iPad and streaming video through NAS

[bubulol]

Hello, i am wondering, i have both Android tablet and iPhone
On both i can use Plex, DS Video, DS File to read video through local network
On Android, i have more options like using a file explorer that is able to read local network content through SMB/DLNA or something like that
I am wondering if on iPad there is something that would match aswell?
There is no finder on iOS and OS is less flexible than Android
How do you read your content from local network?

Thanks you

 

[pommie82]

I personally just use Apple TV and stream from my Mac mini which has a 6tb drive storing all my media on that the best way I have found that works well with no problems at all but make sure you have a least 10mb per second for it to work fine when you are streaming if you don't have 10mb per second it can lag very much and it not worth watching at all I have found in the past I would make sure you check your broadband speed first but you even think of considering doing this streaming

I use to have only about 4mb per second and it was awful I couldn't barely stream nothing and it was a waste of time really and in the end I just gave up and just watch things on my computer with no lag at all .

If you are thinking about streaming blue ray quality you will definitely need 10 mb per second or it not going to work you will just get the loading sign appearing all the time and it won't stream.

If you are streaming say 360 quality I should of thought it would stream ok with no problems at all but it depending on the quality
And what it has been encoded in.

For example Apple TV format is m4a format and it is good quality so you need a good speed for it to work with no problems at all

If you have any question about streaming feel free to ask me and I should be able to answer your problems

 

[Smeaton1724]

My favorite is OPlayer HD. Can stream from server, download video from server and I just like it. Used since the iPad 4 came out, solid support from the developer - but it does have in app purchases. Some formats don't need converting to mp4/m4v to play either, the app does it on the fly, so avi's and mkv's 'just work', so it gets my vote.

Loads of other 'free' Apps have some streaming or server functionality for video or just files in general:
Video and the Air Play Tab (built in video app), files must be in iTunes on a mac/pc on your local network, files must be MP4/M4V.
Air Video (app from app store), files can be in a folder on your mac/pc on your network.
Air Playit(app from app store), files can be in a folder on your mac/pc on your network.
VLC Streamer(app from app store), files can be in a folder on your mac/pc on your network.

One caveat I would say is ever since the iPod Video all my digital video has been in MP4 format and suitable for iTunes, as such I never have a problem with video playing on Apple devices. If you are windows/android, chances are you'll have Avi's and MKV's, as such it is a pain as they just don't play out of the box, you'll need either to convert the video or use a specific app (such as OPlayer HD).

Edit:
One thing to clarify MP4 is the video file, an M4V file is the same but has artwork and meta data such as actor, director etc embedded. I make all my MP4's in to M4v's using a Mac app called Subler. Looks very nice in iTunes and on the Apple TV.

 

[Skika]

I use AVPlayerHD.

 

[ericwn]

Hello, i am wondering, i have both Android tablet and iPhone
On both i can use Plex, DS Video, DS File to read video through local network
On Android, i have more options like using a file explorer that is able to read local network content through SMB/DLNA or something like that
I am wondering if on iPad there is something that would match aswell?
There is no finder on iOS and OS is less flexible than Android
How do you read your content from local network?

Thanks you

Just type in file explorer in the App Store. There are a bunch of apps that let you browse your PC/MAC shared drives. I use the free Documents 5 by Readdle for this, it downloads the files locally to my device before I watch them.

 

[tyche]

I use Infuse 4. You can create bookmarks to your media like TV or Movies, it can pull the metadata, scrape posters/info/screenshots.

It plays every format I have directly off my Synology. A little pricey but part of that is the licensed audio for Dolby/DTS, etc.

 

[off_piste]

I use Infuse 4. You can create bookmarks to your media like TV or Movies, it can pull the metadata, scrape posters/info/screenshots.

It plays every format I have directly off my Synology. A little pricey but part of that is the licensed audio for Dolby/DTS, etc.

I also use Infuse. Great UI and I love the ability to download movies directly to my device without iTunes.

 

[mrex]

vlc (free), if that isnt enough, then check infuce and mrmc... both can play differend types of files, but infuce may sometimes be a bit buggy while mrmc is smoother...

these all finds stuff via smb/dlna/...

 

[rasputin1969]

Infuse Pro - an outstanding app. Plus, it's a universal app so you buy it for the iPhone and you also get the iPad and Apple TV versions thrown in.

 

[Donka]

nPlayer. Another solid media player with extensive network support.

 

[mrex]

nPlayer. Another solid media player with extensive network support.

i didnt say nplayer, because it has no atv version (vlc, infuce and mrmc has) althought the developer has talked about it since december but nothing changed... i would rather buy infuce/mrmc than iphone/ipad only nplayer or if vlc is enough, it is free.

 

[rui no onna]

If you are thinking about streaming blue ray quality you will definitely need 10 mb per second or it not going to work you will just get the loading sign appearing all the time and it won't stream.

Blu-ray tops out at around 40Mbps. Even factoring multiple lossless audio tracks, video bitrate is still in the ~20-30Mbps range so you'd still need something a lot faster than 10Mbps to stream full Blu-ray quality rips without any transcoding.

I've got a Plex Media Server setup but if you want a standalone player, put me in as another vote for Infuse.

 

[M. Gustave]

On Android, i have more options like using a file explorer that is able to read local network content through SMB/DLNA or something like that
I am wondering if on iPad there is something that would match aswell?

Any wifi storage from RavPower or WD comes with a matching file browser app. I stream movies on my iPad from sd card storage in a RavPower FileHub. They play in the native videos app.

 

[mrex]

problems come with codecs... i keep my movies in mkv containers as originals without converting them for ios, so ios cant play them. i need to use a 3rd party app to play them.

e.g. plex cant do it because my nas isnt powerful enough to transcode them while playing (plex relies on the server side). but apps can do that.

 

[keith oborne]

Used to stream through infuse bat now I am using ArkMC it seems better to me. Works with iPad and plays every format. Not bad

 

[DNichter]

As others have said, Infuse is probably the best app for your scenario. Personally, I have QNAP NAS set up and that has the ability to put a Plex Media Server on it and an app to manage files on it, download torrents, etc. It's been one more key step for me potentially going iPad only in the future. Does your NAS have the ability to load a Plex server onto it?

 

[dsusanj]

Use VLC. It supports DLNA, SMB etc. and works well.