I've been doing some reading on media center extensions recently.
There are obviously a lot of options to stream media from your PC to your TV.
I've tried to negate the need for this with the PRO 19, 22, and 26 LCD TVs. These integrate DVD players, USB inputs and SD memory slots so you can play DivX and AVI files directly on the TV.
Do you prefer this option? Or are you going for the biggest TV, plugging in your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or Wii, and streaming? And then there's third party options from the likes of DLink.
If you're using gaming consoles, which do you think is best for streaming video and audio? It seems like the Xbox 360 is the simplest, with it's integration into Vista. I'm keen to hear your opinions on these options.
Comments
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Chris R says...
Hi there,
I don't do streaming yet, however as a Mac user, I would probably go with something like an Apple TV or an Xbox. I think that having the inputs on the television itself are a really good option, as it saves heaps of time with making a full on DVD, but a feature that I think would REALLY be a good seller would be a teleivision that has some sort of network streaming built in. THAT is something I would buy in a heartbeat.
That's just me though. Keep up the great work!
Chris
Posted at 9:45 p.m. on July 15, 2008
Andy G says...
I second Chris R's opinion. TV with DLNA built-in is far better than having DVD/USB/Media Card feature. I would definitely buy one of these.
Posted at 4 p.m. on July 18, 2008
Aaron N says...
I use my PS3 for watching movies from my pc all the time .. With the help of open source software (TVersity) its easy and supports most formats. I just can't wait for PlayTV. The opions to record TV onto my PS3 sound like a great option for me. might need to put a bigger SATA hd in it tho....lol . PS3 in my opinion is the better option for a media hub .. plus ...it's a blueray player & game system...oh yeah and ya don't have to pay extra for playing games online...
Posted at 5:31 p.m. on July 20, 2008
Steve says...
Card readers and USB are ok but memory cards are one more pain that I'd rather not deal with. You need to move data around on them, and memory stick speeds are fine for playing but woeful for initial transfer, especially if you're going to be storing 1080p content, you often end up spending half as much time waiting for the transfer as you do watching the movie. I've actually been leaning more to having a DVD player with built-in 10/100 Ethernet support, card reader, USB, WiFi connector, and various output options for whatever flavour TV you might own. I could then just wirelessly connect that to my NAS media share and pull the data as it needs it. NAS boxes are getting very cheap and simple to setup, and will probably overshadow other storage for homes if good work keeps being done with them. A TV with Network options, Ethernet being the must have and wireless being a really nice addition, would be the way to go, and just have the card reader and USB as backup for those that don’t have a home network to utilize. I’d much rather flip through the terra bytes of media I have on my NAS, than toy with a few gigabyte I’ve transferred to a memory card of some sort.
Posted at 12:22 a.m. on July 21, 2008
Peter C says...
Exciting times we are in... Not so many years ago you would have be considered certifiable for even suggesting half these possibilities! Naively maybe I got to say I am excited about the PS3 on steroids (increased HD size externally) with all its features acting as a complete 'live' vault. If through software it can be programmable for recording (maybe it can, I am stumbling here...)
Its a maze of misinformation and hype at the store front, after this weekend I am just dazed and confused by well meaning salesmen and femme fatales but my bullhype radar is maxxing out....(so is my girlfriend's patience)
To sum up... streamline and eliminate every step you can but not at expense of quality. YES damn it I want my cake and eat it too!
Posted at 7:10 a.m. on July 21, 2008
Phill says...
Hey there, streaming media is close to the heart of what I actually came to your site looking for as I'm looking for a supplier of lcd tv's to utilise as display boards in office enviroments.
Posted at 10:54 a.m. on July 21, 2008
Timothy says...
I use my AppleTV, it lets me keep frequently used stuff local (shows for the kids), and I can stream all the movies and TV recordings (done with the Elgato eyeTV, set to export to iTunes).
This works well, all I needed was a HDMI port on my TV, and if I get another TV for the kids so they stop raiding my room I'll do it again.
To top it off, the remote is so simple even they know how to use it (3 1/2 year old twins)... I just have to convince them not to attack the TV when scary animals or "bad men" come on.
Posted at 1:32 p.m. on July 21, 2008
Matthew P says...
at the moment i use my xbox 360, that works perfectly, although i have troubles with reading many formats and doing many things like that.
although i am looking towards either buying a good media center or making my own one if it takes a chunk out of the price. of all of them, i reckon the media center pc would be best, has all the capabilities of a normal pc, can increase the hard drive space with additional hard drives, customizable (GUI and case). The only downfall of a media center pc that i have noticed from research is the price $$$$, but once you have it. you wont have to worry about "renewing" it with a newer model for a long time. while a xbox 360, once the new xbox comes out the 360 will be seen as old technology, and same applies for the ps3, nintendo wii, and apple tv
Posted at 7:16 p.m. on July 22, 2008
Peter says...
I use my PS3 to stream video as it has divx support, so there is no need to convert my videos before watching them.
Posted at 7:49 p.m. on July 23, 2008
steveB says...
i use my 360 and stream loads of stuff wma and dvix etc its really simple and can steam off anyone ones computer in the house :)
Posted at 7:52 p.m. on July 24, 2008
Misha G Douglas-E-uvap@bigpond.com says...
Please tell me : I'm interested in 32" pro TV , to have 1000 or more TV channels and to have functions as : recording and playing beck on VSR and DVD recorder and player . I Have VSR: AKAI Super intelligent HQ And DVD OMNI recordable and play beck and I have Fox tel cable Box . I would like to have as you advertised on Chanel 7 many channels to Get red of Fox-tel which I 'm paying a lot money and have small number of Chanel's . Please let me know haw I can have all I wanted and where to get it , and haw much it would cost me . Yours : sincerely : Misha G Douglas PS: Thank you for your time
Posted at 11:03 p.m. on July 24, 2008
Colin says...
I full intend to link my TV to the computer for downloaded films which have wierd codecs and may not play fropm USB, for slideshows, to watch youtube shows etc. Luckily my computer and TV are either side of a stud wall so it shouldn't be too hard.
Media on the TV from the computer is the way to go!
Posted at 10:26 p.m. on July 26, 2008
Nathan says...
I think having a USB input on TVs to play avi files is a great idea and should be on all size TVs. If you could plug a hard drive straight into this that would be a great addition.
I also have an XBOX 360 and a PS3 and use both as media extenders on seperate TV's. I like the 360 more as a media server because it makes avi files look a lot better than when they are played through the ps3. the 360 will also split up an avi file into chapters which comes in handy when trying to skip through parts of a movie. The ps3 doesnt have this so you have to fast foward the whole movie instead.
The ps3 does have built it wireless to access your files where the xbox requires you to buy a wireless adapter (both are capable of wired ethernet connections too)
Posted at 7:36 p.m. on July 29, 2008
Ruslan Kogan says...
Misha, sorry, but I don't quite understand your question. Could you please clarify?
Thanks.
Posted at 5:15 p.m. on August 4, 2008
Peter LC says...
The original XBOX is still probably the best and most supported especially by the open source community, for streaming of media.
Posted at 4:15 p.m. on August 5, 2008
John says...
I think misha is referring to the online TV services which offer up to 5000 channels via satellite worldwide through your PC. Personally I think that 1000 channels (950 which would be total rubbish) is way too much to wade through. Even foxtel has plenty of junk mixed into its channel list. As far as I know there are no set top type boxes out there that can legally access 1000 channels...PC is closest option.
Posted at 4:28 p.m. on August 5, 2008
Michael says...
I support the first comment - from Chris R. A TV with fast network streaming would be really appealing to the new generation of technology-oriented people. As from other comments - watching youtube or downloaded movies on your TV is the way to go. Im already using a 32" TV as my computer screen, and watching the movies on it is great, but I am looking for something more convenient than burning movies on DVD when watching them in the living room. A TV that could receive these weirelessly from a computer would be great!
Posted at 11:49 a.m. on August 11, 2008
Josh says...
I still use the original xbox - paid $100 for it 2nd hand a few years ago, came with a remote - simply chipped and beefed up the hard drive to store open-source games; and use xbox media centre for playback. There are some great features in the xbmc package which it would be nice to see ported to dedicated media player applications and devices...
Posted at 10:20 p.m. on August 13, 2008
Ryan says...
XBMC on the orginal xbox, xbox 360, PC or MAC.
XBMC is incredible and with new skin projects such as AEON the look and functionality of XBMC dominates over any other media centre options.
Being cross-platform you can set it up cheap - Original Xbox or go for a PC with HD output for the best picture.
I would urge anyone looking for the best media centre wheather they have a budget or not to look into XBMC and the AEON skin for it.
Posted at 3:54 p.m. on August 20, 2008
Dan says...
I use my PlayStation 3, which streams seamlessly. I have Windows Vista installed and that comes with built in media streaming technologies that are compatible with the PlayStation 3. I was forced to use TVersity after I had to install Windows XP for a couple of weeks (due to a friend borrowing my copy of Windows Vista) and I must say, it isn't the most user friendly option.
Vista all the way.
Posted at 5:40 p.m. on August 25, 2008
ben says...
I have a ps3 and a mac. I have had a lot of probs setting it up to stream from the mac over a wireless network. Im sure it can be done but as yet I havent worked it out.
Posted at 8:09 p.m. on August 28, 2008
Matt L says...
If you can get Media Extensions built into teh PRO instead of teh DVD I'm all over it I use the XBox on my plasma but I plan to put a little TV on teh wall outside and the ability to pull video from my Main PC would be a huge bonus.
Posted at 5:18 p.m. on September 8, 2008
David says...
i highly recommend people look at the following product as a media streamer:
http://www.popcornhour.com
Try the A100. It's cheap, stable and will just about play everything INCL up to 1080p content.
I have one and am ordering another for the 47 inch LCD I will buy. All are connected by ethernet to the PC and work a treat.
I hope this helps people looking for a streamer- IMO you can't beat it.
Posted at 8:51 p.m. on September 9, 2008
Peter says...
Bring on the LAN connection!!!! to play files directly from my network drive would be very cool!!!
Posted at 2:44 a.m. on September 11, 2008
Eric says...
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/500GB-External-HDD-MEDIA-PLAYER-VIDEO-RECORDER-PVR-DVR_W0QQitemZ220276776673QQihZ012QQcategoryZ26756QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Posted at 10:05 p.m. on September 11, 2008
peter says...
not a bad find Eric, It doesn't seem to do hi-def. Dont get me wrong, its a great unit, i would have got it if i had seen it last week, i bought a network drive to store my pictures etc on. It was only $60 less. I dont think it would do justice to my soon to arive 42" 1080p 100hz Kogan LCD TV :-) Now if Kogan or someone brought out something similar with hdmi in/out i would get one
Posted at 12:57 a.m. on September 12, 2008
peter says...
FOUND IT! roll on xmas
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HDMI-1000GB-External-Hard-Disk-Drive-MEDIA-PLAYER-1TB_W0QQitemZ330269775422QQihZ014QQcategoryZ26756QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262#ebayphotohosting
Posted at 4:33 p.m. on September 12, 2008
Nate says...
There are several versions of software available for you to stream media to a Playstation 3. Depending on which OS you are on will dictate what you can use. I highly recommend Twonkymedia for streaming content. But if you want to use a dedicated media hub like Popcorn Hour then go ahead.
I have spent a good deal of time with streaming media to the PS3 and have made several tutorials to try and help users out if they choose to go this route. I have zero issues streaming 1080p content to my PS3. The only issue is that the PS3 will only accept Dolby Digital content while streaming media. I do not know why, but it's a firmware or OS problem.
If you want to look at some of your option, feel free to look at my tutorials @ http://blog.hillbillyhardware.net then just click on the PS3 tab. Hope this helps you out if you want to investigate the PS3 as a media hub.
Posted at 2:21 a.m. on September 15, 2008
B Jenner says...
A media centre is a great idea, the thing I am seeing is fussy centres
the xbox 360 says 'no i wont play that video because its not microsoft and also you do not have the gold plated super wonderful vista!!' pfft
As long as it is firmware upgradable to accept the next format war winner and will play as many formats as possible it would be an interesting machine
Posted at 1:44 a.m. on October 8, 2008
Daz says...
I have been streaming media to my TV from my PC for a few years now and have tested and owned a great many products in this arena. I currently have five screens in my home in different rooms that can view media that is stored on my PC, external drives and flash drives. I stream media via a range of ways from Wireless, cabled Ethernet and Ethernet over Power (that is networking using the power wiring in my home).
These days I use simple set-top boxes that look a lot like a Digital TV unit, a couple of them have DVD players in them and upscale DVD to HD, whilst others are simple network media receivers with USB ports as well. It is really cool to be able to download media from the internet and then at my leisure go to the theatre room or family room and sit down and watch something when I want to watch it.
Another cool thing is using the PC to record a TV program when I am not at home or doing something else, and using products like Beyond TV 4 automatically strip commercials etc so that when I do sit down to watch the program I have recorded I can watch it Ad free!
A number of TV networks and film companies are now starting to make TV shows and Movies free to download and network media streaming to TV is certainly the best way to go in my book. I can’t remember the last time I actually watched a DVD from DVD. I noticed even today in my casual browsing of the local Good Guy’s store that whilst they are still yet to have any network media players, they did have some DVD players with USB ports and supporting DivX – and they are cheap at $69.
I have often thought about adding a windows media centre PC to my environment, but frankly there is no need. The products I use are just like using a DVD player with remote, and far less expensive. Having said this, the technology is still not perfect, and there are a number of feature that I would putting into the perfect Network Media Player, and I am always buying more up-to-date products to experiment with…
In summary – would I buy a new DVD player/recorder or even a Blu-Ray player/recorder – No; my money is with the evolution of streaming media to TV.
That’s my shillings worth, Cheers!
Posted at 4:31 a.m. on October 17, 2008
Chris R (not the one in the first post) says...
I'm interested in what Phil says. I'm after the same solution, but the hardest thing i'm working on is the "content device" behind it. Be interested in talking to you somehow. I'm in Melbourne.
Posted at 1:37 a.m. on October 31, 2008
alex says...
I am personally very interested in asus idea of releasing a TV with eee pc built in ... eeeTV ! It would be easy to do i reckon, get a OEM intel atom board, or via PICO or NANO, fit it in one of your TV bodies, included digital tuner, 2.5" hard drive, ethernet or wireless connections! On top of that I would put a light custom ubuntu or debian with XBMC and MythTV (all set up with a greeting screen at first boot for username and password) so there is simple interface to skype, web, tv, tv recording, movie playing, weather, etc (you may need to provide codecs, include the non-free ones) set up mpd with mythtv interface, also web UI so that you can dial in from ANY pc in the house and check mythtv status, also mpd (music player). Can I help testing and implementation? chronographical [at] gmail [dot] com
Posted at 1:17 p.m. on October 31, 2008
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