Media Player Play To Error "Failed to retrieve media Information from media server"

Anonymous
2011-08-04T04:55:28+00:00

I have a Denon AVR 1912 receiver and a PC running Windows 7 w/WMP12.  When I try to use the "play to" feature I can select the receiver but get an error "Failed to retrieve media Information from media server."

I have tried to re-install WMP 12 and have tried disabling my firewall with no success.  Airplay works fine, but I prefer WMP to I-Tunes.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2011-09-09T16:43:54+00:00

The content is on the same computer.  Streaming is enabled and the receiver is "allowed." 

I am not sure if this is solved or not...but I found the solution last night after I spent the most frustrating 5 hours of my life! This is surely a windows problem. I recently replaced my HP laptop with a Dell Vostro 3450 and I suddenly found that 'Play To' feature wasn't working with my Samsung LED TV UA55C8000 .To confirm that it wasn't a firewall or format related issue I even used Samsung PC Share software on my PC to act as the DLNA server...With PC share as the server WMP12 didnt find any problems 'Contacting the Media Server' ...but with its own library it just remained stuck there, with an eventual failure message. [Point to be noted was that even when it failed to contact the media server, I could control the TV volume using the same window!]

This is what did the trick for me:

  1. Closed WMP12.
  2. Go to Services [Control Panel->System and Security->Administrative Tools->Services]
  3. Locate the service with name 'Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service'
  4. Stop the Service manually.
  5. Locate the service 'UpnP Device Host'. Stop the service and start it again.
  6. Start 'Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service' now.
  7. Close control panel and all associated windows. Open Windows Media Player...right click on a playlist and see if PlayTo option lists the TV. Try playing now...it started playing for me at this stage!

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-10T19:53:15+00:00

    Awesome - worked like a charm - thanks!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-12-30T16:15:44+00:00

    Thanks for that Ric,

    Reassuring to know that when I eventually go over to W10 (probably when I update my hardware), the 'Play to' or 'cast to' function will be available having changed the default player to WMP.

    David

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-12-30T15:46:25+00:00

    Hi David and Stephen...

    Just for info - I have recently bought a new Dell laptop with W10. I have set WMP as my default player and the 'play to' function (now known as 'Cast to Device') works just fine. Having said that, I should stick with W7 as long as possible if you like it; a December update messed up my old laptop's W7 OS but in view of its age I now just use that offline. On the whole I'm quite enjoying W10 although there are one or two bugs that need putting right.

    Cheers - Ric.

    ps - the one drawback with 'Play to' (and cast to) is its inability to cope with conjoined tracks. If you have a streaming amp that supports Apple's 'Airplay', that plays seamlessly, used in conjunction with 'iTunes for Windows'.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-12-30T12:41:42+00:00

    Hello Stephen,

    Thanks for this. It sounds like we are in the same situation (most likely with many others), clinging to W7 because of W10 streaming and other worries. I've seen instructions on changing the default music player in W10 to WMP (SETTINGS>SYSTEM>DEFAULT APPS>MUSIC PLAYER) where WMP is offered as an option to Groove Music. Whether 'Play To' would still work is the question.

    For all its faults and idiosyncrasies, WMP suits my needs well with all my music on my laptop and the ability to rip CDs at high quality then stream wirelessly to my audio system for great sound.

    Incidentally, I have a desktop pc in my office with exactly the same version of WMP (12.0.7601.18840) which will stream music to the same audio system without the problem occurring. The pc is Ethernet connected to the hub/router but the streaming is wireless as with the laptop.

    Maybe we should monitor the evolution of W10 and report on any relevant changes we hear about. Happy listening.

    David

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