Streaming PC >- TV?

[Mussels]

I don't think it's doing any transcoding... I ripped a DVD myself with Handbrake to H.264 MP4. I could be wrong though, but I thought it supported that format natively.



I'm trying it with a PS3. I have a friend who very highly recommended to me a Chromecast, which evidently will run Plex. I'll look into that a little more, and go that route if it looks good. Whether the PS3 works fine or not isn't a huge issue, but it would be a nice solution we already have for streaming to the other room.

my point about the android player was more along the lines of not needing a PC's CPU power to do the playback. the android players support USB storage, online, local (USB) and remote (LAN) playback - you can connect to a PC's shares if you want, or you can just copy the files over and not need that PC to be running. plex requires a high powered machine at all times.

 

[Dethroy]

Plex, Chromecast, WHDI - all will do the trick.
I myself use Asus WAVI to stream movies and games (streams in FHD, audio and USB) from the pc to the tv set in the living room. Works like a charm and with no noticeable input lag.

 

[remixedcat]

I use a Roku TV with emby server on my desktop and its been nice.

 

[Kursah]

Roku 2 + Plex is solid in my experience.

Much better than the Plex app on Wii or PS3. I'm sure the Raspberri Pi would get the job done too...haven't gone that route tho...

 

[remixedcat]

Plex was hella slow on adding media and quite often screwed up metadata.emby hasnt screwed up metadata..

*knocks*

 

[Nosada]

There are better media players than plex, there are better media servers than plex. When it comes to integration however, nothing I found so far beats it. I can watch my entire library of series and movies from any device in my home, and I can pauze wherever I want to resume wherever I want. Watch a movie on PC, go upstairs, continue on the Samsung Smart TV App, go to the bathroom and continue on the android tablet, get a call, go out and finish the movie on my iPhone in the car.

I probably should stop watching movies while driving though.

PS: Also important for me: I have a huge cartoon collection, my nephews watch it from on PC's at their home, their grandma's and on the TV via a raspberry.

 

[AsRock]

He wants to stream local content from the PC to the TV, its in the first post- you may have just missed it.

Buy a AV and some good speakers and connect the computer to the AV then the AV to the TV with a long enough HDMI cable if possible.

 

[remixedcat]

HDMI ARC is the best quality so if you have a reciver with it or soundbar that would be the best option for audio connecivity... also HDMI CEC FTW!!!

 

[Cybrnook2002]

Your right by me, I got one of these BNIB I would mail to your for $55. (I use three at home, they are great and play any format) I use them to stream from my servers at home, and they have apps if you wish to use.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXFM75Y/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[ShiBDiB]

Most smart tv's will pick up any of the free dlna servers. But I HIGHLY recommend PLEX. It allows you to stream videos/music/photos to mobile devices, xbox, ps4, tv's. It's a great little program.

 

[hat]

I was thinking Chromecast with Plex, but it seems I would have to initiate the stream from my pc? I don't want to have to touch my pc at all to do anything besides put the content on the media server in the first place. I don't want to have to go opening up chrome and casting it over to the Chromecast to play anything. I just want something to connect to my Plex server and go.

I'm not gonna want to do anything with a mouse and keyboard either. I want a remote of some sort to control whatever it is I would be using, just like if we were using Netflix or hulu.

 

[AsRock]

Can ya not put all your movies on a external HDD and just use a ROKU 3 though their app although you would have to check what compatible and would need a AV \Speakers but still.

 

[hat]

I could potentially hook up a roku 3 to the TV, but that would only work on the one TV. I want to have it on a server where it can be accessed by many devices. I have a ps3/ps4 in the other room I'd like to use with Plex as well.

 

[newtekie1]

I'm not gonna want to do anything with a mouse and keyboard either. I want a remote of some sort to control whatever it is I would be using, just like if we were using Netflix or hulu.

When you say you don't want a keyboard and mouse, do you just mean you don't want them because they are bulky? What about a keyboard/trackpad that is the size of a remote and backlit? That is what I use in the living room.

You can pick up one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856501007

I got it for $89, but even at $99 it is a good deal. Comes with everything except the OS(Win8/10 only, Win7 doesn't work, and Linux works but doesn't have WiFi drivers yet).

Then grab one of these to control it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KGMG3SK/?tag=tec06d-20

Use XBMC to play media direct from your PC and get rid of Plex(I never liked it anyway).

Edit: Actually, grab this one instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883105002

It comes with more USB ports, an ever so slightly faster processor, and Windows 8.1 for just $50 more. I think it is worth it, and almost wish I had seen it before buying the one I got...

 

[hat]

I quite like Plex so far (except for having tried to use it on the Wii U). I appreciate its Netflix-esque GUI, which is what I'm going for. I want it to be as simple as launching netflix, browsing for a movie and go. Currently looking at the option of getting the Plex app for Android, and using my tablet to control it.

While we're on this subject, I am going to need a HDD to store all this on. Somewhere in the 2-4TB range. I need a drive that's reliable, and fast enough to handle multiple streams (probably 3 at the most) but won't break the bank. Ideas?

 

[kn00tcn]

I quite like Plex so far (except for having tried to use it on the Wii U). I appreciate its Netflix-esque GUI, which is what I'm going for. I want it to be as simple as launching netflix, browsing for a movie and go. Currently looking at the option of getting the Plex app for Android, and using my tablet to control it.

While we're on this subject, I am going to need a HDD to store all this on. Somewhere in the 2-4TB range. I need a drive that's reliable, and fast enough to handle multiple streams (probably 3 at the most) but won't break the bank. Ideas?

one theoretical about kodi is that it has skin/theme support, it doesnt have to be the convoluted tree menus of the default 'confluence' theme

uhh what price for the hard drive? every hard drive is fast enough even if it was 5 bluray iso streams (assuming 20mbit each = 100mbit = 12mbytes/s, that's quite a few times less than even usb2)

nobody knows reliability until it's in use, i would make sure it's an enclosure with a fan, 3.5", & with the fewest platters possible... i would think the NAS targetted drives (WD red, etc) are pointless for home video use other than their warranty

 

[hat]

uhh what price for the hard drive? every hard drive is fast enough even if it was 5 bluray iso streams (assuming 20mbit each = 100mbit = 12mbytes/s, that's quite a few times less than even usb2)

Makes sense, never thought about it that way.

I see some 2TB drives rolling around on Newegg in the neighborhood of $50, will probably try one of those when I can.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

1080p weighs in at about 6 GiB/hour. I put a Seagate 1 TB Constellation ES.3 in my server for media. I paid $100 for it. It is a 7200 RPM, high reliability, enterprise drive.

 

[kn00tcn]

Makes sense, never thought about it that way.

I see some 2TB drives rolling around on Newegg in the neighborhood of $50, will probably try one of those when I can.

one thing tempting... is WD green & blue drives, since you can control the head park timeout length (if you can boot into DOS connected to sata on the mobo, which is why buying a separate drive + enclosure is better than buying an 'external drive' that loses warranty when you open the case... i have 2x 4TB elements & rather than opening them up, i will have to just force load every second so they dont park so aggressively)

1080p weighs in at about 6 GiB/hour. I put a Seagate 1 TB Constellation ES.3 in my server for media. I paid $100 for it. It is a 7200 RPM, high reliability, enterprise drive.

that size estimate entirely depends on the bitrate, some people make personal encodes to stay below 8GB or even 4GB so they can burn to DVD, other people make bluray isos that are 25GB

enterprise is getting overkill (obviously not as overkill as raptor or SSD)

considering entertainment isnt personal data or an OS drive or a security camera recorder, it shouldnt need intense reliability