Anyone using a dedicated machine, media server to stream/transcode content to iPad? I'm thinking of building an Intel Atom machine, wanted your thoughts.
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Stream to iPad/PS3
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I use my late 2009 iMac as a server (including media streaming to PS3/iPad/iPhone etc) First thing you need is storage and LOTS of it! You'd be wise working out a way to have alot of storage that can be expanded and backed up easily.
Also, if you want to trascode on the fly you're going to need something with a bit more power than an Intel Atom. I'd suggest atleast something along the lines of a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo processor.
If you are only using it as a media server dont worry too much about RAM and the graphics card. The storage is the main concern, along with a half decent CPU if your doing encoding/transcoding
Also, if you want to trascode on the fly you're going to need something with a bit more power than an Intel Atom. I'd suggest atleast something along the lines of a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo processor.
If you are only using it as a media server dont worry too much about RAM and the graphics card. The storage is the main concern, along with a half decent CPU if your doing encoding/transcoding
Anyone using a dedicated machine, media server to stream/transcode content to iPad? I'm thinking of building an Intel Atom machine, wanted your thoughts.
Thanks
Check out AirVideo. A few bucks for the ipad app and the server app is free. Works great. I'm running it on a 2GHz mini that is also running other video serving apps and it works fine.
I don't have an iPad but I do alot of PS3/DNLA streaming. My Server box is running OS X Server 10.6 w/ 2GB Ram + 3.75 Tb of storage. It's only purpose isn't serving media but that's a large component of it. All I use is PS3 media server. Even though it's free, I find it better in many ways than the paid solutions available. It hasn't been updated in a while but the current stable build plays practically everything I throw at it. I don't think an atom will do it. It certainly won't do it for HD contents.
+1 on the PS3 Media Server. Much more versatile and reliable than other paid DNLA server apps ive tried and totally free
I think a NAS connected to my MB maybe the way forward. I am more inclined to spend money upgrading my Mac hardware in the future rather than a Windows mini-server approach.
We have two MacBook's, Windows Notebook, iPad and iPhones but only I stream to a single device and usually just to my iPad so "mini server" may be a waste of resources.
I like the Drobo, QNAP alternativley I may just build my own.
Choices Choices!!
Thanks, I'm using AirVideo, StreamToMe, I prefer Plex and just recently started using ZumoCast which is awesome.
Yep, using PS3MediaServer at present, never let me down, best free streaming/transcoder for PS3 without a doubt.
I'm using a custom built Hackintosh running OS X and Air Video Server + PS3 Media Server to serve the same content to my iPad, iPhone 4, and PS3.
Honestly, though everyone else seems to have glowing reviews, PS3 Media Server gives me a lot of trouble. It tends to have random hangups, especially when dealing with .ogm content which is hard to watch. Scrolling too fast through the scene selection menu too fast gets a "a network error has occurred" message and sometimes crashes.
Granted, I am streaming over 802.11g, but Air Video runs more stable (and supports more formats, *and* can convert the video for me) over 3G.
Honestly, though everyone else seems to have glowing reviews, PS3 Media Server gives me a lot of trouble. It tends to have random hangups, especially when dealing with .ogm content which is hard to watch. Scrolling too fast through the scene selection menu too fast gets a "a network error has occurred" message and sometimes crashes.
Granted, I am streaming over 802.11g, but Air Video runs more stable (and supports more formats, *and* can convert the video for me) over 3G.
I have a Mac mini connected to an unRAID NAS running AirVideo. I use it to stream to my iPhone and iPad.
In the other side of the room, I have a nettop running XBMC connected to the NAS to play the content on my TV.
In the other side of the room, I have a nettop running XBMC connected to the NAS to play the content on my TV.
Yes, PS3 Media server is the best of the Mac DNLA servers. I use it to stream to my Sony TV. The only catch is that you have to use the correct profile for your rendering device. It worked horribly until I found the right profile for my TV.
I have a similar setup. My 1G macbook pro (2006) is connected via wireless G to an Atom-based NAS running freenas. I run Plex 9 on the macbook pro which builds the database and handles the transcoding. All media is stored on the atom machine. It connects to the macbook pro and sees the library and plays everything on my iphone/ipad.
The Plex app for iOS is $5 or so. Plex for OSX is free.
Works fine over my wireless, I've never tried over the internet. I'd imagine that would depend on your internet bandwith.
The Plex app for iOS is $5 or so. Plex for OSX is free.
Works fine over my wireless, I've never tried over the internet. I'd imagine that would depend on your internet bandwith.
Stream Mac to PS3 - PS3 Media Server (Free)
Stream Win to PS3 - TVersity (Free Version)
Stream to iPad - Air Video
I've been running both apps on an old 2004 Windows XP box but decided to upgrade over Thanksgiving. I bought a Mac Mini ($600) but couldn't justify the ridiculous pricetag for such outdated specs so I got a cheap Black Friday Laptop ($200). Even though I'd prefer to go all Mac, the Windows 7 notebook I hooked into my TV Stand seems to work best. The Windows Media Player 7 library automatically gets recognized in the PS3 so no 3rd party software is necessary, AirVideo does the job for streaming to the iDevices, I can view Hulu through the web browser so no more "Restricted Web Only" content and my Harmony remote controls everything. The only problem I have is that VNC from Mac to Windows is extremely choppy in comparison to Mac to Mac, but for $400 savings then I'll live with it.
Stream Win to PS3 - TVersity (Free Version)
Stream to iPad - Air Video
I've been running both apps on an old 2004 Windows XP box but decided to upgrade over Thanksgiving. I bought a Mac Mini ($600) but couldn't justify the ridiculous pricetag for such outdated specs so I got a cheap Black Friday Laptop ($200). Even though I'd prefer to go all Mac, the Windows 7 notebook I hooked into my TV Stand seems to work best. The Windows Media Player 7 library automatically gets recognized in the PS3 so no 3rd party software is necessary, AirVideo does the job for streaming to the iDevices, I can view Hulu through the web browser so no more "Restricted Web Only" content and my Harmony remote controls everything. The only problem I have is that VNC from Mac to Windows is extremely choppy in comparison to Mac to Mac, but for $400 savings then I'll live with it.
FreeNAS with PS3MediaServer installed works great.
However, depending upon the content you need to transcode an Atom processor may not be enough horsepower if you're talking about doing HD video.
Now, if you are only streaming to a PS3 and iOS based device it may be more worthwhile to simply do all the transcoding up front rather than on the fly. Both devices support h.264 mp4 and other formats. You could convert the files to one of these formats both platforms can process and just store them for streaming. It's much simpler with fewer potential glitches than on the fly transcoding, not to mention uses much less hardware.
However, depending upon the content you need to transcode an Atom processor may not be enough horsepower if you're talking about doing HD video.
Now, if you are only streaming to a PS3 and iOS based device it may be more worthwhile to simply do all the transcoding up front rather than on the fly. Both devices support h.264 mp4 and other formats. You could convert the files to one of these formats both platforms can process and just store them for streaming. It's much simpler with fewer potential glitches than on the fly transcoding, not to mention uses much less hardware.