Best media streamer

Joined
Jul 8, 2014
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I am new to Mac ownership and wish to stream films from a NAS device to my TV. My films are in various formats
What is the best media streamer to purchase?
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I am new to Mac ownership and wish to stream films from a NAS device to my TV. My films are in various formats
What is the best media streamer to purchase?

"Best" is pretty subjective. I've tried various media systems myself, and the Apple TV works nearly flawlessly, but the limited file type support and need to stream from iTunes vs a dedicated server/NAS is a pet peeve that I've long since learned to work with. In comparison, I've tried a Roku and it was buggy and playback quite choppy, though most people say they don't have those issues. A Mac mini running Plex Media Center would be my favorite, but that's pricey and managing the Mac mini with an IR remote takes a lot of work to set up, last I tried a few years ago (might be easier these days).

What NAS device do you use? If you have something like a Synology DiskStation that supports 3rd party apps on the device itself, then installing Plex server on it and using a media center attached to the TV that can run Plex would likely be your best choice. Roku has Plex available, as does Amazon's FireTV. Bear in mind that depending on how your media is encoded, it may not stream very smoothly no matter what you use.
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
I have used a D-Link DNS-323 NAS (mirrored, RAID 1) with a WDTV Live for a number of years now to stream my media. This is all wired with GbE, so if wireless is a requirement for your streaming setup, look elsewhere.

I find that for the most part, the WDTV Live handles anything I can throw at it with aplomb. It will occasionally hiccup, but I think that's more of an issue with the NAS than with the WDTV. I seriously hope that Apple will one day open up the AppleTV for apps, and in particular, media streaming.... but it doesn't look like that's coming any time soon.
 
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,235
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
We actually made a decision a couple weeks ago to give a Mac mini running Plex a whirl again. I had a few issues the last time I gave this a whirl a few years ago and gave up on it, but the hardware and software has gotten much much better. The difference over what the ATV puts out is downright astounding!

I've long been aware of the issue of "judder" when playing back content authored at 24 fps at 60Hz, and the ATV will ONLY output at 50Hz or 60Hz even though my TV can do 96 Hz if it detects it's getting a 24 Hz signal. I've noticed the judder in a handful of animated films I have, most notably in shots that pan across a scene, and it had really been bugging me a lot. I sold my wife on giving a Mac mini a whirl again when I showed her the difference between what the ATV was putting out vs a Blu-Ray player outputting the same movie at 24p. She can't tell the difference between standard def and high def, but this was a difference she could immediately see. Since the Mac mini is now able to output natively over HDMI since I last tried, and can be set to output @ 24Hz, it is capable of replicating what a BD player can do. Plex has gotten a lot better too and with the current Mac minis having 802.11ac wi-fi support, streaming higher bitrate video with lossless tracks shouldn't be a problem.

Going this route is a bit more cumbersome and I had to spend time in advance setting up the VNC server on the mini (so I could control it remotely off my iPad or iMac if needed); taking care to create the user accounts with very complex passwords (to avoid having someone sniffing around remotely brute force their way into it if they detect a VNC server is listening); set up Mobile Mouse (for use with iPad/iPhone); set up Remote Buddy (to launch Plex and other desired apps with my Harmony IR remote); etc. I also had to do some other basics like set the screensaver to kick on after a couple minutes of inactivity (to prevent burn-in of the menubar) and set up a photo slideshow using a bunch of photos off Interfacelift's site.

But man was it WORTH IT! The lossless audio is noticeably richer on my home theater system and the picture detail... holy moley! Even knowing intellectually what judder was and knowing it's always there, I just never knew exactly how much an impact it was having until I re-watched a few movies, and not just animated films. It's actually a bit eerie at first because we are so used to judder thanks to the mismatch between how media is filmed and the broadcast standards, but everything is so much more natural in movements and there is an increased perception of depth now.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top