Please guide in setting up a small home media server

[ayushman9]

1 . I have a spare PC at home ,win 7 ultimate based , that can be powered on 24 hrs . It is connected to an external 1 TB hard drive in which I store all my media files . However it is adapter based & not portable & hence i keep it connected to PC.

2. I have 2 laptops both win 7 ultimate based . Also i am planning to purchase a sub 12k tablet probably based on gingerbeard operating system later this month

3. I have set up a home wifi system using bsnl modem & a dlink router thus providing internet connectivity to any device with wifi .

4. After 1 or 2 month i am going to buy a LCD tv (simple one) & a tv media player with wifi


Now i have media files , documents etc in all three . Presently say if i need to see any movie that is say stored in my home pc ,in my laptop ,then i have to manually browse the home pc by going into Network->Home pc name -> Shared folder -> , just like a normal file management.

However this process though easy is quite cumbersome , since it means each time i boot laptop ,i have to go to network ,enter username password of target pc ,browse through mammoth of files (even though it has been organised quite well ) . I have to repeat the same process if i need to access any other file in other laptop or vice versa .Internetworking among them is however easy compared to when i used to use windows xp owing to "homegroup" feature of win 7.

Now what i a need is a software or a method that can make all this task easy & more importantly reduce the delay involved so that i have a one stop solution to watch any media instantly without hassle of searching every time . I will be moving all my files into my home pc and it will act as a central depository

Also after i purchase the tablet as well as LCD TV ,say i need to perform the same steps in them ie want to stream media stored in home pc to my tablet or TV ,the what modification will i need to do in the method or is there any software that can take care of all this needs

Please help ?

 

[Tech&ME]

I think you should buy Boxee : Link

This will do much more than you just asked above.

 

[ayushman9]

I think you should buy Boxee : Link

This will do much more than you just asked above.

sorry dude ,but you should know i want simultenous streaming with help of my spare PC . Boxee is more or less meant for media viewing in tv . I presently don't own it ,it is a future addition as pointed in last point.

I need some software/method to convert my spare pc into a media server which can stream media into my laptops & tablet .

 

[Tech&ME]

Boxee can stream media to your ipad, android devices.

However, you can look at this list and decide for yourself which software/server you need.
----
Another option :
Apple's Airplay is what you are looking for. Airplay can stream media across all Apple Devices and Apple TV. [ I am not sure if it can stream to windows based PC or not ]

 

[whitestar_999]

are you looking for something like this:
How To: Play Music/Video Simultaneously on Multiple Computers

streaming means that the main system from where streaming is done is in control so clients don't have much choice.if this setup is to be used in a home & you are going to move all your media files to a single location then simply use network which is much more flexible when it comes to choices(media player/settings etc on each system)in my opinion.after buying a tv you can connect it to media pc & launch any file by using remote control software like teamviewer/logmein from any other system.

 

[ayushman9]

are you looking for something like this:
How To: Play Music/Video Simultaneously on Multiple Computers

streaming means that the main system from where streaming is done is in control so clients don't have much choice.if this setup is to be used in a home & you are going to move all your media files to a single location then simply use network which is much more flexible when it comes to choices(media player/settings etc on each system)in my opinion.after buying a tv you can connect it to media pc & launch any file by using remote control software like teamviewer/logmein from any other system.

This solves some of my requirements ,however this is singlecast which means i have to go to main server (pc) ,start streaming ,and then then can watch it in my laptop ,something like how movies are transmitted in multiplex theatre ie a fixed file at a time

but what i require is something like a "library view" in laptop ,so that i open the library ,select the required file & start playing with file information except that none of the files are actually stored in the laptop .

Apple's Airplay is what you are looking for. Airplay can stream media across all Apple Devices and Apple TV. [ I am not sure if it can stream to windows based PC or not ]

ok i agree it actually solves all problem but again one this software if i am correct is restricted to music & second there is the apple only problem

 

[RCuber]

I have a lot to tell about this topic but wont be able to cover much right now..

Here is how I have setup my home network.
---------------
I have a PC, laptop and a Media Player(with HDD and Network ). PC and laptop runs on Win 7.

all three are connected to my network (laptop via wifi) I have two wifi routers in my network. at ground floor and one in first floor.

I have file sharing enabled on my PC(which acts as my primary media server) and my media player and can see each others files on the network. I will give more details below.

--------------

Now coming to your query. I can give you a rough idea on how to go about.

There are a couple of things needed to setup your media server.

1. Make sure that all of your devices are on the same domain/workgroup.
2. Arrange all files and folders to a similar format .. like Movies, Pictures, Music etc.
3. Map network drives in all of your PC's
a. Open Windows Explorer > Tools > Map Network Drive
b. Select a drive name and then enter the path to the PC/shared folder. give user name and password.
c. repeat for all the shared folders..

Once this is done you will be able to directly access your media using the drive letters.

Another method which I tired but was not able to implement completely was that I used YAMJ . this software can download all information regarding the media files stored in a folders and then create a index.html file .. browsing this html file will show you the media like a jukebox. I couldn't use it as I didn't get time to experiment with it.

This is the most basic setup which will work.
when skimming through the internet for sharing sharing through DLNA I got this link , check if it helps you..

Link: [Guide] Setting Up DLNA(AllShare) on Windows 7 - Android Forums

PS: I injured my hand a little bit today while returning home.. hence I am not in a mood to write a lot on this topic!! .. will post once I get back to mood

 

[ayushman9]

I have a lot to tell about this topic but wont be able to cover much right now..

Here is how I have setup my home network.
---------------
I have a PC, laptop and a Media Player(with HDD and Network ). PC and laptop runs on Win 7.

all three are connected to my network (laptop via wifi) I have two wifi routers in my network. at ground floor and one in first floor.

I have file sharing enabled on my PC(which acts as my primary media server) and my media player and can see each others files on the network. I will give more details below.

--------------

Now coming to your query. I can give you a rough idea on how to go about.

There are a couple of things needed to setup your media server.

1. Make sure that all of your devices are on the same domain/workgroup.
2. Arrange all files and folders to a similar format .. like Movies, Pictures, Music etc.
3. Map network drives in all of your PC's
a. Open Windows Explorer > Tools > Map Network Drive
b. Select a drive name and then enter the path to the PC/shared folder. give user name and password.
c. repeat for all the shared folders..

Once this is done you will be able to directly access your media using the drive letters.

Another method which I tired but was not able to implement completely was that I used YAMJ . this software can download all information regarding the media files stored in a folders and then create a index.html file .. browsing this html file will show you the media like a jukebox. I couldn't use it as I didn't get time to experiment with it.

This is the most basic setup which will work.
when skimming through the internet for sharing sharing through DLNA I got this link , check if it helps you..

Link: [Guide] Setting Up DLNA(AllShare) on Windows 7 - Android Forums

PS: I injured my hand a little bit today while returning home.. hence I am not in a mood to write a lot on this topic!! .. will post once I get back to mood

thanks a lot dude

let me start experimenting with players & libraries that support this feature ie remote media info & streaming

hope your mood get better soon & you share additional info