f13.net forums - Media servers and networking

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July 16, 2025, 06:00:53 AM

we're back, baby

There was a thread around here at one point that had some awesome info on media servers, serving up said media to different devices, and networking. Can't find it though.

One of the things I'd like to do after getting the basics set up is have my iPhone control the media being served in some form (even if it's just switching tracks/movies and adjusting volume). Not sure if that sorta thing was in that thread, but I vaguely recall some awesome info in there.

~~Aww, isn't it cute.~~

Edit: Since the fun is over I'll just say that the only thing I use is a NAS capable of streaming and then an XBOX 360 in the living room hooked up to the TV/Home Theater.

It's basic but it works, I get access to movies, I get to see them upscaled in 1080p and I can play music over the living room setup.

I've spent a fair amount of time recently experimenting with different media serving setups in my home and will share some of what I found.

Short version, TVersity seems to blow all others away.

Long version, I had been using Connect360 on a Mac to serve my 2 TB or so of movies to my Xbox 360. Worked well enough but didn't work with all video formats and didn't allow for full customization of folder structure. I decided to try Windows Media (Player) on a Win7 box to serve it. Ultimately this option sucked pretty bad. It worked with most video formats but having to have your collection in a "Library" wasn't ideal for a number of reasons not the least of which was slow or non-functional updating of the library after you add new files.

TVersity, which is free, was the answer. Full codec support, multiple device support (extenders, game systems, set top boxes, the web, phones, etc), supports full customization of folder structure, instant or scheduled updating. It works beautifully. Haven't tried the pro version but apparently it can stream content from web sources.

I've avoided Windows Media Center so far due to the stock product being ass. There are some nice customizations for it, but I haven't had time to mess with it. I should also mention that TVersity works perfectly over a wireless network. Media Center would probably require a wired connection to be viable.

One last note about hardware, I have two 2 TB in an external enclosure connected to a relatively new custom Win7 box. These are 5400rpm "green" type samsung spinpoint drives. The contents of the first are mirrored to the second every night using ViceVersa software. This redundant setup works very well for me and the drives are plenty fast enough to stream high definition content with zero stutter.

There is a new version of Windows Home Server supposedly being released this year that is worth keeping an eye on. Many people have issues with the current version and media streaming so I've avoided it so far.

I'd be interested in hearing about other people's setups.

Don't reply to necro-spammers. Or I'll have you neutered.

Quote from: rattran on May 13, 2010, 07:35:58 AM

Don't reply to necro-spammers. Or I'll have you neutered.

Huh? Sorry, I have no idea what is going on here. Care to fill me in?

The first post, which no one seemed to reply to, was written in 2008. Maybe that's it?

There was a post here. It's gone now.

Then it's a mystery!

You assholes always reply to spammers which 1) makes it harder for us to find the spam posts and 2) you end up it situations like this after we delete the spammer and his or her posts.

I didn't know there was a spammer or I would have quickly looked away.

When you look away they get closer.

Quote from: Trippy on May 13, 2010, 01:20:12 PM

You assholes always reply to spammers which 1) makes it harder for us to find the spam posts and 2) you end up it situations like this after we delete the spammer and his or her posts.

I'm reminded of Animal House where he asks his buddy if he can't shut those assholes up.

Whatever the reason, it is an interesting topic now that I am considering moving to NAS in order to perhaps streamline Ye Olde Rige... especially if I finally buy a new case. Had this one for about thirteen years and I am finding that the form factors have changed enough to make it a pain to upgrade. I will probably just buy yet another hard disk, though.