Best way to serve media files from PC to TV

[tankman1989]

I've been out of the media server area for awhile and I wanted to know if there was a way to serve media files over a network connection to some receiver box attached to a TV or stereo receiver.

 

[Encrypted Existence]

I would use an NAS over wifi with a wifi-capable tv.

 

[Xander]

My setup is I send the videos from my computer over to a hard drive inside a Patriot Box Office media player (mapped drive).

 

[altrenda]

Since we already have an Xbox 360 connected to the TV, it is very easy to stream from a PC via Media Center. Netflix works well this way, too.
All it needs is a web browser and it would be perfect.

 

[16k_zx81]

NAS or WHS



...........

 

[DCGPX]

Since we already have an Xbox 360 connected to the TV, it is very easy to stream from a PC via Media Center. Netflix works well this way, too.
All it needs is a web browser and it would be perfect.

I tried to setup my Xbox via WHS media centre but found it was particular about types of files it would play. I have them in wmv, divx, mkv and it refused to play some of them. Admit this was about a year ago maybe ok now with latest dashboard update, might have another go today


www.tornadopc.com

 

[seedubya]

I have 2 set up in my house - a fast Windows 7 PC acting as a server using windows media sharing and a PS3 and an Asus O-Play acting as clients. No problems at all with the Asus bu the PS3 is picky about what files it will play.

 

[Frick]

Xbox 360 can now play mkv's as long as they do not have embedded subtitles.

I have a whs box with all my media, then built a win7 home theater pc I have under my tv. I installed a 4 tuner ceton tv tuner and a Bly-ray drive. The box is my cable box with dvr (and automatic commercial skipper), DVD/blu-ray player, music player, Netflix, crackle, Hulu player, nes/super Nintendo/n64/name emulator player!

 

[PC-MOT]

Xbox 360 can now play mkv's as long as they do not have embedded subtitles.

I have a whs box with all my media, then built a win7 home theater pc I have under my tv. I installed a 4 tuner ceton tv tuner and a Bly-ray drive. The box is my cable box with dvr (and automatic commercial skipper), DVD/blu-ray player, music player, Netflix, crackle, Hulu player, nes/super Nintendo/n64/name emulator player!

Aaah, but does it make you a coffee half way through the films..?

 

[xxsilk109xx]

I have my Xbox360 hooked up to my Mac with Connect360 and my PC is hooked up too. It streams high quality with no buffering or other issues.

I find this to be the best way

 

[RichmondTech]

We use a WD TV box that's connected to our TV and wireless router. The WD TV is able to see shared folders on the network (or can access files from a plugged in flash drive) and play audio, video, and pictures. Absolutely love it and it's inexpensive!

 

[FoolishTech]

I used to use a media center based laptop sitting on top of the other components in my rack but haven't been doing that lately. I had it rigged to not do anything when you shut the lid so I could keep that closed, and a bunch of hacks/workarounds for this and that... but ultimately MS MC is so limited I had to play around with other media centers, but it seems like every single one has some major drawback like not supporting this and that, requiring a remote I don't have (not working with an MS remote), is flaky in operation, or just difficult to navigate.

Now I'm arguing with the wife (who wants a Roku 2 XS) about getting Logitech's Google TV box instead so I can stream from the PC, use android apps (which apps and for what I doing know lol), and use it's search which will also search our Dish Network channels in addition to my media and web stations. Two drawbacks to GTV is that some major channels are senselessly blocking access to GTV, and we both would like something with a standard remote vs. having to use the logitech keyboard/trackpad to navigate the thing. I really like the Wii-like Roku 2 enhanced RF remote and would welcome Angry Birds with Wii-like motion game play on my 50" but not being able to stream most anything from the PC is a killer.

I like the idea of the WD TV box someone mentioned, I know someone that has one and loves it, however I would rather it be setup on a RAID platform in case of a drive failure, because I would be too tempted to store most of my media on that box and nowhere else to save space on my main PC. Also I would still feel the need for a Roku or Google TV for the internet streaming...

Bottom line is I really don't want so many different consoles hooked up to my TV, I'd like it all in one, please! I'd love to see a real solution for this.

 

[Frick]

I do think the best solution is a dedicated htpc, but they can be a pain to get setup as you like, not to mention potentially expensive after you factor in all the needed hardware and software (depending on you wants and needs).

A really good source for reviews, news, and how-to's on media and tv's: www.missingremote.com

 

[RichmondTech]

I I like the idea of the WD TV box someone mentioned, I know someone that has one and loves it, however I would rather it be setup on a RAID platform in case of a drive failure, because I would be too tempted to store most of my media on that box and nowhere else to save space on my main PC. Also I would still feel the need for a Roku or Google TV for the internet streaming...

This is why I like the WD TV box because it scales perfectly.

Want to view the occasional show or picture slideshow from a flash drive? No problem.

Want to share a folder from your PC and view content on the TV? No problem.

Have a NAS with a RAID setup with terabytes of media that you want at your fingertips? No problem.

Also, while it does come with its own remote we have our Logitech Harmony remote programed with it so the remote turns on the TV, WD TV box, and the audio receiver.

A lot of people weren't fans of the 1st gen Google boxes, but now TVs are starting to come with Internet features so I'm not sure if Google boxes are gonna go the way of the netbook, especially for those that don't want ANOTHER thing hooked up to their television.

 

[Jory]

I set up a WD Live box for someone and they absolutely love it. For $90 it's really hard to go wrong.

I've read some really good things about flashing 1st Gen Apple TV's with XMBC too.

 

[Appleby]

I've been using a dedicated Windows Media Center pc for 100% of my TV, DVR, music and media needs since XP Media Center was released about 2003. I have tried to use other freeware and paid media pc/DVR software several times over the years (when I would be frustrated with XP MC) and none of them really compared to Media Center, when it was working correctly.

I started using Windows 7 Media Center when it came out and all I can say is this.....it's awesome. I have had NONE of the problems I had back in the day with XP MC, but then again, 7 doesn't have most of the problems XP did either. (I know I'm probably the minority but I'm SO glad to XP quickly disappearing!) The only problem I've had with 7 MC is a problem with some QAM digital HD channels not working correctly and not automatically being recognized in the guide. However, this was all happening as our cable co. was rolling out the digital channels and all sorts of flaky things were happening with our cable.

I say all that to say this, Win 7 MC is awesome and so simple to setup. I would suggest setting up a dedicated media pc box to act as a server and MC pc. I store all my movies and music on my Media Center pc and I stream it to my laptops if needed.

 

[16k_zx81]

I set up a WD Live box for someone and they absolutely love it. For $90 it's really hard to go wrong.

I've read some really good things about flashing 1st Gen Apple TV's with XMBC too.

I went the appletv route, and tried it for a couple of months - different builds, etc, and it kept crashing and restarting. It was a VERY frustrating experience. Tried a number of custom applications in it including XCBMC, but it remained too buggy, and I spent almost as much time messing around with it as I did watching media.

Then went the WDTV route, and despite the nice interface and good design, still wasnt happy. Its a weak option compared to XBMC. I did not try the custom firmware option with it though, and apparently that is very good.

Finally I sold both boxes and hooked up a laptop with XBMC and now Im happy as a clam. I use my Android phone as a remote control ('unified remote' app) which works through wifi. This is a brilliant setup as it does button control plus mouse-mode, plus a keyboard. Fantastic remote - best I have used on an HTPC (I also have a 'grown up' HTPC in the lounge with an iMON, but prefer the Android remote as it has nicer features)

WDTV is about $180 here, and a second hand lappie with HD graphics chipset is about the same price. Its a no-brainer IMO.

Interestingly, my Father In Law just bought a TIVX box that does cover-art scraping. We set it up, and turns out it uses XBMC as a backend for the scraping!

For a server, I initially used freeNAS, for about two months, and then it ate all my data; providing me with the opportunity to discover what a singular pain in the arse data recovery is in ZFS. Long story short, I gave up, reformatted all the disks, and put in WHS, which has been ticking along nicely ever since.

 

[FoolishTech]

A lot of people weren't fans of the 1st gen Google boxes, but now TVs are starting to come with Internet features so I'm not sure if Google boxes are gonna go the way of the netbook, especially for those that don't want ANOTHER thing hooked up to their television.

While it does look like Google TV boxes are going out, those TVs with internet features you're talking about are actually using Google TV, and a lot of Blu Ray players out there use it as well, taking the place of a Google TV box by itself. Naturally, I have neither, unfortunately. Don't see the need in a Blu Ray player personally, don't own any nor have any plans for buying some, I'm fine with streaming lower quality vid from various sources... and I already have a 42" and 50" TV both only a few years old, so why would I want to fork out for a replacement or two, just to have those features built-in? It makes no sense. So hopefully Google TV boxes will stick around long enough to evolve past their current limitations because I'm not buying another damn TV hehe.

@Applby, Win7 MC is exactly what I used and it's the limitations of it that drove me to the likes of 3rd party media centers.

 

[kevinjhaag]

I use XBMC and have for many years. It was awesome on my first xbox which I have still. But I've always been interested in Roku and Google Tv. I really like google products.

 

[Canadian Tech]

I use my xbox360 and a program on my computer call TVersity. Works great for us