HOW-TO securely connect MAC Emby server DB to NVIDIA Shield via SMB - Printable Version +- Kodi Community Forum (https://forum.kodi.tv) +-- Forum: Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=33) +--- Forum: General Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=111) +---- Forum: Mac OS X (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=56) +---- Thread: HOW-TO securely connect MAC Emby server DB to NVIDIA Shield via SMB (/showthread.php?tid=363672) |
HOW-TO securely connect MAC Emby server DB to NVIDIA Shield via SMB - ptvminix - 2021-07-23 Hello. After a fair bit of research and trial and error I've worked out how to connect my NVIDIA Shield to my Mac Emby Server so my Kodi on the shield works across the network. I am writing this guide because I appreciate the assistance I was given by some kind developers and users here many months ago, and so I'd like to give back to the community. I realise this post may come too late for many, and I accept I'm no IT specialist, so I welcome people correcting me for the benefit of others. Context: I have used Emby as a content organiser/server on my Mac for maybe 5 years, served to Kodi on my 2017 Nvidia shield. I prefer the speed of syncing files using Emby's "native"/direct play method using SMB, and this worked reliably until I upgraded my Mac OS to Catalina. For those unaware, Catalina was the first version of Mac OSX to disable network connections via the old 1st version of the Samba protocol (SMB1). This change was made in response to security issues associated with that old SMB1 protocol, most notably the WannaCry ransomware attack. SMB1 allowed "guest" users on a network (say my Shield) to read the files on my Mac without needing a username/password, and so my old setup worked nicely, but I was ignorant of security issues associated with it. Mac shutting down SMB1 brought the issue to my attention, and forced me onto a path of higher security, but it also broke the connection between my Mac and my shield. I reached out on the forum a few times (see here and here) and a few kind souls offered tips, however I didn't implement them as they either involved installing non-standard network software or (the more common/popular suggestion) employing various tricks to get the insecure SMB1 connection re-established. I wasn't persuaded by either choice, so I gave up for a few months. The solution (assuming you use Emby direct paths like me): OK, after a lot of trial and error, and importantly, after some rest and reflection time, here is what worked for me.... (using the latest OS X, Mac Big Sur and running Kodi Matrix 19.1 on my shield (its OS up to date as of July 2021)
Bonus tip for fussy people like me The above should be enough for most people, but if you're a fussy person with a huge library that you've separated out into different source types (e.g. Main Albums, Live Music, Rarities) using @DaveBlake's wonderful newish "sources" feature in Kodi, and you want all the album art to be there when you scroll, then read on.... (context: the above mostly works for serving up my albums separately to my live music for example, but I found that once I loaded the second source, some of the square album artist images would go blank - I think it's related to a quirk in Emby, where they once, but no longer save artist art in the artist's folder....Kodi seems to only show the artist art previously stored into the artist folder a year or so ago when Emby's server was written differently)....long story short, do the following if you want albums/live/rarities/whatever kept in separate sources and you want all the artist pictures to work....)
I hope some of that is helpful. Looking back on it, I can see I spent far too long on this. The pandemic is tough on everyone, but it does bring to mind the importance of people, connection and nature, so don't spend too long on your set-up, and look after yourselves. Warm wishes. |