Problems with home sharing on APTV2

[magillagorilla]

Hoping some generous soul can help me with my problem, as I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I'm a networking noob (one of the reasons I have a mac) and I just can't seem to get home sharing working on the APTV purchased this weekend.

Our primary computer is a mac tower, which is where our Itunes files reside. Ethernet runs from the computer to an airport extreme. Ethernet line runs out from airport extreme to APTV through an ethernet switcher in the TV room. I don't have a wireless card on the primary computer so we have to connect via ethernet (figured it was faster and more stable anyway).

Internet is up and running on the APTV, meaning it's getting the signal via the router. Cannot get Home sharing with Itunes on the primary computer to work despite 4-5 hours of troubleshooting.

I've done everything that I can think of short of running an ethernet cable directly from our primary computer to the APTV (can't because of distance). I've reset the APTV about 5 times, checked to make sure itunes is the most current version, disabled any firewalls on the primary computer (can't seem to find any to disable on the Aiport), turned off all other sharing on the primary computer (the old version of sharing within Itunes and sharing in OS preferences), reset home sharing multiple times on both the primary computer and the APTV, restarted both the computer and the APTV multiple times, reset the router, taken the ethernet switcher out of the mix to see if it changed anything (it didn't), and done everything else recommended here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3509 and the comments about this problem here http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20018128-263.html.

Any other ideas, as I'm seriously pulling my hair out at this point?

TIA.

 

[chapindad]

Hoping some generous soul can help me with my problem, as I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I'm a networking noob (one of the reasons I have a mac) and I just can't seem to get home sharing working on the APTV purchased this weekend.

Our primary computer is a mac tower, which is where our Itunes files reside. Ethernet runs from the computer to an airport extreme. Ethernet line runs out from airport extreme to APTV through an ethernet switcher in the TV room. I don't have a wireless card on the primary computer so we have to connect via ethernet (figured it was faster and more stable anyway).

Internet is up and running on the APTV, meaning it's getting the signal via the router. Cannot get Home sharing with Itunes on the primary computer to work despite 4-5 hours of troubleshooting.

I've done everything that I can think of short of running an ethernet cable directly from our primary computer to the APTV (can't because of distance). I've reset the APTV about 5 times, checked to make sure itunes is the most current version, disabled any firewalls on the primary computer (can't seem to find any to disable on the Aiport), turned off all other sharing on the primary computer (the old version of sharing within Itunes and sharing in OS preferences), reset home sharing multiple times on both the primary computer and the APTV, restarted both the computer and the APTV multiple times, reset the router, taken the ethernet switcher out of the mix to see if it changed anything (it didn't), and done everything else recommended here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3509 and the comments about this problem here http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20018128-263.html.

Any other ideas, as I'm seriously pulling my hair out at this point?

TIA.

Make sure Bonjour is running and that itunes is open.

 

[mtfbwy]

Hoping some generous soul can help me with my problem, as I'm beyond frustrated at this point. I'm a networking noob (one of the reasons I have a mac) and I just can't seem to get home sharing working on the APTV purchased this weekend.

Our primary computer is a mac tower, which is where our Itunes files reside. Ethernet runs from the computer to an airport extreme. Ethernet line runs out from airport extreme to APTV through an ethernet switcher in the TV room. I don't have a wireless card on the primary computer so we have to connect via ethernet (figured it was faster and more stable anyway).

Internet is up and running on the APTV, meaning it's getting the signal via the router. Cannot get Home sharing with Itunes on the primary computer to work despite 4-5 hours of troubleshooting.

I've done everything that I can think of short of running an ethernet cable directly from our primary computer to the APTV (can't because of distance). I've reset the APTV about 5 times, checked to make sure itunes is the most current version, disabled any firewalls on the primary computer (can't seem to find any to disable on the Aiport), turned off all other sharing on the primary computer (the old version of sharing within Itunes and sharing in OS preferences), reset home sharing multiple times on both the primary computer and the APTV, restarted both the computer and the APTV multiple times, reset the router, taken the ethernet switcher out of the mix to see if it changed anything (it didn't), and done everything else recommended here http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3509 and the comments about this problem here http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20018128-263.html.

Any other ideas, as I'm seriously pulling my hair out at this point?

TIA.

Did you pair the Apple TV with the computer? I have an original ATV and you have to go into a menu on the ATV and allow sharing with a computer. At that point a code is shown on the screen and you have to enter that in iTunes. Not sure if this has changed with ATV2 but I'd imagine it is similar.

 

[Panch0]

Can you describe what you see on the aTV?

After logging into your iTunes account on the aTV, does it find your library?

Are you sure you are using the same iTunes account on the aTV as you used to enable HomeSharing on the Mac?

Are you sure that iTunes is open on the Mac?

In iTunes Preferences, there's a Sharing Tab - have you checked the box for "Share my Library"? This is from memory, so you may have to click around a bit - I don't remember the exact location & text of the option...

 

[magillagorilla]

Thanks for the replies. Here are some more details to flesh this out.

-This is an APTV2, so there is no pairing involved (you basically just turn on "home sharing" on your mac and itunes to give the APTV2 access to the contents of your mac)

-Bonjour is a non-issue, as the primary computer is awake

-Itunes accounts are the same for the APTV and the mac

-The error message I'm seeing is the typical "you must turn on home sharing on your computer," meaning (even though it is turned on) that the APTV is not connecting with the Mac

-The IP addresses for the APTV and the Mac are different, meaning that, even though they are both connected to the router (an airport express) via ethernet, the APTV appears to be on a "different" network

-Was able to pick-up the connection to the Mac by signing on to the home wireless network (Mac is connected to the wireless router via ethernet, so apparently don't need a wireless card in the mac itself to access it's content via the wireless network), so the disconnect is somewhere in the ethernet connection

-Looks like the different network issue is being created by an ethernet switch in the TV room where the APTV is located. It's a netgear FS105 switcher that appears to be generating different addresses for each port.

-Not sure if there is a way to disable this feature (bridge mode?) or whether I need to change out the switcher for a different model

-Other option is to go wireless. I assumed that this might bog down on wireless network and that speeds over CAT5 via ethernet (even with a 10/100 switch) would be significantly faster than 801.n (but correct me if I'm wrong about that fact).

TIA!

 

[dXTC]

Thanks for the replies. Here are some more details to flesh this out.

-The error message I'm seeing is the typical "you must turn on home sharing on your computer," meaning (even though it is turned on) that the APTV is not connecting with the Mac

-The IP addresses for the APTV and the Mac are different, meaning that, even though they are both connected to the router (an airport express) via ethernet, the APTV appears to be on a "different" network

-Was able to pick-up the connection to the Mac by signing on to the home wireless network (Mac is connected to the wireless router via ethernet, so apparently don't need a wireless card in the mac itself to access it's content via the wireless network), so the disconnect is somewhere in the ethernet connection

-Looks like the different network issue is being created by an ethernet switch in the TV room where the APTV is located. It's a netgear FS105 switcher that appears to be generating different addresses for each port.

-Not sure if there is a way to disable this feature (bridge mode?) or whether I need to change out the switcher for a different model

-Other option is to go wireless....

Seriously, go wireless. Unless your Airport Extreme is very far away from your ATV2, the Wi-Fi N signal should be just fine, and won't be clogged by video transmission. Netflix comes through just fine on my ATV2 via Wi-Fi to my Extreme, whether the source is my wife's library (connected via Ethernet to the Extreme) or my library on my iMac downstairs (via Wi-Fi).

Standard Wi-Fi N speeds exceed 130 Mbps, which is faster than 10/100 Ethernet. Surprisingly enough, Wi-Fi G, which tops out at 54 Mbps, is fast enough for everything except maybe HD video.

The IP address are supposed to be a little different; that way, every device on your local network has a unique number. However, one and only one device should be assigning the numbers; in your case, that would be the Extreme, which should not be in Bridge mode.

The switch is probably complicating your setup. Unless you need it for another device, remove it from your setup and have the ATV2 connect to the Extreme via WiFi.

 

[EvilC5]

"from airport extreme to APTV through an ethernet switcher in the TV room"

is this "switch" assigning an ip address from its DHCP pool? ie does one have a 10.1.x.x ip address and the other have a 192.168.x.x address?

 

[Panch0]

-The IP addresses for the APTV and the Mac are different, meaning that, even though they are both connected to the router (an airport express) via ethernet, the APTV appears to be on a "different" network

-Was able to pick-up the connection to the Mac by signing on to the home wireless network (Mac is connected to the wireless router via ethernet, so apparently don't need a wireless card in the mac itself to access it's content via the wireless network), so the disconnect is somewhere in the ethernet connection

-Looks like the different network issue is being created by an ethernet switch in the TV room where the APTV is located. It's a netgear FS105 switcher that appears to be generating different addresses for each port.

-Not sure if there is a way to disable this feature (bridge mode?) or whether I need to change out the switcher for a different model

so when you say they have different IP Addresses, you mean they are in different ranges Right?
Example: Mac IP = 192.168.1.x : aTV IP =192.168.2.x

They should both be in the same range, but the last number should NOT be the same.

If the addresses are in different ranges, it sounds like you either have another router on your network with it's DHCP server turned on (the FS105 is not a router) or that the aTV is not reaching the Airport and is 'self assigning' an IP address. Since you said that your Internet connection was working, it sounds like you have another router plugged in somewhere.

Wireless N (or even Wireless G) is generally good enough for streaming video, so it sounds like your initial problem should be resolved.

What other devices do you have plugged into the NetGear? What else is plugged into the Airport? If there's another DHCP server sitting out there, you will probably have more problems in the future...

Oh, to test, you can take the Switch (FS105) out of the loop by plugging the aTV directly into the cable that supposedly connects to the AEBS. If you still end up with a different IP Range, then there is probably yet another device (router) in the path.

 

[magillagorilla]

"from airport extreme to APTV through an ethernet switcher in the TV room"

is this "switch" assigning an ip address from its DHCP pool? ie does one have a 10.1.x.x ip address and the other have a 192.168.x.x address?

Yes, based on my notes (at work without the gear in front of me), that is the case. Addresses that were showing up on the APTV2 (before I disconnected the ethernet cable) were IP 192.168.0.x, Router 192.168.0.x, and DNS 10.0.1.x. Addresses that appear via the mac are IPv4 10.0.1.x and Router 10.0.1.x (don't have the DNS address for the mac in my notes).

 

[magillagorilla]

"What other devices do you have plugged into the NetGear? What else is plugged into the Airport? If there's another DHCP server sitting out there, you will probably have more problems in the future...

Oh, to test, you can take the Switch (FS105) out of the loop by plugging the aTV directly into the cable that supposedly connects to the AEBS. If you still end up with a different IP Range, then there is probably yet another device (router) in the path."

The other devices plugged into the switch are a DTV DVR/box, an Xbox and a bluray player.

Will try to get the cables in a position to plug directly into the incoming cat5 cable tonight to test, but I really don't think we have another router. Only other item out there is an airport express for streaming music, but that is only on our wireless network.

 

[chapindad]

First off, Bonjour is a discovery agent and needs to be running whether the computer is a wake or not.

Second, you have a second router on your network and not a switch. That is going to cause you all kinds of headaches if you do not know what you are doing. Bonjour is the discovery protocol used by Apple and it can not route across networks and you have two networks. I would guess that the "Ethernet Switcher" by the TV is actually a router with Ethernet ports on it. Go to http:\\192.168.0.1 and see if you bring up the web page for that router. My suggestion is that you can spend hours getting it to work or you can go to BB and spend $25 on a real Ethernet Switch for the TV and take the router out unless you are using it for the Wireless, then I would figure out how to wire everything into it and use it as the main router.

 

[magillagorilla]

Hold the phone. Company that did our wiring just indicated that there may be an additional router hidden away in one of the wiring junction boxes. I will check it out tonight.

Thanks to all for the helpful comments.

 

[magillagorilla]

"First off, Bonjour is a discovery agent and needs to be running whether the computer is a wake or not."

Seriously meant no offense with the above comment. My abbreviated sentence structure re the Bonjour issue was not intended to convey attitude or the impression that I know this stuff (I don't).

"Second, you have a second router on your network and not a switch. That is going to cause you all kinds of headaches if you do not know what you are doing. Bonjour is the discovery protocol used by Apple and it can not route across networks and you have two networks. I would guess that the "Ethernet Switcher" by the TV is actually a router with Ethernet ports on it. Go to http:\\192.168.0.1 and see if you bring up the web page for that router. My suggestion is that you can spend hours getting it to work or you can go to BB and spend $25 on a real Ethernet Switch for the TV and take the router out unless you are using it for the Wireless, then I would figure out how to wire everything into it and use it as the main router."

Looking like I may have a switch and another router. I'll figure it out tonight.

 

[chapindad]

Sorry. I took no offense. "First off," was a poor choice of words. My mouth moves faster than my brain does at times...

 

[magillagorilla]

Hold the phone. Company that did our wiring just indicated that there may be an additional router hidden away in one of the wiring junction boxes. I will check it out tonight.

Update: Yes, there was another router stuck in a junction box in our attic. I've removed it and will be replacing it with a switch that matches my existing one downstairs.

Re the earlier the poster who asked why we weren't going wireless, our issue is that we have several g devices connected to the wireless network (2 old laptops and an airport express used for streaming music). Seems like trying to consistently stream HD on a g network at the same as music could cause some issues down the road.

Thanks so much for all of the help and advice. Just wish that I had jumped on here earlier.