Hi, I have recently got a TS-364, and the firmware version is 5.2.7.3297. I am on Windows 11 OS.
I set up a drive for hosting and collaborating on our band´s music between our band members: rehearsal recordings, etc. I have shared the folder with our band via Smartshare Link, which has worked, except that the band members cannot browse and stream the music (MP3 and WAV format) directly from the site. They need to download each file before they can play it.
I tried Music Station but this does not allow folder sharing, just playlist sharing which is not what I want. I want everyone to access the band folders and be able to play the files from there.
Grateful for any help on how I can configure this.
MediaPlayer in the QTS UI can be set up to play MediaContent.
But the OP is using SmartShare. SmartShare is NOT the same as accessing media content directly from the NAS. SmartShare uses the QNAP servers as a proxy. You may be able to play some content that is initially cached to the QNAP server. But you won’t be able to play all of this. I know this because I have done video recordings of dance recitals for dance studio and have shared the final product with them via SmartShare. They would always talk about how they couldn’t stream it but would have to download it. Yep. That is correct.
If you share a direct link to your NAS and expose it to the internet then you can stream. But you don’t want to do that as QNAP in all their wisdom has decided that you share files over the same port number as the admin interface login (8080 or 443).
The NAS would be capable of containers or VMs for something like nextcloud, that would support it.
I run nextcloud on a TBS-453, but it needs a bit of work to setup (Ubuntu VM with a self updating snap install of nextcloud, even SSL cert self renews)
And that one plays media right there in the browser (plus you can edit pdf’s and office documents right in there too)
@dolbyman you are missing the point. The NAS is perfectly capable of playing music files directly from the browser.
The issue is that the OP is using SmartShare. They are not sharing music over the LAN. It’s being done over the WAN. If they were to share the NAS to the web and allow the other band members direct access to the NAS, then they would be able to play the music w/o downloading it. But we all know that is a very bad idea.
Rest assured @dolbyman , I have backups and port forwarding is not enabled.
When I test access of the Smartlink with my mobile phone, it shows me the folder structure but has an error message when I try to play the file. Instead, it allows me only to download the files (as you confirmed Jon (@NA9D ).
So this is the only easier solution? (The suggestion of @dolbyman sounds quite complex, to me at least, and the Dropbox solution I discarded some months ago since it takes up the personal Dropbox space of all band members when they want to map the netork. I would have like dto set up my own sharing system for the band.
Well apprently the “NAS” (or better the web based sharing solution QNAP provides) is not..hence a different web based solution needs to be used or QNAP needs to be pestered via ticket.Bur even if QNAP agrees to fix or enhance, it could take months to implement… So nextcloud in a VM or container is an option
QTS allows you to play MediaFiles from File Station quite easily. The issue the OP is having is being able to do this over the WAN w/o exposing the NAS to the WAN.
Probably the easiest way to do this is to have your bandmates get QNAP IDs. And create user accounts for them on your NAS. They can then log into the NAS and get the web interface via the myqnapcloud.com portal. Then they can go into File Station and play the files.
In order to play media files in File Station, click the three dots in the upper right of the file station window and select settings. Go to the Multimedia tab and check the box to support multimedia playback.
Now, when trying to play media on the QNAP, it will use the built in MediaPlayer. For some formats you may need to get a license for Cayin MediaSign Player and/or Cayin Media Player. That’s kind of a mess right now but until QNAP sorts that out, that’s what you need to do…
Now MediaPlayer takes a little bit of time and resources to load. If you uncheck the multimedia box above, I believe it should fall back to the native player in the browser. I am verifying that now…
The key with everything is that SmartShare is not going to give you a playable link as it proxies content between your NAS and QNAP’s servers.
Another option would be to use Plex. Put your media in a folder that Plex accesses. Then buy a PlexPass which allows remote playing of your content. Then give your bandmates access to that content over Plex.
And the longer post after this was your point ? (not trying to be rude..just trying to understand what the point/issue is)
If required access does not work with QNAPs onboard tools, it’s best either to not use the QNAP (file hoster) or just come up with an alternative to QNAPs Apps (container/VM). In the past I have tried a few of QNAP direct app offerings, but found 3rd party solutions often better (while still using the QNAP as a base)
@Franklin
Here is a QNAP video outlining how to setup containers on QNAP and how to bind shares to docker volumes correctly
When I setup my Ubuntu VM I just followed and all in one tutorial (snap and ssl setup)
And the longer post after this was your point ? (not trying to be rude..just trying to understand what the point/issue is)
If required access does not work with QNAPs onboard/offered tools, it’s best either to not use the QNAP (file hoster) or just come up with an alternative to QNAPs Apps (container/VM). In the past I have tried a few of QNAP direct app offerings, but found 3rd party solutions often better (while still using the QNAP as a base)
@Franklin
Here is a QNAP video outlining how to setup containers on QNAP and how to bind shares to docker volumes correctly
When I setup my Ubuntu VM I just followed an all in one tutorial (snap and ssl setup)
Thanks @NA9D and @dolbyman for your detailed explanations and instructions. I will try this out, one after the other and hopefully something will work. The idea with creating user accounts from my NAS (with rights for the data volume that hosts the band music) sounds quite straightforward. I can confirm that playing WAV format does not work currently, just mp3, but that should be ok.
Thanks again!
Carsten
Likely the reason you can’t play .WAV files is that you don’t have a full license for Cayin MediaSignPlayer. The purchase is like $12 and it’s one time.
My point was that it seems like no one was grasping that the op was trying to share files over the WAN and knowing how SmartShare works. Yes you can put it in a container and allow wan access to the container. I think there are just easier ways to do it.
Unlike MP3, WAV is a container format and it can carry different kinds of audio codecs. If the WAV file contains an unsupported codec, it may not be playable directly.
You can share a sample WAV file or a short clip with us to verify it, or check what codec is inside the WAV file using MediaInfo application.
and hopefully something will work. The idea with creating user accounts from my NAS (with rights for the data volume that hosts the band music) sounds quite straightforward. I can confirm that playing WAV format does not work currently, just mp3, but that should be ok.
