Synology 107+ , D-Link Routers/ Switch and Soundbridge

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Deax
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:54 pm
Location:Devizes, UK
Synology 107+ , D-Link Routers/ Switch and Soundbridge

Post by Deax » Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:40 am

Having finally (after many months of tinkering) achieved a working media solution, I wanted to share a few thoughts across the various forums that have been a great source of information.

I have my Soundbridge 1001 wired to a Synology DS-107+ (750gb SATA 1 drive) via:

- a D-Link VWR VoIP router, which is wired to
- a D-Link 504T ADSL router for internet connectivity, wired to
- a D-Link Gigabit switch

all via CAT 6.

My media now sits on the DS-107+ - currently 125gb - 1781 folders, 21,621 files (including album art etc) and 15,032 music files, 95% of which are high quality VBR WMAs - generally 280 - 320kbs.

Basically, it's taken the best part of a year to get the solution working well. I originally bought a DS-101 as a media server, but suffered from inconsistent data issues. These included data missing outright - e.g. incomplete artist lists, and trouble switching to a new selection whilst the first was playing (`invalid' type messages on the Soundbridge). I was also unable to navigate successfully by artist, album, or other standard categorisations - only `user files' provided any sort of result.

As readers of the forums will recognise, tracking issues down can become a time consuming business, as media server hardware, software, network infrastructure, media player or data itself could be at fault. After much time spent cleaning the data (using the excellent `Tag & Rename'), not only to make it more consistent over different media players, but also to trim tags, I had little or no Soundbridge improvement.

Eventually it had become apparent that I needed more NAS space and performance for data generally as well as a backup solution, so I purchased the DS-107+ with gigabit and SATA drive to host the media library alongside the DS-101.

This had a dramatic effect on the navigational errors, which may also be related to better firmware, but I was still missing data. I wondered if this was related to folder size or volume of sub folders - one artist with 46 sub folders and 777 files was absent as was the `various artists' folder with considerably more.

Complexity of the network infrastructure had increased during the period, but I have to say that it did not appear to affect the performance in any way.

Last night, having browsed various forums, I decided once again to try to install Twonkyvision as my media server, instead of Synology's own.

A Twonky version or two ago, I'd tried and failed - whilst a seasoned IT pro, most of my server/OS experience has been with X86 / Windows, and Linux / Busybox was fairly alien to me.

Having installed Telnet, I had another go at the latest TwonkyMedia install, this time with success. For those not familiar with Linux, be aware that the Twonky install instructions are poor, and the install routine will happily tell you that the software is installed and running, even if it is not!

The key to success for me was to pre-create the expected TwonkyVision folders in the NAS \public folder. Without achieving this, the install routine running from the PC was not able to generate the folder structure, even with root admin and password correctly specified.

Having achieved the Twonky install I now have a fully functioning media server, proving, as one contributor to the Synology forum states, that the Synology media server leaves much to be desired.

Roku seem to prefer the Firefly media server, and I believe the iTunes server pre installed on the DS107+ is Firefly. However, only the beta versions currently support .wma, so I paid for Twonky and I'm delighted with the result. Apart from doing the basics well - navigation works superbly and is configurable, the speed is exceptional compared to Synology's own, and the web interface well featured.

Finally, I've invested in some Devolo LANDesk AV200 units to extend my LAN throughout my house using the electrical circuit - an old cottage with dubious wiring, as I'm electro-sensitive and suffer discomfort with wireless signals.

To my surprise, they work exceptionally well, and are happy streaming DVR-MS television and music around without interruption. My only issue has been copying of recorded television files of significant size across the electrical circuit. Windows Explorer could not achieve this, but a decent FTP client sorts it out.

Once again thanks to contributors on the TwonkyVision, Synology and Roku forums - I hope this helps someone, somewhere!

TheFreeman
Posts:3
Joined:Sun Sep 02, 2007 2:37 pm

Folder structure needed

Post by TheFreeman » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:13 pm

hi,
Could you give me the structure to create on the nas because the installation failed every time.
Thanks

Nicolas

adamseale
Posts:2
Joined:Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:07 pm
AV Hardware:Roku SoundBridge M500

Re: Synology 107+ , D-Link Routers/ Switch and Soundbridge

Post by adamseale » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:53 pm

So what do you think resolved the `invalid results' messages on the Soundbridge? I have an M500 and am testing out Twonky. It seemed to work fine initially, but just a few days later this is all I see when trying to load the browse list.

Thanks,

Adam

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