Alternatives to Skifta for playing content from NAS??

StevieP · 2 Jun 2014 at 13:52

I've happily been using Skifta to locate and play video content on my NAS but today I've had an e-mail from them saying it is going to be discontinued!

I use XBMC on my NUC but found it too fiddly on my phone/tablet and I've never got on with Plex so wondered what other people used to find and play content on their phones & tablets??

All I need really is a simple "list" to pick from at which point I tend to play using Diceplayer!

Thanks...

chris74 · 2 Jun 2014 at 14:50

Sorry I don't really have an alternative for you other than to say Plex Android and Server has been wonderful for me. Paired up with Chromecast it has been the best £30 I have spent in years.

I have used XBMC and Media Browser in the past and through that experience I have found they cant touch Plex for sheer simplicity.

How long ago has it been since you last use Plex?.

StevieP · 4 Jun 2014 at 16:48

Thanks for the reply!

I've got the Plex app for my phone but have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it to work with my Synology NAS and even when it does it's very laggy and slow!?!?! (maybe I'm doing something wrong!)

Ideally I just want a simple "menu system" to browse the files and play them!

C.R.A.Z.Y · 4 Jun 2014 at 20:17

Any file browser that has network support :confused:

I simply use ESfile Explorer & MXPlayer to stream my local network content

Demon · 4 Jun 2014 at 20:29

Archos video player is great, you can add multiple video sources, including network shares, and it will grab art and give you a nice scrollable cover view. It also plays mkvs flawlessly, with downmix from 5.1 (if you install the free codec pack)

Pawnless Endgame · 4 Jun 2014 at 20:56

I have just ordered a 1TB external HD which I'll be hooking up to my NAS-ready router (Netgear Genie WNDR3400v2). Couple of questions: once the 1TB is connected, how to I access it from a Windows PC? How does the NAS show up on a phone, and can any of the file browsers mentioned above (e.g. ESfile) access it? NAS is new to me but now I have the right equipment, I thought I'd ask as it's relevant to this topic :-)

StevieP · 4 Jun 2014 at 20:57

Demon said:
Archos video player is great, you can add multiple video sources, including network shares, and it will grab art and give you a nice scrollable cover view. It also plays mkvs flawlessly, with downmix from 5.1 (if you install the free codec pack)

This looks to be the business - although I've not got any audio on some of my video files (mkv's by the look of it!) - could this be because I've not installed the free codec pack?

*edit*

nevermind, the codec pack sorted it!

Thanks again for this recommendation, it's spot on so far!

StevieP · 4 Jun 2014 at 23:18

Monserrat said:
I have just ordered a 1TB external HD which I'll be hooking up to my NAS-ready router (Netgear Genie WNDR3400v2). Couple of questions: once the 1TB is connected, how to I access it from a Windows PC? How does the NAS show up on a phone, and can any of the file browsers mentioned above (e.g. ESfile) access it? NAS is new to me but now I have the right equipment, I thought I'd ask as it's relevant to this topic

I've never used an external hard drive with a "NAS-ready router" but if it's the same as using a NAS then yes, your phone/tablet etc should be able to browse the file structure using the various programs above to utilise the files!

The Archos one recommended by Demon above looks to be spot on for a nice UI but if it's more files than video or music then ES File Explorer will do the job for you!

Regards accessing it from a PC you can simply map a network drive and access it much the same as you do on any of the local drives!