Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 01:48:29 PM

Login with username, password and session length

PC to TV Streaming Device

Started by Better Midlands, August 15, 2012, 03:12:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic
Can anyone recommend a box for me?

I want to stream using my wireless home network Divx/avi/mkv files from my PC to my Sony Bravia HD 1080p TV using the HDMI input to get the best quality possible.

I don't need access to youtube/netflix etc, I just want something solid that can handle all the
Spoiler alert
torrented
[close]
video HD files i can throw at it.

Thanks in advance.

MojoJojo

The problem is codecs - basically stuff got off the internet is only likely to work on a windows PC, or something that can run VLC.
Three options I can think of-
1) Get a mini-PC running windows and put that under your TV. This will run the widest range of stuff, but is expensive - I think I was looking at £400-£500 last time I looked.
2) Run Tversity on your desktop to transcode everything and get an Xbox 360, or some other device. If your PC is ancient it might struggle with some files, and you lose a bit of quality transcoding. This is what I do, with a 4 year old laptop, and it only occasionally struggles with something, so your desktop will probably be fine.
3) Get some HDMI transmitter/receivers like these - http://www.ebuyer.com/257588-xenta-wireless-hdmi-kit-whdi-hdmi-transmitter-and-receiver-ws-av511wh
You'll just be transmitting your desktop screen to your TV. There is a minor loss in quality, but you have to look for it. I have these but I've only briefly tried to use it to my TV, and it wouldn't work properly for some reason - probably just a setting wrong somewhere. Your desktop will need an HDMI out, obviously.

Or just get a really long HDMI cable.

It depends a bit where your desktop is in relation to the TV, whether you have ethernet or ethernet-over-powerline to it or whether you need to do everything over wireless.

mcbpete

If you're feeling fancy you could look for getting yourself a Raspberry Pi and putting this Media Centre distro on it - http://www.howtogeek.com/119924/build-a-35-media-center-with-raspbmc-and-raspberry-pi/

Morrison Lard

Couple of months back I bought this.

It's got a 1Tb HD, 2 USB ports for other HDs/Mem sticks, SD card input, HDMI out, the lot.
Plug the USB into the PC and drag/drop files on or off it.

It's played absolutely everything I've thrown at it, even a real pain in the arse ISO which both my PCs wouldnt even go near.

Hundred quid for zero fucking about, best thing I've bought in a long long time.


(Edit : There are cheaper versions with no HD inside if you've got a spare SATA drive kicking about too)

('n'other edit : oh, you wanna do it wireless? fuck knows then)

Toast

I got a Boxee a few months ago after my old media PC gave up the ghost. They're £130 on Play so not cheap but cheaper than a PC and it's a polished product, decent remote, wireless networking and most importantly, quiet. I only use it to stream videos from my PC from a shared directory, but you can put a memory card in as well. It's played every video format I've thrown at it so far.

VegaLA

Santa got me a Boxee a few Christmas' ago, very nice but disapointed it can't be hacked to run XBC on it. So far Boxee has playe everythign i've thrown at it and some of the online services are pretty good, Netflix above all else.
Sinbad is awaiting his Rasp Pi so he can run XBMC and the latest rumour that the new Ouya Console which is released next April will be able to run XBMC has me interested.

El Unicornio, mang

Why not just plug an HDMI cable directly from your PC to your TV? That's what I do and it works perfectly, your TV and PC should automatically detect when you plug it in and switch to the relevant thingummyjigger.

REVEEN!

Quote from: mcbpete on August 15, 2012, 04:02:02 PM
If you're feeling fancy you could look for getting yourself a Raspberry Pi and putting this Media Centre distro on it - http://www.howtogeek.com/119924/build-a-35-media-center-with-raspbmc-and-raspberry-pi/
Or you could just buy a ready made one off amazon for £25.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designer-Habitat-Nano-3-0-Flashdrives/dp/B005ERNITE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343938921&sr=8-1

USB and SD in, HDMI out, full 1080p and it plays pretty much everything.

(Edit - This one doesn't do streaming (yet) so you'll have to spend a minute or two copying the files on to a flash drive first but what do you want for £25).

Big Jack McBastard

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on August 15, 2012, 10:13:16 PM
Why not just plug an HDMI cable directly from your PC to your TV? That's what I do and it works perfectly, your TV and PC should automatically detect when you plug it in and switch to the relevant thingummyjigger.

This, I have a Sony Bravia and use it as a monitor a damn sight more than as a TV, HMDI cable isn't even essential as you'll get just as good quality through a VGA job. Stick a double ended audio connection in the back of each and you're sorted.

If it's practical, yeah, HDMI works. I have a cheapo 20m cable. Works fine.

Thanks everyone for your opinions, plenty to think about.

Wilbur

I got one of these http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/desktop/ideacentre/q-series/q180/

Cost me about £300  I think but you can get one without the BluRay.

Quite happy with it for Iplayer and Spotify.

Here it is on Amazon. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaCentre-Desktop-Wireless-Keyboard/dp/B007175KRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345284053&sr=8-1

The little keyboard remote is quite useful as well..

Something like the WD TV Live would probably do the trick -- I've never used one myself but I hear they're pretty good. Currently £73 at Amazon.

El Unicornio, mang

Quote from: Wilbur on August 18, 2012, 10:59:48 AM
I got one of these http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/desktop/ideacentre/q-series/q180/

Cost me about £300  I think but you can get one without the BluRay.



But again, why spend all that when you can get a cable for £2?

samadriel

Quote from: waste of chops on August 18, 2012, 02:44:03 PM
Something like the WD TV Live would probably do the trick -- I've never used one myself but I hear they're pretty good. Currently £73 at Amazon.

I couldn't for the life of me get the shared stuff on my Windows 7 PC to reliably appear on this.  It randomly worked once, and never has since, so I can't recommend it.

Wilbur

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on August 18, 2012, 11:53:52 PM
But again, why spend all that when you can get a cable for £2?

Well in my case the router is upstairs in my study with the PC. So your solution wouldnt A) Work B) Be practical.

weekender

You could just get a longer cable?

Consignia

They start getting quite expensive at longer lengths, and beyond 10 metres the signal degrades quite significantly. Plus you have nip upstairs everytime you put something new on/pause/etc.

I personally built myself a media PC, and it has worked out really well. The case I chose looks like almost like a Hi-Fi seperate, and I've never had any issues playing any format, because it's full PC under there. Quite expensive, though.

Viero_Berlotti

Just started to use my PS3 to stream video from my PC to my TV. It works ok, but the streaming doesn't seem to be able to handle fast forwarding or rewinding very well. I think I'm just going to get myself a USB flash drive and transfer files I want to watch onto that and put them on the PS3 hard drive.

Santa's Boyfriend

Use PS3 Media Server, or PMS, to stream from a PC to PS3.  Fast forwarding and rewinding are slightly problematic, but simply use the remote to jump back or forward to a specific time point rather than actually rewinding and (apart from M2TS files for some reason) it works fine.  It can handle full HD fine, at least up to 25mb/s.  Plus you can stream your music and pictures too.  I don't know what the cost comparison is to other media streaming boxes, but considering you have the option of Netflix/Lovefilm and other stuff on top, plus a blu-ray player, it does me pretty well.

I used to do the flash drive thing, but in my opinion streaming is sooo much less faff.