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What media server programs will let me stream videos to a remote pc?

post #1 of 11
4/27/12 at 6:36am
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for a media server that will let me stream videos from my home PC to another web connected PC (remotely; not through the local network).

Requirements:

- Some kind of web interface where I can either watch the video on the browser or use with a player program like VLC player or other client software.
- must have Transcoding ability (don't want to have to download the entire video before I can watch it)
- The ability to fastforward or skip to the middle of the video is a big plus.
- Must have MKV support
- DLNA support is a plus, but not needed

Media servers ive tried so far:

Tversity - functionally, it's very close to what I want, but has mediocre video quality, very slow fastforward/skip. Web flash feels buggy.
Twonky - no transcoding
Wild Media Server - requires a license per device, hard to set up.
Serviio - installed and tried to configure but wasn't able to find any web streaming options.
Mezzmo - doesn't stream videos over the web as far as I can tell

Any suggestions?
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post #2 of 11
4/27/12 at 7:37am
Take a look at Plex http://www.plexapp.com/.

You can also use VLC to configure this as well, but it requires quite a bit of trial and error to actually get it to work.
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post #3 of 11
4/27/12 at 7:51am
You may find this thread useful. I asked a similar question recently.
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post #4 of 11
4/27/12 at 7:57am
For something slightly different, may I suggest you have a look at Splashtop. It is a remote desktop application, so it may not be what you want if you are also using the home PC at the same time. But if that isn't an issue, you may find that it is really functional.

It is mostly known for being useful for mobile (android/apple) devices. But they have a PC client too.

I use Splashtop on my phone to watch/control my DVR server when on business trips. It works well with a decent hotel wifi connection and I can still watch my local 10pm news, wherever I am, before going to sleep at night.

-Suntan
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post #5 of 11
4/27/12 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:


Take a look at Plex http://www.plexapp.com/.

Thanks. I'll give it a try. Is it able to stream remotely to another computer? looking at its features, it seems like it just streams to mobile devices (smartphones).

Quote:


You may find this thread useful. I asked a similar question recently.

Thx for the reply. Your thread is a bit different as your situation involves streaming to a device locally through wifi. I'm trying to get my videos to stream through the web to a remote computer (outside of the local network). There are many DLNA media servers that can stream things in the same household, but there seems to be less media servers that can stream my vids away from home.
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post #6 of 11
4/27/12 at 9:52am
You should be able to use Plex to view remotely thru the myplex part of the interface. I haven't been able to verify this, with it because my server is in the shop at the moment.

You are definitely able to do this with remotepotato.

http://www.remotepotato.com/

I'm not sure if you are familiar with setting up a domain name but check out dyndns to do so. The domain name will keep track of your external IP address and you simply type in the domain name and the port you set up RP with.

i.e. mydomainname.dyndns-remote.com:9080

9080 being the port opened up for it.

Remote potato isn't as sophisticated as Plex and it wont pull down metadata or stuff like that but it simply works to play my videos remotely. I've played MKV's, VOB and a couple of other types of files with no problem on a remote PC's browser as well as on an android phone.

If you decide to give this a try be aware, if you are installing the software on a regular pc no problem. If you install it on a WHS 2011 setup you must un-check the WMC option in the setup for it to work properly.
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post #7 of 11
4/28/12 at 1:58am
you can also try
www.orb.com
Around the Globe - Remote Access

With Orb Caster installed on your home computer, you can access all your media from any internet-connected computer. Use a browser to login to mycast.orb.com, enter your Orb username/password and all the media on your home computer can now be viewed through the Mycast portal. Orb's Remote Access is the perfect way to have all your music, photos and video at your fingertips around the Globe.

All you need is a free download of Orb Caster.

it even works with Tv tuners connected to your Pc
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post #8 of 11
4/29/12 at 5:16am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the suggestions.

I've tried Remote Potato and it is very very close to what I'm looking for (aka, close enough). It has a very functional web UI interface and even uses Silverlight which I like. Very simple setup, and I love that you have the option to share via your WIndows media library or standard shares by folder.

I've also tried Plex with good results. The main downside is that Plex requires the installation of the Plex Media Center (or installation of the paid phone app) to view videos that you've shared. And you can't share media with yourself. It has to be shared with another MyPlex user so I had to end up making 2 Myplex accounts in order to accomplish my goal of being to able to stream stuff from home.

This makes it not as convenient as Remote Potato. On the upside though, the quality and video performance within Plex is very good and the interface is like XMBC which is pretty slick, though it relies too much on keyboard/remote input. I've tried it with mouse input activated and its kinda buggy and inaccurate. This is probably because Plex, like XMBC, is meant for a 10 ft HTPC experience, which is more than what I am looking for at the moment.

Both probably seem to handle fastforwarding/skipping fairly well.

Thx for the Orb suggestions. I always thought Orb was a physical device and didn't know it also a media server program. I will try it next.
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post #9 of 11
11/7/12 at 5:51am
You can use various remote support services such as LogMeIn, gosupportnow etc. in order to share videos, files etc. between home PC and web connected PC.
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post #10 of 11
4/2/13 at 6:50am
ArkMC try as well, I heard many good suggestions about this app
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post #11 of 11
4/4/13 at 10:17am
J. River media center will stream to and from any PC, iPad, iPhone, Android device, TV, etc. all formats - audio, video, bluray. It will use it's own app called Gizmo, or a web interface. It works flawless.

Jimmy
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