[BUG] Accessing virtual folders from browser on Windows Explorer

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Resease
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 3:00 am

[BUG] Accessing virtual folders from browser on Windows Explorer

Post by Resease »

I've found that doing these steps I can access the virtual folders directly on Windows Explorer and from there I can send the files to my Renderer using Windows (Right click on the file at virtual folder and Transmit to Device ). By the way, I'm using Windows 10 x64.

Open UMS, Open Windows Explorer, go to the Network folder, at Media Devices group, right click on Universal Media Server, Select Properties. Wait for the windows appears, close it and go back to My computer. You will see Universal Media Server as a folder at Local Network at the bottom of Devices and Units.

Another thing that I noticed is that this only happens because Universal Media Server appears at Software Device group in Device Manager, it seems to be related with the UPnP drivers because when I disable it the folder disappears.

I loved this folder on Windows Explorer and want to know how to keep it without doing all the steps above, I just want to open UMS and see the folder at Local Network.
Nadahar
Posts: 1990
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 5:57 pm

Re: [BUG] Accessing virtual folders from browser on Windows Explorer

Post by Nadahar »

I don't think you can claim that this is a bug on UMS' part. The way this works it that there's a standard called DLNA which is a subset of another standard called UPnP AV. UMS use these standards to share media with renderers that support either standard.

Microsoft has great problems following these standards, all use "their own version" of this which isn't documented anywhere public. This applies to Windows/WMP as well as ther Xbox consoles. In fact, Microsoft doesn't only break the standards, they intentionally do so to only make things work with their own products. This is evident by some of the "hacks" we have to use to make UMS work with the Xbox. UMS has to "fake its name" to look like WMP to even show up, and there's also some "Microsoft services" that must be faked that doesn't really do anything other than to be non-standard so that they can make sure their product don't work with non-Microsoft products.

They are too lazy to invent their own standards, so they use something very close to UPnP AV/DLNA, but makes sure to just change it enough to break. I haven't seen their W10 implementation, but since it's possible to see UMS' folders at all it's very likely that they have implemented support for their "quasi UPnP AV" standard in Windows Explorer. From what I can see, the whole "home group" functionality offered by Windows is an implementation of this, but again modified to only work as they want it.

If there's a bug here, it's as such probably in Windows. I don't think Microsoft would consider it a bug though, but "as designed". The "bug" is probably that UMS is browsable at all, and it might be caused by some of the faking already done by UMS to work with the Xbox'es.

I'm sure it would be possible to make UMS work they way you want it, but since Microsoft intentionally breaks the standard and doesn't share what their "special requirements" are, there is no way for us to know what more to fake to make it work. The existing "hacks" for Xbox has already been found by various people on the net probably both by trial and error and by analysing network packets and trying to make sense of it.

If anyone can find what we need to do to fool Windows into listing UMS as a "drive", great - but don't expect us to find the hacks.
Resease
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 3:00 am

Re: [BUG] Accessing virtual folders from browser on Windows Explorer

Post by Resease »

I called bug because it's a hidden feature and worked so very well that I thought you intend to implement it, besides my Renderer (Mirascreen) is automatically recognized in Device Manager (Software Device) after it's connected to the network, so, I imagined you could do the same with UMS, maybe a little trick in some setting and voilà.

I tried to enable some services on Windows and change some settings, but it wasn't enough. Something is being triggered when I select the Properties of UMS, which is responsible for making UMS Driver recognized.

Otherwise, I liked this because it allows me to create playlists easily, just select the files at the folder and "Transmit to Device" , they go to the playlist as if the WMP was the Transcoder, but the boss is UMS. So, I just have to press Next to see another file (I've created a script set by a timer to click on it), sometimes the playlist auto continues, but that's another story...
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