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Re: Stream video files to ipad

BJB
Aspirant
Aspirant

Stream video files to ipad

Not a Max OS question but the closest section I could find for this post.

I have a Readynas RN104 that is working pretty well with Windows PC’s and a WDTV live streamer. So now of course I have to mess it up! 

I would also like to stream AVI’s and MLK’s (and perhaps ISO’s?) directly to an Ipad now. Just on my local wifi network.
Hopefully this does not get into too much “apple-specific” discussion vs. Readynas but not sure where else to obtain the info.

I have read about Readynas Remote but I am not trying to access anything from the “cloud”. Although I understand that it will work on the local lan and the cloud, I just don’t want to go through the cloud website just to access something locally. I just want to stream these SMB shares and files on the NAS to my Ipad when connected to the same network. I also know Readynas has the “Itunes streaming server” but I assume that is limited to ios-friendly file types and I want to stream and play more than those video file types.

So I want to be able to “stream”/play these files directly (and not download or copy them) on an ipad. I understand there are a few players that will play those file types. I have seen buzzplayer, goodplayer, and 8 player all mentioned. Haven’t really figured out which is the best yet so any input appreciated there also. Also not sure if the player itself can “see” the shares or if I need some kind of file browser to see the share on the NAS and then the player kicks in.

Perhaps it is as simple as using the right player and accessing the SMB shares directly and I don’t need to do anything on the Readynas to make to happen.

Thanks for any direction here,
BJB
Message 1 of 8

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StephenB
Guru

Re: Stream video files to ipad

With Goodreader you need to download (and I think it is limited to mp4). It's a useful app generally, but doesn't do video streaming.

AVplayerhd can directly play the media w/o downloading. It accesses the NAS through FTP. iplayer8 also works well over dlna (at least with plex). I believe both have free versions, so you can try them (though you will need the paid apps for real use).

Both handle AVIs and MKVs, but neither play ISOs - I am not aware of any mobile player that does. You might run into issues with some codecs (DTS in particular). As mdgm indicates, the RN104 is not able to transcode on the fly. However, I am able to play the bulk of my media without that. I have a lot of experience with transcoding tools, and I simply convert stuff off-line when that's needed.

The iTunes server is only for music - and it is not useful for ipad playback. It can be used with Apple Remote to render on your AppleTV or other AirPlay device (at least it will be capable of that when Netgear fixes the current airplay bugs). But you can't use it to play directly on the iPad. That requires "home sharing" which is only available in the real iTunes.

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Message 3 of 8

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mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Stream video files to ipad

You would need to be able to direct play the media. I'm not sure if there are apps for the iPhone that can direct play media in those formats (certainly I wouldn't think it would be possible with ISO's).

The 104 has an ARM CPU which is not powerful enough to transcode media. Normally what I would recommend for these usage requirements would be one of the NAS units with an Intel CPU, maybe a 314 or a 516 depending on your requirements. With Plex Media Server running on the ReadyNAS, the 314 or the 516 could transcode video (the 516 can transcode higher quality video than the 314) to the right format to stream to your iPad. Have a look at http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/FAQ:_Plex_Media_Server_and_NAS
Message 2 of 8
StephenB
Guru

Re: Stream video files to ipad

With Goodreader you need to download (and I think it is limited to mp4). It's a useful app generally, but doesn't do video streaming.

AVplayerhd can directly play the media w/o downloading. It accesses the NAS through FTP. iplayer8 also works well over dlna (at least with plex). I believe both have free versions, so you can try them (though you will need the paid apps for real use).

Both handle AVIs and MKVs, but neither play ISOs - I am not aware of any mobile player that does. You might run into issues with some codecs (DTS in particular). As mdgm indicates, the RN104 is not able to transcode on the fly. However, I am able to play the bulk of my media without that. I have a lot of experience with transcoding tools, and I simply convert stuff off-line when that's needed.

The iTunes server is only for music - and it is not useful for ipad playback. It can be used with Apple Remote to render on your AppleTV or other AirPlay device (at least it will be capable of that when Netgear fixes the current airplay bugs). But you can't use it to play directly on the iPad. That requires "home sharing" which is only available in the real iTunes.
Message 3 of 8
BJB
Aspirant
Aspirant

Re: Stream video files to ipad

Thanks to all for the replies. As noted, I don't want to transcode anything with the 104. Just play the files like I can with other non IOS devices directly over a share. I can live without playing ISO's if I have to.

Looks like I will try AVplayerhd, buzzplayer and iplayer 8 and see which works the best.

I would prefer not to have to tax the 104 by running plexserver or something....if a player could just access the file and play it (like all the other streaming players and windows devices) that would be great!

Thanks,
BJB
Message 4 of 8
StephenB
Guru

Re: Stream video files to ipad

BJB wrote:
...I would prefer not to have to tax the 104 by running plexserver or something....if a player could just access the file and play it (like all the other streaming players and windows devices) that would be great!...
plex is just a dlna server - an alternative to readydlna. On the intel units (RN3xx, RN5xx) it can transcode, but when that feature is off it is no more demanding than any other dlna server. I've been running it on the RN102, I haven't see any signs of distress.

With iplayer8 at least plex gives a nice organization to the media files.
Message 5 of 8
diiilpickle
Tutor

Re: Stream video files to ipad

BJB wrote:
Thanks to all for the replies. As noted, I don't want to transcode anything with the 104. Just play the files like I can with other non IOS devices directly over a share. I can live without playing ISO's if I have to.

Looks like I will try AVplayerhd, buzzplayer and iplayer 8 and see which works the best.

I would prefer not to have to tax the 104 by running plexserver or something....if a player could just access the file and play it (like all the other streaming players and windows devices) that would be great!

Thanks,
BJB

If your iPad is jailbroken you could install xbmc, then just add your media sources from your nas into xbmc which works as usual.
Works great for me 🙂
Message 6 of 8
BJB
Aspirant
Aspirant

Re: Stream video files to ipad

Thanks again for the info to all. I thought I would report back...
Buzzplayer froze playing any my videos..
However as recommended above, I tried AVplayerHD via FTP streaming. It worked very well. Played videos in native format with no transcoding. Exactly what I was looking for. No itunes, no transcoding, just direct playback like a non-ios tablet or PC.

Very nice. Highly recommended.

BJB
Message 7 of 8
StephanieBritt
Aspirant

Re: Stream video files to ipad

I'm using WALTR for getting videos to my iPad. Works great, really fast, plays avi, mkv, flac..etc on idevices easily. I just imported the video, it saved a lot of time. No need to sync or use iTunes:) + it plays my movie on a native playback what considerably saves battery!

Message 8 of 8
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