# Streaming HD surround video over LAN to TV



## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

Hey

Im going to build a new living room and i want to be able to stream HD surround video content from my pc to my tv/reciever.

Ive been looking at these small boxes like chromecast, boxee, roku, apple tv, andoid stick, etc.
And as i understand it some of these are a bit limited when it comes to quality and surround functions...

Is there anyone here that got some experiences with any of these or others that will do the job?
Streaming over internet like netflix and such isnt important as my internet is too bad to stream HD.

If no other option is good enough i will have to run a HDMI cable through the walls and use a HDMI splitter/switcher... a bit messy

Any help appreciated


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Surround sound system is a separate system from the TV and "small boxes". Might want to walk into a TV /sound system store and talk to them.

You don't need a computer with a Roku or other device.

You would connect wirelessly from Roku to internet and only have the hdmi cable from roku to TV for example


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

Im not sure if you follow completeley, i might have been unclear...

I have video files on my computer that i want to play on my tv, what is the best option to get it to the tv at high quality and at 5.1 surround?
Running a hdmi from the pc to copy the computer screen would work but is messy.

So im thinking about streaming the video over the lan to some kind of streaming box that feed the reciever to play the audio and passes on the video to the tv.

Maybe this is not the best forum for this type of questions?


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

I did miss the part about your internet being bad which takes out all of those "boxes" you were looking at. For you that's a dead end since they all require a decent internet connection.

The TV sound plays thru the surround system. So in your case you would connect the pc to the TV, set the TV to PC, configure your video card to either extend to the TV or use the TV as a second monitor.

Assuming your PC video card has a DVI interface [unless you have a hdmi interface which I have only seen on laptops] as well as your TV has a HDMI interface you would need a cable like this
Link Depot Male HDMI to Male DVI-D Cable - Walmart.com

A lot depends on your TV. I have a older one and when playing from a laptop I have to also connect a sound cable to the surround system.


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

My last two graphics cards have had hdmi output, and thats what ive been using for my main monitor. 
For my second monitor i have dvi to vga as its an old one.
For the tv setup i want to copy my main (hdmi) screen to the tv via a hdmi splitter.
This is a quite messy and potentionally not working setup.

All i want is to watch my video files that is stored on my pc on my tv.
To avoid the mess above i am looking for a little box to connect to my tv/reciever system. 
*This need to output 1080p and 5.1 DTS.* Its here i run into trouble.
That my internet speed does not matter in this case as i only want to stream files ove my local network.
Im looking for a "box" as i have limited space available and a dedicated media pc would bo too big.

*So basicly im asking(and the only thing you need to think about):*
Is there a "box" that will stream files from a pc on a local network at 1080p 5.1 DTS quality?


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

"Is there a "box" that will stream files from a pc on a local network"

Not that I am aware of. 

Everyone just streams the video via the cable to the TV from the pc which is why there is no demand for such a device.


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

> For the tv setup i want to copy my main (hdmi) screen to the tv via a hdmi splitter.


 An HDMI splitter is not going to work very well. If you have a video card with HDMI just directly connect that to a TV. This should output 5.1 audio and High Def Video. Use the DVI or VGA connection to connect to a computer monitor. If you have a VGA connector on the TV you can output the computer thru that, though it won't be high def, and run a separate audio cable from the sound card of the computer to the audio IN of the TV.


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

spunk.funk said:


> An HDMI splitter is not going to work very well. If you have a video card with HDMI just directly connect that to a TV. This should output 5.1 audio and High Def Video. Use the DVI or VGA connection to connect to a computer monitor. If you have a VGA connector on the TV you can output the computer thru that, though it won't be high def, and run a separate audio cable from the sound card of the computer to the audio IN of the TV.


The thing is that i already have dual monitor setup for my computer, and still want to have that. Also the pc is not close to the tv, and to avoid all the cabling and splitter setup im looking for a "box".

Do any of you have a litte media pc connected to you tv/home theatre?


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Roku has My Media which you can point to a My Media share on your computer.

You would need a wifi network for connecting the roku to your pc and hdmi from roku to tv. You also need to convert the video files to the My Media format.

PlayOn | Stream Your Videos, Photos, and Music to Your TV with MyMedia | PlayOn


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

Numerous units, such as the Roku and WD Live, can "stream" (ie: access and play) files across a network. For best performance, you will need an ethernet connection to the box at the TV.

For that matter, most new TV's, DVD players, Blu-Ray players, xBox 360, PS3, etc. can stream data across the network. Simply extend your LAN (ie: home network) to your TV and your options are endless.


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

I dont have any gaming console, and just a normal tv and dvd player. So i have no way of streaming atm, or i got a rasbpi though which works though but i feel its ui is too "laggy" and its a bit slow for my taste. 
The important thing about the device i need is for it to be 5.1 HD surround as i think sound(surround and quality) stands for a large percentage of a movies entertainment.

And what ive found is that many of these popular streaming devices dont support 5.1.

Ive started thinking about building a htpc, but i feel it unnecessary as i would only use it to stream media content...


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

I don't know which devices you are looking at when comparing audio. But most support surround. Surround sound (as with your "standard DVD player") is dependant upon an AVR (ie: surround sound system), and not necessarily the device itself.

Both the Roku or WD Live support surround audio, as do most others I suspect.

Roku 3: (taken from specs page)
Audio Output
Digital over HDMI (7.1 and 5.1 surround pass through)

WD Live: (taken from specs page)
Audio - MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

With the roku 3 i find that it is the software that is the bottleneck. 
A support guy at PlayOn told me that the MyMedia app only support 5.1 1080p for the file types that are able to be played natively at the requesting device(when transcoding is not necessary).
That means it only works with MP4 and MKV(the supported media formats for the roku 3 ) if im right? Id like to be able to play more than 2 media formats...
I see the video file formats supported by wd tv live is more extensive, but reviews on it are complaining of it beeing slow, but i will have a look into this one


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## jimscreechy (Jan 7, 2005)

What type of TV do you have? Does it have a network connection because you haven't actually said. 

The easiest way is to install a 3rd party application on your PC which will allow it to act as a streaming server. It has all the configuration options that allow you to share the folders you like for play on your PC. A particularly good one is called Servio, it runs as a service so you can just turn on the pc then start watching. By default the audio streaming is stereo but there is an option (if I remember rightly) to stream in multichannel format too. This is far easier than messing with Video cards and HDMI connections and if your TV is wireless you won't even have to run any cables. If your TV has no network facility then... what the guys said above.


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## jimscreechy (Jan 7, 2005)

> Is there a "box" that will stream files from a pc on a local network at 1080p 5.1 DTS quality?


There are network devices that you connect to your TV (via DVI, video, and 'probably' HDMI these days) and will pick up streams from your TV once you have installed the suitable software or set it up on your PC/server yes. Most of the more reputable domestic brands like Netgear used to make them and I believe still do. They used to be a bit flaky, and never worked properly on wireless but are probably better these days... if this is what your talking about.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

"will pick up streams from your TV "
Not trying to be picky but you have this backwards. TV never stream to pcs but pcs stream to TVs


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

I dont care about the tv, as it is to be streamed through an a/v reciever. You wont get 5.1 out of your two crappy tv speakers. I just want to stream at hd and in 5.1 from all the popular filetypes with a pretty smooth ui.

Im also not fond of these smart tvs, i just dont like em. The tv in mind is just a relativley cheap 50" plasma, specifically the LG 50PN650T.
I wont get a tv with heaps of functions like 3d that im never going to use.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Smart TVs have internet connection and built in services similar to Roku.
As seen here there are TVs that pass Dolby 5.1
20 TVs tested: Which sets can pass surround sound to a sound bar? - CNET

You have had plenty of input and time to consider what you are going to get.
What have you decided upon?


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## 2tts (Dec 3, 2010)

As the main usage for this tv is movie watching im going to stick with a plasma tv, to get the same black levels and other specs good for movies in a led tv youll need to go to a completely different price range, and ill rather spend it on something else. Most of these expensive tvs also come with so many unnecessary features that i couldnt care less about.

I think ill go for the wd tv live first and see if it does the job.
If not i will have to build a little htpc.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

Sounds good. Best of luck.


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