Best way to access movie files to multiple TVs in same house?

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AParsh135i

AParsh135i

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Sep 28, 2012
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Hey Toms Forum,
I'm looking for a better/streamlined way of watching my movie files on any TV in my house - assuming all the movie files are stored in one device, and likely other devices will need to be at each TV to access the files.

When i ask this, i really want to know the best/easiest/cleanest way to do it, if you were to start from scratch with all new products.

I'm guessing something like a NAS and then media players at each TV? Model #'s of what you recommend please.

More info.
I've become frustrated with the solutions i've tried so far. I have a large variety of equipment i already own including:
-Firetv stick
-chromecast stick
-Wife has an ipad
-I have a Toshiba i5 tablet (like a surface thing)
-dedicated HTPC
-Synology 3TB NAS
-Lenovo Beacon 4TB Nas/Server
-Wireless receiver
-Wireless Blu-ray players
-Gaming computer
-Gaming laptop

Thanks.
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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Jul 2, 2006
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Well do you want those TV's to only really access the files stored or have access to like netflix, youtube, all those kinds of things.

You could run Plex on the dedicated HTPC and have it server and share all the files stored on the NAS devices. Plex is nice because it can transcode files, so if a device can't play back a certain format, it will query the device and find out what formats it can play and then transcode it to that format. This is food for people who want to watch on a tablet or phone, and they all have plex apps.

You could use roku boxes on each TV. it's easy to use, can also access netflix, youtube, pandora radio, etc, as well as has a plex client.

Android boxes running kodi are more powerful and then you can get into all the addons and such, but kodi can crash, you have to update things, people can get in and mess up settings clicking around. Rokus are pretty simple and with the roku 4 coming out, the 2's and 3's should be dirt cheap, especially on black friday.
 
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AParsh135i

AParsh135i

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Thanks for the quick response getochkn. I do not need the netflix, youtube stuff as it seems every device i own already has those. I just want a consistent way of being able to watch my movies all stored to one place from any device in the house.

The plex idea sounds pretty good. So i would install plex to my HTPC, and my HTPC would access moves from my NAS? Which device would i be using to get the files on my TVs ? Or were you assuming i add an HTPC to each TV?
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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Jul 2, 2006
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No a roku box would work nicely. Really there is no device that just handles that, they all do netflix/youtube/etc. lol. with the roku though you can add or delete the programs you want, so you could just add the plex client and that's it. or add the others, it's nice to have it all from 1 device.

wdlive TV boxes were good too but they're a bit old now.

android boxes could do the same thing, but they are more complicated. comes down if you are doing this so wife/kids/others can easily jump on or all for you. lol.
 
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AParsh135i

AParsh135i

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Yup - doing it so wife, friends, relatives, etc can figure it out too. I messed around a bit with kodi on my amazon firetv stick - it seemed extremely powerful but also seemed like i needed to spend a lot of time researching to get it running right.
 
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getochkn

getochkn

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Jul 2, 2006
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ya kodi is that. super powerful, but lots to config and be messed up. rokus are simple. got my roommies mom that lives with us as well as my inlaws setup with one. easy to use, and in your case, could easily connect to plex.

and plex is nice it will scrape all your media and organize it, get poster art and descriptions so wife/kids/friends can easily navigate and find out what the movie is about, etc.

i know with the paid plex, which is what we have, you can even let others connect outside the home and access the plex as well. not sure if can be done with the free version or not.
 
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AParsh135i

AParsh135i

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Ok i want to mention another thing now. The 4tb lenovo beacon i have has XBMC on it from the factory. I'm not too familiar with XBMC, but wasnt it the name of codi...before codi? The lenovo beacon has it's own CPU, memory etc, so i should be able to use it for what i need without even needing to connect it to my HTPC, right? What sucks is that the lenovo beacon never launched big in the US, so barely any info out there on it. Would be nice if i could just redo the OS to plex instead....
 
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