How to stream movies from my networked media pc to my ASUS TF101

[westsidesean]

Hi. I am baffled. I am trying to stream movies from my home networked media pc (dell studio hybrid with external media hard drive) to my tablet (ASUS TF101) through my home network via wifi. If I try this through my laptop using Windows Media Player, it works just fine. It streams and decodes great. The problem I am having is that of all the video programs I have tried (mobo, mx player, etc.) none of them seem to be able to open up my home network to access my media pc. I did find one program that could access the network (File Manager HD) , but it wants to download the entire movie to the tablet and then play it. The "My Net" application that come with the tablet seems to find the files, but it will not play them. Are there any codec packs that I can download that will allow the "My Net" program to play .vob files. I guess I could convert all my .vob files over to another type if I had to. I am trying to set this up so my kids can go and pick a movie off our home media server and watch it - similar to what they can already do through Windows Media Player (using the Media Browser add on). Any suggestions?

 

[Frederuco]

Welcome to the forum!

I have 2 suggestions for you:

1 - Try using ES File Explorer. It can stream from a network share to the app of your choice. I use it to stream mkv files and such. Also, check out the app Daroon Player as it can play .vob files. You should be able to stream these via ES File Explorer to Daroon as well, no need to convert.

2 - Check out Plex. Plex is a media streaming app program. Install the server on your PC, set the directories and it will transcode to a compatible format. It also works with Roku, Google TV and Apple TV since they have apps for it. It also has a way to stream stuff remotely. I have my DVR (I use BeyondTV to record) dump its files to Plex and I can watch my DVR content from anywhere in the world. You just need to have a decent (2 Mbps) upload connection and sign up for MyPlex and viola! Also, Plex has a nice interface and categorizes your shows.

Here are some screenshots from Plex:

 

[westsidesean]

Thanks so much!! I tried using ES file explorer and I was able to stream using MX player. I am also going to try PLEX so that my kids have an easier GUI to work with so they can find movies on their own. Thanks again!!

 

[Frederuco]

Great. Plex costs $5 from the Play Store. Get the server set up on your PC first, use that PC or another PC to connect to make sure it is working, then install the app on your tablet. Try it to see how it works. The Play Store has a 15 minute return policy so you can return it if it is not working.

 

[westsidesean]

OK, so I tried the Plex sever / player combo and it won't stream .vob files. So then I downloaded a Make MKV, and converted one video and it now plays it back, but it is jumpy and now I have two versions of the same movie on my hard drive whicg takes up valuable space. ES file explorer and MX player work great with fluid streaming but it just takes 10 steps to get to a movie. There has go to be some sort of GUI that makes this work easier. Maybe one of my settings in PLEX is not set up right?

 

[Frederuco]

I have not used make MKV, I got a copy of DVD Catalyst a while ago for $10. Does the converted file play OK using ES File Explorer?

I found this at the plex forums: PLEX VIDEO_TS OR .VOB FILE WORK AROUND - Plex Forums

If you have all the VOB files for a movie merged they should work with Plex, but the separated files do not work.