicated would require the computer to be on (with the software loaded) to stream from the My Cloud to the Echo. Ideally it would be optimal if the My Media server could be loaded into the My Cloud eliminating the need for a separate computer to run the server software.

Yes having to use a computer that is on and running the My Media server kind of defeats the purpose of “no computer required” rather than play directly from the NAS to Echo. Too bad the Twonky server in the NAS can’t play directly to Echo.

So, based upon your findings and comment,s I see no reason to use the My Media server for my own use… Sending music from a phone or tablet app via BT to Echo works perfectly fine, and PC can be off… Even the featureless My Cloud app can be used, or a more robust app with lots of features is even better. (e.g MusicStreamer iOS app which is my favorite, or one of the Android apps (Bubble or Avia) for Android devices, )

I think a more appropriate statement might be “too bad the Echo can’t access the NAS directly”.

It’s a fault with the Echo, not the NAS (of any flavour).

A NAS can serve media via a file server or a media server, using well-established protocols. The Echo should be able to use those protocols to access the media on a NAS.

Essentially, the Echo should provide a voice-based DMC, and be able to access a network-based DMS, and instruct it to stream media either to a DMR somewhere on the network, or a DMR in the Echo (if it has suitable audio reproduction capability).

Agree, although in the case of the My Media server it enables the Echo to play music from NAS or computer. So perhaps the Twonky server in NAS could do same thing. That is a deficiency in the Twonky server of NAS.

In any event, I have my system working fine and both Echo and Google Home can play music from my MC NAS. In fact, the GH is playing some now. It sounds better than music on Echo which sounds quite thin. Echo is better for speech (talk radio) and GH is better for music as it has more bass, Echo has more treble.

I have no need, at the moment, to use My Media. I can see the value but also the issues with it. For some it will be used well. If I was to use it I’d load it to a low powered PC if possible.

I figure someone, somewhere will figure out a way to have an NAS stream direct without an intermediary computer/device. If based on Linux it may be possible someone will figure out a way to port it to the My Cloud. This is 100% Amazon’s fault since they are trying to monetize people’s music storage library’s with their own storage servers and to use paid or ad supported music streaming services.

I do not buy unlimited music stream from Amazon nor from Google. I upload no music to Amazon. They can GTH. We have a NAS!

At least Amazon has some free music by title to stream. Google has NONE other than pre-fab playlists It’s all about the MONEY and they even charge us for these advertisement machines!

Twonky is a DLNA media server. DLNA is a well-established standard that’s been around for years, is supported by thousands of devices, and works pretty well.

If Amazon choose not to support it, or apps use their own proprietary media streaming protocol, that’s not the fault of DLNA or Twonky. It’s squarely at the feet of Amazon, as, Bennor suggests, trying to force users to buy their media streaming services. And, as you point out, they are getting us to pay for shopping portals.

Well, not me, as i won’t pay for a shopping portal, and told them to stick the trial of Amazon Prime as I couldn’t run it on my Android tablet, and they seemed to expect me to buy a Fire just to use Prime. They can GTF.