Home/ Questions/Q 4598534
In Process

The Archive Base Latest Questions

Editorial Team
  • 0
Asked: 2026-05-21T23:24:46+00:00

just looking for some advice, pointers, and suggestions for further reading. I have: 1

  • 0

just looking for some advice, pointers, and suggestions for further reading.

I have:

  1. 1 router
  2. 1 linux server (ubuntu 10.04)
  3. 2 TVs
  4. various speakers
  5. 2 desktops
  6. 1 iPad

I want to make a home network so that given a request to my server (perhaps GET request to PHP script or something) that my server can start streaming audio or video to any device. I think this will be easier with things that can have IPs (desktop, iPad, etc) but not sure about the others (I don’t have an IP TV). I would like to do this over wireless, but I may need Ethernet for HD video, etc.

What can you recommend? I’ve been recommended MBone. maybe my problem stems form the fact I don’t understand how I would push streaming video to a TV, which is “dumb” (no processor or even IP address).

Share

Leave an answer

You must login to add an answer.

Need An Account,

1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    I’d say forget writing something yourself (unless you want to do this as an academic excercise). Instead, look into UPnP/DLNA.

    • Get a UPnP server for your linux box. Something like MediaTomb would come highly recomended.
    • for your TVs you can get something like a boxee or a seagate freeagent/goflex.
    • I think the existing players in Windows/Ubuntu support DLNA to an extent, but look into XBMC.
    • For your Ipad get something like media:connect
    • To push media from server to player, look into DLNA control points (paid version of media:connect can do that. or something like andromote if you have an android phone)
    • Wifi could be fine for 720p, but for 1080p especially with something like DTS its almost impossible.

    Having said all of that, YMMV. I’ve found that many commercial products (connected TVs especially) hate MKV and DTS (forget DTS-MA or Dolby TrueHD) over DLNA, even if they can play them back from a connected USB drive. Many networked media players also have problems over UPnP/DLNA while they work over a Windows/SAMBA share.

    I, personally, having spent plenty of time and money on various combinations, have stuck with a good old Samba share on a NAS drive serving a Seagate media player. All computers have access to it too. Your ipad may have a problem with this though.

    • 0