Universal Media Server | Forum

This is a request for help by a simple user, and not a bug report.
I have a HDMI dongle called "Anycast M9 Plus" (it claims to support Miracast and DLNA) connected to a TV, and by wireless network to my laptop. Running UMS 7.9 on Ubuntu 18.04, without any apparent issues. The dongle is detected and appears on the Status screen of UMS. On my TV screen I see the logo and information from the dongle, and the message "waiting for connection..."
I was hoping to see my laptop screen duplicated on the TV, as happens when I have used a HDMI cable. But this seems impossible, and for a long time I could see no way to play a movie on the laptop and see it on the TV. I had already set up the Media Library, but cannot see how I can play the any of the content. I did try using the Web Interface, but files I open there from the Library play only in the browser; nothing is transmitted to the TV.
Finally I discovered a well-hidden feature; a click on the renderer icon on the status screen opens a new window with information about the device, and a file browser which allowed me to select a video file, and a click on the play button in this same window does indeed start it showing on the TV screen. However, none of the other controls in this group has any effect. They are all grayed-out - the stop button, pause, fast fwd, rewind etc. and clicking them does nothing. The playback can only be stopped by cutting the power to the dongle. But after a few minutes of playback the movie usually freezes on the screen anyway. This method is not really usable.
I have a feeling I am missing something which should be very obvious, but I just don't see it. Maybe the device just isn't suitable for my intended purpose. Any advice would be gratefully received.

You need something to control the playback, UMS isn't really suitable for that purpose. If you have an Android phone, I'd recommend testing BubbleUPnP. By using it, or something similar, you can control the dongle and connect to UMS.

If the dongle doesn't have a remote control (or some other way to control it), you need a separate controller. In UPnP/DLNA there are some basic concepts: server, controller and renderer. UMS is a "server", but by clicking on the renderer icon you get a very rudimentary "controller" as well. It sounds like your dongle only fills the "renderer" role. Usually, playback devices are both "renderer" and "controller". BubbleUPnP can function as a "controller", so that you have all the pieces

Thank you very much for the explanation. There seems to more involved in this than I realized.
I have concluded that what I really have to do is "mirror" my laptop screen to the TV. I have been doing this recently with a HDMI cable strung across the floor of my room. This is not very satisfactory, and potentially dangerous as a trip hazard, so I want to do it by a wireless method.
The decoder in the TV does not work well. Even movies played from a USB connected hard drive usually freeze after a playing time of about 20 minutes, and I saw the same thing happen repeatedly when streaming by UMS and the Anycast dongle. What does work well for me is playing the movie on the laptop, and mirroring the actual desktop screen on the TV by HDMI cable.
I want to find a wireless method to achieve the same result. Clearly the device I have now is not going to do this. Is there something I can buy which will do it? Can you suggest something? Would an Android box perhaps provide a solution?

I can't really recommend anything, and I'm very skeptical to recommend a Google or Apple product because they spy on everything you do (I know Apple is trying to play "innocent", but I don't buy it for a second). That said, if you don't mind the surveillance, the Chromecast might do what you want. It will allow you to "cast" content from Chrome (which also forces you to use Chrome, which also spies on everything you do), or from any Android device. Anycase, Miracast etc are really just "China clones" of the Chromecast, but the Chromecast itself is still very cheap, so I don't quite see the point. Google sells it very cheap because they know that they can earn much more money from registering people's watching habits and by pushing their own content.

When it comes to non-spying devices, I really don't know - I've been looking for that myself, but it's very hard to find these days - and to know who you can trust.