Asus O!Play and UnRaid server

I'm now using an Asus O!Play HDP-R1 and a basic (free) UnRaid server for playing *.ts files uploaded from a Humax PVR and mpegs created with VideoRedo. Maybe others are thinking of doing similar. Here's a tip:

 

Out-of-the-box the Asus O!Play works fine and will find your UnRaid server straight away, provided that there is a Windows machine in the same workgroup on the network. But when you turn off all the Windows PCs, the Asus won't find the server any more.

 

Tip: Create a shortcut to the server on the Asus. Then it works fine. Here's how I did it:

 

Turn on the Asus O!Play.

From a PC on the same network:

> telnet 192.168.0.x (Where 'x' completes the IP address of your Asus O!Play).

Login (root, no pw)

> cd /usr/local/etc/dvdplayer

> vi NetworkBrowser.ini (if the file doesn't exist, vi will create it)

Insert the following:

[MAIN]

num=1

[0]

label='UnRaid'

id=''

pw=''

domain='WORKGROUP'

hostname='TOWER'

ip1=0

ip2=0

ip3=0

ip4=0

 

Where UnRaid is the name to be displayed on the Asus, WORKGROUP is the name of the server's workgroup, TOWER is the name of the server.

 

If there are pre-existing entries in NetworkBrowser.ini then you should instead increment the 'num=X' value, then append to the file:

[X]

label=... etc

 

Where 'X' is the next sequential number.

 

The server(s) will then appear under 'shortcuts' on the Asus.

 

For password protected user shares you would presumably need to set id and pw values. But beware: these are stored unencrypted and can therefore be accessed by anyone who has network access to the Asus box.

 

It is supposedly possible to set up shortcuts on the Asus box via the standard (TV-and-remote) interface. But the manual isn't helpful and I can't figure out how to do that.

 

From reading around I think it should be possible to configure NFS shares on the server and set each individual user share as a separate virtual storage device on the Asus. That's currently beyond my expertise but if anyone cares to comment please add to this thread. See http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=19&model=O!Play+HDP-R1&id=20091101235827937&page=1&SLanguage=en-us and http://www.acryan.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1216&start=20 for starters on this. I'll have a play and if I find out anything will post here.

 

I hope that's all useful to someone. My apologies if this repeats anyone elses prior post or if it's in the wrong forum.

 

Hardware:

Asus O!Play HDP-R1 Firmware version 1.07 There are upgrades available which may - or may not - solve the problem this tip addresses.

Unraid Server, Basic, version 4.4.2 with user shares enabled.