Roku streaming my video content -- how?

[Darren Dirt]

I found this today http://wilddtech.com/roksbox/home/ and was reminded that I have been meaning to figure out simple free way of doing this on occasion. (Current occasion: 5 more Capaldi episodes remaining to view, and living room TV much bigget than laptop screen )

I want simple free solution. Is that what Plex does? Or is Plex overkill for my simple needs -- I don't want avoidable unnecessary complexities like hosting a full web server etc.

Give it to me in simple words, how do I easily stream my MP4 video files from my laptop onto my Roku (wifi, no USB)

[Darren Dirt]

PS: nm about Plex sinceI glanced at their website and :sigh: it would be YAMF* https://plex.tv/features

This is a rare need so I want a free solution.






* Yet Another Monthly Fee. Got enough of those

[Tom]

Well, plex is free. but you need to run it on a computer of some sort that has enough power to transcode video in real time (decode, rescale, re-encode). Once it is set up, you never have to worry about it. And any decently speced machine made in the past few years can likely handle the load.

[Mr. Analog]

I pay jack squat for Plex, what feature is pay only that you need?

Plex for Dummies:
The server is a service that runs on the computer you host your media on, it creates it's own web server yadda yadda (it also periodically scans your content for changes, so ... don't host your media on a computer you need fast drive access for doing stuff, like Photoshop or games with giant textures that need constant loading)

The client App is something you can download and, providing you're only running Plex on your LAN, and it will scan the network for local Plex servers. Sometimes it's dumb though, but you can configure it manually (or at least you used to be able to do it, I discovered much to my surprise yesterday that Plex client on my tablet updated and the UI is slow as hell).

[Tom]

With the android app, I just log in, and it shows any servers I can access, including my own, and people's shared folders (like Lazy's!)

[Mr. Analog]

I created a sign in as well, I don't think I've watched much of Lazy's content yet though. Too busy trying to get through my own heh!

[Lazybones]

If you want a single screen player with a computer XBMC is still a good choice.

If you want to leave a computer on as the server and stream to many devices, Plex is great.

The base server for Plex is free and so is the web client and the full PC home theatre client.

Clients for Windows 8.1 (store), iOS and Android are not free.

Plex pass memberships give you access to advanced features such as multi user watched histories, offline sync and beta access. However the core streaming functions and sharing functions are free.

[Thorin]

I am assuming you have the video files you want to watch on your laptop.  I am assuming you already own a Roku.  I am assuming you're running Windows on your laptop.

The easiest solution is to connect your laptop to your TV.  If your laptop and TV both have HDMI ports, this is easy.  This does not require the Roku.

If you don't want to or can't connect your laptop to your TV, then you need to find a way to send the video files from your computer to the Roku, which is then connected to your TV.  Those of us here that have a Roku use Plex Media Server (PMS) to send the video files from the computer to the Roku.  PMS does not cost money.  PMS has a simple installer.  PMS runs as a regular program, not as a service, so you have to be logged in to your computer (although you can lock it when you're away).  PMS advertises itself on your home network automatically.  The Roku needs to run a program that looks for PMS - this is the Plex Channel, which you can install for free.  The Plex Channel finds PMS and gets a list of available files, then displays them to you in a nice format.  You select the right file, then press play, and you're enjoying the Angry Eyebrows.

This sounds like it might be difficult, but it's really not.  The PMS install is really simple.  The Plex Channel install is really simple.  PMS doesn't have to be running all the time, but when it's not then you can't view any video files.  Neither PMS nor the Plex Channel cost any money.

Another solution is to create a publicly-accessible share on your laptop, then get a device that can read video files on network shares and play them to your TV.  I think the WDTV Live does this, but I've never tried it.

[Darren Dirt]

I am assuming you have the video files you want to watch on your laptop.  I am assuming you already own a Roku.  I am assuming you're running Windows on your laptop.

Yes Yes Yes.

Which is why the whole decoding/transcoding is not a requirement.

I usually just hook up a cable and play the video on the screen, but I would rather use the Roku remote and be able to pause and rewind, and of course adjust volume via TV remote.

So that's the "why" behind my request. It's a rare, on-occasional-demand type of need, don't plan on hosting a server all the time available to one and all (it's literally just a handful of MP4 files that I want to stream "whenever". But not often.



You all are saying Plex Media Server is free, I guess I got confused by the bottom of https://plex.tv/features which I only skimmed...
Choose a subscription plan and start enjoying the best of Plex
MONTHLY $4.99   YEARLY $39.99   LIFETIME $149.99


Any other simple streaming apps out there that do similar (in case I don't need all the extras PMS might offer) ? Gonna try it this weekend I guess, but always good to know about free alternatives (remember the fun when a certain free remote-desktop app suddenly -- virtually overnight -- was no longer free to log-me-in?)

[Thorin]

Plex Media Server is free for the basic version.  Which is what I'm using, and using it lots, and I haven't needed to get the paid-for premium version.

All other streaming apps will be the same - you will need something running on your laptop to send the stream out, and something running on your Roku to read the stream in and display it on your TV.

I am assuming you have the video files you want to watch on your laptop.  I am assuming you already own a Roku.  I am assuming you're running Windows on your laptop.

Yes Yes Yes.

Which is why the whole decoding/transcoding is not a requirement.

This comment makes me think you don't understand what streaming and transcoding really means.  Most streaming server apps will transcode files so that the video displays in the right size / format for the end product.  I don't know of any that don't.  If the streaming server app doesn't transcode, then the client receiving the stream will have to do it.  Devices like the Roku don't have enough horsepower to do that.

Anyway.  Connecting your laptop directly to the TV is the easiest.  Using Plex Media Server and the Plex Channel on the Roku is in my opinion the second easiest, Lazy and Mel and Tom and Mr. A all probably agree.  But it doesn't seem like you want to agree that Plex is easy, so I guess just continue hooking your laptop directly to your TV.

[Mr. Analog]

Sounds like the solution is to get a Bluetooth remote control for your laptop :-)

[Tom]

Sounds like the solution is to get a Bluetooth remote control for your laptop :-)

I'm really loving my Logitech SmartHub though I'm tempted to get the smart remote addon for it. or upgrade to the ultimate package that comes with the touch remote too.

* Tom drools

[Darren Dirt]

Anyway.  Connecting your laptop directly to the TV is the easiest.  Using Plex Media Server and the Plex Channel on the Roku is in my opinion the second easiest, Lazy and Mel and Tom and Mr. A all probably agree.  But it doesn't seem like you want to agree that Plex is easy, so I guess just continue hooking your laptop directly to your TV.

Ah.

Sounds like Plex is easier than I expected, and free (the fees are for extra channels/content, apparently).

Thanks for the info! I guess this weekend gonna have to roll up the sleeves and jump on board and see if PMS is maybe not so scary...

[Thorin]

Must bite tongue and not make reference to once-a-month symptoms...

[Mr. Analog]

LOL Thorin said what we were all thinkin