Can we mimic OpenHome/DNLA on PC

[DavidHB]

(26-02-2018 16:51)paultaylor Wrote:  it is frustrating that I cannot just have it all working on a single PC.

Isn't it just! I forgot to mention that you can of course control the OpenHome player from, say, Kazoo or BubbleDS (Android only) on your phone or tablet.

David

[Cebolla]

(26-02-2018 16:51)paultaylor Wrote:  

(26-02-2018 15:29)Cebolla Wrote:  Why can't you just run the OpenHome renderer on another (real) machine on the network? For example, the BubbleUPnP Android app can be configured to be an OpenHome renderer - just simply run it on a phone connected to the same network as the PC.

Thats fine at home/office but I may not have access to a network other situations , it is frustrating that I cannot just have it all working on a single PC.

Presumably this PC of yours that can be outside the home/office in 'other situations' is of the portable type with WiFi. Hopefully, you can also create a WiFi hotspot with your Android phone and connect the PC to that. The PC will then be on your phone's own WiFi hotspot network and Linn Kazoo should then be able to access the BubbleUPnP Android app's OpenHome renderer.

[Cebolla]

(26-02-2018 18:32)DavidHB Wrote:  

(26-02-2018 16:51)paultaylor Wrote:  it is frustrating that I cannot just have it all working on a single PC.

Isn't it just! I forgot to mention that you can of course control the OpenHome player from, say, Kazoo or BubbleDS (Android only) on your phone or tablet.

David

I've got a feeling that the OP just wants to demo Linn Kazoo on the PC and nothing else!

[Peter StreamMagic]

(26-02-2018 11:56)paultaylor Wrote:  What I want to do is simply to be able to run Kazoo on a PC so I can demonstrate the results of a nicely configured MinimServer with decent metadata provided by SongKong running on the same PC. Kazoo looks nicer than Kinsky, if there is something for PC that looks better than Kazoo I could use that instead.

I dont actually need to play any music and I want it to work even if the PC is standalone not on a network. It doesnt seem the solutions listed above would work in this case ?

You might try XBMC (not OpenHome)but better looking than Kinsky IMO.
It works with MinimServer installed on the same PC, even when not connected to a network.
Not sure it follows all MinimServer "rules" though.

[paultaylor]

(26-02-2018 19:14)Cebolla Wrote:  I've got a feeling that the OP just wants to demo Linn Kazoo on the PC and nothing else!

I want to demo MinimServer/Songkong on a PC yes, since neither run on an android/ios device tablet based solution is out.

It doesn't necessarily have to be Kazoo, but I noticed a few things about Kazoo that made it nicer than Kinsky, and that is why I was trying to use Kazoo. Personally I don't feel that there actually exist any Control point on any system that can be said to really show off MinimServer/Songkong solution as well as I would like.

[paultaylor]

(26-02-2018 19:10)Cebolla Wrote:  Presumably this PC of yours that can be outside the home/office in 'other situations' is of the portable type with WiFi. Hopefully, you can also create a WiFi hotspot with your Android phone and connect the PC to that. The PC will then be on your phone's own WiFi hotspot network and Linn Kazoo should then be able to access the BubbleUPnP Android app's OpenHome renderer.

Sure the PC is wifi enabled, but has to have a wifi network to connect to, yes Im sure could get working with phone solution but its just more complicated then it should be and hence more likely to go wrong. I just want a single PC solution.

[DavidHB]

(26-02-2018 20:52)paultaylor Wrote:  I just want a single PC solution.

MinimServer - Kazoo (downloaded, not Windows Store) - OpenHome Player.

Specifically

• On a Windows PC, create a music library;
• Install MinimServer and MinimWatch, open MinimServer and connect it to the library in the usual way;
• Install OpenHome Player on the PC but do not activate it yet;
• Download Kazoo 4.8 from the link in post #8, and install but do not open it (it can co-exist on the same machine as the newer Windows Store Kazoo);
• Open the player, and make sure that its icon is in the system tray;
• Open Kazoo 4.8, kill the dialog that nags you to update, use the Settings dialog to select the server (which in this version of Kazoo will have the same name as your computer), and select the player (which will also have the same name as your computer;
• You now have a fully functioning OpenHome system on one Windows computer.

I have just done this on my secondary Windows 10 desktop, and it all worked.

David

[Cebolla]

(26-02-2018 20:52)paultaylor Wrote:  

(26-02-2018 19:10)Cebolla Wrote:  Presumably this PC of yours that can be outside the home/office in 'other situations' is of the portable type with WiFi. Hopefully, you can also create a WiFi hotspot with your Android phone and connect the PC to that. The PC will then be on your phone's own WiFi hotspot network and Linn Kazoo should then be able to access the BubbleUPnP Android app's OpenHome renderer.

Sure the PC is wifi enabled, but has to have a wifi network to connect to, yes Im sure could get working with phone solution but its just more complicated then it should be and hence more likely to go wrong. I just want a single PC solution.

The single (Windows) PC 'solution' is a hell of a lot more complicated, given that the Windows Store/Microsoft approved version (and therefore the only way of getting the latest Windows version) of Linn Kazoo has for 'security reasons' been prevented by design from seeing (and therefore using) an OpenHome renderer with the same IP address.

The 'easiest' solution I can think of is to install an Android emulator on the PC to run the OpenHome renderer, along with installing a loopback network adapter (for the PC) and a host only network adapter (for the Android emulator). The two network adapters would also need to be bridged & appropriately configured to allow the PC to see the Android emulator and vice versa. Also not forgetting to install & configure the appropriate software to provide the OpenHome renderer. Let me know if you require the 'full' instructions.

Otherwise:
Is it really that difficult to setup a WiFi hotspot on an Android device and get your PC to connect to it?

Or:
Do as DavidHB suggests and run the old 4.8 version of Linn Kazoo instead of the latest one.

[DavidHB]

(26-02-2018 23:01)Cebolla Wrote:  The 'easiest' solution I can think of is to install an Android emulator on the PC to run the OpenHome renderer, along with installing a loopback network adapter (for the PC) and a host only network adapter (for the Android emulator) ... Otherwise: Is it really that difficult to setup a WiFi hotspot on an Android device and get your PC to connect to it?

If Paul is prepared to put up with the prompt to update and the relatively small UI differences between the directly installable version of Kazoo (4.8) and the current Windows Store version (4.11), the procedure I recommended in my previous post seems a lot easier than this.

Ah. Your edit of your post crossed with this. I think we are pretty much of one mind.

David

[Cebolla]

Yep, very much so, David.

Having said that, I have actually managed to get the Android version of the BubbleUPnP Server running without any issues on the MEmu Android emulator and therefore creating an OpenHome renderer with a different IP to the PC it's installed on!