Cannot Access Desk Top Console For UnitiServe

I am now unable to access the DTC for my UnitiServe on my MacBook running Catalina 10.7.

I used to put the US’s IP address in the browser, click on the guest use of Flash Player icon and up popped the DTC. Now I just get a blank screen with no Flash Player icon.

I assume it is due to the withdrawal of support for Flash Player, although I believed this was going to be in place until the end of 2020.

Does someone know what is going on as my US seems to have stopped transcoding from Flac to WAV and I would like to reset it to transcode.

If support for Flash has been removed, is there another way to access the UnitiServe’s DTC?

Nigel
I’m fairly sure you are correct, it’s lack of flash support which is being withdrawn by adobe, end 2020 I think.

I also couldn’t get it to work with Catalina, but reverting to the previous OS was fine. Catalina also broke other things ( eg Apple’s own pro photography editing software Aperture) so I was happy to revert.

Couldn’t you use the iOS app n-Serve instead ?

Good luck, Paul

Thanks for the reply.

I use n-Serve but it has limited functionality and does not facilitate the resetting of transcoding for example.

Bit concerned about reverting back to a previous iOS, so have put in an enquiry to Naim Support, as I am pretty sure they have a fix.

I understand that Flash Player has been replaced by HTML5. However, I still would not know how to access the US’s DTC armed with this information.

@davidhendon, any ideas?

I think reverting to an older MAC OS than Catalina is not a good plan especially as Apple have already pushed out Big Sur to replace Catalina. and anyway if the issue is lack of support for flash then I think you will run into that whichever MAC OS you use.

Absent any bright ideas from Naim, your best bet might be to try to borrow a Windows PC and use the Windows DTC. If you have 1.7c on your US then you will need to get the latest Windows DTC from Naim as for reasons best known to themselves, they haven’t put this on their website as a download. But anyway the Windows DTC doesn’t use flash. You may need to enable SMB1 though. I’m not sure whether you can use the Windows DTC with SMB1 disabled. But someone else here might know.

Another possible thought is to use a third party flash player running under Catalina. But I’m a bit out of my depth there I’m afraid.

Best

David

Cheers David.

I will wait and see what Naim suggest. I am just a bit concerned that Naim might lose interest in overcoming such difficulties with legacy kit/platforms even though they have been great in this regards so far.

I hope they don’t suggest I get a PC, as that is not going to happen.

My thoughts might turn to Melco!

If you lived near Guildford Nigel then post-lockdown I could have no doubt helped out, but my recollection is that you live up Suffolk direction? I have a Naim enthusiast mate there (not a forum member) but there may be others who could rock up to your place with a Windows laptop…

Best

David

David, what a kind offer. I used to live in Suffolk many years ago but am now a Bucks boy.

Let’s see if Naim Support come up with a simple solution. If the only answer each time I want to access the US’s DTC is to get a Windows PC, then it might be time to move on to another server.

I am still happy with the US and the only time I really need the DTC is to set transcoding, which Naim might be able to do remotely. So if that can be done then I will use the US until it conks out, which it will as it is one of the first 2TB versions from 2012.

With the withdrawal of support for flash from end of this month, Nov, I suspect there will be a few Unitiserves turning up at a good price on an auction site near you soon. If you have a windows pc or laptop and don’t need multiroom then its quality way into cheap streaming. The ios nserve app stillworks though for playing.

Naim can remote into a US via your Mac - they did so recently for a local friend here.

Best

David

And I think the Windows DTC doesn’t need flash either.

Best

David

Dtc doesn’t but internet remote client does on both explorer and chrome.
I haven’t seen any indication that Naim are updating the internet client for use without flash sadly.

Nigel, are you sure that n-Serve on OSX can’t change the settings you need ? n-Serve is a fairly clunky interface, sure, but I’m certain that there are setting for importing, transcoding etc.

I would try myself but my U.S. has now been retired…

Best, Paul

I can’t see a menu route to setting transcoding in n-Serve. Can you remember how to set transcoding in n- Serve?

You are right. Just managed to open n-Serve on my MacBook and reset to transcode to WAV. Not very intuitive but it is done.

I am now very happy to let my UnitiServe do its serving thing until it eventually falls over.

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Gosh, I’m so pleased I sold my US all those years ago. What are you backing up onto? If it’s a decent nas you can load Asset and serve from there and don’t need the US at all. I suppose it depends how many CDs you still rip. If it’s just the occasional one you can do that easily on your Mac. Melco seems all the range but it’s really not necessary.

Hello Nigel, have you tried using Firefox instead of Safari? This works for me once you’ve told it to allow Flash when it asks.
I believe it was Safari version 14, released a couple of months ago, that ended Flash support.
(This is on Catalina - I usually just run OS updates as they arrive, but I’ve chickened out on Big Sur so far.)

Ah good, glad you managed to sort it out. I don’t find n-Serve very intuitive either, but it does all seem to work. Enjoy your U.S. !

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I think the reality is people will need to start thinking about a migration strategy for these devices. They are basically becoming boat anchors.

Yes, I have had my problems with the US over the years, but after the last repair it has been fine for several years now, touch wood.

I back up to a QNAP NAS and I used to use it as a server running Asset. I did however compare the SQ of the US and the QNAP as servers and now prefer the US, hence my eagerness to optimise it by transcoding to WAV.

I don’t rip as many CDs as I used to but it is still a very convenient ripper when needed. When I was new to streaming, the US was the most simple and convenient of servers/rippers, and still is. It sounds great also, so I will keep it but probably won’t pay for the inevitable next repair (it is now 10 years old).

Good idea, but I can now access settings in n-Serve on my MacBook without the need for Flash.

I assume I lost the use of Flash when I updated to Catalina. Unexpected issues is the reason I will resist updating to Big Sur, even though Apple pester you all the time to do so.