Cannot get VLC Player App to discover files on shared device over LAN? Windows 10 [FIX]

VLC Player App won't discover shared content over LAN via Upnp or SMB?

Firstly check that your Windows 10 device sharing options are set correctly:

1. Open your start menu and search "control panel" and open the app.
   
2. Now click on "Network and Sharing Centre".
   
3. On the left pane (upper left), click on "change advanced sharing settings".
   
4. Set your Private network options as follows:
   - Turn on "network discovery" (inc. the automatic setup of network-connected devices).
   - Make sure "File and printer sharing" is turned on.
   
5. It is up to you whether or not you turn on the Guest or Public network settings. I do not recommend turning this on if you are only sharing to specific devices connected to the same LAN as your Windows 10 device which is sharing your media content.
   
6. Under "All networks" set the following options:
   
7. Public folder sharing - This is up to you - I personally have this turned off.
   
8. Media Streaming - This is up to you - I this turned on so I can share my music.
   
9. Use 128 bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections (recommended).
   
10. Password-protected sharing - Turn this on!
    NOTE: With this option set you need to know the Windows 10 account login credentials as you will need to enter this later into the VLC app in order for the media files to be accessed.
    
11. Save the changes.

Secondly check that the media folder(s)/drive(s) that you wish to access, have the correct sharing settings set:

1. Rick click on each folder or drive and select properties.
   
2. Set the required settings under the sharing tab.

Thirdly, enable SMB 1.0 support.

1. Open your start menu and search "control panel" and open the app.
   
2. Now click on "Programs and Features".
   
3. On the left pane (upper left), click on "Turn Windows features on or off".
   
4. Scroll down the list to find a folder called "SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support".
   - You may need to click the plus and tick "SMB 1.0/CIFS Client" separately.
5. Tick the box, click OK and restart (even if not asked to).

If the above doesn't help, I had issues with network discovery after the latest major Windows update. To fix this I went to "File Explorer", selected "Network" in the left hand pane. Windows asked if I wanted to turn on "Network Discovery" (even though according to the Network and Sharing centre it was already on). So I did, restarted and then I could gain access in VLC.

Now when you next try to access the shared media via the VLC Player App. You'll be asked to login with the credentials mentioned earlier and you'll be able to access the shared media. If not, uninstall the VLC Player App, restart your device and then reinstall the VLC Player app.

Showbox loading videos in default android player, not in VLC / MX player (android) FIX

Showbox, you may prefer to play the content in the VLC player app but Showbox sometimes loads the content in the android video player. 

You can always use a different player such as MX player.

To fix this issue, take the following steps:

NOTE: The steps provided below are for Android v6.0.1 (marshmallow). Other versions will have settings located in slightly different places. Please Google your android version for aid in locating certain settings mentioned.

Step1) Clear APP defaults:

On your android device go to Settings > Apps.

In here for each APP listed below, click on the APP, scroll down and click on "Open by default", then click on "clear defaults":

a. Gallery
b. Showbox
c. VLC player
d. Any other player you may have (such as MX player)

Step 2) Reboot your device after these settings

Step 3) Open Showbox, select the content you wish to play. On the quality selection popup (e.g. 360, 480, 720), click on the "3 dotted vertical line" (options) and make sure that the player selected is "OTHER PLAYER...". Server and subtitles can be set at your discretion.

Step 4) Play the content by selecting the quality as mentioned above (e.g. 360/480/720) and click on "Watch Now". When prompted with "Open with", select your player (in my case VLC) followed by "ALWAYS" in the bottom right of this popup window.

SUCCESS! All your content for Showbox should now play in your selected player.

Note: You may have to select the VLC > ALWAYS on more than one occasion. Annoying but at least it plays in my preferred player :)

Android Smartphone device won't connect/display in Windows Media Player 'x' [SOLUTION]

Today I was wanting to transfer my music from my Windows Media Player to my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-18160) Android smartphone.

Yet after connecting my smartphone via USB Cable to my PC; it wasn't recognising it as a device. It was recognising it as a camera and I was able to view the files within Windows Explorer so it wasn't a connection problem. However the device would not show within Windows Media Player (version 11 in my case on a 32 bit Windows XP system).

After Googling around I discovered majority of people are having similar problems.

The fix for most cases is you have to install Samsung's software called "Kies". Also install the codec option - really important bit!

After a reboot and connecting my device this time around Windows Explorer recognised the device fully AND Windows Media Player also found the device.

I was then able to sync my music from within Windows Media Player library (see here for aid on syncing your music with Windows Media Player).

OTHER FIXES:

- You need to make sure you have Windows XP SP2 or above!

- You need to make sure you have Windows Media Player 10 or above! Get the latest version here.

Recommended Addons for Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird !

Last Update on 13th Oct 2013

Why use Mozilla Open Source?

Mozilla is open source software which is highly recommended by many IT professionals. It is simplistic to use and considered to be better than most pay ware products. Their software is extremely customisable and if like me, you can even use themes to make it look like internet explorer so it won't take you long to adapt.

Mozilla FireFox (Open Source Web Browser) + Recommended Addons

Firstly you will need to download the FireFox browser.

Then I would recommend downloading and installing the following addons:
* Clicking on a link will allow you to learn more about the addon

1. Adobe Flash Player
2. Windows Media Plugin
3. PDF Download Addon
4. Dictionary
5. X-Notifier for gmail, yahoo, hotmail, aol and more webmails
6. Download Manager Tweak
7. Prevent Tab Overflow
8. InstantFox Quick Search
9. Copy Plain Text 2

The above links are those that I highly recommend you install (I use these).
The below links are those that I have seen which you may want yourself:

1. Autofill - auto fill form fields in
2. Popup ALT Text display - hover over images to see the alt text displayed
3. FoxTab - FoxTab brings innovative 3D functionality to your Firefox browser
4. Private Tab - browse a web site or page without it being saved to your history
5. Tab Badge - alerts you of (for example) new messages on Facebook etc
6. Firesizer - great for web site designers
7. Panic Button - quickly hide all browser windows with a click of a button
8. Extended Status bar - a status bar with speed, percentage, time and loaded size (similar to Opera's one)
9. Download Status bar - View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar - without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing

Extensions library contains many more addons which you can research yourself.

Themes (feel free to browse as there are a lot).

Mozilla Thunderbird (Open Source Email Client) + Recommended Addons

Firstly you will need to download the Thunderbird Email Client.
Then I would recommend downloading and installing the following addons:
* Clicking on a link will allow you to learn more about the addon

1. StartupMaster - Excellent for Password Protecting
   
2. Dictionary
   
3. Minimise to Tray - Revived
   
4. Duplicate Contact Manager
   
5. Update Checker
   
6. Copy Plain Text 2
   
7. Contacts Sidebar
   
8. Smilie Inserter Plus
   
   * Download and install the Skype Emotions. Once installed, simply link to the directory you installed them to.
   
   
9. How to backup your emails (requires Mozbackup as explained in the article).

Just one thing, to make sure your outgoing mail is wrapped, make sure you set the following below. This basically stops the annoyance of recipients having to scroll left and right to read messages that you have sent them.

1. Go to Tools > Options > Composition
2. On the general tab set the default Wrap plain text messages at 72 characters
3. Under HTML set the Font to one you prefer
4. Then click on the button 'Send Options' (towards the bottom right)
5. Select from the drop down menu "Send the message in HTML anyway"

Get your recipients to set their clients to do the same so you both don't have to scroll left and right:

• Outlook Express 5 / 6 (comes with Windows, on Vista / Windows 7 / 8 it is called Windows Mail)
• Outlook (MS Office - All Versions)

What is the best Codec Pack to use?

A question many friends have asked me! I personally tend to use K Lite Codec Pack (the Mega Version).

Though really it doesn't really matter. Majority of them do tend to have most codecs that you ever need.

Along side K Lite Mega Codec Pack I know that some people tend to use the VideoLAN Player which has some extra features allowing you to play just about anything.

Download Links:

K Lite Codec Packs

VideoLAN (web site so you can learn more for yourself)