Best streaming solutions - Your success stories PLZ

[Cybordolphin]

I have a HTPC, and have had moderate success streaming from it in the past. I want to do some upgrading and start a whole new approach and am looking for honest NO LAG solutions.

Here is what I have:
HTPC
Motherboard: EVGA nForce 730i motherboard
http://www.evga.com/articles/00435/
CPU: Intel core 2 6600 @2.40ghz
Ram: 4 gig
Hard Drives: 5 HDD 2tb each
Video: Onboard Geforce 9300
Operating system: Windows 7, Media Browser-Media Center
Media: Predominently Blu-ray
Formats: AVI, TS, MKV, MK4

Projector:
Epson 8500ub
Screen:
Electric Da-lite monster (forget the diag., but is just under 14ft across)

Want to stream to:
Other computers
Ps3
Xbox
Samsung Blu-Ray player (whole new set of difficiencies)

Just not sure what is the best method to stream right now. I prefer to have a nice UI to sort through movies at the other end. I really enjoy my Media Browser UI on my HTPC (I think Chocolate), but when I currently stream.... I have to search through files. Wife has real learning curve issues.

Tried hard wiring direct to my internet router, and serving via that. I don't have a standalone stream box. I use Ps3 server software on my HTPC to stream to the Ps3, but am getting lag often. When I stream to my Samsung Blu-ray player.... forget about it.

Your input and thoughts are greatly appreciated. I want to get it right. thnx

 

[Chapbass]

If this was PC to PC it wouldnt' be too bad. The problem is when you start adding the xbox , ps3, and blu ray player.

PC to PC you could just use something like XBMC and be done with it. works great, no lag, etc.

The rest you start looking into tversity and ps3 media server.

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, I've had best results over Ethernet rather than Wireless. Have you tried Plex Media Server for streaming & transcoding?

http://www.plexapp.com/getplex/

As far as a single box with a nice GUI goes, it's hard to beat a Roku 3. Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Redbox, and Plex are all supported. Only thing it's really missing is Youtube.

 

[KentState]

My streaming setup is very simple, but works well. I rip everything to a Synology DS1511+ and then have a WDTV Live in both the living and bedroom. Wireless is weak in the living room so I installed Netgear Powerline adapters. Overall I can stream Blu-ray ISO to multiple locations without any hiccups.

 

[maziwanka]

plex media server on my main desktop (with sick beard/couchpotato/sabnzbd). roku 3 for tvs to stream the plex content. works like a charm.

i just need to figure out how to connect the desktop to the tv for steam gameplay purposes. might just setup the tv as a second monitor i suppose (via hdmi).

 

[Cybordolphin]

I tried Plex. No joy. Still lagged and had audio issues.

KentState... I will look at what you have. Couldn't I just stream direct from the PC to the WDTV's?

My Blu-rays are .m2ts files. Should I be ripping them as ISO's?? And do you know if the WDTV will stream the .m2ts files (I will check out their website). And does the WDTV have any audio transcode preferences, etc.? Should I rip only using AC3 and not HD audio etc.?

I have a sick feeling 6+ tb drives later.... I should have been ripping to ISO only.

Thanks

 

[smitbret]

You can stream from the PC directly to the WDTV Live. They support .m2ts natively; that's how I ripped and stored about half my BRs. You could have ripped to BR .iso but it'll only give you BR lite for the menus, etc. since they didn't license for BR support. Also, keep in mind that some of the HD audio codecs are not supported as well. When I ripped to .m2ts, I just ripped to Core AC3 or Core DTS to avoid that issue.

 

[ControlD]

Yeah, I've had best results over Ethernet rather than Wireless. Have you tried Plex Media Server for streaming & transcoding?

http://www.plexapp.com/getplex/

As far as a single box with a nice GUI goes, it's hard to beat a Roku 3. Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, Redbox, and Plex are all supported. Only thing it's really missing is Youtube.

If you have Plex installed then you can simply do Youtube through Plex. It is one extra step away, but it works quite well on my Roku3.

Have you tried the Redbox app on your Roku? If so, how is the selection?

As to the OP's question, I simply have Plex running on my unRAID box and use Roku boxes on my TVs to view the content. It is easy enough for the rest of my family to use, which speak volumes ...

 

[smitbret]

That's something along the lines I would think. Plex won't transcode to his Samsung BR player, though, and his CPU might not be up to transcoding BR rips on real time. A lot of it is going to depend on the files themselves and what codecs his devices support natively.

 

[smitbret]

When you said you were getting hiccups and stuttering, which location was doing that, how was it connected to the network and what was the source material?

Sounds like a network issue. But it could be a CPU transcoding issue where it just can't do 24fps. I would think the 6600 could do that with the latest version of ffMPEG (that's what Plex uses), but if it is a raw BR rip and you are shooting for the same quality on the other end, it could come up just short.

 

[jellybean2]

Agree with the Plex recommendation. Also streaming via wifi can be spotty, sometimes it works well, other times it lags and stutters. Recommend you look into MOCA ethernet adapters for super fast connections and powerline adapters as an alternate.

I use a desktop PC (Intel i5 Proc) running Plex media server. Running MOCA ethernet to 5 rooms. Rooms have various devices, PS3, Roku, WDTV, Desktop PC, & and iMac.

PS3 streams using the Plex DLNA client and it works great. My son streams 17gb 1080p movies with no problems.

Roku's streaming via Plex channel. Roku can't stream some of the formats directly without transcoding, but my Media server has handled 3 simultaneous transcoding streams with no issues.

WDTV's streaming via Plex DLNA client. WDTVs have been one of the best stand alone media players around. Direct play with no transcoding needed.

Desktops running PLEX Mac and PC clients. Plex has an easy to use UI.

IMO, key to streaming is the transmission bottleneck. Run a wired solution, not wifi. Look into a solid media server client like Plex, Serviio, TVersity, Playon, etc. And have a solid media player on the other end, WDTV, Apple TV, Roku, etc.

My wife isn't super techy either, so the Plex interface with all the metadata is great. For example on my setup, she just has to click the TV Show icon, browse by show name. When she highlights a show, all kinds of info shows up. (Synopsis, genre, etc.) She clicks the show episode and it displays episode title, synopsis, running time, etc. Then hits Play. MOCA ethernet is super fast, theoretical 270mbs, but more like 50-70mbs in my environment. She can fast forward and rewind with no issues at all.

For your setup, PLEX DLNA client on consoles & Bluray player, and Plex desktop client for the computers, should work fine.

 

[nageov3t]

My streaming setup is very simple, but works well. I rip everything to a Synology DS1511+ and then have a WDTV Live in both the living and bedroom. Wireless is weak in the living room so I installed Netgear Powerline adapters. Overall I can stream Blu-ray ISO to multiple locations without any hiccups.

that's pretty close to my setup... I've got a lower end 4-bay DS413j that has DLNA on it.

the NAS is physically wired into my router, but I can stream from it wirelessly to my smart TV (living room) or PS3 (bedroom) pretty seamlessly. I've only ever had issues when my (now-ex) roommate would kill our bandwidth with torrents.