Movie-Video Streamer Help

[razaldo]

Just thought about this - if you have a server in place already, you just need a client that can:

1. Connect to the server and access the files

2. Cast the movies on to the TV

 

If you connect the chromecast to the TV, you can access and cast files directly though the VLC player on your mobile

 

This solution is not elegant as you will not get the movie thumbnails etc. but it will be cost effective

 

There would be some apps that do give you the movie thumbnails and casting ability from the mobile without having to re-encode or convert the files - you might have to search the android forums or google play store to find them

 

A Raspi solution would work - but from my initial research it seems to be a bit clunky and time consuming. If your are up for it, take a shot at that.

[jthorpein]

2 hours ago, razaldo said:

Just thought about this - if you have a server in place already, you just need a client that can:

1. Connect to the server and access the files

2. Cast the movies on to the TV

 

If you connect the chromecast to the TV, you can access and cast files directly though the VLC player on your mobile

 

This solution is not elegant as you will not get the movie thumbnails etc. but it will be cost effective

 

There would be some apps that do give you the movie thumbnails and casting ability from the mobile without having to re-encode or convert the files - you might have to search the android forums or google play store to find them

 

A Raspi solution would work - but from my initial research it seems to be a bit clunky and time consuming. If your are up for it, take a shot at that.

 

Casting them through the phone isn’t really preferred. Based on the video, it seems pretty easy and straight forward, and the kit is only like $70. I was hoping to find someone who’s used one to see how it works for local files. Course if I get one, and it doesn’t work, I could convert it to a pi hole for ads. I’ve built my own NAS, so putting one of these together should be nothing. Just have to see if it’ll play the file format.

 

 

 

 

[KeyboardCowboy]

5 hours ago, jthorpein said:

 

Casting them through the phone isn’t really preferred. Based on the video, it seems pretty easy and straight forward, and the kit is only like $70. I was hoping to find someone who’s used one to see how it works for local files. Course if I get one, and it doesn’t work, I could convert it to a pi hole for ads. I’ve built my own NAS, so putting one of these together should be nothing. Just have to see if it’ll play the file format.

<snip>

Still struggling with a decision? Man talk about a saturated consumer market, am I right?

 

Here's my unwarranted opinion again, I would shy away from the PI, I have (in the past), loaded up the pi with kodi and streamed, it was not a good experience, a model B if memory serves right. The PI in question was not the latest model, they have made some nice hardware improvements since then, but at the end of the day, a pi is simply a development board. It was not designed for streaming, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

what I would suggest (based on budget) is the amazon 'fire tv stick 4k'. I have no idea what kind of background knowledge you have, so bare with me, if your already familiar with the fire stick and kodi, skim over this bit.

 

The fire stick runs a fork of android OS, is it the best operating system in the world? NO. but it works pretty well for the application. Out of the box the firestick is a full fledged 4k streaming machine, netflix? you bet. Youtube? of course. Prime video & hulu, heck yeah.

 

Now those are all applications/apps that run within the os/android. Kodi, the beast that it is, is only an app, an app that runs on android, or windows, or linux, or a toaster oven. Kodi looks like its own thing, but its only an app. There is no kodi os, its just linux with kodi installed, or android with kodi installed, or windows with kodi installed.

 

The firestick with the Kodi app will play vob files from network attached storage. (The windows version dose anyway) What about specs? well for 50 bucks usd, you get a 'Quad-core 1.7 GHz', 'Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks', 'bluetooth 5.0', 'HDMI output'.... actually, just look over the specs on amazon. Its really not bad for 50 bucks.

 

Whats in the box!? "Fire TV Stick 4K, Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Gen), USB cable and power adapter, HDMI extender cable for Fire TV Stick 4K, 2 AAA batteries, Quick Start Guide" That's right, it even come with the batteries.

 

I have loaded about a dozen firesticks with kodi, (not the 4k's, the old ones) and they worked pretty well. If your streaming movies on your home network, I suspect you wont have any problems. I really recommend you try it before dismissing it.

 

So if you did get a firestick, you get a 4k streaming device that's 4"x1", can play netflix and everything else, plus! (with the kodi application) all of your nas vobs, a remote, batteries, basically everything needed for install and setup. All of that for only 50 bucks USD. For your particular use case, I feel like this is a perfect solution, and its inexpensive.

 

Oh and kodi has a load of add-ons that are.... 'of interest'

 

Hop on youtube, look at some reviews and demo vids. I'll stop trying to convince you of 'things' now.

Best of luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

 

Edit: Not to pollute the thread, but worst case scenario, suppose you don't like the performance. Chew me out on the thread to vent your rage, list the firestick on ebay, "firestick 4k with kodi", mark it up 10 bucks like everybody else and make a profit.

[jthorpein]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:50 PM, KeyboardCowboy said:

Still struggling with a decision? Man talk about a saturated consumer market, am I right?

 

Here's my unwarranted opinion again, I would shy away from the PI, I have (in the past), loaded up the pi with kodi and streamed, it was not a good experience, a model B if memory serves right. The PI in question was not the latest model, they have made some nice hardware improvements since then, but at the end of the day, a pi is simply a development board. It was not designed for streaming, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

what I would suggest (based on budget) is the amazon 'fire tv stick 4k'. I have no idea what kind of background knowledge you have, so bare with me, if your already familiar with the fire stick and kodi, skim over this bit.

 

The fire stick runs a fork of android OS, is it the best operating system in the world? NO. but it works pretty well for the application. Out of the box the firestick is a full fledged 4k streaming machine, netflix? you bet. Youtube? of course. Prime video & hulu, heck yeah.

 

Now those are all applications/apps that run within the os/android. Kodi, the beast that it is, is only an app, an app that runs on android, or windows, or linux, or a toaster oven. Kodi looks like its own thing, but its only an app. There is no kodi os, its just linux with kodi installed, or android with kodi installed, or windows with kodi installed.

 

The firestick with the Kodi app will play vob files from network attached storage. (The windows version dose anyway) What about specs? well for 50 bucks usd, you get a 'Quad-core 1.7 GHz', 'Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks', 'bluetooth 5.0', 'HDMI output'.... actually, just look over the specs on amazon. Its really not bad for 50 bucks.

 

Whats in the box!? "Fire TV Stick 4K, Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Gen), USB cable and power adapter, HDMI extender cable for Fire TV Stick 4K, 2 AAA batteries, Quick Start Guide" That's right, it even come with the batteries.

 

I have loaded about a dozen firesticks with kodi, (not the 4k's, the old ones) and they worked pretty well. If your streaming movies on your home network, I suspect you wont have any problems. I really recommend you try it before dismissing it.

 

So if you did get a firestick, you get a 4k streaming device that's 4"x1", can play netflix and everything else, plus! (with the kodi application) all of your nas vobs, a remote, batteries, basically everything needed for install and setup. All of that for only 50 bucks USD. For your particular use case, I feel like this is a perfect solution, and its inexpensive.

 

Oh and kodi has a load of add-ons that are.... 'of interest'

 

Hop on youtube, look at some reviews and demo vids. I'll stop trying to convince you of 'things' now.

Best of luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

 

Edit: Not to pollute the thread, but worst case scenario, suppose you don't like the performance. Chew me out on the thread to vent your rage, list the firestick on ebay, "firestick 4k with kodi", mark it up 10 bucks like everybody else and make a profit.

 

I'd like to do something like the Kaleidescape system (shown in the video)...

 

 

 

 

 

However, these systems costs THOUSAND'S ... I'd like to do something similar where the movies, etc are stored on a NAS device and have a player at max the size of a DVR cable box (preferably smaller like the size of a Pi, or DirecTV genie box size). I have 2 TV's (one in a bedroom and one in a office/game room - or a.k.a. a spare bedroom used as a office/game room) and a limited budget at the current time, I have to be somewhat picky ... While the Firestick option is an option, most of the time I leave my phone in the office when I plug it in at night to charge, so I'd rather have something that has a standard remote, rather than only through an iPad, phone.

 

I can build a DIY system as building one wouldn't be an issue. However the case, power supply to fit a case like a cable box size/style, mobo, RAM, boot drive, and OS or program similar to the one in the video (don't know of any, but haven't searched for any either), etc. ... might be over what my budget might allow ...(course I haven't priced it out either, but assuming $60 for a case, $60 for a mobo, $50 for power supply, $50 for RAM, not counting whatever the cost of the OS/program, a CPU and cooler if it's not embeded on the mobo) - Plus I'd need a Wi-Fi card for the one for the bedroom as I currently don't have a ethernet cable ran to that room, and don't look forward into going into the attic in the summer in Florida with vaulted ceilings to run one (at the current time). I could maybe do one over a few months, getting a part or two a month or something like that ... but would like to have some sort of access in the meantime.

 

Now if I did something like a Pi (if it'll work for the file format), for the 2 TV's, and then slowly build a system (like the Kaleidescape), then I can re-purpose one Pi for a whole network AD blocker (aka: Pi Hole) and something else with the other. I can do the cost of what the 2 Pi's would cost to get the 2 TV's up and running (at least for now) and over 3 or so months getting parts for a DIY system to build one like the Kaleidescape (if I can find a OS/program that'll work similar to the Kaleidescape - know of any - preferably without having to spend hundreds on a copy of Windows?).

 

I kind of like these cases from what I see on the image - I like the form factor, but prefer any USB, etc. to be hidden behind a door (or on the back):

 

 

I also like this as it looks the size of a small DVD player and has a door to hide a DVD drive (or a Blu-Ray/4K UHD Blu-Ray drive reader - to be able to play a DVD that hasn't been copied to a hard drive), card slots, etc.

 

 

But according to the site, the case was $350 as of Nov. 8, 2007 ... 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/origen-ae-s10v/

 

 

So while a Firestick would work, I'd prefer more of a regular remote based set up that's reasonably priced as I don't always take my phone to the bedroom, until I can build a small case client.

 

I'd like not to spend hundreds on a OS/program as it's just going to play movies and music. So something like a free (or low cost) Linux distro where it boots Linux, and then automatically loads the movie program (say Kodi as an example) ... without taking decades to boot and load. So it's ready when it's turned on.

 

If you have any suggestions on a DIY system (reasonably priced), feel free to share.

 

 

[jthorpein]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:50 PM, KeyboardCowboy said:

Still struggling with a decision? Man talk about a saturated consumer market, am I right?

 

Here's my unwarranted opinion again, I would shy away from the PI, I have (in the past), loaded up the pi with kodi and streamed, it was not a good experience, a model B if memory serves right. The PI in question was not the latest model, they have made some nice hardware improvements since then, but at the end of the day, a pi is simply a development board. It was not designed for streaming, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

what I would suggest (based on budget) is the amazon 'fire tv stick 4k'. I have no idea what kind of background knowledge you have, so bare with me, if your already familiar with the fire stick and kodi, skim over this bit.

 

The fire stick runs a fork of android OS, is it the best operating system in the world? NO. but it works pretty well for the application. Out of the box the firestick is a full fledged 4k streaming machine, netflix? you bet. Youtube? of course. Prime video & hulu, heck yeah.

 

Now those are all applications/apps that run within the os/android. Kodi, the beast that it is, is only an app, an app that runs on android, or windows, or linux, or a toaster oven. Kodi looks like its own thing, but its only an app. There is no kodi os, its just linux with kodi installed, or android with kodi installed, or windows with kodi installed.

 

The firestick with the Kodi app will play vob files from network attached storage. (The windows version dose anyway) What about specs? well for 50 bucks usd, you get a 'Quad-core 1.7 GHz', 'Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks', 'bluetooth 5.0', 'HDMI output'.... actually, just look over the specs on amazon. Its really not bad for 50 bucks.

 

Whats in the box!? "Fire TV Stick 4K, Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Gen), USB cable and power adapter, HDMI extender cable for Fire TV Stick 4K, 2 AAA batteries, Quick Start Guide" That's right, it even come with the batteries.

 

I have loaded about a dozen firesticks with kodi, (not the 4k's, the old ones) and they worked pretty well. If your streaming movies on your home network, I suspect you wont have any problems. I really recommend you try it before dismissing it.

 

So if you did get a firestick, you get a 4k streaming device that's 4"x1", can play netflix and everything else, plus! (with the kodi application) all of your nas vobs, a remote, batteries, basically everything needed for install and setup. All of that for only 50 bucks USD. For your particular use case, I feel like this is a perfect solution, and its inexpensive.

 

Oh and kodi has a load of add-ons that are.... 'of interest'

 

Hop on youtube, look at some reviews and demo vids. I'll stop trying to convince you of 'things' now.

Best of luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

 

Edit: Not to pollute the thread, but worst case scenario, suppose you don't like the performance. Chew me out on the thread to vent your rage, list the firestick on ebay, "firestick 4k with kodi", mark it up 10 bucks like everybody else and make a profit.

 

Also, note that the TV I have in the bedroom is an early to mid 2000's Magnavox that has 1 HDMI port (having to use a HDMI switch for more ports). Again this one is done by Wi-Fi as I don't have a ethernet cable ran to the room. Both TV's are wall mounted with a shelf under the TV. The one in the office/game room has a thin blu-ray player and cable box and that comes up to a couple inches under the TV. The one in the bedroom is currently a 19" size, but want to get a new one at some point, so not sure how much space I'd have between the bottom of the TV to the shelf and components on the shelf.

 

Also, an app & voice commands from a Google Home (which I have) or Alexa (if I ever get one) would be great, but can do without if it's not an option (for the DIY system). A regular (preferably RF) remote with a keyboard is the preferred method.

[jthorpein]

On 6/17/2019 at 12:50 PM, KeyboardCowboy said:

Still struggling with a decision? Man talk about a saturated consumer market, am I right?

 

Here's my unwarranted opinion again, I would shy away from the PI, I have (in the past), loaded up the pi with kodi and streamed, it was not a good experience, a model B if memory serves right. The PI in question was not the latest model, they have made some nice hardware improvements since then, but at the end of the day, a pi is simply a development board. It was not designed for streaming, just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

 

what I would suggest (based on budget) is the amazon 'fire tv stick 4k'. I have no idea what kind of background knowledge you have, so bare with me, if your already familiar with the fire stick and kodi, skim over this bit.

 

The fire stick runs a fork of android OS, is it the best operating system in the world? NO. but it works pretty well for the application. Out of the box the firestick is a full fledged 4k streaming machine, netflix? you bet. Youtube? of course. Prime video & hulu, heck yeah.

 

Now those are all applications/apps that run within the os/android. Kodi, the beast that it is, is only an app, an app that runs on android, or windows, or linux, or a toaster oven. Kodi looks like its own thing, but its only an app. There is no kodi os, its just linux with kodi installed, or android with kodi installed, or windows with kodi installed.

 

The firestick with the Kodi app will play vob files from network attached storage. (The windows version dose anyway) What about specs? well for 50 bucks usd, you get a 'Quad-core 1.7 GHz', 'Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi networks', 'bluetooth 5.0', 'HDMI output'.... actually, just look over the specs on amazon. Its really not bad for 50 bucks.

 

Whats in the box!? "Fire TV Stick 4K, Alexa Voice Remote (2nd Gen), USB cable and power adapter, HDMI extender cable for Fire TV Stick 4K, 2 AAA batteries, Quick Start Guide" That's right, it even come with the batteries.

 

I have loaded about a dozen firesticks with kodi, (not the 4k's, the old ones) and they worked pretty well. If your streaming movies on your home network, I suspect you wont have any problems. I really recommend you try it before dismissing it.

 

So if you did get a firestick, you get a 4k streaming device that's 4"x1", can play netflix and everything else, plus! (with the kodi application) all of your nas vobs, a remote, batteries, basically everything needed for install and setup. All of that for only 50 bucks USD. For your particular use case, I feel like this is a perfect solution, and its inexpensive.

 

Oh and kodi has a load of add-ons that are.... 'of interest'

 

Hop on youtube, look at some reviews and demo vids. I'll stop trying to convince you of 'things' now.

Best of luck, I hope you find what your looking for.

 

Edit: Not to pollute the thread, but worst case scenario, suppose you don't like the performance. Chew me out on the thread to vent your rage, list the firestick on ebay, "firestick 4k with kodi", mark it up 10 bucks like everybody else and make a profit.

 

What do you think about the specs for a Raspberry Pi 4 B and Kodi ... think this might get me by as I look into cases, parts, etc. for a mini HTPC and the time it'll take to get the parts to build it??

 

Video on the Pi 4 B (Desktop version)

 

 

[KeyboardCowboy]

7 hours ago, jthorpein said:

 

What do you think about the specs for a Raspberry Pi 4 B and Kodi ... think this might get me by as I look into cases, parts, etc. for a mini HTPC and the time it'll take to get the parts to build it??

 

Video on the Pi 4 B (Desktop version)

 

<snip>

A pi would work, no doubt about it, I just don't know how well it would preform without testing it.

The 4gb Pi 4 b model looks promising, and the duel 4k and built in heat sink is a plus. It appears to be the most powerful pi to date, source. Keep in mind, it runs a soc (system on a chip) like the firestick or a android box, not a processor like the beelink, or a 'HTPC'.

 

I personally would go the HTPC route, if the funds are available making your own would be a great option. if you want a pre-built for sub 200 usd, I would still suggest checking out the Beelink BT3 Pro II Mini. I don't have any part recommendations for an HTCP, but the forum is a great resource.

[KeyboardCowboy]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BPvHdX

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($86.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450I GAMING PLUS AC Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - XPG SX6000 128 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($30.49 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design - Node 202 HTPC Case w/450 W Power Supply  ($140.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $403.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-06-25 09:02 EDT-0400

 

I'm sure if you poked the 'home theater' thread somebody could give you a better HTPC recommendation.

[jthorpein]

2 hours ago, KeyboardCowboy said:

A pi would work, no doubt about it, I just don't know how well it would preform without testing it.

The 4gb Pi 4 b model looks promising, and the duel 4k and built in heat sink is a plus. It appears to be the most powerful pi to date, source. Keep in mind, it runs a soc (system on a chip) like the firestick or a android box, not a processor like the beelink, or a 'HTPC'.

 

I personally would go the HTPC route, if the funds are available making your own would be a great option. if you want a pre-built for sub 200 usd, I would still suggest checking out the Beelink BT3 Pro II Mini. I don't have any part recommendations for an HTCP, but the forum is a great resource.

 

I've seen quite a few videos on Pi's being set up for media ... but not really anything that I've seen as far as in playing (especially the VOB DVD file format) ... so was hoping to find something that'll work at least for now. I'm guessing at the bare minimum it'll take me a couple months to more than likely around 6 months to be able to get the parts, etc. to do a DIY HTPC. If this gives you some idea, I still have a old Sony rear projection TV that needs upgrading (especially since it has no HDMI ports), but have do a little here, a little there or put back a little here and there (cash wise).

 

 

 

So I'm thinking (depending on cash)

 

Month 1 (to 2) case, and RAM

Month 2 (or 3) Mobo, and maybe drive

Month 3 (or 4) etc.

 

I believe the Raspberry Pi 4 was released earlier this month.

 

Basically I'd like to have a basic system that'll play DVD/Blu-Ray files from a NAS (and possibly 4K in the future), have a DVD/Blu-Ray/4K drive to play discs locally like a DVD player, access Netflix, Hulu, Prime, YouTube, in a case about the size/form as a cable box (preferably with a door that'll hide the DVD drive, USB ports or any front ports)

 

 

 

Something that would be low powered, preferably lower than the 450 W power supply say a 200 W as long as it's enough to run a mobo, dvd drive and a hdd/ssd... even if the mobo uses a power brick like laptops use, that's fine. Then there's the issue of an OS/program, something like a free or low cost Linux distro or something like that.

 

Something like this would be ideal... https://bit-tech.net/guides/modding/project-log/how-to-build-a-dvd-server/1/ which uses an OS/program called Cinemar which costs around $300 to $350 ... but I don't know if that is the cost for each device or for all (i.e. can you install the same copy on multiple devices or will it only allow you to install it on one like Windows OS) (their write up of Cinemar: https://bit-tech.net/guides/modding/project-log/how-to-build-a-dvd-server/4/).