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benyben123 · 2014-04-22, 13:22

Noob warning.

I was told to download a DLNA server software (Plex or Serviio) so I can stream the content found on my Asus Zenbook laptop to my Raspberry Pi (which is connected to my living room TV).

My question is: is XBMC itself a DLNA?

(Sorry - i am not sure how to even phrase the quesion Tongue

).

What I mean is - can I install XBMC on my laptop and stream to my Raspberry Pi (which is also running XBMC)?

Thank you!!!

dmmsta · 2014-04-22, 13:30

You don't need to install XBMC twice.

If you're Pi & laptop are on the same network, you can setup CIFS to allow your Pi to see the content on the laptop & stream it.

benyben123 · 2014-04-22, 13:32

Thanks so much. I googled CIFS. Can't find a downloadable program called CIFS. Am I getting this wrong?
Thanks again!

Bosse_B · 2014-04-22, 13:52

CIFS described....
4th hit when googling CIFS

benyben123 · (This post was last modified: 2014-04-22, 14:02 by benyben123.)

Thanks Bosse_B.
Will do some research.

dmmsta · (This post was last modified: 2014-04-22, 14:12 by dmmsta.)

Assuming your laptop is running Windows and that you are running a Pi XBMC varient (RaspBMC, OpenELEC...) have a read of this:
http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=SMB/Windows
Also have a watch of this video on Youtube - shows the steps...I've only scanned the video so there may be more in there than you need...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBGKcLu7aGk

Takes you through adding a Windows shared Video source to your XBMC in the Pi.

Basically within XBMC you do the following:
Videos > Add Source > Browse > Windows Share (SMB) > Choose your "Workgroup" > Choose your PC/Laptop > Choose your directory where content saved > Set content type (Movies / TV) > Update the Library

It's pretty easy to do, and I've had no issues streaming 720p content from my Windows PC to my RaspBMC.

benyben123 · 2014-04-22, 14:04

(2014-04-22, 14:03)dmmsta Wrote: It's pretty easy to do, and I've had no issues streaming 720p content from my Windows PC to my RaspBMC.

Thanks so much.

What about 1080p?

benyben123 · (This post was last modified: 2014-04-22, 14:51 by benyben123.)

(2014-04-22, 14:03)dmmsta Wrote: Assuming your laptop is running Windows and that you are running a Pi XBMC varient (RaspBMC, OpenELEC...) have a read of this:
http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=SMB/Windows
Also have a watch of this video on Youtube - shows the steps...I've only scanned the video so there may be more in there than you need...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBGKcLu7aGk

Takes you through adding a Windows shared Video source to your XBMC in the Pi.

Basically within XBMC you do the following:
Videos > Add Source > Browse > Windows Share (SMB) > Choose your "Workgroup" > Choose your PC/Laptop > Choose your directory where content saved > Set content type (Movies / TV) > Update the Library

It's pretty easy to do, and I've had no issues streaming 720p content from my Windows PC to my RaspBMC.

Thanks so much !!!
If I may add, you mentioned 720p, but is there a reason to think 1080p will be a problem?
Thanks again!

dmmsta · 2014-04-22, 15:54

1080p should be fine, I just don't have any Full HD content.

One of the guys I work with said he has no issues streaming a full 1080p content, though he is using NFS shares instead of SMB, but thats not going to have much of an impact.

benyben123 · 2014-04-22, 16:16

(2014-04-22, 15:54)dmmsta Wrote: 1080p should be fine, I just don't have any Full HD content.

One of the guys I work with said he has no issues streaming a full 1080p content, though he is using NFS shares instead of SMB, but thats not going to have much of an impact.

Really appreciate all your help on this!!!

dmmsta · 2014-04-22, 16:31

No problem.

Happy to pass on what I've learnt along the way...

**da-anda** · (This post was last modified: 2014-04-22, 17:13 by da-anda.)

There is no limitation regarding quality (720p, 1080p, ...) - at least not within XBMC. The only thing that could cause issues while streaming high bitrate 1080p stream is when you use a WiFi connection, but if you have a wired network, even streaming of raw blurays is not an issue.

And you don't have to install anything. Just create a shared folder on your laptop and "mount" this shared folder by adding a new "video source" in XBMC. After that you can directly browse your laptops content or even index it into XBMC's database for some more eye candy while browsing your library. If your laptop already is maintaining a library and is providing it via UPNP, you can also simply mount this UPNP share in XBMC and be happy with it (or cast stuff to the PI, but for that you have to enable the "UPNP renderer" option in XBMCs service settings).