Streaming to TV

NotAGolf · 31 Mar 2010 at 13:08

Hi all.

I'm thinking of getting a NAS box to allow all the computers in the house to share my movies etc. That might be quite expensive, but one thing that would definetly sway me would be if it was possible to hook my tv up to the NAS box so I can watch stuff direct from it. Is that possible?

The thing I'm not sure about is how you'd access the NAS box through the tv, i.e. choose what you want to watch. Presumably you can't without a computer, which kind of spoils the point as otherwise I might as well just get a cheap pc and set up a server right next to the tv.

Any ideas for how to get this to work, or altrernative solutions that might be worth a look?

Cheers!

Ev0 · 31 Mar 2010 at 13:16

You'll need a box like the WDTV Live, connects to your tv like a set top box and plugs into your network.

NotAGolf · 31 Mar 2010 at 14:01

Ooh thanks Ev0 that looks pretty cool. A lot cheaper than I thought something like that would be as well.

Any views on how it performs? Any big disadvantages compared to connecting a pc direct?

Dazza_Random · 31 Mar 2010 at 14:59

Or use popcorn hour but apparently WDLive is better

Ev0 · 31 Mar 2010 at 15:47

mpledge52 said:
Any views on how it performs? Any big disadvantages compared to connecting a pc direct?

Won't be as customisable, limited with what interfaces you can have (not as pretty as the pc media player menus etc), will only play the file types supported by that device.

But it's cheaper than a pc, and for me would be a better solution overall.

NotAGolf · 1 Apr 2010 at 12:51

Ev0 said:
Won't be as customisable, limited with what interfaces you can have (not as pretty as the pc media player menus etc), will only play the file types supported by that device.

But it's cheaper than a pc, and for me would be a better solution overall.

Well the only thing I can think I'd use it for is to go into a folder so I can choose a film, then play it. I don't use any weird formats and everyhting I can think of is on the list of compatible formats so I should be all good.

Dazza that popcorn hour looks pretty tidy but is triple the price and it looks as though the WDTV does everything I need...

Ev0 · 1 Apr 2010 at 16:17

Some people are bothered abotu having those fancy interfaces with the box covers, synopsis of the film displayed etc.

Personally I'm the same, just want something I can browse to a file and hit play.