This week I will be attempting to stream .flac music files to my phone (which is android based) from my PC as well as hopefully streaming a .mkv video file to the ipad in regular definition and high definition (720p). I am hoping that my wifi bandwidth is capable of streaming the video file in hd without any issues.
Since I have yet tried to stream .flac to my phone, I began by digging through the avsforums to try find out what my best solutions were. Some people suggested some NAS (network attached storage) solutions, but because I am not ready to invest yet, I am hopefully I can get it working with my PC.
Since I have yet tried to stream .flac to my phone, I began by digging through the avsforums to try find out what my best solutions were. Some people suggested some NAS (network attached storage) solutions, but because I am not ready to invest yet, I am hopefully I can get it working with my PC.
(Every great project always begins with a google search)
And I did manage to find an app called "Subsonic" that I am hoping will work with the network modifications I made last time to my PC. After Installing the app and launching I am met with:
And I did manage to find an app called "Subsonic" that I am hoping will work with the network modifications I made last time to my PC. After Installing the app and launching I am met with:
The first disappointment of this session. I am not interested in streaming my music over the internet to my phone, I am looking for an in network solution.
After a few more searches and some time on the android app store I managed to find an app Xenoamp. Initial set up was fairly easy, had to input my network settings and PC credentials to access my drives. It was able to successfully read my drives, but the next issue I encountered was not technical. The app aims for simplicity, too much simplicity. Switching songs, albums, folders, etc. is actually a hassle as swiping or other gestures do not register too well. Here is a sample of the interface:
After a few more searches and some time on the android app store I managed to find an app Xenoamp. Initial set up was fairly easy, had to input my network settings and PC credentials to access my drives. It was able to successfully read my drives, but the next issue I encountered was not technical. The app aims for simplicity, too much simplicity. Switching songs, albums, folders, etc. is actually a hassle as swiping or other gestures do not register too well. Here is a sample of the interface:
I have successfully managed to stream my high quality CD backups to my phone. Unfortunately the interface is not very usable, and in a party setting where I would like to just play something I like quickly, I would probably end up fighting with the user interface.
Now the iPad:
Streaming video files to the iPad I know is not that bad, if you are playing by Apple's rules and are only using their approved/supported file types. Unfortunately, my preferred video container has been shunned by the awesome people at Apple. I looked through a few of these videos and most required converting, streaming over the internet, or downloading the file to the iPad. All methods I know work, but it is not what I am searching for:
Now the iPad:
Streaming video files to the iPad I know is not that bad, if you are playing by Apple's rules and are only using their approved/supported file types. Unfortunately, my preferred video container has been shunned by the awesome people at Apple. I looked through a few of these videos and most required converting, streaming over the internet, or downloading the file to the iPad. All methods I know work, but it is not what I am searching for:
Watching one of those videos I see that PlayerXtreme supports most of what I am looking for and decide to try out it. Within the first minute it tells me that I need to purchase the full version to access most of its features. After finding out that the OPlayerHD that I used last time supports video file access as well I decide to give it a try, and managed to successfully load up a video:
Unfortunately it appears as though the age of my router is beginning to show. It does not play the video smoothly. It could be any number of factors: hard disk speed/access, wireless bandwidth, too many connected devices.