The VideoLAN Forums

Hi guys I dont know if you can help me but I have setup a VLC stream. I can view it using my external IP address from within my network. But when I try and view it on anther computer over the internet it doesnt work thanks for your help guys. from David Heath

Sounds like you need to open ports in firewall & router

See

http://portforward.com/

I think I have opened the ports how do I check? when I try and install PFPortChecker to check it wont install.

I think you had better go and study the documentation for your router and firewall to get a clearer idea of what you are doing, and the security implications it may present.
If you are streaming accross wan then you will probably will need to use http which works in most cases, other methods may not work.

You probably need only open one port Eg 8080 for http/tcp (depending on your needs)

There is a port checker here

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

A couple of other things to check....


You are streaming over http?
Is your external IP static?
Are you behind a proxy server?
Is your ISP - network provider blocking any ports that you wish to use?
You probably wil need the VLC stream TTL ( last window in streaming options) set to something like 12 or so for wan?

I think you are right there is a problem with my router because I checked my router with that site and it says that port 80 is stealth which means closed right? but my router on port forwarding is setup to allow port 80 so any help would be great.

Stealth means not visably open.
Port 80 is usually reserved for websites
VLC default streaming port is 8080 unless specified otherwise, so perhaps open that one if that is the one you intend to use, providing it is not being used by anything else.

Have you done and confirmed the other checks as suggested?

Hi mate thanks for your help I have checked

You are streaming over http?
Is your external IP static?
Are you behind a proxy server?
Is your ISP - network provider blocking any ports that you wish to use?
You probably wil need the VLC stream TTL ( last window in streaming options) set to something like 12 or so for wan?

yer I am streaming over http
my external IP isnt static but I have tryed the one I have got and tryed it for the same session so it didnt change while I was testing it
am I behind a proxy server not what I know of its just my router and my ISP
my ISP doesnt block ports well thats what they said
I havent changed the TTL option would that make a diffrence for just testing purposes?

I would increase TTL to something like 12 to rule out that cause.

If you are confident that your stream is not being blocked en route on the wan side of your router, then that leaves your router settings and firewall as being the most likely problem areas.
Have you checked your firewall settings, VLC should be allowed on subnet and internet?
You could also try testing your route from another remote computer on internet, Eg the one you are using to test your stream. Try the commands ping and tracert from the command prompt. You will probably have to enable ping response in the router and in your firewall. ( prob best to turn off again after testing)

If you have sucessfully enabled port forward on your router, the router logs should show when an attempt has been made to connect to that open port (pending the router and that function being enabled) Eg you should see a connection (rule match) in the logs for that port when you use the "User Specified custom port probe" on the GRC ShieldsUP website.
There may also be a logging function in your firewall which may help you to troubleshoot?

Edit
You might also want to alocate or reserve a static subnet IP for the computer you are streaming from. this can usually be done in the router or the computer operating system. Otherwise if the local subnet IP is dynamic, then the port forward may be pointing to the wrong IP (computer), something you might want to check if you have several computers on your lan?

yer your right its definitely my router cos I tryed it with a old USB modem and it works but its only a 4MB speed modem so back to try and seeing why port forwarding working on my router