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Netflix plays on silverlight.
There is a linux silverlight project called moonlight.
Android is Linux.
My searching has found 0 tutorials on how to get all of that together so I can stream netflix movies onto my captivate.
I did see the article about netflix saying in 2011 that there will be a netflix branded app on some devices but it doesnt list devices so not even sure if that would help.
Moonlight doesn't work with Netflix even on Ubuntu or Fedora, or any other Linux build. On normal Linux, even when switching the UA string to one that identifies as Windows, it still isn't compatible. To watch Netflix on Linux you have to create a VM with Windows and use Silverlight there.
It is a nice idea though. I hear Netflix is coming out with an Android client here soon. They maybe waiting on Gingerbread or Honeycomb.
So I guess the question here is this: What would it take to get virtualbox ported to android??
veive said:
So I guess the question here is this: What would it take to get virtualbox ported to android??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More RAM in our devices.
Two things to add
1. Oracle needs to stop suing Google (VirtualBox was Sun and now Oracle) for VirtualBox to be even remotely ported to something like Android.
2. Android to stop fragmenting so badly that companies like Netflix has to write specific versions of the app for the platform (refer to Angry Birds dev about the topic if you are curious).
Thanks guys - good information...
If Netflix comes out for a phone such as the droid incredible but not for the captivate because the droid has a "DRM" path or something.
Will it be easy for people to "steal" the app so we can get it to work on captivate? Or is it hard to do stuff like that?
NinjaCoder said:
Thanks guys - good information...
If Netflix comes out for a phone such as the droid incredible but not for the captivate because the droid has a "DRM" path or something.
Will it be easy for people to "steal" the app so we can get it to work on captivate? Or is it hard to do stuff like that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No doubt, that's one MAJOR factor thats held back Netflix for soo long on Android... DRM. With Android being as open as it is, Netflix's content providers won't allow it without some kind of strong DRM. It would probably be as easy to "barrow" as Blockbuster from a VZW Android phone.
VirtualBox won't run Windows on a phone. Not enough memory, and CPU emulation from ARM to x86 is crazy slow on something like a phone CPU, no matter if it's 1GHz or 1.28GHz like mine. The UI for an emulated XP, for example, would be like a seriously laggy powerpoint presentation.
We're best off not even thinking about it until an official client is announced.
killatt said:
2. Android to stop fragmenting so badly that companies like Netflix has to write specific versions of the app for the platform (refer to Angry Birds dev about the topic if you are curious).
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Click to collapse
That's not an issue. EVERY Android phone is capable of displaying streaming video. Even the 528MHz MSM7200 based phones can handle streams of up to 1500Kb/s.
Even if the phone is capable of streaming video, Androids fragmentation is getting in the way of the streaming software. For example, the android ustream app does not work on the Galaxy S.
Serisium said:
Even if the phone is capable of streaming video, Androids fragmentation is getting in the way of the streaming software. For example, the android ustream app does not work on the Galaxy S.
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Click to collapse
Again, that has nothing to do with fragmentation. That app is in Beta, so bugs on different builds of Android are 100% expected.
Is it possible to watch Netflix on the touchpad?
SENT FROM MY DINC2 RUNNING CM7 overclocked to 1.6ghz
Don't think so. I'm not a professional, but without an official release from Netflix to the WebOS (or at least a port from Android) we will never be able to do it. It uses silverlight and not flash, that's the problem...
Nop, but amazon on demand does (for whatever that's worth).
Netflix is not currently and will probably never be officially supported for WebOS (which of course is the OS that the Touchpad uses). However, there are some solutions.
Currently, you could use Playon. I've not tried it on the TP personally, but I heard it does not work very well and if it's anything like my experience with Android, then I'd have to agree with those people.
Upcoming solutions, 1) Wait for Android. If Android is not something you are interested in then perhaps, 2) Wait for Splashtop Remote Desktop. Splashtop is the only remote desktop app I've used that plays media from a remote location as if it's playing natively on the device you are using. It's wonderful piece of software and it's coming soon to WebOS.
If neither of those solutions are something you might want to try, unfortunately, you may be out of options. Netflix does not see making an app for webOS worth it's while so we will probably never see an app. Silverlight is what PC's use to play Netflix in the browser, unfortunately that will likely never be supported either.
For those of you not familiar with Rogue Amoeba they are the developers of a very popular iOS/OS X and now Windows application called Airfoil that is capable of streaming any audio source to any Airplay capable device or any device with their "Airspeaker" app installed on it.
As you can imagine they have had great success with this app. Unfortunately they have no plans to develop a version for android. This was made clear in a post in February located here:
rogueamoeba.com/utm/2012/02/18/sending-any-audio-to-android-devices-via-airplay-with-airfoil/
I also contacted Paul Kafasis (CEO of RA) and his response was the same explaining further that Android actively prevents access to it's audio making it nearly impossible to develop an app for android. I've included our conversation below as well.
ME:
I would like to officially submit my request to have the Airfoil app developed for Android.
With over 300,000,0000 android devices sold worldwide as of February 2012 (over 10 times the amount of iOS devices despite a 16 month head start) and another 850,0000 activated every day the potential here is absolutely enormous.
Please seriously reconsider your decision to not develop for android at this time.
PAUL:
Hi Drew,
It's an interesting idea, but at this time, I'm afraid we have no plans for Airfoil for Android. While Android allows for more access than iOS, it's still nearly impossible to grab another application's audio to send it out. As such, Airfoil for Android is a difficult proposition at best.
Perhaps more likely is an Airfoil Speakers client for Android, enabling you to *receive* audio on Android. We don't have any announced plans for that either, but it's likely what you'd see first, before an Airfoil for Android.
Anyhow, we'll keep our eye on the platform, and see what happens!
ME:
Paul,
Thanks for the quick response. I am not a programmer so I won't pretend to know the complexities involved with grabbing the audio output of the device and redirecting it but I wouldn't think it would be extremely difficult to redirect all audio on the device no different than when you plug in a set of headphones or send your audio over Bluetooth. This is what I believe to be the primary feature of your software. Being able to set each app individually to use airplay as a receiver would be nice but certainly not necessary for initial releases. I would hate to see someone beat you to it since you've done such a great job on your iOS, OS X and Windows applications.
PAUL:
Drew,
You wouldn't think so, no, but it is. Android simply does not make this functionality possible, and actively prevents it.
Anyway,
Where I'm getting with all this is that a lot of people would like to see an app with this capability developed for android. Especially now that a large number of devices (receivers, speakers, etc.) in recent years have started to come with airplay compatibility out of the box. People have been requesting this from Airfoil for over 2 years with no response. I was hoping to get the following answered from someone with an intimate knowledge of the capabilities of android:
1. Is it possible to develop an app that is capable of routing all audio on an android device to an Airplay device?
2. If not possible on a locked device, is it possible on a unlocked/rooted device?
3. Is this something anyone on here would be capable or interested in developing?
Thanks for all the help.
Anyone have any opinion or feedback on this? Is it possible is it not?
Negreac said:
Anyone have any opinion or feedback on this? Is it possible is it not?
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+1
I would LOVE to see an app like that! My whole house is wired for airplay with 6 zones and speakers in all ceilings. Iphones can play music in any room. Only app for Android is Honey Player and that is terribly buggy
It would be awesome if it was just possible to send ALL audio like bluetooth A2DP !!!
I just wanted to add my desire for such an app as well. I have airfoil all set up so I can stream from my laptop to my HTPC but it would be awesome if I could do it from my Android phone and tablet.
There must be a developer on here that could do such a thing and I for one would be willing to donate.
The last thing i want is to propagate the Apple jail cell.. they are the only kid on the block that does not want to play with others... and yes, i own an iPad.
I USED to want to get airplay running in my house but i realised that my Samsung Galaxy Note, Blackberry BB9930, Dell PC, HP desktop, HP laptop, Gateway Netbook and Sony TV ALL support DLNA and so i have stopped caring about my iPad and its audio...
A DLNA app for Ios and an itunes plug-in would be the way to get universality here
Mystic38 said:
The last thing i want is to propagate the Apple jail cell.. they are the only kid on the block that does not want to play with others... and yes, i own an iPad.
I USED to want to get airplay running in my house but i realised that my Samsung Galaxy Note, Blackberry BB9930, Dell PC, HP desktop, HP laptop, Gateway Netbook and Sony TV ALL support DLNA and so i have stopped caring about my iPad and its audio...
A DLNA app for Ios and an itunes plug-in would be the way to get universality here
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DLNA is fine for streaming media files from one device to another but it is not capable of streaming media from a streaming service. I.e. streaming Google music or Tune In via airplay to your home stereo. Really the only solution to date is airplay or bluetooth and bluetooth just doesn't have the range. AM I missing some other solution?
iMediaShare has Airplay capabilities, I use it to stream to my AppleTV(s).
iMediaShare is not compatible with Airport Express at the moment...I tool would be willing to pay for an "Airfoil for android" type application the key being that it can send ANY audio source to the Airport Express.
Plus 1!
I am still looking for this! My apple days are over, but I still own 3 Airport Express devices and 1 appleTV.
JB has ability to do USB audio. Are we getting any closer to "airfoil-like" app for android. I too have 4 zones set up in whole house audio, and hate my first gen ipad these days. Whoever makes this app will make some serious money on the market.
Any news regarding this...?
Seriously... this would be a gold mine for the developer. There are so many Airplay speakers out there that would make playing music to your speakers so much easier.
Isn't it possible to root your device and send all sound output directly to an airplay device?
Sincerely
L
Airplay for Android? I think i'll try that!
i'll attempt this. If i start now, i think i can have a beta version out by february. I'll keep updated for links and progress.
dcbartlett said:
i'll attempt this. If i start now, i think i can have a beta version out by february. I'll keep updated for links and progress.
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It may be a bit late now that miracast has been established and is starting to go into devices. It pretty much does the same thing as airplay except a little better. However it's still brand new so there aren't many devices that support it yet.
dcbartlett said:
i'll attempt this. If i start now, i think i can have a beta version out by february. I'll keep updated for links and progress.
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Click to collapse
I'd be interested in this as well. My GF has a airport express that I would love to stream to from my tablet/phone.
Negreac said:
It may be a bit late now that miracast has been established and is starting to go into devices. It pretty much does the same thing as airplay except a little better. However it's still brand new so there aren't many devices that support it yet.
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Click to collapse
While I agree that Miracast duplicates some of the features of AirPlay, that doesn't change the fact that many people already have AirPlay devices (eg AirPort Express) and don't want to buy new hardware if/when it's available.
I would love a "Airfoil for Android"-type app.
However, as a workaround, does this sound like something feasible?
1. Connect Android device to PC via Bluetooth.
2. Setup PC as a Bluetooth speaker for the Android device. (Is this possible?)
3. Use Airfoil to route audio: Android > Bluetooth > PC > Airfoil > AirPort Express (I've never used Airfoil, so I don't know if this is possible.)
Just wanted to add my support for something like this. I would gladly pay money for this app. I have a Galaxy S2 skyrocket and a Nexus 7. I would love to be able to use my nexus 7 as an audio receiver and stream music from my phone (Play Music / Pandora / Songza / etc) to it. I realize I could set up these apps on the n7 itself and play directly that way, but the key is having the ability to control the music from my phone. Additionally, my friends who have Android phones and the app should be able to do the same with relative ease.
Currently I have AirFoil on my laptop and Android HiFi installed on my n7 and stream music that way. That is less than ideal. I don't understand why this is so difficult? But then again, I'm not a programmer.
---------- Post added at 07:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:42 PM ----------
joelshooty said:
While I agree that Miracast duplicates some of the features of AirPlay, that doesn't change the fact that many people already have AirPlay devices (eg AirPort Express) and don't want to buy new hardware if/when it's available.
I would love a "Airfoil for Android"-type app.
However, as a workaround, does this sound like something feasible?
1. Connect Android device to PC via Bluetooth.
2. Setup PC as a Bluetooth speaker for the Android device. (Is this possible?)
3. Use Airfoil to route audio: Android > Bluetooth > PC > Airfoil > AirPort Express (I've never used Airfoil, so I don't know if this is possible.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that works. I feel like it's kind of overkill and it sucks that you'd have to daisy-chain using both bluetooth and a laptop/desktop. But in the absence of anything else, we have to make due, right?
Airfoil can't intercept audio from the bluetooth stack server, I've tried.
I am also interested in such app
Charles_LV said:
I am also interested in such app
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We all are. It is shocking nothing has come of this.
It is indeed shocking. I'm guessing there's not a lot of work being done because it is too difficult (though I don't quite understand why that is). I am hoping Google blesses us with miracast in the next release.
So... forgive me if someone has already asked this, but I couldn't find anything. I have some movies I've purchased on iTunes on my laptop. I put them on my 16gb microsd, but they don't play on my surface no matter what. I've also tried several apps. My question is, have any of you found a good app for this, or a program I could run on my laptop to convert these to wmv or mp4? (I'm not ready to drop money on software like that, and wmv is preferable.) Anyone else have the same problem? Thanks in advance!
C-Lang said:
So... forgive me if someone has already asked this, but I couldn't find anything. I have some movies I've purchased on iTunes on my laptop. I put them on my 16gb microsd, but they don't play on my surface no matter what. I've also tried several apps. My question is, have any of you found a good app for this, or a program I could run on my laptop to convert these to wmv or mp4? (I'm not ready to drop money on software like that, and wmv is preferable.) Anyone else have the same problem? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
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There is an app called "Format Converter X" that should do the trick.
jverm said:
There is an app called "Format Converter X" that should do the trick.
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Yeah, I've already tried that. Says "an unknown error occurred...
Movies you purchase on iTunes are DRM-protected.
jhoff80 said:
Movies you purchase on iTunes are DRM-protected.
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Uhhh, yeah, that's why I asked this question. I need to know if there's still a way to play them on my Surface. I've been trying to get around DRM with my legally purchased movies (I have like 15, and am going on a road trip). It would be nice to play them on my Surface instead of lugging around my laptop.
This is why I don't "buy" DRMed media. Legally speaking, what you're asking for is actually against federal law in the USA (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits the removal of DRM) even though what you're asking for certainly *should* fall within the grounds of Fair Use (legal exemptions to restrictions of copyright law). In any case, there used to be programs that could strip the "FairPlay" DRM from movies. I don't know if any of them still work, though. Once the DRM is stripped, Surface *should* be able to play the actual video/audio codecs without additional third-party software.
GoodDayToDie said:
This is why I don't "buy" DRMed media. Legally speaking, what you're asking for is actually against federal law in the USA (the Digital Millennium Copyright Act prohibits the removal of DRM) even though what you're asking for certainly *should* fall within the grounds of Fair Use (legal exemptions to restrictions of copyright law). In any case, there used to be programs that could strip the "FairPlay" DRM from movies. I don't know if any of them still work, though. Once the DRM is stripped, Surface *should* be able to play the actual video/audio codecs without additional third-party software.
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Oh ok bummer, but thanks!
There are definitely still apps which claim to be able to do it. I'm skeptical of such software, and would recommend running a thorough virus scan and not running it (or the installer) as Admin if at all possible, but you may as well try them if you don't mind a bit of risk.
That said, please don't support DRM "sellers". You aren't buying anything; legally speaking its more akin to renting, and the DRM is an attempt to enforce that. You can't do any of the things that you normally would be allowed to do with purchased items, such as modify them (for your own use) or re-sell them / gift them / pass them on to your kids (even if you didn't maintain a copy yourself, in keeping with the usual requirements of copyright law).
It was a great day for the music industry when Amazon started selling DRM-free MP3s, and now nearly all online music purchases are DRM free. It's only a matter of time before the same happens with video.
GoodDayToDie said:
There are definitely still apps which claim to be able to do it. I'm skeptical of such software, and would recommend running a thorough virus scan and not running it (or the installer) as Admin if at all possible, but you may as well try them if you don't mind a bit of risk.
That said, please don't support DRM "sellers". You aren't buying anything; legally speaking its more akin to renting, and the DRM is an attempt to enforce that. You can't do any of the things that you normally would be allowed to do with purchased items, such as modify them (for your own use) or re-sell them / gift them / pass them on to your kids (even if you didn't maintain a copy yourself, in keeping with the usual requirements of copyright law).
It was a great day for the music industry when Amazon started selling DRM-free MP3s, and now nearly all online music purchases are DRM free. It's only a matter of time before the same happens with video.
Click to expand...
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Yeah unfortunately, I've tried pretty much every virus-free software out there, but they all want you to buy them for like $40. Heck no! I'm not giving them my credit card! I don't know how much DEM free will come to movies, seeing as the movies companies regulate that. Oh well. Oh, and btw if there is mac software to do this that anyone knows of, let me know. I could borrow a mac if needed... I don't really have a problem removing DRM since I legally purchased it and am just trying to take it along.
Donate to the VLC Kickstarter project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-new-windows-8-user-experience-metro?ref=live
There was a time when apps like Plex, Kodi, etc. were very attractive to provide a great multimedia experience at home. People would download movies, TV series/ shows, etc. using Torrents, manually edit the tags, and save them to their NAS boxes.
A media server would then present all the info in a very attractive manner that would be pleasing to the eye. They would even download missing information or correct incorrect tags. The one problem with this was when these servers would go beserk when updating content.
At one point, I realised these servers are of little to no use to me. If I need to watch something, I'll browse to the file (I would keep my files well organized) and simply play it. So I stopped using them.
Things are changing now.
1. Internet data is becoming increasingly cheap and available 24x7.
2. Music and video streaming services are rising and are available at very reasonable prices. More importantly, they offer plenty of additional benefits:
They make content available legally.
The content is available in very good quality.
New content is available shortly after they are released. No need to wait for weeks or months.
Their database is far more accurate with information about each media.
Users don't have to worry about losing their files (because of a hardware failure, system getting infected/ hacked, etc.) or upgrading their hardware.
Going forward, I think local media servers like Plex, Kodi, etc. would disappear due to no consumer interest, and people would use NAS primarily to store their own content (such as camera roll) due to privacy concerns.
Even NAS boxes would become a thing of the past as a simple computer with a large storage attached to it would be far more convenient to operate as the software that runs on NAS boxes are often closed/ locked and not very versatile as a normal computer.
How long before these products become a thing of the past?
The only way home servers will die out is if streaming services have access to every piece of music or film ever made. Example: my personal music collection contains quite a bit of content not available on any streaming service. To play these files remotely I need a server.
Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
The only way home servers will die out is if streaming services have access to every piece of music or film ever made. Example: my personal music collection contains quite a bit of content not available on any streaming service. To play these files remotely I need a server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very niche case. How much storage does such content (those that are not available) take in your case? Do you really need a NAS or a media server just for that?
Plex is bigger than it ever was before.
The issue with streaming services is that they've followed the same route as cable did back in the day.
People got tired of ads on free TV. Cable companies came along and said "Pay us a subscription, and watch what you want without ads!"
Then people got tired of ads on cable. The cable companies said "You can buy access to premium channels for ad-free content."
Then people got tired of ads on premium channels. Streaming services said "Pay us a subscription and watch whatever you want as much as you want ad free!"
Then people got tired of ads on streaming services. The streaming services said "Pay us extra for premium access and ad-free content."
And so it goes. There comes a point when streaming just isn't worth it anymore. I have a 4TB Plex server at home with around 2,000 movies and several dozen shows, soon to be upgraded to to 8 or 12TB. Never mind how I acquired all that media, point is I don't have to deal with subscription services being turned into cash cows by greedy marketers.
V0latyle said:
Plex is bigger than it ever was before.
The issue with streaming services is that they've followed the same route as cable did back in the day.
People got tired of ads on free TV. Cable companies came along and said "Pay us a subscription, and watch what you want without ads!"
Then people got tired of ads on cable. The cable companies said "You can buy access to premium channels for ad-free content."
Then people got tired of ads on premium channels. Streaming services said "Pay us a subscription and watch whatever you want as much as you want ad free!"
Then people got tired of ads on streaming services. The streaming services said "Pay us extra for premium access and ad-free content."
And so it goes. There comes a point when streaming just isn't worth it anymore. I have a 4TB Plex server at home with around 2,000 movies and several dozen shows, soon to be upgraded to to 8 or 12TB. Never mind how I acquired all that media, point is I don't have to deal with subscription services being turned into cash cows by greedy marketers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How often do you watch something again? I would say less than 1% of what you have saved in your own hardware would be content that would be watched a second time.
When we complain about subscriptions, we completely forget how much we pay for the hardware that we invest in (because this is something we do once in a few years or so) to locally save files, and also money spent in running and protecting them. If you do the math, you would often see that there is no real savings by having content locally, and more so if you take into account the effort required for upkeep of data.
Companies offering subscription services have to make money, so as long as their services are reasonably priced, they are the future as we save a lot of time and headache in not having to acquire and maintain content.
TheMystic said:
How often do you watch something again? I would say less than 1% of what you have saved in your own hardware would be content that would be watched a second time.
When we complain about subscriptions, we completely forget how much we pay for the hardware that we invest in (because this is something we do once in a few years or so) to locally save files, and also money spent in running and protecting them. If you do the math, you would often see that there is no real savings by having content locally, and more so if you take into account the effort required for upkeep of data.
Companies offering subscription services have to make money, so as long as their services are reasonably priced, they are the future as we save a lot of time and headache in not having to acquire and maintain content.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They already figured that cost when they initially priced their services. It was more than enough to cover their hardware back end. They didn't need advertiser revenue, nor did they need to charge people more for ads; they're only doing it to maximize their profits.
I watch plenty of things more than once, and I'm going to continue to expand my NAS because to me that's money better spent than paying for a subscription service. Plus, I get to curate what content is on my own media server; this is especially important to me as a soon to be father, because I don't want my daughter watching the garbage that most streaming services consider "child friendly".
V0latyle said:
They already figured that cost when they initially priced their services. It was more than enough to cover their hardware back end. They didn't need advertiser revenue, nor did they need to charge people more for ads; they're only doing it to maximize their profits.
I watch plenty of things more than once, and I'm going to continue to expand my NAS because to me that's money better spent than paying for a subscription service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see far far less movies these days compared to a few years earlier. Never been into watching TV shows either. So we see things from different perspectives.
V0latyle said:
Plus, I get to curate what content is on my own media server; this is especially important to me as a soon to be father, because I don't want my daughter watching the garbage that most streaming services consider "child friendly".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congratulations!
This is the new challenge of this generation. There is indeed a lot of garbage that we need to shield children from. A very big challenge indeed.
TheMystic said:
Congratulations!
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Thanks
TheMystic said:
This is the new challenge of this generation. There is indeed a lot of garbage that we need to shield children from. A very big challenge indeed.
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Absolutely. Most of the stuff touted as "child friendly" by the mainstream providers isn't even stuff I would watch. Can't really get into the details because our site host is paranoid about controversial topics but I think you get the point.
Maybe it's time to go old school and see if I can find Veggie Tales on DVD...
V0latyle said:
Absolutely. Most of the stuff touted as "child friendly" by the mainstream providers isn't even stuff I would watch. Can't really get into the details because our site host is paranoid about controversial topics but I think you get the point.
Maybe it's time to go old school and see if I can find Veggie Tales on DVD...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ease of smartphone availability and access to content online is indeed something to worry about. Children become smarter than parents much before they realise. The most effective way to keep them away from it would be to keep them busy the whole day with some activity under someone's watchful eyes. This is something the previous generation did not have to deal with.
TheMystic said:
The ease of smartphone availability and access to content online is indeed something to worry about. Children become smarter than parents much before they realise. The most effective way to keep them away from it would be to keep them busy the whole day with some activity under someone's watchful eyes. This is something the previous generation did not have to deal with.
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Well, I grew up playing in the dirt, she can too!
V0latyle said:
Well, I grew up playing in the dirt, she can too!
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Easier said than done. I wish you best of luck!
TheMystic said:
Their database is far more accurate with information about each media.
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Your probably right about this for movies and music.
Where you're dead wrong is library book borrowing with OverDrive/Libby.
There's no way to even get the year of publication.
"The Great Gatsby"? 2003. Hmm, probably the year the ebook came out.
Renate said:
Your probably right about this for movies and music.
Where you're dead wrong is library book borrowing with OverDrive/Libby.
There's no way to even get the year of publication.
"The Great Gatsby"? 2003. Hmm, probably the year the ebook came out.
Click to expand...
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Do people use media servers for books too?
TheMystic said:
Do people use media servers for books too?
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Mmm, kind of.
I keep all my books organized on my desktop and sync them to all my Androids and ereaders.
But I was more speaking of the willingness to codify metadata.
Even gutenberg.org can't tell me the year that "The Great Gatsby" was written.
Spotify will tell me that "The Lord is Listenin' to Ya, Hallelujah" was released in 1982.
But it won't tell you that Michael Mantler played trumpet on it.
Renate said:
Mmm, kind of.
I keep all my books organized on my desktop and sync them to all my Androids and ereaders.
But I was more speaking of the willingness to codify metadata.
Even gutenberg.org can't tell me the year that "The Great Gatsby" was written.
Spotify will tell me that "The Lord is Listenin' to Ya, Hallelujah" was released in 1982.
But it won't tell you that Michael Mantler played trumpet on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's probably because there is usually just one information that people look for in a book: the author.
But for a music or a movie, there is a whole lot of additional information that people are interested in: the actors, director, producer, music, lyricist, ratings, performance at box office, budget, etc.
There is a lot of work required to put all information together for each movie and music. A streaming service takes care of that, and you don't need terrabytes of storage to worry about in case of books.
As with some information missing, may be it isn't something the majority users would look forward to.
The point of OP is this:
People are not saving nearly as much as they think they do by maintaining their own servers in place of an online streaming service. Maintaining own server means substantial investment in hardware every few years, costs of running it, keeping it safe, keeping one or more backups, etc. Plus the time required in managing it.
All these add up to an amount that can well be more than what we pay monthly/ annually to a streaming service whose economies of scale allow them to price it reasonably.
I thought of buying an old Pixel (5 or before) to avoid upgrading my Google One subscription. But when I did some math, I found out that there isn't much savings in it, if at all. The annual subscription that I pay today and what I'll be paying in future (including upgrades) isn't all that expensive than buying a 3 year old device today which can be expected to last for the next 7 or 8 years only. I have done the analysis here.
This is a very similar calculation. The only consideration for people going forward will be to use these for privacy reasons, such as saving their camera roll, screenshots, etc.
TheMystic said:
Very niche case. How much storage does such content (those that are not available) take in your case? Do you really need a NAS or a media server just for that?
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Not a niche case at all, and quite a bit more common than you think. As for my music, 95% of it is in FLAC, which requires more space than a MP3. But I also have two binders full of DVDs - I never had a blu ray player - that I haven't yet digitized. Who knows how much space that would take?
I recently (within the last month) just got a Synonlogy NAS ds420+ got 2x 16tb drives and 2x 4tb drives. I just installed plex and got the lifetime pass. I have all my old movies on it. I love being able to start watching something in my TV in the living room, then moving to my kitchen, (Both are Sony A90k 48" Oled's). Even can continue watching something on my Amazon Echo show 15 in the bedroom! The big thing for me was being able to start watching on one device, then picking up where I left off on another device. Previously I had a USB drive plugged into the back of the TV, but that was a pain.
Plus I have content on it I actually like. I have amazon prime and netflix, but barely watch anything on them. I am also that person who likes to watch stuff again every once in a while.
Plus I setup my NAS to file sync my pictures and documents between my desktop PC and laptop. I am even thinking of upgrading them from 11 home to 11 pro. From there I can set the NAS up as a domain controller, DNS server, DHCP server etc. Have a full blown network in the house. I am toying with the idea of doing it natively with the available applications on the NAS, or by running a windows server 2022 VM and doing it that way.
Simple NAS boxes are just external drives with a network connection.
When you focus on specific NAS boxes with a management plane, virtualization, and other features like web server, database etc. then you have to ask yourself why you just use this thing to throw your music and movies on that.
You can use such "NAS boxes" for hosting container virtualization to run apps, host own web services, calendar, private phone books, wifi controllers, pi-hole, and much more.
Sure, you can use it just to store files, and yes, those files might also be stored in a public cloud or streamed from a hosting service. But with a synology, qnap etc. there are a lot more ways possible.
-> You all use your smartphone to... Make phone calls but that's not the only feature it can provide, right?
strongst said:
Simple NAS boxes are just external drives with a network connection.
When you focus on specific NAS boxes with a management plane, virtualization, and other features like web server, database etc. then you have to ask yourself why you just use this thing to throw your music and movies on that.
You can use such "NAS boxes" for hosting container virtualization to run apps, host own web services, calendar, private phone books, wifi controllers, pi-hole, and much more.
Sure, you can use it just to store files, and yes, those files might also be stored in a public cloud or streamed from a hosting service. But with a synology, qnap etc. there are a lot more ways possible.
-> You all use your smartphone to... Make phone calls but that's not the only feature it can provide, right?
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Could not agree more. I was at first looking at a full blown server, running windows server 2022, but they are vastly expensive. I can do the same with my NAS as I could with a full blown server.
'Cinema Halls' are losing their attraction and will probably disappear in the next decade. The rise of OTT platforms that make content available on fingertips, at the user's convenience, and most households having a good home entertainment system, make these the future.
Although I watch some comedy shows more than once (I don't think there is any other genre that people would watch more than once, with rare exceptions), I found that the amount of storage I have was simply wasted by files that I'm unlikely to watch again. And to preserve these, I was spending on electricity (since NAS runs 24x7) and investing in hardware every few years to keep them backed up and safe. The effort and the money was totally not worth it. Countdown has begun for domestic media servers.
Stephen said:
I was at first looking at a full blown server, running windows server 2022, but they are vastly expensive. I can do the same with my NAS as I could with a full blown server.
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You don't get the kind of control over NAS software that you do with any Desktop OS like Windows, macOS, Linux, etc. And you don't need a Windows Server for running a media server. A simple PC running on Windows 7 too will do a better job than a NAS system. The only advantage a NAS box offers is its compact size.