Anyone running their own VOD server?

Mitchel_K · 04-08-2005, 02:03 PM

Is anyone running their own Video on Demand server? I set one up at my house after being inspired by kalidescape website. I am using the Avel Linkplayer and a large raid server. I'm currently using simese webserver which works ok but I'm looking for something more customizable. Do any of you experts have any suggestions for a better server package? Thanks for any help.
~MK

ChrisWiggles · 04-10-2005, 12:15 PM

A lot of people use HTPCs and networked storage to feed files to the front-end HTPC software/player. That's what I do, pretty slick.

PatH · 04-10-2005, 02:00 PM

OK Silly question. What's a video-on-demand server and what's it for?

PatH

ChrisWiggles · 04-10-2005, 03:00 PM

Different ways of having video content at your fingertips without having to deal with physical media. You can do this in a lot of different ways, with servers and distribution, large DVD changers with libraries controlled externally, etc.

I use a fairly simple DIY method sort of like the kaleidescope system. I rip all my DVDs onto server storage, and have a front end that lets my go through the library of movie cover art/descriptions on my main HTPC, and then click and watch it in my theater. Right now I'm actually only using the main PC, but a big server with a TB or more is in progress soon, to stream all the stuff over a simple LAN. DVDs are sooo passe....

Allen Longcor · 04-11-2005, 11:39 AM

I actually built a server specifically for storage and have two 250 GB HD's specifically for movies. I was wondering what front end you use and how much it costs. Are there free packages that do basically the same thing? I haven't really researched any of this yet. Finally, does the front end have a built in player or do you use something like Theatertek or PowerDVD.

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ChrisWiggles · 04-11-2005, 01:24 PM

Front ends vary, I'm don't have patience for dealing a whole lot with setting up software, so I just use Meedio and TT. Medio has a built-in player, but I am super-picky about video so TT (or ZP) has benefits in this way. I use Meedio as just a simple graphic interface and to organize the movies that are stored, and then launch it (and trailers if needed) into TT for viewing. Eliminates the feeling that you are using a computer at all if you integrate a remote.

Mitchel_K · 04-11-2005, 03:18 PM

Woah kinda off topic here... This is not a HTPC question else I would have asked in the HTPC area. I an running an AVEL Linkplayer (Id post a link but I dont have 15 posts yet) connected to a 2TB fileserver. The Linkplayer is a network attached DVD player that can play video/music streams over the network (its not a HTPC). The fileserver runs a server software that the Linkplayer accesses. The server software it comes with is pretty lame. I found other uPNP software that you can use in place of AVEL's software and the simese swiss software (again I can't put a link) is the best one that I can across so far. But I was wondering is anyone is running any other uPNP software that is better?

~MK

ChrisWiggles · 04-11-2005, 03:40 PM

It's not totally off-topic, it's still serving video to a playback device pretty much, this kind of thing is so customizable that all the systems will be unique and you can go in many different directions. The line between a PC and a standalone player is getting pretty fuzzy especially with streaming video files and media over networks etc. It's all kind of the same giant bubble of stuff that's going on in moving away from having just a player with physical media that you load manually every time.