Problem: I cannot see PMS from my DLNA client!
Solution: This can be caused by a variety of factors, but the potential causes can be broken up into two groups: "Before UDP Broadcast" and "After UDP Broadcast".
The line in the trace or
debug.log that separates these two groups (this signifies the UDP broadcast) is:
- Code: Select all
The server should now appear on your renderer
Note1: for the suggestions below, Windows, Apple and several OEM manufacturers install and enable default protection programs (e.g. Windows Defender or Peer Guardian).
Make sure that the settings for
ALL antivirus, firewall, malware and protection programs are checked.
Note2: direct connections are a special case, check the additional details at the bottom of this post.
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Before UDP Broadcast
These can typically be spotted through errors or notes in the trace or debug.log before the line above.
PMS cannot bind to the IP-address or port on the network interface:
Some other program is already using that port ("Address already in use").
- Check with "netstat -a" through the command line, and change the port in the PMS settings if needed
- If you are using a Mac with EyeTV, some background processes from EyeTV's EyeConnect software may be causing the in-use error. To solve it, quit all processes and launch PMS first, and then EyeTV.
A software firewall is blocking javaw.exe (and wrapper.exe if running as a Windows service) from binding to the port
- Open the firewall settings and make sure the .exe's are allowed or the specific port is open
You forced the wrong IP address in the PMS settings
- Clear the setting or force the correct IP address (the IP address of the server)
- Note: you should only have to the force IP if you've assigned multiple IPs to a single NIC
You opened multiple instances of PMS or a javaw.exe process got hung up:
- Close all open instances of PMS and then kill any* remaining javaw.exe processes. Alternatively, restart your computer to get rid of unwanted processes.
- Note: You may have other programs using javaw.exe, so exercise due diligence in killing the tasks.
PMS is bound to the wrong network interface:
You have multiple NICs enabled, and PMS automatically selected a NIC different than the one desired (e.g. on Mac OS X the program Parallels creates a virtual network interface "vnic1", or on Windows it somehow selected the "localhost" adapter).
- Force the correct network interface under "Network settings".
You forced the wrong network interface under "Network settings".
- Either force the correct network interface or clear the setting.
You do not have the proper access or permissions for the PMS install folder:
You need to make sure there are full read/write permissions on the PMS install folder
- Check the base filesystem permissions
- On Windows Vista/7, reinstall with "Run as Administrator" on the installer
- Check if any filesystem protection programs are blocking access (some antivirus/malware programs have this feature)
PMS is taking time to register a component or setting:
This isn't really an "error", in that large collections of files (eg a large iTunes database) can take some time for PMS to go through. You need to either
- Wait for PMS to do its thing, after which it should properly broadcast and show up on your device, or
- Disable the engine/setting
After UDP Broadcast
At this point everything should be fine within PMS, so you need to look externally.
Your software firewall or other software is blocking the traffic between PMS and your device:
- A software firewall is somehow blocking the connection apart from the specific items listed above (e.g. blocking inbound local connections).
-
- Add the device's IP to your firewall's "Trusted List" or allow all local traffic.
- Temporarily disable all firewalls to confirm, and then check your firewall's help documentation.
- If you are using Hamachi VPN, try disabling its drivers or uninstalling the software.
- If you are using Avast Anti-virus, check the expert settings for a module called Auto Sandbox. Make sure that "javaw.exe" is excluded from the Auto Sandbox.
Your router is blocking the traffic:
- Your router may just need to be rebooted. This is probably not the issue if you've never been able to connect PMS to your client device.
- Check the router's firewall to see if the traffic is being blocked. For some routers it helps to disable the SPI Firewall.
- If using a wireless connection, check if Wireless Isolation is enabled on your router, and if so disable it.
- Check your router's settings to see if there are any settings to toggle for UDP traffic or multicast/IGMP traffic (e.g. IGMP Proxy on Verizon FIOS routers [source 1, source 2]).
- Notes:
- Most UPnP settings on routers are to allow the devices on the LAN to dynamically configure the port forwarding and other router settings with minimal user interaction. This shouldn't need to be enabled for the actual UPnP/DLNA traffic in the LAN, and in some cases it actually causes issues when enabled on bad routers.
- Port forwarding isn't required for standard use of PMS. It is only needed if you're trying to stream web-content.
- Some routers are crap and either a) don't have the proper settings or b) just mishandle traffic regardless of the settings. This can even vary within the same router for wired vs wireless traffic.
- You can to try updating your router's firmware to workaround these issues (source)
- See if a different DLNA program (WMP, TVersity, Wild, etc) works using the same router/settings.
- If you've checked everything else, give the forum or Google a search and see if other people are having UPnP/DLNA issues with the same router.
The host file on your Linux box needs to be corrected:
- Add the server's FQDN to the server's host file (/etc/hosts).
-
- How to determine your current hostname/domainname.
Windows is set to a Public network location instead of Home:
- Choose a network location (Windows 7 and Server 2008)
- Choose a network location (Vista)
Your server and device are on different subnets:
- Per the DLNA protocol (which uses UDP broadcast packets), the server and device must be on the same subnet. The easiest way to check is if you can ping the device from the server (a successful ping typically means same subnet, at least for home networks). This issue should only really happen if you have multiple routers or managed switches in your network (in which case you'll need to bridge your routers together). If you only have a single router/switch, then you incorrectly set a manual IP address on at least one of your devices leading to a subnet mismatch.
Your server or device is configured to use an invalid IP address:
- Some IP addresses are reserved (eg x.x.x.255) and should not be used by any device on the LAN. You should only see this issue if you are manually assigning IP addresses at some point (on the device, at router level, etc).
Your device is not set up to access any DLNA servers:
- On the PS3, make sure that "Settings > Network Settings > Media Server Connection" is enabled.
- See your device's manual.
Note: this only covers PMS showing up on your device, nothing regarding
playback or file browsing.
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In addition, you can run into issues (both Before and After UDP Broadcast) when trying to use a direct connection (no router or switch, just the computer with PMS and the device)
Examples:
- PMS can't bind to the IP/Port because both devices need to be turned on for the connection to exist (before PMS is started)
- You didn't use a crossover cable (only needed if BOTH devices are NOT gigabit)
- You have a mismatch in the IP settings
- The device has two (or more) NICs and is using the wrong one (eg PS3 still using the wifi NIC)
This thread/post covers almost everything needed to correctly set up a direct connection.