Alura-Tek Internet Radio.... Need help

Hiya,

Black Friday is like one of the best days for us. I got this cool internet radio (Aluratek AIRMM01F) for a steal from Newegg.com and was so excited. Now I have NO issue connecting to the internet at all and am listening to all my fav free radio stations but this is also set up for FM, MP3 playback (via a USB port on the front) and - tada - a Media Server connection.

Can NOT get this silly OS to hand shake with the radio. I have a bud over in the UK that's been up till just now helping me out. It's 8:41 PM my time in California, USA so you can imagine how tired he was when it gave in and went to bed. I don't blame him.

I've tried it all. Trust me. The radio works just fine, FM works just fine. The alarm clock works just fine but the hand shake between my computer, Windows 7, 64 bit Home Premium is not happening for what ever reason.

Had the Networking and Sharing section open for hours trying this and that. Went into System Services and made sure the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service was "Started" and set to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" also, just to make sure we "Started" up the Media Center Extender Service and set that to "Automatic (Delayed Start)" as well. Nada.

My HomeGroup is set to "Joined". When I click that it shows me all the sharing options of what I can share and what controls I have over all that. If I click on the "Media Streaming Options" then that shows me what devices are allowed. The radio is among the two items there. The other item is "Media Programs on this PC and remote connections" and that's it.

I've tried clicking the "customize" link next to the radio and setting the settings to Default and then tried "Make all the media in my library available to this device". Nada.

To sum it up... the computer and my router can see the radio but when I try to get the radio's Media connection it can't see the computer. So there is a blockage. I've also tried disabling the firewall with no joy!

So not sure what's going on. I've been in touch with ALura-tek and have a running ticket with them with a fair amount of feedback, help and suggestions. I think just about everyone has hit a wall. So I wanted to know if any guru here might have an inkling of what needs to be done in order to get this resolved??

Thanks kindly

Richard

OK, lots of views but no replies. Hmmmm

Here are some ideas, perhaps someone could tell me if they are safe or might help resolve this:

I'm in the Advanced Sharing area of Win 7. Towards the bottom of the page there are some options:

"File Sharing Connections" with options for 128 bit encryption and another for 40-56 bit encryption. Does this matter on a private network? I don't share this with anyone, it's my set up, only for me, in my house and allowed devices like printers and this radio and perhaps a blu-ray player (when I get that one figured out).

"Password Protected Sharing" again is this necessary for a private network that's not sharing with the www?

Thanks much!