Please help a network newbie

Okay, I've networked my house because ultimately I want to be able to watch any movie in any room of the house on any of the TVs. So I've run cat5e cable throughout the house.

Now, what I want to do is probably spend a decent amount on a Shuttle type PC for the lounge where the 42" plasma is, but in the bedroom there's not much point in spending a shedload of money just to be able to watch a few DivXs that are stored on my main PC.
So what I'd like to know is if there's a solution that I could use that would allow me to browse the network's files and play them back (using its own decoder or the resources of my PC, whichever doesn't really bother me,) across the LAN?

What should I be looking for? One of those Happuage Media MVP things? A DVD player with a harddrive (can you browse a network on them?)

I'll be using it with an LCD screen which I have yet to buy (it will be no larger than 27")
I'm looking for as cheap as possible, as a solution, because I'll probably be buying a Tosh SD340E for the room as its parnter, but if the Tosh plus the solution recommended adds up to £200, I might just be better off buying something a little better as an all-in-one job, so I'm open to suggestions and prices.

Similarly, if my Shuttle idea for the lounge/plasma is considered a bad idea, I'm open to suggestions there too.

Thanks for any help and advice.

 

number of options....

first come to mind: xbox (not really elegant or pretty, but at under £100 if is cheap..perhaps you know someone who can mod it? works perfectly as a streamer)
second: pinnacle showcenter: about £150 now, with 802.11g if needed, streaming divx, mpg , mp3 +internet radio form host pc

third (my favourite) liteon lvd-2010 networked dvd player, can act as a streamer, can play divx mpg etc from it's own drive and works fine as a progressive scan dvd player. Should be able to get 'em for about £130
http://www.liteonit.com/DC/english/lvd_2010/lvd_2010.htm

also, the kiss range of players are an option

 

hi dr j,

i'm looking to exaclty the same thing hence my day-dreaming post below.

The basic answer, as far as i'm aware, is no. The closet you can get is something like a streamium from philips but this a) will only work with the tv / amp that you have it connected to, and b) has some playback issues (which are admittedly better after a firmware upgrade).

there are many other products out there that do the same job as the streamium, but non allow you play your files across your (w)lan. The recently unveiled Sonos is likely to do a pretty good job, but your going to have to pay through the nose for it.

i'm thinking about trying to make my own streaming device with a simple mobo, processor, WiFi card and a graphics card with a tv out. all these machines will be on the same network and will be controlled remotely. most of the hardware will be second hand and i reckon it'l be quite fun trying it out.

anyway, good luck with the hunt and let me know if you come across anything!

 

The shuttle idea is very good but i hear linux has a very suprior htpc software compared to windows, plus its free Heres a link to it.
Mythtv
http://www.mythtv.org/
Looks very good

Also xbox idea and network dvd player are good, i use a xbox in my brothers bedroom so he can watch divx movies and music from my pc, which is good, plus it is also a games console so may save some money.

Hope this helps a bit, not much i can add ontop of what has been said.

 

Thanks Werner

Can the liteon play from the network, or only from its own drive?
Also, how does it compare, quality wise, to the KiSS range, and how do these compare to, say, a Pioneer 575?

 

the liteon has it's own dvd drive, and you can play cd-r with divx or mpg or xvid in there and it plays fine. OR, you can stream something from your pc to it's network jack (100mbit). As with all streamers, it has some software you have to set up on the pc first, but it's a doddle to use.

I cant compare quality, never seen a kiss player in action