Can the WiiM USB server index and share video files?

[DariuszP]

I’m a complete beginner when it comes to this, so apologies in advance if what I’m saying doesn’t make much sense.

The situation:
(i) A USB drive connected to the WiiM is visible on the network as a server, and I can play music from that drive on other devices with their own media players (e.g., on an LG TV).
(ii) That same drive also contains all my video files (ripped as .mkv), but other devices don’t see them — the folders with video files appear empty. I understand that the WiiM only indexes audio files, not video.
(iii) So, to watch videos, I need to unplug the drive and connect it to another device — like the TV — which in turn doesn’t share it over the network (so the WiiM doesn’t see it and can’t play music from it).

Is there any solution to this? It would be great additional functionality if the WiiM could also act as a simple network drive sharing video files!

Just to be clear:
a) I’m not expecting the WiiM to play video files in any way — I’m only interested in it sharing them over the network.
b) I don’t have the option of connecting the drive to, for example, a router in a way that would make it visible (to the WiiM, the TV, etc.) as a network drive.

Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[jfbuk]

Hi,

AFAIK the Wiim creates a DLNA view of the contents of the drive. DLNA is configurable to only include certain media types so my guess is that Wiim ignore non-audio media and therefore does not index it.
Its not something I do but if you have video management software running on a computer or other device that creates its own DLNA video index of media can you see the drive and get it to work ? Plex would probablydo it if it can see the drive on the network.
The importtnt thing is that you create a separate index that contains video media. The TV is not doing this

 

[Burnside]

Maybe worth a feature request to WiiM. I understand MiniDLNA on which WiiM usb support is based can index video files, but I guess it depends on whether WiiM will expend development effort for something that doesn’t benefit their devices.

 

[DariuszP]

Maybe worth a feature request to WiiM. I understand MiniDLNA on which WiiM usb support is based can index video files, but I guess it depends on whether WiiM will expend development effort for something that doesn’t benefit their devices.

I would not bother then with this as you quite rightly pointed out that it is quite niche request and probably not worth the development time. However I could imagine that it could be of some benefit to WiiM though - they could add to their (already massive) feature list that it could act as a network drive for media files / media hub (i.e. you do not need to buy separate NAS for this).

 

[DariuszP]

Hi,

AFAIK the Wiim creates a DLNA view of the contents of the drive. DLNA is configurable to only include certain media types so my guess is that Wiim ignore non-audio media and therefore does not index it.
Its not something I do but if you have video management software running on a computer or other device that creates its own DLNA video index of media can you see the drive and get it to work ? Plex would probablydo it if it can see the drive on the network.
The importtnt thing is that you create a separate index that contains video media. The TV is not doing this

Many thanks! I will try this and let you know if it works.

 

[Alejandro_Gaita]

Hello! I think it would be an interesting addition for the WiiM if it could also index and share video files, and it doesn't seem to be something complex to develop. It would be quite useful

 

[hoohoohoo]

Hola! Creo que seria una adicional interesante para el WiiM si pudiera también indexar y compartir archivos de video, y no pareciera ser algo complejo de desarrollar. Sería bastante útil

En anglais...
Hi! I think it would be a nice addition to the WiiM if it could also index and share video files, and it didn't seem like it would be something complex to develop. It would be quite useful.

 

[hoohoohoo]

En anglais...
Hi! I think it would be a nice addition to the WiiM if it could also index and share video files, and it didn't seem like it would be something complex to develop. It would be quite useful.

That's like using a chisel as a screwdriver...it can work but it's the wrong tool for the job

I'm assuming that you have a USB stick with a bunch of music and video files. WiiM could do that if they decided it was worth it but there are other tools that do this better like a Mac or PC

 

[Alejandro_Gaita]

Eso es como usar un cincel como destornillador... puede funcionar, pero no es la herramienta adecuada para el trabajo.

Supongo que tienes una memoria USB con un montón de archivos de música y vídeo. WiiM podría hacerlo si decides que vale la pena, pero hay otras herramientas que lo hacen mejor, como una Mac o una PC.

I didn't say it was the best, just that it would be good to have it. My WiiM is always connected and online, my PC is not always on

 

[slartibartfast]

That's like using a chisel as a screwdriver...it can work but it's the wrong tool for the job

I'm assuming that you have a USB stick with a bunch of music and video files. WiiM could do that if they decided it was worth it but there are other tools that do this better like a Mac or PC

Many years ago Logitech were going to produce a device for Google with video capability called the Logitech Revue. This was the reason that Squeezebox Server became Logitech Media Server. It was a massive failure by all accounts possibly because it was ahead of it's time

 

[hoohoohoo]

Many years ago Logitech were going to produce a device for Google with video capability called the Logitech Revue. This was the reason that Squeezebox Server became Logitech Media Server. It was a massive failure by all accounts possibly because it was ahead of it's time

So that's why Logitech Media Server is the Liberace of music media servers

 

[DariuszP]

That's like using a chisel as a screwdriver...it can work but it's the wrong tool for the job

I'm assuming that you have a USB stick with a bunch of music and video files. WiiM could do that if they decided it was worth it but there are other tools that do this better like a Mac or PC

I have a USB drive with 600gb of music and 3.2TB of movies I ripped to have all my collection here in my second home in Spain. And it would be absolutely nothing wrong in those files being visible when the disk is connected to WiiM - this way I could easily play them by VLC on my AppleTV. Cannot see how this could be a wrong tool?

 

[Alejandro_Gaita]

Tengo una memoria USB con 600 GB de música y 3,2 TB de películas que extraje para tener toda mi colección aquí, en mi segunda casa en España. No tendría ningún problema en que esos archivos estuvieran visibles al conectar el disco a la WiiM; así podría reproducirlos fácilmente con VLC en mi Apple TV. ¿No entiendo cómo podría ser una herramienta incorrecta?

Exactly! I'm feeling something similar. I think it could be something interesting to have, and I understand, without much effort on the part of the developers. Hugs to Spain!

 

[hoohoohoo]

I have a USB drive with 600gb of music and 3.2TB of movies I ripped to have all my collection here in my second home in Spain. And it would be absolutely nothing wrong in those files being visible when the disk is connected to WiiM - this way I could easily play them by VLC on my AppleTV. Cannot see how this could be a wrong tool?

It sounds like you’re trying to make a setup work with devices that weren’t really designed for this kind of media sharing. Since AppleTV doesn’t support USB or direct media serving, you might find it easier to use a device like a Mac mini or upload your media to a cloud service for smoother access. Sometimes it helps to revisit the overall setup and ensure all the tools align with the goal.

Personally, I have several TBs of video and music media on a NAS that's accessible from anywhere using Tailscale. It works with AppleTV and Plex or Fire stick and Plex/VLC.

Making this a WiiM issue may be chasing rainbows.

 

[DariuszP]

It sounds like you’re trying to make a setup work with devices that weren’t really designed for this kind of media sharing. Since AppleTV doesn’t support USB or direct media serving, you might find it easier to use a device like a Mac mini or upload your media to a cloud service for smoother access. Sometimes it helps to revisit the overall setup and ensure all the tools align with the goal.

Personally, I have several TBs of video and music media on a NAS that's accessible from anywhere using Tailscale. It works with AppleTV and Plex or Fire stick and Plex/VLC.

Making this a WiiM issue may be chasing rainbows.

I am very happy that your NAS solution works well for you, however this entire tread is exactly about possibility of accessing the movie files without dedicated network storage. It would be nice if this could work (so WiiM would serve as a sort of elegant media hub, not only-music hub), but otherwise it is not a big deal - as I do not have NAS (nor possibility to connect disk to a network device such as e.g. router) I would just need two disks - one for music (connected to WiiM) and one for movies (connected to the TV).

 

[jfbuk]

I am very happy that your NAS solution works well for you, however this entire tread is exactly about possibility of accessing the movie files without dedicated network storage. It would be nice if this could work (so WiiM would serve as a sort of elegant media hub, not only-music hub), but otherwise it is not a big deal - as I do not have NAS (nor possibility to connect disk to a network device such as e.g. router) I would just need two disks - one for music (connected to WiiM) and one for movies (connected to the TV).

In my view you are conflating differing requirements.

1. A single storage location for both your audio and video media
2. Management and control of that media

As I posted above there is no reason why you cannot store all the media on one USB drive but in terms of management and control the current Wiim firmware/software does not provide any management/control of video media.
If the Wiim can make the drive accessible across the network then you will be able to use software best suited to video management/control using another platform.

Adding Video management to a Wiim would not be trivial and AFAIK is not currently in their roadmap.
You would better off reversing things and plugging the USB drive into the TV assuming it is capable. LG seems to have software, SmartShare, that acts as a DLNA server.
Once that is running you can configure the Wiim Home app to access the TV DLNA server for your audio

 

[DariuszP]

If the Wiim can make the drive accessible across the network then you will be able to use software best suited to video management/control using another platform.

If that was the case then obviously there would be no problem, but apparently WiiM does not work this way - it just presents itself as media server (not a drive) and only with audio files.

You would better off reversing things and plugging the USB drive into the TV assuming it is capable. LG seems to have software, SmartShare, that acts as a DLNA server.

Actually I made a mistake, here I have Samsung that does not support such function. But I guess that what I would finally do is to connect this drive to FireTV stick that I have here (and do not use) that could both: run VLC for video playback and share the drive via e.g. SMB. I only need an adapter that do not have here yet.

Adding Video management to a Wiim would not be trivial and AFAIK is not currently in their roadmap.

As mentioned above - it is not a big deal for me. Just was wondering if this could work somehow without additional work / setups. And if it could - it would be pretty nice (I would prefer to have the disk connected to WiiM for practical reasons - in particular: always on), but not really critical.

 

[hoohoohoo]

I am very happy that your NAS solution works well for you, however this entire tread is exactly about possibility of accessing the movie files without dedicated network storage. It would be nice if this could work (so WiiM would serve as a sort of elegant media hub, not only-music hub), but otherwise it is not a big deal - as I do not have NAS (nor possibility to connect disk to a network device such as e.g. router) I would just need two disks - one for music (connected to WiiM) and one for movies (connected to the TV).

Sure...but you're trying to turn the WiiM into a network server (NAS) just with a hotplug USB drive. Anyway, raise a feature post and get people to vote on it. You'll get more attention for your idea that way.

 

[CliffyBC]

I’m a complete beginner when it comes to this, so apologies in advance if what I’m saying doesn’t make much sense.

The situation:
(i) A USB drive connected to the WiiM is visible on the network as a server, and I can play music from that drive on other devices with their own media players (e.g., on an LG TV).
(ii) That same drive also contains all my video files (ripped as .mkv), but other devices don’t see them — the folders with video files appear empty. I understand that the WiiM only indexes audio files, not video.
(iii) So, to watch videos, I need to unplug the drive and connect it to another device — like the TV — which in turn doesn’t share it over the network (so the WiiM doesn’t see it and can’t play music from it).

Is there any solution to this? It would be great additional functionality if the WiiM could also act as a simple network drive sharing video files!

Just to be clear:
a) I’m not expecting the WiiM to play video files in any way — I’m only interested in it sharing them over the network.
b) I don’t have the option of connecting the drive to, for example, a router in a way that would make it visible (to the WiiM, the TV, etc.) as a network drive.

Many thanks in advance for your help!

I spent considerable time trying to do what you are attempting, I couldn't do it and gave up.
In the end I spent some cash, bought a mini pc and bought a plex lifetime subscription.
It does everything I need brilliantly.
Obviously unless Wiim can get their software/firmware to index video files and show them on the network you will get nowhere. My guess is that they have so many things that need sorting on the audio side that they will never get around to implementing what you require.