Dumb Question - What Is Streaming?

[anotherusername]

Sorry for the dumb question - but I don't really understand what streaming is.

I've got a NAS and I've got a bunch of ripped DVDs stored on it. When I want to watch a film I open "Finder", navigate to the relevant DVD file on the NAS (ISO image, VOB, DVDMedia) and open it with either VLC or the Mac's DVD player. Is this classed as streaming or would there be some advantage if I used the NAS's Multimedia Station?

Sorry to be thick.

[kherr4377]

I use Twonkey to 'stream' my ripped DVD/BD to my TVs. Computers are for computing, TVs are for movies ....

[anotherusername]

Understood - if you've got a TV, but I haven't - which is why I watch DVDs on my computer. Does that mean that the NAS's Multimedia Station is only used for streaming to TVs

[reinob]

I've got a NAS and I've got a bunch of ripped DVDs stored on it. When I want to watch a film I open "Finder", navigate to the relevant DVD file on the NAS (ISO image, VOB, DVDMedia) and open it with either VLC or the Mac's DVD player. Is this classed as streaming or would there be some advantage if I used the NAS's Multimedia Station?

It depends. It would be streaming if the video playback started before the whole file is downloaded. It's however not easy to check (perhaps with a big video..).

The thing is: if you use some file-sharing protocol like AFP, NFS or SMB and double-click on a file two things can happen:

(1) the file manager actually downloads the file and passes the local (cached) copy to the program you want to open it with (e.g. "vlc /tmp/cached_copy.mpg")

(2) the file manager tells vlc to open the file directly from the server (e.g. "vlc smb://qnap/path/to/video.mpg").

Whether (1) or (2) happens depends on so many things that no answer can be given.

On the other hand, if you use an explicit streaming protocol (like DLNA), then you're streaming. (but streaming usually involves buffering, which means there's anyway no clear-cut technical difference between streaming and copying).

So no, you're neither being thick nor the question is dumb. There's just no clear answer..

[anotherusername]

Thanks Reinob.

I might have a look at the Media Centre.

[pwilson]

Sorry for the dumb question - but I don't really understand what streaming is.

I've got a NAS and I've got a bunch of ripped DVDs stored on it. When I want to watch a film I open "Finder", navigate to the relevant DVD file on the NAS (ISO image, VOB, DVDMedia) and open it with either VLC or the Mac's DVD player. Is this classed as streaming or would there be some advantage if I used the NAS's Multimedia Station?

Sorry to be thick.

Have you considered installing XBMC on your PC and/or Mac? It can open ISO's directly via SMB from both OS choices. (I have XBMC on all my Linux, Android, and Windows devices here).

[anotherusername]

Hi Patrick. Thanks for the info. I had a quick look at XMBC and it doesn't seem to do anything for me that VLC doesn't.

[pwilson]

Hi Patrick. Thanks for the info. I had a quick look at XMBC and it doesn't seem to do anything for me that VLC doesn't.

It does a lot more than VLC here. Anyway, it's your environment, so the choice is yours to make.

[anotherusername]

Patrick - I'm not being awkward - I simply don't understand and would appreciate some help. I find this field very, very confusing and I'm struggling to find any useful help on the web.

I play movies on my Mac using VLC or the Mac's DVD player. The movies are stored as DVDMedia, ISO, VOB and a few MP4s. What might XMBC give me that VLC doesn't?

[schumaku]

Most applications use strong terms in my opinion.

Streaming is open a data stream from a server to a client, and immediate start playback. Some transport protocols are dedicated to streaming, others can be used for data transfer / upload / download but also for "endless" streaming.

Alternate approach is download a complete file, and start playback when the process has completed.

[reinob]

I play movies on my Mac using VLC or the Mac's DVD player. The movies are stored as DVDMedia, ISO, VOB and a few MP4s. What might XMBC give me that VLC doesn't?

VLC will just play the one video you tell it to play.

With XBMC you get a whole front-end where you can browse and play your stuff. So it sorta replaces the need for both a file explorer (or whatever you call it on the Mac, finder I think) and a video player. Let's say it's a more "integrated experience".