What do you use...

Stick the disc into an NMT like Popcorn Hour. Set up shares etc for your
computers to access the disc as well. Connect NMT to telly. Job done.

 

I run PS3 Media Server on my laptop, which serves up media files
through a DNLA server - the ps3 picks this up automatically and just
works. PS3 media server is java based and works a treat.

 

http://www.networkedmediatank.com/

 

Beav escribió:

My TV's too old for that, but the DVD player has USB, so sorted.

 

I told my sister yesterday that if she had a DVD (I didn't know, but she
did) it'd likely have a USB socket and gave her a couple of missed episodes
of True Blood she'd missed and said "Shove that in the port and see what
happens".

She reported exactly the same as you and has now seen the first of the
missed episodes.

It's fucking amazing what connections there are in the audio/video world
these days. I remember back to the days where three phono plugs were cutting
edge

 

Apple TV

 

hah - I wondered which fanboi would pipe up with that suggestion.

The new one's nice and small, I'll admit.

 

Having so far failed to find a file format that my NAS will serve and
the on-board player on my TV will consume, I wondered about Apple TV.

Am I right in thinking that the original Apple TV will happily connect
to various data sources and stream the data but the new improved (and
cheaper) Apple TV will only stream from a PC running iTunes?

 

Bum. I'm getting mightily hacked off with this technology lark.

I've bought a NAS (the QNAP one that Brownz recommended). It does a
splendid job of providing network attached storage. If does other things
as well. And it does them badly.

Though it's not all the NAS' fault. The NAS comes with TwonkyMedia media
server that includes a DNLA multimedia server and an iTunes server.

The DNLA server will happily serve pictures, music and some (but not
all) video. My Samsung TV is DNLA capable but has an abysmal interface
and is very particular about what video formats it will display badly.

The XBOX360 is better at showing the videos, but it's also fussy about
what it will play and I'm yet to find any format that both the XBOX and
the TV will play.

I had hoped that an Apple TV box would connect to the NAS and "just
work", but if it needs an iTunes server that kind of messes it up as it
means I needs to leave the big energy hungry PC on or buy a mac of some
variety to sit betwixt the NAS and the Apple TV box.

Of course I can't use the TwankyMedia iTunes server on the NAS as it
only serves music.

My dream of a simple, low-power, interconnected digital home seems to be
fading

 

Apple Tv also has a limited set of codecs it'll play as well. You're
average dodgy torrent is unlikely to play without being rerendered into
something iTunes is happy with.

Personally I run a Mac Mini under the TV that has Apple's Front Row
software on (part of the OS) and has an extended set of codecs
installed. This pulls content from a Nas over a simple mapped drive.
Works very nicely, plays anything including DVDs, and I have the same
setup under another tv. The only drawback is the £500 per machine cost,
but I use them for other things as well.

 

You can't beat an HTPC for versatility & all the setup hastles have
gone thanks to Windows 7. Well, almost all - the only issue I had was
with it changing channel on the Sky box, but that only took a couple of
minutes to sort out.

 

Sounds like an original Xbox running XBMC would do exactly what you
want. Connects to network shares so it would just connect to the NAS
without needing any multimedia server running (although I believe it
has a DLNA client as well), and seems to play every file I throw at it
(not sure if it copes with HD though).

David

 

Be pushing it. Mac Mini running XMBC. Job done. DAMHIKIJDOK


--
Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
116 Giulietta 3.0l Sprint 1.7 GTV TS GT 3.2 V6
Triumph Sprint ST 1050: It's blue, see.
www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk

 

I'm sure it would work, but my lounge has no more space for big boxes

 

Yeah - he's lost a lot of weight, you know.

 

True, and by coincidence there's an Atom 330/Nvidia ION/Windows7 HTPC
sat next to the telly, and whilst this might seem like a perfectly
suitable solution as far and the project manager and system design
authority are concerned, the senior user will never accept that solution
as it's a computer

 

*ding*

 

Just bough the v.2 one yesterday, but there seems to be a 3 week lead
on delivery.

Im hoping itll take the place of the Sky Movies and the love Film subs
I have, but time will tell.

But for 99 quid, Im not arsed if it cant deliver.
--
Gavin.

Moto Guzzi California Aquila Nera
Suzuki GSXR600K1
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gavin_wilby
Blog: http://www.eekafreek.com

 

ba-doom-tish!

what is this? "The Good Old Days"?