i cant live without ports

[xSauronx]

Personally I prefer the freedom of wireless via AirPlay and the cloud.

i can sync wirelessly to my android devices. if i wanted to be productive on a tablet i might care, but i just do minor text entry (emails, ims) and picture viewing. the only thing i want on my tablet easily is documents to read or maybe email, so i just sync now and again and im good to go

 

[Patranus]

Well that is no different than just using Air Video really. If we are going by that, I have watched "HD Rips" on my iPhone since 2008.

That was the entire point.
Ports are useless (for storage) when you can simply stream everything you want from the cloud or your own person NAS.

The guy said it couldn't be done. I do it a lot.

 

[Patranus]

i can sync wirelessly to my android devices. if i wanted to be productive on a tablet i might care, but i just do minor text entry (emails, ims) and picture viewing. the only thing i want on my tablet easily is documents to read or maybe email, so i just sync now and again and im good to go

Never said you couldn't and as you stated you certainly don't need "ports" to do that.

 

[LikeLinus]

Plus who wants to re-encode all this HD content? When you rip the data off the BluRay it is in 1080p. Even if you download off the net usually it is in a format that your average iPad can't take. To make it anything else, takes up to a day (on a quad-core) of encoding time.

My HD movies library now has 1300 movies. I could never re-encode all of that, so going forward the devices that can play those files as they are get my business.

Sorry, I'm not suggesting re-encoding everything. I'm just saying I got to the point where moving forward everything I did was 1080p. I think it's a good idea to go back and re-encode SOME movies up from 720p, but obviously not all of them. I'm not talking media collection specific to iPad, just your media collection in general.

 

[Patranus]

Sorry, I'm not suggesting re-encoding everything. I'm just saying I got to the point where moving forward everything I did was 1080p. I think it's a good idea to go back and re-encode SOME movies up from 720p, but obviously not all of them. I'm not talking media collection specific to iPad, just your media collection in general.

Something like TVersity is also money for movies you don't want to re encode.
NAS->PC with TVersity->Internet->3G->iPhone/iPad = Money

 

[LikeLinus]

Where did I say anything about downloading? I said I *streamed* the video. Encoded as M4V. Direct blu-ray rip converted to M4V in HandBreak with close to max settings.

What software are you using to stream movies from your home computer to your device? You didn't say download, but a NAS is a network area storage which would lead one to believe you are simply doing a progressive download or "HTTP streaming" like youtube, which is not really streaming at all, it's a download. So what media server software are you using to create a multicast/stream?

 

[LikeLinus]

Something like TVersity is also money for movies you don't want to re encode.
NAS->PC with TVersity->Internet->3G->iPhone/iPad = Money

Doesn't TVersity re-encode or transcode the media? Because what a streaming server does is set a limit on the kbps and the movie is transcoded to that bitrate that you set on the server. So you're not actually watching a true "HD Blu-Ray" right, you are watching a down converted / transcoded version of the movie. Which is no where near the bandwidth.

 

[poofyhairguy]

That was the entire point.
Ports are useless (for storage) when you can simply stream everything you want from the cloud or your own person NAS.

That is not even close to being the same. On 3G there is barely enough bandwidth to have a decent picture on the actual cell phone, but tether to a tablet (or have a 3G tablet) and the bandwidth limitation shows itself compared to a native file.

Even worse is when you hook the phone up to a TV- even with a GOOD wifi connection a streaming HD file looks nothing like one of my pure blu ray rips that is the source file. Often the re-encoded video looks more like some random SD divx file- certainly not good enough for my frequent hotel visits (even on their tiny 27 inch TVs). The technology limits the bitrate too much. I have VERY fast internet at home to help alleviate that, but out and about I have to take what connection I am given.

With the actual file I can playback on the TV with a picture quality just as good as my dedicated HTPC at home can. Until we get internet as fast as Japan everywhere having local files will always be the better option for any screen larger than 10 inches.

If that wasn't the case, I would probably still have an iPhone. Streaming rocks for simplicity, but it sucks for quality.

 

[Patranus]

What software are you using to stream movies from your home computer to your device? You didn't say download, but a NAS is a network area storage which would lead one to believe you are simply doing a progressive download or "HTTP streaming" like youtube, which is not really streaming at all, it's a download. So what media server software are you using to create a multicast/stream?

I have a 12 TB NAS in RAID 5 that has a web browser enabled DLNA plugin.

So I end up with something like http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:yyyy/server/zzzzzz.m4v in mobile Safari after browsing to the correct directory.

Doesn't TVersity re-encode or transcode the media? Because what a streaming server does is set a limit on the kbps and the movie is transcoded to that bitrate that you set on the server. So you're not actually watching a true "HD Blu-Ray" right, you are watching a down converted / transcoded version of the movie. Which is no where near the bandwidth.

True but I usually just access the file directly.
I was simply pointing out that there are alternatives that you can use to mitigate the problem if your media isn't in a format that is friendly to your media player.

 

[luv2liv]

Patranus, i dont want alternatives to mitigate the problems. i dont want to bend over and let the tablet tell me what i cant and can do.

if i have a file, i want the damn tablet to open it immediately. this is the way it was with desktops and laptops.... and the way i expect it to be with tablets. none of that transcoding, re-encode crap. just open the file already!

so why did i have a touchpad and ipad? they were gifts. its time we demand something better.

 

[Patranus]

Patranus, i dont want alternatives to mitigate the problems. i dont want to bend over and let the tablet tell me what i cant and can do.

if i have a file, i want the damn tablet to open it immediately. this is the way it was with desktops and laptops.... and the way i expect it to be with tablets. none of that transcoding, re-encode crap. just open the file already!

so why did i have a touchpad and ipad? they were gifts. its time we demand something better.

I am not trying to say that ports or other tablets are bad - as most tablets can do similar things with streaming and document management.

I simply believe that embracing "the cloud" (be it personal or a service) can mitigate the lack of ports on some tablets.