I started my geeking in computers; high end audio came later.
Warning: I'm going to ramble a bit about networking in simple language, so if you don't care, feel free to skip the rest of this message. If you are having problems with your BDP-1 or BDP-2, it may be of use.
Here's the short, technical version: With respect to networking, there's an entire world of info to be learned there. One of the problems we still run in to is dynamic allocation of IP addresses. A lot of problems can be avoided by allocating a specific IP address to any given device. If your router supports it, consider putting the BDP-1 or BDP-2 on a manually assigned IP address that is outside of the DHCP list.
If that is all Greek to you, try this instead:
Here's the simplified, non-computer-person version: each device that uses a network requires an IP address so information can be delivered, just like your home requires an address so mail can be delivered. Think of your router as the local post office and each device on your network getting it's own PO Box. In order to start receiving mail, each device has to register it's unique name (called the MAC address) with the proverbial post office. Once you are registered, you can start sending and receiving.
Small wrinkle. After a set period of time (determined by the post office), if you don't send or receive anything, your PO Box expires. You will automatically get a new (and possibly different) address when you try to send something. Unfortunately, this is how things get lost. Not everyone involved (senders, receivers, etc) gets the new PO Box number.
This concept is one (of a few) ways your router can be causing a problem for your BDP-1/BDP-2.
If each device were to get a permanent address (called a static address), there could be fewer problems. Most routers will allow you to just that, and there's two ways to do it. I'm going to cover the easiest way. We need a few pieces of terminology first.
- DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Control Protocol. Its the part of the router that gives each device a new PO Box, called and IP address
- An IP address (Internet Protocol) is formatted like this: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where xxx can be any number from 0 to 254. In our case, we will only be worried about the last three xxx's. On your personal network, the first 9 xxx's will be the same for each device. On my network, every device is 192.168.0.xxx. Other common IP addresses for home networks are 192.168.1.xxx, 10.0.0.x, and 172.16.0.x (there are others too)
- Each device has a unique "name" or identifier, called the MAC (media access control) address, and is formatted like this: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx where each x can be a number from 0-9, or a letter from a-f. A MAC address would look like this: 0A:1B:2C:3D:45:67
So, there's a "pool" or range of IP addresses the DHCP can use. My router happens to be 100 to 199. Again, this is the last 3 numbers only. The actual range on my router is 192.168.0.100 to 192.169.0.199. What we want to do is tell the router to always use a particular number OUTSIDE of that range for the BDP-1 or BDP-2. In my case, I chose 202. I did that because I have two other devices I did this with. My server uses 200 and my printer uses 201, so I used 202 for the BDP-2. Again, the actual number on my network is 192.168.0.202.
Most routers have an option to manually assign an IP address (the PO Box in our earlier analogy) to a device (the BPD-1 or BDP-2). All we need to know is a number outside of the pool that can be dynamically assigned AND the unique MAC address (unique name in our analogy) of the device. The range of IP addresses will be listed in your router's configuration, probably under a tab or page mentioning "DHCP server". If you need more help with how to get to this, check the documentation for your router.
To get the MAC address of your BPD-1 or BDP-2, I've copied the directions from the BDP-2 manual as follows:
...use the front panel navigation keys to go back to the top of the BDP-2's menu. The push the UP key again to display the firmware version number and its date on the second line of the display. Press the down arrow navigation button to display the units IP address.... With the IP address displayed, pressing the left button will display the units MAC address.Once you have those two pieces of information, take the MAC address and an IP address you picked. Enter that into the configuration of your router that allows you to manually assign an IP address around the DHCP list. Each router is different, so I can't tell you exactly where its located. Again, it also is probably located in a tab or page talking about DHCP. Try searching the internet or your router's webpage for specific info.
One other added benefit: once you've done this, you can access your BDP-1 or BDP-2 in a web page (or other software) by typing just the full IP address. Instead of a web address like
www.audiocircle.com, type 192.168.0.202. I've read that some people who type "bryston-bdp-2.local" in a web page (or other software) to access the BDP-2, and they have connection problems. I suspect Bryston does not tell you to type in the IP address because if it is dynamically allocated, it may literally change tomorrow. However, with a dedicated IP address, you ALWAYS know what it is. The Bonjour software (by Apple) is intended to match the current IP address with the words "bryston-bdp-2.local". If Bonjour doesn't have the current IP address though...
I do not find any flaw with how Bryston has set this up. Using the system I detailed requires some level of comfort and understanding of computer networking. It is absolutely not a "plug and play" setup. But it does have a few advantages.
I try to check this forum daily. If you need some more help, please let me know and I'll do my best. Truth told, Google has more info than I do. And, I'm prone to making mistakes.
Also, please feel free to add to or correct anything I've written. I'll take no offense. I only hope to help others, if I can.
