betauser wrote

  @MikeS21 thanks, just tested with VLC on iOS - shows a small part of the music (folder, files, etc.) on my drive.

Same happens if I try to reach that same shared HDD with a Win 10 machine PC on the same network.

Same goes for the (not really usable) Pioneer Control app... displaying just a few, contrary to all contents a couple of days ago.

 

Still, the Pioneer Remote App displays the same message: Access denied by server.

 

Conclusion: not tonly does the Pioneer Remote continue not reaching my media server, but the rest of the devices started displaying a small part of its contents.

  @betauser 

It sounds as if things have only gotten worse, and I'm sorry to hear that.  One thing that's still unclear to me is whether you've tried testing with just a very small sample music collection after restarting your router.  It's important to restart your router as there's no other way to ensure that the DLNA service gets restarted.  Simply changing the storage device and/or disabling and re-enabling the USB sharing is not guaranteed to restart the DLNA server within the router.  If the service has encountered errors then its performance will become erratic and unpredictable until/unless it is restarted.  Also, as I've noted above, there's been documented evidence that DLNA media sharing services can be impacted by file limits.  In the example I linked to, the symptoms reported by other users were that only some of the media was accessible.  This is not unlike the new issues you've observed.

Furthermore, when testing playback, it's very critical to establish whether your test is being conducted via DLNA or SMB.  Testing on a "Win 10 machine PC" doesn't reveal whether the test was being done via DLNA.  Any testing inadvertently done via SMB will only conflate the results because it won't allow accurate confirmation of which conditions allow the DLNA playback to function correctly.  Note that VLC supports both DLNA and SMB (as do most media clients), so care must be taken to confirm you are testing via DLNA if your goal is to restore your Pioneer playback capability (which presumably only supports DLNA).

Barring any other theories or suggestions, I think it would be a prudent starting point to set up a new drive share with just a few files, perhaps 10, then restart your router, and then see if that allows your Pioneer to access and play the music library again.  If it doesn't help, then any further investigation along these lines can be discontinued.  But if it succeeds, then that would establish a basis for building towards a more comprehensive solution.

  @MikeS21 thanks for the profound answer.

Now, I did put a 32 GB USB stick (freshly formatted), containing just one album of 14 mp3s on it. Rebooted all devices - router, Pioneer receiver. Still the same result = Denied.

Speaking of Win 10 - I mean I'm accessing the files via miniDLNA. The HDD plugged in the router is shown under media devices in expolorer.

  @MikeS21 

betauser wrote

  @MikeS21 thanks for the profound answer.

 

Now, I did put a 32 GB USB stick (freshly formatted), containing just one album of 14 mp3s on it. Rebooted all devices - router, Pioneer receiver. Still the same result = Denied.

 

Speaking of Win 10 - I mean I'm accessing the files via miniDLNA. The HDD plugged in the router is shown under media devices in expolorer.

  @betauser 

Thanks for the update and confirmation.  In that case, I think the conclusion is:

1. DLNA is working (to some degree) for your other media players but is not working for your Pioneer receiver

2. The issue with the Pioneer receiver is not a result of exceeding any maximum file limit of the DLNA service on your router

Unfortunately, that brings this back to square one. On a long shot, do you have UPnP enabled, and if not, can you try enabling it?  There's a possibility that your receiver requires UPnP enabled in order to support DLNA.

Otherwise, your original report was that the Pioneer receiver was previously able to play media from a storage device shared on your AX50, but somehow that functionality stopped working.  The only other suggestion I can offer is to try to identify anything else that might have changed during the same period -- not a trivial task.

  @MikeS21 I used to have a Seagate NAS, which died (Seagate Central 3TB). For 4 years.

It worked pretty good with the Pioneer, except it got lost a few times. Needed to power unplug all components.

Then I made no changes to the config. I just plugged an external HDD in the AX50, shared it as shown above, and that's it.

But the current config works fine with my smart TV - mainly for Kodi.

How do I know if I have UPnP? And if it's on?

What's the difference betwee mini and regular DLNA?

Thanks!

  @betauser 

UPnP is a router option for "universal plug and play".  You'll need to log into your router and search for the setting.  It may be listed under "NAT Forwarding" or "Port Forwarding" as that is what it's used for most often, however other aspects of UPnP sometimes affect DLNA and other services.

Regarding DLNA, there's no concept of mini vs regular DLNA.  DLNA is an industry standard which various devices support via different software implementations, of which "miniDLNA" is an example DLNA server.  However, because each implementation differs slightly, they will have varying compatibility and limitations.  Based on your clarification, you've never actually had success playing media served directly from your router through your Pioneer receiver.  When you stated, "A few days ago it was working just fine," that was referring to a completely unrelated service running on a completely different device (Seagate NAS).  Therefore it's very possible that your receiver is just inherently incompatible with your router's DLNA service or that it wasn't even using DLNA at all when it was previously consuming media from your NAS.

It probably would've been best if, from the beginning, you clearly established what was previously working and how.  I.e. how was the Pioneer receiver configured to play music from your Seagate NAS?   DLNA or SMB?  Security credentials or no security?  etc...

  @MikeS21 Yes, exactly - the NAS was connected to the same router via LAN, same config for the AX-50 (the only changes to the router I made, are those for sharing the USB connected device). Receiver side - no changes as well - always used the Remote app. The NAS had an interface, in wich I started the DLNA service. Just a couple of times over the last year, I had to restart this DLNA serice, because the Pioneer wasn't seeing correctly the media server. So - no security at all. The NAS had a "public folder", visible for everyone on my network.

I got the UPnP ON.

  @betauser 

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any more assistance I can provide.  

Just to clarify, your issue is conflating two completely separate devices, your original Seagate NAS and your AX50 router.  These have their own independent DLNA services which have no bearing to one another.  The fact that your Pioneer receiver was able to work with your NAS doesn't have any relation to your router and its implementation of DLNA.  It's simply possible that the reciever is not compatible for some reason.  You may find better results with your receiver by sharing your media library through another method.