MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
dla0819
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hi,

I just signed up for the Home Media package even though I only have one TV in my house because I was told that with MediaManger that is part of the Home Media package, I could watch videos from my computer on my TV.  So far I have not been able to figure out how to do this.  Does anyone have any positive experiences with this and how to go about doing it?

Second, the main reasin I wanted to try this out was because I have a membership to Netflix.  As part of the membership, I can watch movies immediately from their site on my TV if I have the correct setup.  It appears that the correct setup concerns having a set-top box that can communicate with the router.  I can also watch the same movies directly on my computer.  So my thinking was to run the movies on my computer and have MediaManager send the stream to my TV.  Has anyone done anything similar (or the same) as this with any success?

Thanks,

Doug

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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2
The video streaming is in beta phase right now. No one but testers have access to that feature. As far as netflix go. I don't know who told you that would work, but as of now it would not. There has been no partnership announcement of fios and netflix. Fios would need to program netflix API into the MM program. It would be nice if they did that, but it has not been announced.
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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
dla0819
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the info.  I wished the sales rep would have explained that only beta testers could stream video.  Oh well, I have a 3 month trial period, I will just make sure I cancel the service before the 3 months have ended.

About Netflix.  I may not have explained myself well.  Verizon would not need to be in any kind of partnership with Netflix.  To stream movies from Netflix to your TV, all you need is a device that can receive an internet signal (either WiFi or Ethernet) and connect to your television.  There are already devices on the market that do that (Netflix marketss one of these and promotes two or three others).  In addition, you can stream Netflix movies to your computer.  So my hope was that with Media Manager, since I could stream movies to my computer, through Media Manager I would be able to send them on to my TV.  If I really wanted to, I could connect my laptop to my TV and stream the movies to my laptop which would be displayed on my TV, but that is a terrible pain and kind of ghetto.

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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2
Well netflix stream via a web browser. And unless media manager taps into the web browse netfix would not work. I do hope they integrate netflix now that they have a open API. But the likely hood is that MM will have a drop down list of sites you can use to stream video. IE youtube, break.com, mtvmusic.com, And I hope Hulu.com. But no one will know how it works until it comes out. Or if I get into the Beta program. But If I get into it. I sure I will be under a NDA and can't tell anyone else about it. 
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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
TVee
Newbie

The prospect of "streaming" video from my PC to my TV was one of the things I was led to believe would be doable with the Media Manager.  Imagine my disppointment to find that the only "media" I could semi-manage from my PC to my Big Screen HDTV was still photos.   pfffffft!  

I have hundreds of gigs of concert videos, etc., on my PC that I was hoping to view on my new-fangled-fios'ed-big-screen-tv.   Color me bluer than blue. Smiley Sad

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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
Kingscup
Enthusiast - Level 2

You  might consider getting a Tivo if you want to stream video to your TV. Tivo offers Netflix, Youtube and Amazon movies. Supposedly, Tivo can stream video from your computer to the Tivo via a third party program on the computer but you will have to research that. You will lose Fios video on demand and PPV if you get  Tivo. You will need a TivoHD (or Series 3) with cable card(s) in order to view Netflix movies. This replaces the Verizon set top box. Most people don't want to shell out the money for Tivo but Tivo is so much better then the Verizon box. Search the forums at http://www.tivocommunity.com for more info on video streaming.

Xbox 360 also streams Netflix.

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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
TVee
Newbie
Thanks for the recommendation, Kingscup....  But I guess my post was misleading.  I'm not looking to technically  "stream" video via my computer.  What I was hoping to accomplish was to be able to view the hundreds of gigs of concert video content residing on my computer and its external drives from my computer to my big screen tv in the den.  I was under the impression that using "Media Manager" would enable me to manage more than mere jpg's from my computer, but videos as well.   Imagine my disappointment.
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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
TimSykes
Specialist - Level 2

@TVee wrote:
Thanks for the recommendation, Kingscup....  But I guess my post was misleading.  I'm not looking to technically  "stream" video via my computer.  What I was hoping to accomplish was to be able to view the hundreds of gigs of concert video content residing on my computer and its external drives from my computer to my big screen tv in the den.  I was under the impression that using "Media Manager" would enable me to manage more than mere jpg's from my computer, but videos as well.   Imagine my disappointment.
 
This is in beta right now and will be out soon. I not sure who told you is was already out, but the fios website says music and photos, the site says nothing on video streaming.  
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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
dla0819
Enthusiast - Level 2

How silly of me to listen to Verizon employees instead of reading the marketing ad.  I was not even aware of Media Manager existed.  I discussed what I wanted to do with a tech support person and was told a possible solution would be Media Manager.  The next day I called a Sales rep and was also told Media Manager would stream video so I ordered the service.  I do not believe for a moment that these two people are intentionally misrepresenting Verizon.  I think that they either do not know the video streaming  functionality is still in beta, or perhaps they do not know what beta refers to (or maybe they mistakenly believe they work for Microsoft where beta means customer release).

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Re: MediaManager, Video Streaming, and Netflix - Will it work?
dla0819
Enthusiast - Level 2

@TimSykes wrote:

@TVee wrote:
Thanks for the recommendation, Kingscup....  But I guess my post was misleading.  I'm not looking to technically  "stream" video via my computer.  What I was hoping to accomplish was to be able to view the hundreds of gigs of concert video content residing on my computer and its external drives from my computer to my big screen tv in the den.  I was under the impression that using "Media Manager" would enable me to manage more than mere jpg's from my computer, but videos as well.   Imagine my disappointment.
This is in beta right now and will be out soon. I not sure who told you is was already out, but the fios website says music and photos, the site says nothing on video streaming.  

How silly of me to listen to Verizon employees instead of reading the marketing ad.  I was not even aware of Media Manager existed.  I discussed what I wanted to do with a tech support person and was told a possible solution would be Media Manager.  The next day I called a Sales rep and was also told Media Manager would stream video so I ordered the service.  I do not believe for a moment that these two people are intentionally misrepresenting Verizon.  I think that they either do not know the video streaming  functionality is still in beta, or perhaps they do not know what beta refers to (or maybe they mistakenly believe they work for Microsoft where beta means customer release).

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