VLC for tvOS - Empty Folder over SMB

[lesarros]

For me it works,i tested just now.Restart your router,mac and atv4 and try again.Maybe it fixed.
Sorry but i don't know something else.
For me with 10.11.4 public beta it works.I can see the smb share from my mac to atv4 with vlc 1.0.1 with all the files inside the folder of my movies (i have covers,.jpg,.info,.xml etc for other media players).And i can watch the video file at my tv with atv4 & vlc.

[tdotto]

Just played movie length M4V which plays flawlessly. MP4 works just fine. However, the MKV playback is very patchy... freezes every few seconds. Tested with files of 30 second duration and same result.

[tdotto]

After trying this out again, I conclude that VLC app is pretty low quality build. It appears to have been rushed to get it to the App Store. So many rough edges, definitely not ready for showtime. Of course, it will get better with time and it helps that the app is FREE. Long been a VLC user and have found it to be pretty much great so far except for the Apple TV and iOS. Hope they can catch up soon so we have a good quality app in Apple world from VLC. Best!

[mexicali]

On a Mac, go to Syst Pref > Sharing > add check to File Sharing > select Options > add check to Share files...SMB > add check to your account listed in box > enter admin password > Done

Close VLC completely and relaunch. Cheers!

[fkuehne]

For those of you with access to beta versions of VLC for Apple TV: we pushed version 1.0.2 about a day ago, which includes improved SMB support. Feedback appreciated!

(For those of you without access, it will hit the store hopefully mid next week after Apple concluded review.)

[Stibby]

After I added my username and password for my windows 10 I get my folders and drives from my computer. But I have a drive connected to my router with no username or password every time I try to access it it shows empty folder. Other apps will access this drive without a login and it works fine. How do I fix this?

[fkuehne]

Are you accessing the unprotected share using the "Anonymous login" feature?

[JerryV]

I've just upgraded to 1.0.2 and am still having the Empty Folder problem trying to access the shares on my Windows 7 PC.

I cannot see the unprotected share using Anonymous login nor can I see my other shared folders when I use my username. Note that my Windows user account does not have a password so I have left the password empty.

[JerryV]

I think the Empty Folder problem is caused by having no password.

If I change my Windows user account to have a password, I can successfully see the folder with VLC.

However, if I remove the password on my Windows account, VLC always reports Empty Folder.

[fkuehne]

Oh, this is probably a corner-case we did not test. Thanks for the follow-up! We will check that.

[sqig]

With the update to 1.0.2, I can access the drive connected to my Apple Time Capsule using SMB by filling in the User Name and Password.
However when I exit the app the username in not remembered only the password.
If I try and enter with User and the password I get the Empty Folder Message.

This has not improved for me since 1.0.1

Thank you

[fredramsey]

Still doesn't work for me either. I see my machine, and have SMB sharing turned on (iMac with latest OSX), empty folder message.

[mexicali]

Don't forget to also add the folders you intend to share. If you only see (your computer name) public folder in Syst Pref > Sharing, then you have not granted permission yet. I promise it works. I use it everyday. Now if we can only get the AC3 figured out it will be a perfect app.

[fredramsey]

Don't forget to also add the folders you intend to share.

That did it! Thanks.

[jtphil]

Still doesn't work for me. I've enabled Sharing of my Videos folder on my iMac, but VLC 1.0.2 on the Apple tv still shows an empty folder. I've restarted everything. Is there anything else I should try?

[pmontelo]

I'm still getting "Empty Folder", I'm running VLC 1.0.2 for TV OS

Notes for Developers:
1. I'm connecting to a Windows 7 Share
2. The machine is part of an AD domain.
3. I'm using "domainname\username" in the username field
4. I've tried both regular users & my domain admin account, both get "Empty Folder"
5. It would be nice if you had an input field for the Share name that you want to connect to, since my server has around 10 different shares. I want to connect to the one named "Video" rather than browsing them all.

Thanks

[jamescperkins]

I get empty folder on my 4th gen apple tv in local network, my Mac shows in VLC player the playlist and media library I have move .mp4s into , but when I anonymous login on my apple tv i get empty folder.. just downloaded the version 2.2.2 , can play from my Mac just not Apple tv

[Dimitri Krechetov]

Oh, this is probably a corner-case we did not test. Thanks for the follow-up! We will check that.

Hi there,

I'm still getting "Empty Folder", I'm running VLC 1.0.2 for TV OS + Time Capsule

Tried different options. With a password, under my user and without as a guest.

Still empty. Does anyone have a recipe?

[jonshorter]

Same issue for me. I'm running v1.0.2 on Apple TV 4. I'm trying to access a Windows 10 network share using local creds (no domain). The apple tv is connected via LAN cable. The Windows 10 laptop is connected via wifi. I can access the folder share just fine from Kodi and my Macbook Pro.

I can see my shared folder from the Apple TV, but none of the subfolders nor files are there, it just says "Empty Folder". I did see contents in there once, and was able to play a movie, but ever since I've had the Empty Folder issue again.

[thisguy112]

Also hitting this issue. Does not work with Win10 or El Capitan (10.11.4) or latest Mac OS. With or without authentication.

For some reason this bug is resolved on the bug tracker: https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/16391

[fkuehne]

Are you using version 1.0.5?

[Demasterpl]

I just downloaded VLC last night.

I see my Windows 7 computer listed under SMB with the standard NAME-PC. My PC has 1 Admin account with no password so I'm trying both Anonymous login and only giving input to the "Username" field, both show empty folders under tvOS and iOS.

This is the first time I'm trying to setup a network share and don't even know if I'm doing it right. I've edited all the permissions on a folder to share it, allow everyone read/write access, set it up as a named share, etc. as well as edit my Win7 network preferences to allow network file sharing, disable password protection, etc.

Like I said, I'm very new to this so I don't even know if it's a setup problem I'm unaware of or something specifically wrong with VLC. The VideoLan Wiki, random blogs, youtube walkthroughs, and google searches are all very very scarce in getting this setup with tvOS in the first place.

[Demasterpl]

Can't figure out how to edit my previous post, but I was able to connect to my Win7 PC with default (admin/admin) login credentials (Don't even know how to change the credentials).

So what I'm able to see is that even if credentials are invalid or anonymous login - just shows an empty folder.

On a side note, I was able to do the same thing with Infuse, with the difference being that Infuse actually played my media. VLC just stopped at "Loading File X..." no matter how much time I gave it nor if I changed the network latency setting from "Normal" to "Lowest".

[jason51]

I found some peculiarities while trying to overcome the SMB empty folder problem.

I tried to share vid files on my Mac (El Capitan) to ATV4. After some trail and error I found that enabling Windows File Sharing allowed VLC to show my folders and files. Not what I expected but ok so far.

Only that even logging in as „anonymus“ from VLC on the ATV allowed me access to _all_ files on my account, not restricted to those folders I had set up for sharing. Does not seem right. I think.

[Gromcan]

My VLC on tvOS is 1.0.6. I use Connectify on my old computer with windows, it replaces a router for me.
In Local Network section on tvOS VLC i can see my Mac but not shared files, i have empty folder. Doesn’t even login, since I can put whatever username and password, it always seems to accept it. If you fixed the problem then explain how to share files properly on a macbook el capitan, please.