Viewing PC media on TV

Larlar

I'm sure this has been done before, but with the search function as it is it's not like I'm going to find it. At least, not a 2011 version. Google doesn't really seem to be finding me a guide that goes through simple options, so I turn to you all. I've never done this before, so what do I know? Nothing, that's what.

I'm moving to a new place soon and am looking for cheap, easy ways to be able to wirelessly view my PC's media content on our TV. I don't have a PS3 or a 360, and though I don't know the first thing about the logistics of setting them up for this purpose, I've heard both are decent options...and maybe it's time I got a current-gen console anyway because it's 2011 and I don't live in Burkina Faso. Still, if there's a cheaper, equally-effortless way to do it, I'm all ears. (Note: I have a PS2 and a Wii, but I doubt either will prove useful.)

My PC's still running XP. I do have a copy of Windows 7, but I just haven't gotten around to installing it yet. I'll be using a Cisco E3200 router for my wireless network. As far as I know, the TV I'll be using doesn't have any built-in wifi capabilities. If you have a suggestion, let me know if any of these are factors, and if there's anything else I'll need. I don't really know what my best options are. Or what any of my options are, for that matter.

Esh

I think buying a 360 is going to be your best bet.

http://support.xbox.com/en-us/pages/xbox-360/how-to/xbox-360-as-media-player/media.aspx

pacbowl

You can get an Apple TV for $100, jailbreak it and install Xbox Media Center. It will play nearly every kind of media file you can throw at it, including DVD ISOs. It's also wireless so you can use it with your Cisco and your existing WinXP. The 360 would require you to install your Win7. The only caveat is that the Apple TV is HDMI only, so if your TV doesn't support HDMI you'll also need a $60 HDMI to component adapter.

The Apple TV route is cheaper, but requires a bit more work in jailbreaking it.

The 360 route is more expensive and requires you to install Win7, but is a bit easier.

Esh

pacbowl wrote:

You can get an Apple TV for $100, jailbreak it and install Xbox Media Center. It will play nearly every kind of media file you can throw at it, including DVD ISOs. It's also wireless so you can use it with your Cisco and your existing WinXP. The 360 would require you to install your Win7. The only caveat is that the Apple TV is HDMI only, so if your TV doesn't support HDMI you'll also need a $60 HDMI to component adapter.

The Apple TV route is cheaper, but requires a bit more work in jailbreaking it.

The 360 route is more expensive and requires you to install Win7, but is a bit easier.

And it nets you a 360. ; )

ShimSham

I can only speak for the PS3 side of things, but the PS3 Media Server http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/ is incredibly easy to set up.

It's basically...
1. Install program on computer
2. Choose the files/folders you want it to make available.
3. Easily click on your PS3 settings and tell it to search for media servers.
4. ??? Profit

Your computer name will pop up on your PS3 cross bar and you can access everything you've told it to share very easily.

It plays all manners of files, plus it'll read alternate audio tracks and subtitles (IIRC, it's been a little while since I did that) I've never had trouble with it playing different file types (aside from things bought from something likethe Apple store for obvious reasons.)

I think it's outstanding.

Esh

ShimSham wrote:

I can only speak for the PS3 side of things, but the PS3 Media Server http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/ is incredibly easy to set up.

It's basically...
1. Install program on computer
2. Choose the files/folders you want it to make available.
3. Easily click on your PS3 settings and tell it to search for media servers.
4. ??? Profit

Your computer name will pop up on your PS3 cross bar and you can access everything you've told it to share very easily.

It plays all manners of files, plus it'll read alternate audio tracks and subtitles (IIRC, it's been a little while since I did that) I've never had trouble with it playing different file types (aside from things bought from something likethe Apple store for obvious reasons.)

I think it's outstanding.

I just tried setting this up with my MacBook Pro and PS3 and when I tried to run the program on my computer, it kept telling me that I needed to download Java and that I wasn't connected to the internet, which was obviously a lie.

Larlar

My TV supports HDMI, so that's not an issue. The Apple TV option is interesting, though. Would XBMC on a jailbroken Apple TV potentially have more playback functionality than a 360?

Getting a PS3 would be nice just for the Blu-ray player out of it, but it's definitely the most expensive of the three options so far. Unless it has an obvious advantage over a 360 for PC connectivity, I probably can't justify it.

Adus

I'm not seeing how a PS3 is more expensive than a 360?

Esh

Adus wrote:

I'm not seeing how a PS3 is more expensive than a 360?

PS3: $300 at least
360: $200 at least

Not considering used systems.

pacbowl

Larlar wrote:

My TV supports HDMI, so that's not an issue. The Apple TV option is interesting, though. Would XBMC on a jailbroken Apple TV potentially have more playback functionality than a 360?

The entire list of supported video containers and codecs can be found here. So far it's played every type of video file I've thrown at it.

The 360 will play avi, .divx, .wmv, .mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, and .mov.

You can also get all kinds of online plugins for like G4TV, Comedy Central, Game Trailers and Hulu. The Apple TV also natively supports Youtube.

Larlar

This is looking like a pretty cool and relatively inexpensive idea. Thanks, pac.

Blake T

I have a feeling you may be able to get XBMC on the wii also.

I've looked at XBMC on the appletv and while it is extremely full featured it doesn't do 1080p which is the only reason I haven't bought one. . The online tutorials appear extremely robust to load it up though.

Larlar

As long as it does 720p/1080i, that's fine. We only have a 32" LCD currently, and I know its native resolution isn't 1080p (not that you could really tell on a 32" screen anyway).

ED!

PS3 media server was awesome on my PS3 (before it died). There was no file-format that I couldn't throw at it. Xbox - not so much. Add to that you MUST be signed in to Xbox Live in order to actually view anything.

Blake T

Also with XBMC on the appletv the file system is infinitely quicker to navigate as you can boot directly into XBMC which is the main reason I investigated the solution as the xbox takes forever to log in with and the PS3's file structure to access the videos is needlessly complex.

The Crowing One

I used a 360 for a few years before hooking up a direct-line HDMI from my PC to my television. The only real complaint I had with the 360 was that it doesn't play certain file types (pacbowl got 'em) which can be a bit of a hassle from time to time. Aside from the obvious, unsupported formats, I found that it wouldn't play files for no apparent reason (probably a codex issue with a file type that should play). A few times I got to the end of a television season to find that I had to burn the last four episodes to a DVD because they wouldn't stream. You can, apparently, use things like TVersity to do on-the-fly transcoding, but I was never able to get it to work right.

If you can swing it, the HDMI direct is the best option. I currently use that plus Gmote and couldn't be happier. I'm sure this is less of an option for you, but anything that plays on my PC plays on my television. Plus, it can be cool to play Team Fortress with wireless peripherals on my 40" screen.

Otherwise you're looking at a HTPC. For simple streaming you could probably get away with $150-200 total if you're comfortable with building hardware.

Dr. Frenchenstein

I bought a Sony media player for 100 bucks (looks like it's $80 on amazon...grrr), and it plays pretty much everything i need it to without any jailbreaking necessary. I use a Stora media server, but it reads my PC just as easily. It comes with a bunch of media plugins already, Netflix, hulu+, etc as well.

Larlar

I wish I could swing HDMI direct (not that my desktop has an HDMI port but I know there are DVI-to-HDMI adapters) but the locations of both aren't great for running wire from one to the other. The definite upside to this is I guess I'm just turning my TV into a second monitor, so I won't have to worry about any compatibility issues. I could pretty much stream anything and view it on the TV without hassle, which is a nice option to have.

Eh, maybe I'll see once I move if it's possible to run a cable. But it won't be pretty.

Dr. French: unless it's as customizable, I almost prefer having to go through the jailbreaking process. Otherwise there are much fewer file types I'll be able to play.

Dr. Frenchenstein

It plays everything listed in pacbowl's post, in my experience (most of my stuff is AVI and MP4 though). It will play .mkv files, but they need to be run through a media program that transcodes, i believe. i sacrifice quality for ease of use, and mp4's look fine enough.

I've never looked into customizeability, but i thought that was all done on the PC side. Just throwing it out there as an easier option.

The Crowing One

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote:

It plays everything listed in pacbowl's post, in my experience (most of my stuff is AVI and MP4 though). It will play .mkv files, but they need to be run through a media program that transcodes, i believe. i sacrifice quality for ease of use, and mp4's look fine enough.

I've never looked into customizeability, but i thought that was all done on the PC side. Just throwing it out there as an easier option.

Unless you're running a HTPC or a direct line, you'll have to transcode eventually. The direct line is awesome, but it tends to work best in situations like mine where I live in a three room apartment with my PC literally about 10ft from my television.

That Sony box sounds like a decent in-between, and if you're fine with using TVersity or burning DVDs every once in awhile, the 360 makes for a pretty good streaming box. If you go with the 360 most people skip the Media Center and just simply share the videos over the network which tends to have a lot less hassle.

pacbowl

Larlar wrote:

I wish I could swing HDMI direct (not that my desktop has an HDMI port but I know there are DVI-to-HDMI adapters) but the locations of both aren't great for running wire from one to the other.

Remember as soon as you go the HDMI to DVI adapter route you lose all audio capability and will need a separate audio cable.

Larlar

Ah yes. God damn it. So even if I felt like spending money on a wireless HDMI setup (which I don't), that'd do no good on its own.

mr_mich

So, I'm going to go against the tide here and recommend some of the media streamers that are built for this very purpose.

I bought a Popcorn Hour, which is a bit pricey, about as much as a gaming console. The best thing though is that I don't need to install anything on my PC's to stream. This thing has handled every single one of the thousands of video files I have on my computers. MKV's, AVI's, MPG's, you name it. There's no need to rip things to a specific bitrate or whatever. My Xbox will only accept certain file formats and codecs, the PCH has ridiculous support for that stuff, and adds more. It also does a bunch of surround sound and supports multiple outputs, if that becomes a desire down the road.

Now, I don't think PCH is necessarily the best. The company that does all of the firmware and OS (it's just a stripped down linux build) licenses to a ton of companies, some of which include wireless by default. Most of which are cheaper. The Western Digital Live TV is pretty good, a few of my friends enjoy that because it does the same thing as my PCH at a fraction of the price.

If you're interested, look up "network media tanks" and you'll see that these devices already exist, in a much smaller form factor than some of the other solutions here.

SatanIsMyMotor

pacbowl wrote:

You can get an Apple TV for $100, jailbreak it and install Xbox Media Center. It will play nearly every kind of media file you can throw at it, including DVD ISOs. It's also wireless so you can use it with your Cisco and your existing WinXP. The 360 would require you to install your Win7. The only caveat is that the Apple TV is HDMI only, so if your TV doesn't support HDMI you'll also need a $60 HDMI to component adapter.

The Apple TV route is cheaper, but requires a bit more work in jailbreaking it.

The 360 route is more expensive and requires you to install Win7, but is a bit easier.

I'm pretty sure that there is no jailbreak for the current version of Apple TV out there.

pacbowl

The current firmware for the Apple TV 2 is 4.2.2 and there are lots of instructions for untethered jailbreaking.

Larlar

Mich, you're not supposed to be making my decision more complicated. Conform, damn you.

mr_mich

It may not be the best solution for you. Like I said, it's kinda pricey but it's nice to have something that just works. No jailbreaking, no re-encoding, just point it at a computer that shares with samba/nfs (read: anything with a NIC) and it'll play.

The Crowing One

mr_mich wrote:

It may not be the best solution for you. Like I said, it's kinda pricey but it's nice to have something that just works. No jailbreaking, no re-encoding, just point it at a computer that shares with samba/nfs (read: anything with a NIC) and it'll play.

This really sounds a good deal. Building an HTPC also fits the bill. Depends on if you'd use the 360 enough to justify.

Larlar

No, it is a good idea. I need to look into each one more carefully but as long as I can stream to it wirelessly, it'll all depend on the file formats they'll support. I don't do a whole lot of wireless anything apart from setting up a network for the laptops in the house so I know very little about what can be done and how to do it.

Surprisingly, they're not even really all that pricey. A lot of them are under $100.

Djeet

IMO the A-200 is the first compelling alternative to Apple TV. Supporting mkv out of the box without dorking around with jailbreaking and installing XBMC is nice (cause a lot of the video content I want to stream is mkv). There are complaints that the fan can get noisy though.

Larlar

Apparently WDTV supports mkv now, too. And the A-210 doesn't seem to have a fan, but I don't know if its "passive cooling" works as well as they advertise it.

vonPoonBurGer

I built an HTPC from scratch, mostly using hand-me-down parts from my main PC. If you have a secondary computer, you may only need to add a video card with HDMI out, and those can be had for as little as $30, e.g. Geforce 8400GS or Radeon HD 3450. The fanless ones are best for HTPCs if you don't plan on using them for gaming. You don't need much in the way of graphics horsepower for an HTPC, just a half-decent CPU and maybe lots of disk space if you want to do local storage.

So if you have an old PC or collection of old parts, that might be a possibility. It's probably not cost-effective to build an HTPC using new parts when you consider the price and capabilities of an Apple TV or Popcorn Hour. The extra flexibility of the HTPC is nice and I'm really happy with mine, but it's more of a hobby for me.

Blake T

HTPC are neat, bug I personally didn't go that way for two reasons.

If it's a Frankenstein rebuild of old gear it isn't power efficient and if it is a custom build it can get fidily with custom pieces meshing well together.

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is a boxee build. @smart hero (did the signal work?) has one and he has said he is happy with it. I think they are in the range of 200 hundred though.

The Crowing One

Lo-and-behold, this morning Ars posted some info on the new Roku box. Apparently it's sub $100 and plays "casual" games with motion controls, of some kind.

Just another option.

Larlar

As far as I can tell, I don't think it plays PC media over the network.

mr_mich

It'd be a boon if it did. I have a Roku box that I got on sale from Amazon, and it's great for Netflix in the bedroom (where running wires isn't feasible). As you mentioned though, there's little in the way of PC streaming. There is a way to add a "homebrew" channel that can do it, but you basically have to maintain an XML file that lists all of your video files, which is a huge pain if your library is always in flux.

The Crowing One

Larlar wrote:

As far as I can tell, I don't think it plays PC media over the network.

I'll admit I didn't read too closely and I've never had the chance to fool about with one of the Roku boxes, but a quick google search had people talking about using PlayOn or TVersity to transcode and stream with the older Roku boxes. Same, basic, idea with the 360. YMMV, but the Hulu/Netflix/etc. set-ready is a nice little bit, as well. I'm still of the opinion that the HTPC is the "best" option with the 360/PS3 coming quick behind. The Roku box seems like a decent price comparatively.

KitAlexHarrison

If you have a PC with a media-sharing program enabled (Windows Media Player or Zune), then a PS3 or 360 on the same network (connected via wired or wireless connections) will be able to access media on it.

The Apple TV will also be able to do the same thing with iTunes content (as well as the AirPlay-streamed content from any iPod touches, iPhones or iPads that grace its presence).