Be Excellent To Each Other

It's PC rebuild time!

My media server is going to be offline for a day or two.

For fun, I've decided to try and turn an old laptop into my media server.

STAND BY FOR FAIL.

Plex fans would be wise to send me their MyPlex usernames so I can invite them to the "new" server.

Hateful Ubuntu is hateful.

Bed!
Hateful Ubuntu.

Soon.

MEDIA EXPERT GRIM: Is there any way I can stream an entire desktop over DLNA? I want to stream random youtube/lovefilm/etc things to my TV? (Currently use PS3 Media player for normal video files)


I've got a 5m HDMI cable, and that works, but I want to be able to STREAMMM

Um... I'm not sure. I don't think so.

The only way I can think of is an airplay client on a box connected to the tv and an iPad. I expect there is an android equivalent.

Why don't you use the PS3 for Love film and YouTube given that it has built in clients for both? Either way I'm pretty sure DNLA is only for streaming actual media files and it won't do some kind of remote desktop stuff like that.

We don't stream, but we use a DVA to HDMI cable to connect the mac to the TV, and then use VLC Remote to play all the lovely medias.

I use the Samsung all share program, which lets me fire films from my PC directly to the TV

I have a dedicated media centre pc with logitech harmony remote streaming media from a nas box stashed away upstairs

I now also have a dedicated media centre PC, which streams to the TV, and any other connected device (running a Plex app of some kind).

It also streams to several friend's houses and phones, and to my phone and tablet when I'm out and about.

I've also opened up sickbeard and Couch Potato so my friends can add shows and movies they want to see*.

We live in the future.

*And, while my media centre sends me a little notification on Android to tell me it's downloaded something new, I can't work out a way for it to notify them**. Bah.

**Actually, I've just had an idea...

I don't have a PS3. "PS3 Media Server" is just the name of a decent streaming client for Windows. I do have an xbox, and there's a lovefilm 'app' on there, but Xbox live gold can fuck right off.

Plex was meant to have an iPlayer and Lovefilm 'app', but I couldn't find them when I first installed and I looked last night and I can't see one now either . As far as I can tell from their forum threads, they're broken in the latest versions?

Your best bet then is always to buy a cheap but capable Windows machine of some kind and just HDMI it up to the TV. Anything else will pretty much be more hassle than it's worth.

Plex is actually pretty good. Apart from a few niggles. Now I'm liberated from WMC for TV, I feel it's nearly multiple PC rebuild time.

I find the updated version of the TV app to be hella slow, but I can live with it.

It also doesn't work if your server is turned off, as I found last night. Er... Whoops.

Well, yeah.

The server software regularly ramps up to 100% cpu usage for no reason on OSX for me. Often enough that I have turned it off.

Good to know. *makes notes*

I'm currently running Plex and Media Browser on the same server so I'm going to have to make a choice. Media Browser *is* very pretty.