Connect360 and multiple Macs

[e.m.]

Nullriver doesn't have a forum, so I'll ask this here.

Is Connect360 able to stream media content from multiple Macs, or just one?

If it's only able to stream from one Mac, is it able to stream shared iTunes ilbraries, so that essentially it can stream multiple iTunes libraries?

Thanks.

-I'm trying to decide between an apple TV and Connect360 for media streaming. We have multiple Macs in the house, and I want all of them to be able to stream media (mostly video and songs) to one TV/stereo receiver. I already have a 360, so I'd rather make it work with that.

 

[LouisBlack]

Hey. I use Connect360 and it can be a bit annoying. It just makes it so you can connect to your mac from the 360 in the 'computers' screen. So you can only connect to one Mac at a time.

It shares your iTunes movie folder, but not your TV Shows folder (by default). It also shares your Home movie folder, but you can change this to your iTunes TV Shows folder if you wanted. Music and Photos work exactly as expected.

All in all, it's can be a little annoying. The movies are just in a bit list, so if you have lots of episodes of a TV Show with the same name, it can get confusing.

 

[e.m.]

Hey. I use Connect360 and it can be a bit annoying. It just makes it so you can connect to your mac from the 360 in the 'computers' screen. So you can only connect to one Mac at a time.

It shares your iTunes movie folder, but not your TV Shows folder (by default). It also shares your Home movie folder, but you can change this to your iTunes TV Shows folder if you wanted. Music and Photos work exactly as expected.

All in all, it's can be a little annoying. The movies are just in a bit list, so if you have lots of episodes of a TV Show with the same name, it can get confusing.

Hey, thanks for the info. That's a bummer that it can only connect to one Mac. That's what I suspected, though.

Do you know if it can stream songs that are shared? For example, if my Xbox is connected to Mac A through Connect360, can it play songs from Mac B's iTunes library if Mac B's library is shared to Mac A? I hope that makes sense.

 

[LouisBlack]

I'm not sure to be honest. I'm the only one who uses iTunes in my house and I rarely use my Powerbook anymore so it doesn't have any music on it.

I doubt it would though. It literally just pulls stuff out of those folders so I think library sharing might be a bit advanced for it.

 

[e.m.]

I'm not sure to be honest. I'm the only one who uses iTunes in my house and I rarely use my Powerbook anymore so it doesn't have any music on it.

I doubt it would though. It literally just pulls stuff out of those folders so I think library sharing might be a bit advanced for it.

I see. Is there any problems with video playback, or is it smooth? How are you streaming the content to your 360 (wired, wireless)?

 

[LouisBlack]

I see. Is there any problems with video playback, or is it smooth? How are you streaming the content to your 360 (wired, wireless)?

I use wireless and it can sometimes be bit choppy with higher bitrates. I usually rip DVDs at 2500kbps and that can be a bit of a problem. My existing files have been converted in Quicktime using the AppleTV setting, acceptable for lower quality TV rips, and they run perfectly.

My iMac is fairly far away from my (pretty poor) wireless G router so I doubt it's running at full 56mbps so you might have a better experience if you own a better router (mines an alcatel speedtouch).

 

[e.m.]

I use wireless and it can sometimes be bit choppy with higher bitrates. I usually rip DVDs at 2500kbps and that can be a bit of a problem. My existing files have been converted in Quicktime using the AppleTV setting, acceptable for lower quality TV rips, and they run perfectly.

My iMac is fairly far away from my (pretty poor) wireless G router so I doubt it's running at full 56mbps so you might have a better experience if you own a better router (mines an alcatel speedtouch).

Louis,

Thanks for all your helpful information. As far as streaming from multiple Macs, I can just install Connect360 on all of them; that should work, I think.

 

[LouisBlack]

That's okay, I'm happy to help!

Installing it on all our Macs will work, but you will have to manually switch between them on the 360. It can only connect to one computer at a time.